Page 64 - ALG Issue 2 20202

Southern
Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Hampshire
REPRESENTATIVE
Mrs Jenny Crawford
0845 013 0335 southernregionrep@gmail.com
MENTOR
Paul Neary
Southern
0845 313 8422 pneary.nas@gmail.com
ROYAL JERSEY AGRICULTURE & HORTICULTURE SOCIETY
FJ Ahier Country Gardens, Jersey
We became members of NAS in 2019, and as new members we thought we would introduce ourselves. We are the F J Ahier Country Gardens in Jersey, the largest island in the Channel Islands. The Country Gardens belong to the Royal Jersey Agriculture & Horticulture Society and are in the centre of the Island in the parish of St Lawrence. There are 61 plots on the site; the Society has owned the site since 1955 when it was bequeathed by a former member of the Society. The field was let for agriculture use and grazing.
In 2008, with a growing interest
in growing your own produce, the Society decided to apply for planning permission to create allotments on the site. In 2009 permission was granted, applications for plots were received from members of the Society, and
very quickly a waiting list was formed. The site was laid out in the spring and the country Gardens were officially opened by the Governor of the Island in September 2009.
The site is made up of 40 small plots measuring 75sq metres and 21 large plots measuring150sq metres. All the plots are let to Society members and their families. Currently the Society has a waiting list of 10 members wanting a plot. Turnover is very low.
The 61 plots are within a rabbit fenced area with access gates for each plot. Plotholders are able to drive around the perimeter of the site and park adjacent to their own plot. Water is supplied from a borehole filling a large storage tank, topped up with water harvested from the roof of an adjacent building.
Last year we created two community seating areas and two wildflower gardens, and an area left wild for wildlife as part of the Island’s ‘Go Wild for Wildlife’ initiative, leaving areas around fields to make connecting corridors
for wildlife. The site has two boundary hedges planted by the Society in 2009 using native species to support nesting birds and wildlife. We have a recycling area where we encourage plotholders to leave unwanted plants or other items to take or exchange. Unfortunately,
due to planning restrictions, sheds are currently not permitted.
The Horticulture Committee of the Society manages the site with the day- to-day management completed by a subcommittee made up of plotholders.
The subcommittee carry out monthly plot checks and offer advice and growing tips. A monthly newsletter is also produced and is sent out by email to all plotholders giving society news,
All the plots are let to Society members and their families. Currently the Society has a waiting list of 10 members wanting a plot. Turnover is very low
growing tips and advice for cultivating your plot.
The site maintenance is completed by one of the plotholders, who holds a Lantra City and Guilds qualification, which we found interesting to read as the NAS are promoting this qualification.
This year we entered the site in the Natural Jersey Garden Competition, which also organises the regional classes for Britain in Bloom. The site was entered in the Allotment Class. We were delighted for the second year to be awarded a Gold and the Best Allotment site on the Island out of four sites entered.
There is a wonderful community
feel on the site with plotholders
getting together to carry out regular improvements. Plotholders can often be seen helping each other swapping ideas and sharing tools. This autumn we are planning a daffodil planting weekend,
64 Allotment and Leisure Gardener
Welcome to our new members...
Barton Lane Allotment Society
East Hanney Parish Council Lymington & Pennington Town Council Old Windsor Allotment Association Park Community School
5 Individual Memberships