Hillingdon Allotment News 15: General Information

Judging

Have you ever thought how the plots were judged or indeed had a moan about how your plot was overlooked or not marked as high as you thought? Well now is your chance to find out. With the increasing number of plots in the borough, additional judges are required. If you have a basic knowledge of gardening why not join the judging panel. Full training will be given and you will go out with an experienced judge to see how it is done, so you will not be left alone. So stop wondering and grab a part of the action. Phone Marianne on 01895 420046 for further details.

Save that water

This may not appear the best time to talk about saving water, but it is the best time to do some preparatory work to ensure that when summer comes you are able to make use of every drop.

Why not fit some guttering to your allotment shed so that you can save the winter rain in a water butt. Guttering is easy enough to fit to most sheds, and as water butts come in a variety of shapes and sizes you should be able to find one to fit your purpose. Not only are you saving water but, rain water is better for some purposes than that straight from a tap.

Allotment officer post - permanent

It has been confirmed that the post that Nick Porter holds as Allotments officer has been made permanent. This is good news for all allotment holders as this means that both day to day problems as well as long term issues now have a dedicated officer. Day to day issues can be dealt with more easily and speedily and forward planning will be placed on a more permanent base than previously. The Federation looks forward to working with Nick for a long time to come.

Taster sessions

Taster sessions are once again on the menu. 2008 marks the fifth year of cooperation between Healthy Hillingdon, the Adult Education Service, Green Spaces and the Federation, and we are proud to present another series of sessions for those who have just started gardening and want to learn some of the basics with people in a similar situation. The joy of these sessions is that they are not held in a classroom but out on site with a practical slant, lead by an experienced tutor. All of these tasters are free and you can attend as many or as few as you like and they are pitched at various times in the week. There is a follow up course over five weeks which has to be paid for but those attending any of the taster sessions can get 10% off the price. Further details will be announced in the next issue.

Would you like to write an article for the next newsletter?

We are especially interested in 200/300 word articles on any aspect of allotment gardening. Perhaps you had a spectacular unexpected success or failure, setting up a new plot, or just some good gardening tips. Whatever you have would be welcome, and if you have some photos as well then that would be an added bonus.

Assistance

The Federation is continuing to pursuing a number of avenues in their efforts to promote gardening in general and allotments in particular. We are looking for anyone who has a special aptitude to growing, or a skill in a particular subject, who is willing to pass this on to small groups of people. If you consider that you can spare some of your time in helping out please get in touch with the Editor.

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