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Newsletter - October 2023

29 September 2023

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CAPEL ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION'S - GUIDE TO GARDENING ~ OCTOBER

Cut down uncultivated areas and spray regrowth with Bio Glyphosate ready for next season. Water plants thoroughly in dry weather; do not waste time and water by indiscriminate spraying. Feed containers weekly with Maxicrop liquid feed. Stock up with lumpwood charcoal for those late summer barbecues.

VEG PLOT :- Get started on your winter digging. Plant spring cabbage and Japanese onion sets which mature in June. Sow hardy salad onions, red cabbage and parsley also lettuce and carrots to be covered with a cloche in October. Start digging up your late potatoes before it gets too wet. 25kg Potato sacks and veg/onion bags are available from the Hut. 

FRUIT :- Apply grease bands or fruit tree grease now. Pick soft fruit and tie in new shoots. Remove fruited canes and feed with potash. Prune apples, pears, peach, plum and damsons. Order new plants; perhaps try Autumn raspberries which are very prolific and don’t need protecting from the birds.

GREENHOUSE :- Remove shading. Take cuttings of shrubs, heathers, geraniums and fuchsias. Insert into open sandy compost in a mix of potting grit and compost in pots. Full size rigid trays and half size flexi trays are available from the Hut. Control aphids with a r.t.u Insect Spray. Feed tomato, cucumber, pepper and aubergine plants weekly with tomato feed. Remove yellowing leaves from tomato plants to allow fruit to ripen. Plant up Strawberry runners in 3 or 4 ltr. pots for an early crop in the Spring. Sow carrots, beetroot, raddish and spring onions thinly in large pots and keep watered for a winter crop.

FLOWERS :- Plant spring flowering bulbs in pots (using compost/grit) or outside as soon as space is available. Remove summer bedding when damaged by frost and put in your compost bin. Dig flower beds and feed with chicken pellets. Plant Wallflowers, Sweet Williams, Polyanthus and Pansies by the middle of October while the soil is still warm. This will allow the plants to develop a strong root system before Winter. Control predatory insects with Bio Sprayday. Mulch borders. Divide and transplant rock plants. Prepare heather beds by digging in peat and bone meal.

LAWNS:- Re-seed worn areas. Aerate and scarify. Apply a dressing of sharp sand, an autumn feed with a selective weed killer. To control moss, apply lawn sand or spray with an Iron Sulphate solution of 30g per litre of water per 5sqm of lawn. Mow with blades set at medium height.

All horticultural items are available to our members from a range of quality products provided to meet basic gardening needs.

ALLOTMENT NEWS

 VILLAGE SHOW - Many thanks to everyone involved in our September Village Show - including Exhibitors, Judges, Stewards, Visitors and Volunteers who helped to make this year's Show - our 45th - such a huge success. We received around 600 entries from 80 entrants, young and old and near and far. A number of the Judges were hugely impressed by the general quality of exhibits. Once again, this was a real achievement. Planning for our 46th annual show in 2024 begins now!

For a full list of the Show Trophy winners and runners up plus photos please visit our web site. https://www.capelallotments.co.uk

SAVE £££££££s - AUTUMN SEED SCHEME - NSALG seeds (provided by Kings Seeds) and our own potato seed order forms have now been distributed to members. If you regularly buy vegetable and flower seeds from us you will know that our schemes can bring you huge savings on normal retail prices. Seed orders can also be placed on line. POTATO ORDERS NEED TO BE PLACED BY 20 OCTOBER and FRUIT ORDERS MUST BE PLACED BY 31 OCTOBER FOR AN AUTUMN DELIVERY. Seed orders placed by 17 NOVEMBER will help your allotments association. For more details please contact Phil Hickley.

pICNIc ON THE PLOT - Thanks to the 80 people who came along to the Pound Lane Allotment Site on the afternoon and evening of Saturday 29 July to enjoy our latest 'Picnic on the Plot'. People were able to enjoy a quiz and a number of games. The Scarecrow Tavern was also open all evening supplying Real Ale in a Bottle, Wine and a range of soft drinks.

Many thanks to Dennis, Martyn and a host of volunteers for helping to make the event a huge success.

THE HUT - Is open 10 to 12 noon, Saturdays only, through to the end of October. It may be possible to serve members on Sunday mornings too - provided a key-holding member of the Committee is on site. See details on the Hut Noticeboard - Plants and surplus vegetables available throughout the week.

PLOTS - The site is full and we currently have a short waiting list for vacated plots. If you are interested in taking on a plot, please complete the form on our web site to add your name to the waiting list. Should a plot become available the Site Manager will contact you to see if you are still interested.