Page 9 - ALG Issue 4 2024

“WIN AN ALLOTMENT SITE!”
SNIPPETS
A competition has been launched with
an unusual prize: two new allotment sites. Charity Green Allotments is offering prizes to groups who can prove they have what it takes to get allotments going in their local area.The charity, founded
in 2022, has a mission to create new not-for-profit private allotment sites.
“We believe this is the first time allotment sites have been offered as competition prizes” says Green Allotments CEO, Dr Deborah Burn. “Waiting lists for allotments are sky high, council rents are rising all the time,and,for many people,
an allotment is years away and out of
their price range. So, we are creating new allotment sites in areas where people want
allotments”, says Deborah.
The charity works by buying land and
matching it with keen locals who want to get growing.The winners are expected
to garden sustainably, putting the “green” into Green Allotments by not using herbicides or pesticides and by gardening with biodiversity in mind.The winners will need to identify suitable land and form
an allotment society to run the site, with full training and support provided by the charity. “We have allotment management specialists at hand ready with tips, training, support and mentoring for the successful groups” says Deborah.“We know from our experiences, as allotment site managers, that the most successful allotment sites are
those run by the community of gardeners themselves.We are excited about meeting the winners and seeing the new allotment sites thrive.”
There are two stages to the competition; the deadline for the first “Expression of Interest Stage” is midnight 30 November 2024.FullTerms & Conditions and
entry forms are available on the Green Allotments website: www.greenallotments. org.uk/competition
Storing Peat-free Composts
Most of us are aware that using peat-free composts can be a bit different to
the peat-based ones many have used
for decades.A difference that can be overlooked is that of storage.
Many peat-free growing media are made with composted materials such as bark
and wood fibre and, like anything that’s composted, they come with their own microbial population.This is mostly a good thing, imparting greater resilience to disease for example, but sometimes with lengthy storage the very same microbes can eat away at the added fertilisers, making them unavailable for plant growth. So always check that you are purchasing fresh stock and if you are in charge of supplies for your allotment society, do remember to rotate your stock and don’t over-purchase.
Catherine Dawson of leading peat-free supplier Melcourt advises that their SylvaGrow range now comes with a date of manufacture so that consumers and stockists alike can more easily keep track of the age of the material. Look out for more on using and storing peat-free composts in a future issue.
MEMBERSHIP
FEE INCREASES
EFFECTIVE
1st JANUARY 2025
After many years without any uplift in annual membership fees, the following fees in the various
categories were approved by members at the
2024 AGM:
• Association Affiliate Fee - £3.50 pa
• Individual Fee - £25 pa
• Landowner - £60 plus VAT pa
• Parish and Town Council - £70 plus VAT pa
• All other Local Authority membership - £100 plus VAT pa
This increase will allow the society to make improvements in our regional networks, continue to offer and improve our range
of valuable membership benefits to the membership.The Management Committee continues to focus efforts on enhanced income streams and cost efficiencies through regular reviews.
Jeff Davies, Treasurer
Allotment and Leisure Gardener | Issue 4 2024 | 9