@skgas winter 2012-13

Winter 2012–13

1

@SKGASThe Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter

Winter 2012–13

From the chairmanWell, that’s it. Another year over and what a year it has been. I can’t remember a year like it for the rain. All the seasons seemed delayed this year, in part due to late frosts and the rest of the time, due to rain.

I’m also a beekeeper and know people around the country who have had such a bad time of it, they have had little or no honey this year and had to feed their bees to keep them alive.

Most of us have had dirtier plots than normal and it is quite understandable. That is why your committee and stewards have cut people a lot of slack this year and not been passing out many dirty plot notices.

However, some people do take liberties. There are those among us – no names, no pack drill – who have done nothing and allowed their weeds to invade their neighbours’ plots. This has been the source of most of the complaints your stewards have dealt with this year. Take note, because this will not be the case in 2013.

As of the new year, we will be enforcing dirty plot notices strictly and you’re going to need a very good reason if your plot is dirty.

Stewards are not going to allow dirty plots to spoil the enjoyment of others, either. If a dirty plot needs to be cleared, a steward will see the work is undertaken and the member will be charged for that work. The rate is yet to be agreed, but it will be at least minimum wage plus the cost of any consumables, such as petrol, strimmer cord, etc.

The society’s rules already cover the charging of fees for those who do not clear their plot on eviction, so my advice to those who have a genuine reason for not being able to attend their plot is to contact their steward as soon as possible and explain the situation to them.

They may even offer to help you out, because sometimes we all need a helping hand.

I would also take this opportunity to remind all members – not just those with pristine plots – that you are indeed members of a society.

Being part of a society means that you benefit in a number of ways, chiefly that:

• your rents are far lower than a council-run site;

• members gain access to high-quality discounted garden items and free manure and woodchips (when available);

• the people who facilitate this and any other works on your sites care about those sites, because they are members themselves and do it voluntarily;

• those volunteers meet monthly to make sure you are able to enjoy your plot with the minimum of hassle.

With membership comes some responsibility. Over the past two years, we have regularly asked our members to participate more in the running of the sites. To date, the response has been woeful.

We all have busy lives, but through being a member, you have already made an undertaking to help with the running of your site/society. Honestly – check the rules – and you will see that obligation is quite clear.

We really are all in this together – that’s why this is a society. If you don’t want to take part, I suggest you reconsider your membership and go where nobody expects you to pitch in. Otherwise it’s going to mean putting your hand in your pocket to meet the cost of doing what should be done by volunteers.

Please look for the form with your renewal and put down how you can help us to help you get more out of being a member.

Pádraig Floyd

The Seven Kings and Goodmayes Allotment Society newsletter

2

Allotment Festival, Sunday 2nd September 2012Once again, the Society held a successful annual festival at the Goodmayes site, thanks to the hard work of Sue Cunningham, Paul Dye and a dedicated group of volunteer helpers.

Luckily, the rain stayed away and we had over 600 paying entrants. With children admitted free, there must have been close to 1,000 visitors, hopefully taking home a good impression of our society. Some may have been inspired to want an allotment of their own, which is part of what the day is about.

The allotment produce stall, the tea and cake marquee, ice cream and strawberry stalls were all busy throughout the afternoon. Many thanks to all the members who manned the various stalls or worked on the gate - the afternoon could not run without you, or those who worked on the Saturday to collect tables and chairs, put up the marquees, strimmed and tidied, and of course took it all down again at the end of Sunday.

Early arrivals view the plots Setting up the produce stall

Eastbury Concert Band

Strawberries and cream The crowds enjoy the entertainment

Upstreet Morris Dancers

Winter 2012–13

3

Festival vegetable competition 2012 - resultsClass A: one large single vegetable1st - John Mackin (Chinese pumpkin)2nd - John Mackin (Cabbage)3rd - John Mackin (Pumpkin)

Class B: five of the same vegetable or salad item1st - Matthew Oliver (Onions)2nd - John Hale (Sweetcorn)3rd - Karnail Banwait (Elephant garlic)

Class C: three or more different varieties of fuit, vegetable or salad items.

1st= Ed Oliver/Sandhya Chanana2nd - John and Madonna Lang3rd - Brian Sexton Above and below: Competition entries

John Mackin: Class A clean sweep

Tea and cakes, before it got really busy

Scarecrow competitionentries

Visitors join in with the dancing


�

On 6th October 2012, several members of the society committee, aided by qualified chemical sprayer Matthew Oliver, treated growing patches of Japanese knotweed at both Wards Road sites with a professional grade glyphosate solution, Roundup Pro Biactive. The weed should now die back and will be cut and burned on site. Some re-growth is likely in Spring 2013 and this will be sprayed probably in May before it gets too tall.

As this weed is very persistent, further autumn and spring treatments may be necessary.

A separate smaller patch of knotweed has previously been identified and treated at Vicarage Lane South.

Getting rid of this weed by spraying is the Society’s only viable option, as the alternative – digging out contaminated soil, which then has to be disposed of as controlled waste – would be

Japanese Knotweed on our sites

Tall stems of knotweed in flower.

On September 20th several allotment holders and their friends visited Brogdale. John Barber organised this trip for SKGAS members (the second allotment outing this year!) to coincide with the Brogdale Apple Festival. John very kindly offered to hire and drive a minbus for us all to travel together. The journey and the visit were first class and we were lucky with the weather. I had never been to Brogdale before and would certainly recommend it. In addition to the informative guided tours of the fruit orchards there was apple tasting of so many varieties it was difficult to choose which ones to buy. For £2.50 we could buy as many varieties as we could squeeze into the plastic bag! A real bargain and delicious! There were apple trees and shrubs for sale together with herbs and perrenial plants. Various talks were available throughout the day and a craft market offered so many things to taste. While most of us took a packed lunch there were plenty of food stalls to choose from.

It was also a great social opportunity to spend some time with fellow allotment holders without

SKGAS Trip to Brogdale Home of the National Fruit Collection

the pressure of needing to work the plot. John has said he would be happy to organise a return trip next year, maybe for the apples or the earlier cherry festival. I will certainly be joining the queue! Please let him know if you are interested.I think I can speak for us all in thanking John for organising the trip and for all his extra effort in driving the mini bus. Many thanks.

Sue Cunningham

too expensive, too disruptive to existing plots, and too big a drain on society members’ time and energy.

If you find knotweed on any of our sites, please inform a site steward or committee member immediately

Winter 2012–13

�

raffle prizes were sold, but many of you were very generous and gave large donations. In fact, we collected a fantastic £410!, and received a congratulatory certificate from Macmillan.

Several members kindly gave help on the day and in preparation for the event (you know who you are!!) raising tents; putting up bunting; moving straw bales; setting up seating; serving tea, coffee, juice and cake.

It was a great success and good fun. I would like to thank you all for coming along to raise money for a wonderful charity and hope that you will come along again in 2013, watch out for the notices!

Marian Hogg

SKGAS First Macmillan Coffee MorningOur first Macmillan Coffee Morning was held on Sunday 30 September 2012. If you aren’t aware, Macmillan Cancer Support run the “World’s Biggest Coffee Morning” annually to raise funds and promote awareness of the support they provide to cancer patients and their families. So, via notices posted at the various sites, you were invited to come along to Goodmayes between 11a.m. and 1p.m., with the added request to bring cake along to sell.

How many would answer the invitation? I should have known you would do us proud.So many of you came with family, friends and brought lots of lovely cake. A piece of cake and a drink were priced at £1 and tickets for the

Book reviewJoy Larkcom - Just vegetating: a memoir.

Frances Lincoln. 2012. £18.99 ISBN 978 0 7112 2935 8

Probably no-one has done as much to increase the range of vegetables grown in Britain as Joy Larkcom. Though not the most prolific garden writer, nor the best known, Joy Larkcom’s writing is based on practical experience complemented by her keen interest in other’s gardening practice.

Studying horticulture at Wye College gave a strong gardening background. So did running an experimental market garden at her Suffolk home, Montrose Farm. This was the test ground for many ideas. Unlike some garden journalists Joy Larkcom writes from practical experience and not by recycling others ideas.

One of the great experiences of Joy’s life was her ”Grand Vegetable Tour” in 1975 when with her husband and two children she took a camper van and caravan round Europe. In the course of visiting ten countries she found many unusual varieties, often hidden from view on peasant holdings. Several, notably chicories and endives, are now mainstream in UK gardens and supermarkets. Her tour helped develop interest in unusual seeds, taken up by the Henry Doubleday Resarch Organisation (now Garden Organic) which

campaigns to save rare and distinctive types.

A second key experience came from her interests in oriental vegetables. Joy Larkcom toured China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan looking at what people grew and their gardening techniques, finding many varieties little known in the West and developing admiration for the ingenious cultivation methods employed. Her book

Oriental Vegetables (1991) remains unsurpassed and helped promote these crops in Europe.

Joy Larkcom understands the problems of limited space. She developed ideas for potagers (decorative vegetable gardens) and wrote two excellent guides Vegetables for small gardens (Hamlyn 1995) and Salads for small gardens (Hamlyn 1995).

Now living in the west of Ireland Joy Larkcom and her husband are coping well with the demands of a different growing climate. This collection of her writings shows something of her breadth of knowledge and keen enthusiasm. It is well worth reading.

Roger Backhouse


�

Society businessPathsRecently there has been a case where a path has been blocked by debris from a plot. This is an obvious hazard, so please remember to keep the paths around your plot clear and free from weeds and long grass (Byelaw 9a).

AGM venueDue to the closure of the British Legion club in Durban Road, the society is hoping to book the Parkside Community Centre for our 2013 AGM. Further details will be sent.

Viewing the newsletter onlineThis newsletter, along with the previous two editions, is available to view on-screen in colour at www.issuu.com/skgas

We would like as many members as possible to view future newsletters online to save printing and postage costs which have dramatically increased recently. If we do not have your email address, please email your details to [email protected]

The issuu website generates an email message with the subject line ‘Someone has shared a publication with you’ when we use it to alert members of a newsletter - so don’t confuse it with yet another spammer!

Security at GoodmayesMartin Hughes (plot 97b) has kindly volunteered to be our co-ordinator for contacting the Goodmayes Safer Neighbourhoods Team to report thefts or vandalism at the Goodmayes site. Martin’s mobile number is 07581 116227. You can contact the police youself but please let Martin know your plot number and what you have reported.

ShedsIt has come to the attention of the committee that there are some sheds

that do not conform to society rules. According to Byelaw 16(vi) ‘The use of recycled doors, windows, sheet metal or wood’ is not allowed. Sheds should not be erected without approval from the society committee – this is to ensure that outsize sheds and ‘shanty’ structures do not appear on our sites. Shed application forms are available from either trading hut or site stewards.

Waiting listWaiting lists for all our sites continue to grow, which is good news for the health of our society and reflects the continued wider interest in allotment gardening. The other side of this coin is that it does mean existing members have a greater responsibility to cultivate their plots and actually grow some vegetables, as there is a ready supply of new members wanting an allotment. When there are lots of grassy, unkept, but paid-for plots visible from the street it is hard for the committee to explain to prospective members why they have to wait for one – so if you want to keep your plot, make sure you work it in 2013.

BlightMany members lost potato and tomato crops to blight this year, largely due to the damp conditions. For next year, our trading huts will be stocking Bordeaux mixture which can be used to prevent blight. Members also have a role to play by disposing of blighted material correctly so that the spores do not spread. One way is to put the material in black bin bags and leave it to ‘cook’ in the sun. Please avoid burning blighted material while bonfires are banned from June-September.

Vicarage Lane Play ParkThis will be on the northern part of Vicarage Lane North site, next to Benton Road. The Play Park has raised £210,000 so far, almost enough to proceed with the multi use games area and new entry. The project has planning permission and a draft lease from the Council. Further fundraising is on-going.

Winter 2012–13

�

Obituary – Pearl MowerOver the years the Society has lost many members, but no loss has been so keenly felt throughout SKGAS as that of Pearl Mower who died of cancer earlier this year. Always keen on gardening since she was a child Pearl acquired an allotment in the 1990’s, joined the committee soon after and then took on the role of membership secretary when she retired from the health service.

Born in Guildford where her father was a skilled engineer and keen model maker, Pearl trained as a nurse, working at the Middlesex Hospital, in Cardiff and at the London Chest Hospital before qualifying as a midwife and working in the maternity unit of King George Hospital, Newbury Park.

Pearl always kept the membership records of nearly 300 members immaculately. When the Society acquired a computer Pearl undertook training and managed the transition from a card index to a fully computerised system. Paul Dye, as chairman, recalls Pearl would keep him regularly informed about members owing rent, either by phone or in person. Her meticulous attention to compiling by hand nearly 300 rent notices was legendary.

Onerous though this job was Pearl did far more for the Society. She regularly banked all the takings from both trading huts and maintained the rota for Vicarage Lane, attending almost every Sunday morning.

Pearl worked closely with Paul Dye to order supplies of seeds, potatoes, fertilisers, composts and sundry other items making trips to trips to Decco’s Wholesalers to stock up. During the two year fight against Council plans to sell off our sites Pearl played an active part in the campaign, attending many protests and meetings at the Town Hall.

It is no exaggeration to say that Pearl held the Society’s adminstration together in what was at times a difficult period in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Pearl gave up her plot just a couple of years ago, but even then maintained a link with the Society by continuing to serve in the Vicarage Lane Trading Hut.

Besides the allotments Pearl was an active member of the Royal College of Midwives and later of the local Retired NHS Staff group. Pearl was always fond of music and went to many classical concerts.

Her funeral was well attended by Society members particularly from Vicarage Lane South where she had a plot until recently. Perhaps few members know how much Pearl really contributed to the Society but those who worked with Pearl realised that without her diligence and care the Society would have faced severe difficulties. Pearl will be sadly missed.

Roger Backhouse

Society business (continued)

The trustees met on the 7th November to confirm the next steps, to create a new entrance off Benton Road – which should also benefit the allotments, putting in a small car park plus new fencing to the south securing the allotments though there will be an access gate for the allotment holders.

There is a draft lease for the site with provision for SKGAS to relinquish its lease on this part of the site which is not currently

in use. There will remain a water supply through the site to the allotments with a new meter installed near the allotment shed three years ago so that the allotment supply can be separately metered.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’ve any questions at this stage.

Roger BackhouseVicarage Lane Play Park Company Secretary


�

Thank you cornerThe Society is run by volunteers and help from all members is welcomed as it helps things to run smoothly and keeps down the cost of our plots. If you know of somebody who is due the Society’s thanks, or have an article or item for a future newsletter, please contact the Secretary, [email protected]

Special thanks to:

• George Beckford for collecting festival chairs and tables in his van;

Seasonal eating from the plot - Leek and potato soupI often make this soup - in my household it seems to be a marker of the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. For me, such contact with the turning of the seasons is one of the joys of having an allotment and growing my own vegetables.

Recipe from Delia Smith, freely available on the internet so I hope she won’t mind it being reproduced here.

Ingredients:4 large leeks1 medium onion, chopped small1 medium to large potato1 oz (25 g) butter1.5 pints (850 ml) stock or water10 fl oz (275 ml) milksalt and freshly milled black pepper

To serve:1 tablespoon crème fraiche or double cream1.5 tablespoons snipped fresh chives or chopped fresh parsley.

Method: Begin by trimming the leeks, discarding the tough outer layer.

Now split them in half lengthways and slice them quite finely, then wash them thoroughly in two or three changes of water.

Drain well. In a large, thick-based saucepan, gently melt the butter, then add the leeks, onions and potatoes, stirring them all round with a wooden spoon so they get a nice coating

of butter. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and let the vegetables sweat over a very low heat for about 15 minutes.

After that, add the stock and milk, bring to simmering point, cover and let the soup simmer very gently for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft – if you have the heat too high the milk in it may cause it to boil over.

Now you can put the whole lot into a blender – leave it to cool a little first – and blend to a purée. If you have to blend the soup in batches, make sure you have a bowl to hand to put the first batch into.

Now return the soup to the saucepan and reheat gently, tasting to check the seasoning. Add a swirl of cream or crème fraîche before serving and sprinkle with freshly snipped chives or parsley.

• Matthew Oliver for spraying knotweed at Wards Road South and North;

• all the members who helped at the allotment festival, too many to mention individually but the festival could not run without them;

• John Barber for organising a minibus trip to Brogdale apple festival;

• all those who contributed articles for this newsletter, especially Roger Backhouse.

@skgas winter 2012-13

Documents