Page 59 - ALG Issue 2 2019
P. 59

 Welcome to our new members...
Harpole Old Folks Gardening Club Mill Allotment Holders Association Sawley Junior School
Welton Le Marsh Allotment Society Wheatfields Allotment Group Kettering Borough Council
6 Individual Members
    Leicester compost demonstration site gets a new home
The new compost demonstration site at Stokes Wood Allotments in Leicester was on course to be completed, ready for an official opening to celebrate Compost Awareness Week on the 5th May. The site aims to promote composting
to gardeners, allotment plotholders and schools. The demonstration plot is situated next to the main building and houses a wide range of compost bins suitable for use when home composting, including Blackwell bins available through Council Schemes, tumbler
bins including a large Mantis, a Rowlinson bee-hive bin suitable for a smaller garden, Hotbins, Green Johana, and a Jora food composter as well as a range
of wormeries. There will also
be a section on making plant and compost-based liquid feed including aerated compost tea. The new Rowlinson Beehive composter was kindly donated by GardenSite.
There will also be a section on making plant and compost- based liquid feed including aerated compost tea
The site has been registered for: • T23: Aerobic composting and associated prior treatment
• T26: Treatment of kitchen waste in a wormery
• U11: Spreading waste to benefit non-agricultural land
• U12: Using mulch
There are two Reception bins at the entrance for green waste from the allotment plots and four or five working pallet bins for hot composting the waste. Three of the other bins were started in February; a Hotbin, and 220 litre and 330 litre bins, available from Get Composting under the Leicestershire and Leicester City Council scheme, using sprout stalks and leeks left in one of the Reception bins by plotholders, together with a little catering waste from the café.
More details at www.carryoncomposting.com
          For further information please contact ARDAA Chairman, Mark Slater on 07773 758156 or email: mark.slater@araa. org.uk.
 Donated low-maintenance astro-turf completes the smart front area of the plot. The site was nominated by the local shopping centre for a community Christmas present of £500 - the money purchased a new shed to house all the essentials for the Academy. Desks were created from old metal table frames and donated pallets and wooden crates. Staging for the plants was given by the Freecycle community; pea gravel, sand and recycled slabs were donated by a local builders
and community project partners, GF Tomlinson.
The first class in the Growing Academy was delivered on 26th January 2019 and places were immediately filled. Since then, every Wednesday and Saturday all sessions have been filled and plotholders now regularly deliver homemade cakes for the learners!
Following features on local BBC TV and Radio, enthusiastic plotholders have been joined by interested members from the local community to learn about all aspects of growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, as well as how to make use of free or recycled materials. Uptake of the sessions has been incredible and the seeds the students sow are being nurtured into seedling plants, which will be sold through the allotment shop, raising funds for continued site developments and improvements. So, what is the recipe for this success?
“Positive Community Partnerships,” suggested Julia, and: “Fun, frivolity, caring and sharing,” said Elaine. “Open your gates, open your hearts and share what you know. The next generation is behind us, the older generation is in front of us so learn from everyone.”
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 59











































































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