Battening down the hatches, and the cloches …

Clever Andy makes these himself. All it requires is horticultural fleece, flexible water pipe and some bits of batten. He says the cheapest horticultural fleece is to be found in Slovakia, and I believe him, but I also suspect it’s only worth buying it if you were already planning a trip there for some other reason!

Cloches like this are valuable at this time of year (assuming they haven’t been blown away by the gale force winds) as they protect tender seedlings from wind and rain, frost and snow, cats that are looking for a toilet. In a few weeks time, impossible as it may seem now, the caterpillar, grub and worm infestation will begin, and the cloches again keep such annoying pests as caterpillars and cabbage root fly away from your favourite crops.

Also they are nice and lightweight which is important when you’re growing rotational crops that need to be covered, like cauliflower, which should never be grown two years running in the same soil. The point is that Andy’s cloches cost him pennies, while the kind you can buy in shops will definitely cost pounds – such a clever allotment holder!

Labels: allotment-creation, allotment-tips, cauliflower, cloches

Allotment News

Pensioners and allotment holders took part in a defiant demonstration at a Grade II-listed pigeon loft on Tuesday, as they prepared for bailiffs to turn up. The loft, called a cree, is on an allotment site in Ryhope, near Sunderland, and it’s under threat from developers despite being given grade II listed status by English Heritage in 1998. The problem has arisen because the cree is on land whose lease ran out at Midnight on New Year’s Eve. The landowner, Worktalent Ltd, wants to evict the allotment holders, tear down the pigeon loft and redevelop the site but the cree’s owner, 75-year-old Maurice Surtees, and 21 other allotment holders have vowed to save the loft and the surrounding land. Their efforts are supported by local campaign groups and MPs. The allotment holders were offered a £250,000 compensation package to move out, but turned it down unanimously.

Banwell resident demanding their legal right to allotments from Banwell Parish Council are still waiting for a decision. At a meeting before Christmas, villagers said they wanted the parish council to identify a site and while the council is looking at three proposals, the council's chairman Cllr David Elsey, said it needs further legal advice from North Somerset Council and needs to identify land and costs before any decision can be taken.

Picture of a mobile pigeon loft by Jon's pics!

Labels: allotment-creation, allotment-eviction, allotment-news