This event celebrated 75 growing seasons at Foster Road allotments. 180 visitors enjoyed a variety of stalls, games, children’s activities, site tours, refreshments and fine weather.

Lucy’s video gives a feel of our sunny, happy day…

@lucygeorgiabrooks

#allotment #allotmentuk #allotments #farming #farmlife #openday #anniversary #family #familydayout

♬ original sound – Lucy Georgia Brooks

Click above to scroll through photos

Click above for photos of the setup, before the event began

The society is very grateful to our many friends and neighbours who helped to create this event. These community groups took part: Trumpington Community Orchard, The Wildlife Trust BCN, Trumpington Local History Group, Trumpington Residents’ Association and Trumpington Stitchers. Thanks also to The Trumpet magazine for printing our advert, and to Cambridge City Council for a grant of £250 towards costs.

Just checking that this gets sent correctly by SendinBlue.

Just for completeness, here’s a pumpkin….

Over the past years we have seen several long dry periods and in the spring when water is needed for newly planted seeds etc. we have often had to resort to carrying water long distances from the troughs dotted around the site.

This water has, using a lot of energy, been treated to make it safe to drink, treatment that is not at all necessary for our flowers and veggies! We should do all we can to reduce the amount of this water we use.

Perhaps the thing that makes most difference is mulching and increasing the amount of organic matter in our soil so that it can hold more water. Personally I use a lot of grass clippings and comfrey for this, particularly on my potatoes. I also use wood chip, initially on paths and then when it rots down a bit I transfer this to my beds before replacing it.

Those of you reading this who have plots in the fenced area and others who have been to the trading hut recently will see that we have also added some extra water storage next to the hut. A 6,000 Litre superbutt! This was installed earlier this year and is now over 1/3 full. It will shortly be connected up to a trough for those with plots in the area to collect water from it. If you have a shed on your plot do think about getting water butt. Also essential if we get very dry weather for blueberries as the hard water in this area contains chalk and they like an acid soil.

Finally, many thanks to those who helped on the day and Ceri for taking the pictures.

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We still need a picture…

As some may know, last year, during an inspection because this disease of bees had been found in the area, one colony was found to have this disease and had to be destroyed. A subsequent inspection provided the all clear but it looks like we will be subject to annual inspections for the foreseeable future as the strain of the disease previously limited to North Cambridge now seems to be endemic in the South of the area.

The good news is that this year’s inspection was clear though there have been warnings of the disease in the area again.

The other good news on the disease front is that the requirement for poultry to be kept under cover because of Avian flu was lifted on the first of April. This has never affected poultry kept on our site but there is a danger of spread, particularly from large intensive farms.

The potential addition of lighting on various local paths is being discussed in Trumpington Residents Association.

What do you think of lighting the path/cycleway which runs from Shelford Road to the busway? It would be good to form a collective view.

The route follows the boundary of our veg plots including the fence/hedge & the unfenced plots. It continues between our chicken area and the community orchard & the hazel platt.

Would lighting be appropriate along this whole route?

If not, where specifically would lighting be appropriate? Which parts should not be lit? Why?

What type of lighting would be appropriate at these locations?

Should any lighting operate throughout the hours of darkness? If not, when should lights be on?

View the route at https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1RxDx_3rCqv0qwCtsN5Ch7Uh1goInv-pR&usp=sharing . Edit the map if you want and comment below

In the foreground, old secondary double glazing is laid on a bed to warm the soil ready for a speculative sowing of salads.

Behind that is a protected early sowing of Crimson-Flowered Broad Beans. Hard frosts were forecast so I used whatever I had to hand to add some protection. A single layer of new fleece would probably be as effective.

I’ve put homemade compost on some of the beds. That’s why they differ in colour.

After a warmer & wetter weather forecast, I removed the protection from the broad beans. The old canes laid diagonally tell me that seed has been sown. Thus I will not absent-mindedly hoe the bed and destroy the crop just as it germinates.

I also had a look under the warming glass. I found that some weeds have germinated, which indicates that the soil is warm enough to make small early sowings of radish and lettuce. Even better, there are some seedlings that might be self-set lettuce, so I will leave them and sow fresh seed in the gaps.

This bed is marked with two parallel lines in preparation for sowing onion sets. I use nylon builder’s line stretched between strong metal stakes to get straight rows.

FAQ: Why sow in boring straight lines? You could grow in pretty circles instead!

A: I plan to use a hoe to control the inevitable weeds, and hoeing is easiest along a straight line. If weeds grow unchecked the crop will get smothered and fail. This is true of almost every annual vegetable, and especially of onions.

Sow your veg seeds in a mandala pattern or inspirational spiral if you want — you can hand-weed this effectively on a small scale. But whatever scale you grow at, you should have a realistic plan for weed control!

The fine mesh was added last week to protect my leeks from Allium Leaf Miner. This fly can be on the wing mating and seeking laying sites throughout March & April. The hungry larvae cause serious damage to onions & leeks. There is a second brood in autumn so crops also need protection then. At other times you want to leave the mesh off to allow more light in, and easier access for weeding and harvesting.

In the foreground are my last parsnips which will need digging up in the next couple of weeks. You can see that they are already growing new leaves. This is the start of the flowering process when the roots lose food value. Get them out and eat them!