Page 56 - ALG Issue 3 2022

Southern
Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight
REPRESENTATIVE
Mike Cantillon
07742 391364 mike.cantillon.nas@btinternet.com
Calls to 0845 numbers cost 3p (ex VAT) per minute plus your telephone company’s access charge
MENTOR
Paul Neary
Southern
0845 313 8422 pneary.nas@gmail.com
Welcome to our new members...
3 Individuals
1 Landowner
Sherborne St John Parish Council Thatcham Town Council
Upper Rissington Parish Council
Southern Region Jottings
April showers bring May flowers – or so they say. In the south, there was little evidence of the April showers
– it was more like scorched earth! The cry from mid-March, from sites fortunate to have mains water, was “When is the water going to be turned on?” Even those allotmenteers who had the foresight to harvest water over the winter were finding that supplies were running low. The series of recently produced leaflets created by the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project, referred to in ALG Issue 4 of 2021, couldn’t have been produced
at a better time. Despite the unusual weather patterns, with the ingenuity of allotmenteers, or maybe just “good luck”, plants seem to be flourishing.
When I meet many new allotmenteers it is encouraging to see their eagerness to make a success of their recently gained plots. That said, I regularly hear of sites with plots that have not been cultivated for some years, yet there appears to
be a reluctance to re-allocate them to someone on the waiting list who would welcome the opportunity to “grow their own”. I’m sure many of those “in control” don’t fully appreciate the value of allotments to individuals, not only from providing food but just as importantly for one’s wellbeing.
For many allotmenteers and gardeners, there is a tradition to visit horticultural shows that are within reasonable travelling distance; hence it is no surprise that I ventured out of the Southern Region and visited the RHS
Spring Festival at Malvern in early May. The NAS stand, featuring a “Vegetable Allotment Garden” was exceptional and appeared to attract a constant stream of visitors. The frequent comment heard between those viewing the excellence of the produce, was that they wished they could grow produce that looked just as good!
Following the dearth of shows over the past two years, organisers seem to be reviewing the economies and planning scaled down events. The Southern Region plan to have a stand at the New Forest and Hampshire County Show
in late July but the other main show
we attended – the Royal County of Berkshire Show – is not likely to be held for the foreseeable future due to the loss it made in 2019.
Happy and successful growing!
Mike Cantillon,
Regional Representative
56 Allotment and Leisure Gardener