Chairman’s Comments

 

After another successful Flower & Produce Show the association’s finance are in a healthy state so at the AGM on October 16th we will be seeking members’ views on how we should use some of it. There are a number of possibilities but I need to get some idea of costs first.

In the meantime I am going to ask the town council to get one of the empty rubbish skips that they provide in October filled with soil improver for the benefit of HRAA members. The cost to the HRAA will be less than £100. At the show I asked one of the judges who is an expert on soil about the relative merits of soil improver as compared with horse manure or cow muck. He stated that soil improver was more beneficial in the long term and it contains Lignin that enables plants to stand up.

The town council’s plans to build a depot at the allotment site are on hold at present while they investigate the possibility of taking over the Octagon building adjacent to the bus station. It is not big enough to meet all their requirements so it is just possible that they will still need a small building on the allotment site. Hopefully I will be able to give an update at the AGM.

We have re-joined the Kings Seeds scheme that offers members at least 40% off retail prices and even more if we place an order in November. Please request a copy of the catalogue from us as soon as possible.

We adapted an idea from Huntingdon for the St Ives in Bloom allotment completion this year. All the plots were considered in a preliminary selection at the beginning of June. Thirty plots were selected by an independent person as suitable to be judged and this occurred a month later. Marks were awarded for Design & Maintenance (max 20), Standard (35), Natural areas (5), Waste prevention (30). This gives a possible total of 90. Small plots (mostly on The Meadows) were considered separately. At the time of writing the names of the winners have not been announced. However, some details are available as follows:-

Small plots Large plots

70+ marks 3 5

60-69 5 8

50- 59 2 2

Under 50 2

3 plotholders occupied 2 plots which is the total comes to 27.

It looks as though there will be a number of empty plots after the 1st October and I am concerned that next summer weeds will spread seeds to neighbouring plots. The worst period will be June and July when the council staff have a number of important commitments so I will be asking for a plan to try and ensure that this problem is minimised.

Over last winter we had quite a lot of snow. At least two polytunnels collapsed and several fruit cages were at serious risk from the weight of snow. If your plot has any of those please do not neglect your plot during the winter.

I hope to see many of you on October 16^th.