PLOTS ARE AVAILABLE
We have some very good well tended plots available.
Please contact Gleberoadallotments@aol.com for more information.
Dobies of Devon I have just set up a discount scheme (all private) with Dobies of Devon , seeds at 50% of price, plants and spuds and plants at 15% of list. http://www.dobies.co.uk Set up an account with Dobies, ie add name address etc then use the Order code GD4001C.
Kings Seeds You can of course use the Kings on Line ordering system as well. They have served us well over the years with our traditional seed orders. http://nsalg.kingsseeds.com/
This is a way of expressing views that you wish made public to the rest of allotment owners, as well as to get messages jointly to the Glebe Road Allotment users, concerning up keep of the plots or site.
This is not intending to replace Rock Allotment Soc. web site
You don’t have to read, subscribe or participate. Its up to you.
The plots next to Pigs Passage should be in a good state such that the public get a better impression of the site. To this end we have started tidying up the back of the site closest to Glebe Road. It was over grown and looked a mess. Later this year we will plant blight resistant potatoes. Sarpo Mira .
If you have a plot bordering Pigs Passage ideally it should be kept up to scratch to ensure a good impression of the allotments.
We are also tidying up further plots on the site , plots that have been left for years overgrown and strewn with rubbish. Plot 146 and plot 150.
Jim
Allium Leaf Miner
The second generation of the Allium leaf miner (Phytomyza gymnostoma) is now present. I estimate about 5% of my leeks are infested. Be prepared to find the chocolate coloured puparia in the leek stems when you lift them this winter.
John Peregrine
Having lost all leaks last year to this horrible pest, its not good news
Jim
There is plenty of Scab (black spots on fruit and leaves) on the allotment on apples and pears, No fungicides are currently being produced for use by home gardeners on trees from which the fruit will be consumed.
Gardeners in possession of the myclobutanil-containing products Systhane Fungus Fighter or Fungus Fighter Disease Control, which have been withdrawn and are no longer sold, can still use the products against labelled diseases (including apple scab and pear scab on edible crops) until the 30th November 2016. After this time it is no longer legal to use the products and any remaining stocks should be disposed of safely.
Jim Rutherford.
Hi, I have taken an excerpt from the HAP for Cambridgeshire. We are notable by our absence. Some of the ideas, coppicing Hazel seem so easy to put into place and everyone loves the nuts as evidenced by the furore when a hazel nut tree was cut down on the boundary. Plus the poles would be useful.
more info re allotments at http://www.cpbiodiversity.org.uk/downloads
3.2 Example Projects
The Allotment Societies in Cambridge, with the help of the Greenways Project and Sustainable City initiatives have been particularly proactive in using and promoting their allotments for biodiversity.
Coppice plots were established at Vinery Road, Cambridge in 1999 and are now a valuable source of materials for the plot holders.
At Burnside allotments, Cambridge a management plan has been produced, wildlife areas have been created and perimeter hedges maintained. A hazel coppice has been created for producing peasticks.
The Histon Road allotment site has also established a hazel coppice area. Plot holders have created a wildlife area including a pond, which is now a breeding site for amphibians. In line with its designation as a ‘Wildlife Corridor’, some disused plots on Empty Common are now a wildlife area. This consists of a mosaic of long grass, hedgerow and mature scrub.
At Trumpington allotments, a 20 pole allotment has been strimmed and raked to establish a chalk grassland sward. This area also contains a well-used bee hive. Management of the sites’ hedges is being undertaken by the allotment society under the guidance of the City Greenways Project.
The Pen Close allotments in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge support an area of scrub and long grass. There are small patches of long grass between plots for the benefit of the established Common Lizard population.
There is a community recycling scheme of wood chippings for composting at Burnside and Nuffield Road allotments, Cambridge
Allium Leaf Miner
The second generation of the Allium leaf miner (Phytomyza gymnostoma) is now present. I estimate about 5% of my leeks are infested. Be prepared to find the chocolate coloured puparia in the leek stems when you lift them this winter.
John Peregrine
Having lost all leaks last year to this horrible pest, its not good news
Jim
Late Blight of Potatoes (and Tomato)
Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is the most important fungal disease that attacks potatoes in the UK. Tops are killed prematurely causing yield losses, the severity of such losses being dependent on the stage at which growth is arrested. If the disease is allowed to progress serious losses occur when the tubers become infected and rot during storage.
Symptoms
The first signs of infection (about July) appear as brown blotches on the edges of the leaves. The leaves can dry and curl although in moist conditions a white fungal growth can occur around the edges. The stems will also turn brown and in advanced caes the plant will collapse.
Control
Cultural
Select blight resistant varieties for planting.
Ensure that rows are well earthed-up early in the season.
Destroy the tops by cutting them a few inches above ground level. This should be done approximately two weeks before anticipated lifting.
Remove infected haulms and tubers. Destroy but do not place on compost heaps.
Store tubers in dry cool conditions.
Chemical
There are many fungicidal products approved for use by professional potato growers. These products are not authorised for use by amateur gardeners.
John Peregrine
Going round the site there is plenty of blight both in potatoes and tomatoes . Most of it untreated. For potatoes, I have planted Sarpo potatoes for the last 7 years. they are blight resistant, high yielding, good flavour and store well. I have also seen uneffected Cara flourishing along side blight riddled others.
Jim Rutherford.
SARPO
The Sarvari Research Trust (SRT) is the organisation that breeds new, disease resistant varieties of potato that are traded by Sarpo Potatoes Ltd (SPL). At its core is one of the UK’s leading experts
on late blight of potato, Dr David Shaw. The Trust aims to make potato growing globally less dependent on chemical and energy inputs by producing and promoting low-input varieties. Ideally these should be blight and virus resistant, capable of smothering weeds and have natural dormancy that prevents early sprouting in store.
For manure deliveries and brush cutting plots that have become over grown please contact Cliff, 0775 3998546.
For Sheds made to measure, delivered and erected please contact Derek Saunders. Derek has built and errected the shed that the mower is currently kept in. His costs are incredibly good. His contact email is dereksaunders5@btinternet.com
There are 10 people involved in the chicken share with days shares of one or both chicken runs, they produce eggs at about £1 /dozen. despite the odd fox attack the runs work well and anyone or group who want advice on setting up a chicken run. Please ask.
From time to time we have a vacancy for a day in one or other run. Please ask if you want to be considered for this.
Jim
Cambridge Glebe Road Allotments 