www.stradbroke.org.uk
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May 2014
No.402
An Award Winning SAGA! Against all the odds The Stradbroke Allotments, Orchard and Wildflower Meadow has won the Greenest County Award. In a nail biting finale Roger Turkington, Peter Smith and Helen Pleasance attended the ceremony at Snape Maltings and came away with the top prize. What makes it particularly special is not just that it was nominated for the short list by an expert panel but the actual winner was chosen by a public vote on the internet, it shows how popular the scheme has been and the appreciation for the work that the Stradbroke Charitable Trust and volunteers do in the village. The whole scheme has been a lot of hard work but well worth while and will just get better and better as things mature. On the 2nd August the Stradbroke Allotment and Gardeners' Association are having an open day, it is your chance to come and have a look around the allotments and see what is grown and chat with allotment holders, there will also be lots of wild flowers to be seen in the meadow areas by then and the new landscaping around the pond at the top of the site should have started to settled in. We hope to be doing some pond dipping, a wildlife walk around the site, refreshments and a plant and cake stall, you maybe even interested in putting your name down for a plot. Another date for your diary is the Cake and Plant stall on Saturday 10th May from 9.00am-11.30am, please come along to support us at our usual position on the drive between Foulshams and the Wilby Road. As mentioned the village trust has improved the access to the pond at the top of the field, you can know get right down to the water safely to view the pond life, it is an incredible asset for the site and a real benefit to wildlife. Work on the allotments this year has got going early, especially compared to last year, it is worth remembering that we can still get a frost into May so take care if you are planting out tender veg and don't forget to earth up your potato shoots, this will also make the plants more productive. If you are preparing the ground ready for beans (climbing or French), incorporate a good amount of well rotted manure, digging a deep hole to 30cm and filling with manure will encourage good roots as beans are very thirsty plants, they shouldn't be allowed to dry out when they are in flower so mulching after planting helps to retain the moisture. If you are thinking of growing asparagus you will need a nice light soil, in this area we are 'blessed' with a rather heavy clay so it is best to use raise beds and bring in some good top soil, you can also improve their chances by planting the crowns on a raised mound with a sprinkling of grit under each plant. Don't harvest the asparagus in it's first year to build up the strength of the plant. The weather has been very nice and hopefully we will have a little rain in the next few weeks, the swifts have arrived and the skylarks are in full song, make the most of this beautiful time of year by getting out into your garden or for a stroll around the award winning Stradbroke Allotments. Luke Heydon