Page 33 - ALG Issue 3 2019

comfrey leaves into a barrel or a similar container with a tap, preferably compressing the comfrey down with
a spade to get the maximum amount into the barrel; then compressing it during fermentation with a weighted lid. Only add a small volume of water, or urine and water, to get the flow going. This method is recommended by Nicky Scott in How to Make and Use Compost (Green Books 2009).
NETTLE TEA PLANT FEED
Cut young nettles to about 5cm
above soil level. Crush the leaves by scrunching the stems in gloved hands or by placing them on a freshly mown lawn and using a mower to chop them. Put the crushed nettles into a bucket; it does not matter if some grass is included with the nettles. Weigh down with a brick and cover with water. Use
about half of a standard bucket full (about one kilogram) of leaves to 10 litres of water. Nitrogen-rich nettles are high in silica. As with comfrey tea, it is better to use a bucket with a lid to contain the smell. Allow to soak for two to four weeks. Stir occasionally. The liquid should be diluted to the colour
of weak tea before being watered onto the plants being fed. There are two approaches to maintaining a supply of feed throughout the summer. Either keep replacing the water as it is used and top up the supply of nettles every two or three months. Or, once the liquid is used, add the sludge to the compost bin, to help keep it moist and as an activator, and start again using the fresh growth that has replaced that which you cut.
Many thanks to Rod Weston for allowing us to use the material from his informative website. If you would also like to read about making feed from dandelions, horsetail and seaweed visit: www.carryoncomposting.com
Obituary
Tony Heeson
It is with a great sense of loss that we announce the death, in June this year, of Tony Heeson, Chair of the National Allotment Society. Tony was also very active in the Yorkshire Region, holding a variety of roles over the years and he will be sorely missed.
All staff and volunteers of the National Allotment Society
I have been with the Yorkshire Allotment Gardeners Federation (now NAS Yorkshire) for many years and more recently with travelling up and down the A1 to Corby a dozen times a year with Tony in his car, I got to know Tony quite well. He was as solid as a rock and very reliable. He has had an interesting life through his engineering background and could spin many a good yarn about events in his life and we could talk for hours over our mutual love of allotments. He was totally dedicated to the improvement of the allotment movement both locally, regionally and nationally and will be greatly missed by many.
Phil Gomersall NAS President
The death of Tony has brought sadness and upset
to many people, not only his family and friends, but those of us who have allotments. His knowledge and foresight have brought changes to the running of the Society which will help it to become a more inclusive force in the promotion and preservation of allotments and ultimately the welfare of its current and future members. His gardening boots were large and one of his legacies will be to find someone to fill them.
I knew Tony through the allotment movement and our love of caravanning. His fund of stories about both were numerous and his love of making things work was his passion. Many times, I've visited him to find the kitchen covered with bits and bobs to sort out the washing machine or the caravan’s water system and if he could fix it, he would....it saved
money.... a true Yorkshireman
and allotmenteer. We'll miss
him.
I wonder whether he has
started work on a new
constitution for the place
he now resides?
John Kirk - Treasurer Yorkshire Region
Allotment and Leisure Gardener 33