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Newsletter - September 2019

29 August 2019

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CAPEL ALLOTMENTS ASSOCIATION'S

GUIDE TO GARDENING ~ SEPTEMBER

E-mail info@capelallotments.co.uk 


Cut down uncultivated areas and spray regrowth with Bio Glyphosate (100ml £1) ready for next season. Scatter slug pellets (835g £2.50). Water plants thoroughly in dry weather, do not waste time & water by indiscriminate spraying. Feed containers weekly with Maxicrop liquid feed (£2.50ltr) . Stock up with lumpwood charcoal (12kg now only £10) for those late summer barbecues.

VEG PLOT :- Get started on your winter digging. Plant spring cabbage & Japanese onion sets which mature in June (sorry we will not be offering these for sale at the hut) . Sow hardy salad onions, red cabbage & parsley also lettuce & carrots to be covered with a cloche in October. Start digging up your late potatoes before it gets too wet. 25kg Potato sacks available at 40p each and veg/onion bags 30p.   

FRUIT :- Apply grease bands @£4.50 or fruit tree grease @£4.50 a 200g tub now. Pick soft fruit & tie in new shoots. Remove fruited canes & feed with potash. Prune apples, pears, peach, plum & damsons.Order new plants, try Autumn raspberries which are very prolific & don’t need protecting from the birds.

GREENHOUSE :- Remove shading. Take cuttings of shrubs, heather's, geraniums & fuchsias. Insert into open sandy compost (potting grit £5, Compost £5) in pots (from 5p). Full size rigid trays @ £1.70 & half size flexi's @ 10p are available. Control aphids with a r.t.u Insect Spray (£3). Feed tomato, cucumber, pepper & aubergine's plants weekly with tomato feed (£2.50ltr.). 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 or spring onions thinly in large pots and keep watered for a winter crop.

FLOWERS :-Plant spring flowering bulbs in pots (compost £5, grit £5) 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 (20kg £10) Plant Wallflowers, Sweet Williams, Polyanthus and Pansy's by the 20th October while the soil is still warm. This will allow the plants to develop a strong root system before Winter. Control insects with Bio Sprayday (30ml £7.50). Mulch borders with chipped bark (£6)or peat (£9). Divide & transplant rock plants. Prepare heather beds by digging in peat & bone meal (5kg £4.50).

LAWNS:- Re-seed worn areas (grass seed £4 per kg.). Aerate & scarify. Apply a dressing of sharp sand (£2 a bag), an autumn feed , 5kg treats 70sq mtrs (£5.50), a selective weed killer  and to control moss, lawn sand, 5kg treats 70sq mtrs (£2.50) or spray with an Iron Sulphate solution of 30g per litre of water per 5sqm of lawn (£1.50p for 1kg.). 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

ENTER NOW - ‘The 2019 FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW’

Show Schedules are now available for the Capel St Mary Allotment Association's Annual Show which will take place on the weekend of 7th & 8th September in the Village Hall. Entries from non-members are welcome to what is one of the Region's best-supported Flower & Produce Shows. Once again, the Show will feature over 130 classes including produce, fruit, handicraft, cookery, photography, mammoth, novelty and children's classes. All sections are open for anyone to enter except the Capel Residents classes that are only open to those who grow flowers and produce in Capel. There is a Fruit section with separate classes for Apples and Pears, Blackberries, Raspberries and Plums. The Flower Arrangement classes will test creative skills and visitors to the Show always enjoy looking at many colourful exhibits. The Photography section is very popular and there are 4 classes, so early planning is advisable. The Cookery classes include some old favourites and jars of jam and preserves. Why not get the children started on the many different options .This year's Capel Allotments Association Annual Show is the 42nd  to be held, making it one of the longest established Shows from around the Region. Admission is free to members of the public on both days from 11am. Show Schedules are available from the "Hut" at the Association's Allotment Site in Pound Lane, Capel, or from Show Secretary Wendy Russell .

MEMBERSHIP - You can join now @ £5 per annum and take advantage of our money saving seed schemes.

“THE HUT” - "THE HUT" is open 10-12 noon Saturdays throughout September to the end of October EXCLUDING 7th  September - SHOW  WEEKEND .

SAVE ££££££££’s - AUTUMN SEED SCHEME - NSALGseed and our own potato seed order forms will be with you soon. If you regularly buy vegetable and flower seeds from us you will know that these schemes can bring you huge savings on normal retail prices. Seed orders can now be placed on line.  POTATO & FRUIT orders must be in by the 15TH OCT. SEEDS orders by the 5TH NOV will help your allotments association. For more details please contact Phil .

ROTOVATOR AND CULTIVATOR HIRE - Available for hire for on site use at £10 for the 1st two hours. To hire this equipment please give Dennis as much notice as possible.For any matters relating to the site please contact Dennis.

PLOTS AVAILABLE - Half plots are available at £16 per annum. So if you live in or around Capel & fancy a go at ‘Growing Your Own’ please contact Dennis at site.manager@capelallotments.co.uk.


BBQ 2019

Thanks to all our guests for supporting our 2019 BBQ & taking part in the competitions & entertainments including the Treasure Hunt, 5 teams braved the persistent rain to track down the treasure. The Quiz looked back 50years to the 1st Moon landing and other events in or before our youth and more recently in the last year. The ‘Charity Grand Draw’, raised another £100 for good causes thanks to your generosity. ‘The Best Dressed Table’, always colourful and so difficult to decide the winner, thanks to every one of you who took time to add an element of sophistication to the evening. The Games including the ‘BIGGEST’ Bagatelle in the World’ had to be hastily brought inside under cover & the ‘Racing Pigs’ organised by our ‘Pig Master’ Dennis, once again caused much excitement & encouragement  as we all cheered on the winner & the tail ender at the same time. Well done to you all for taking part and congratulation’s to the winners. The refurbished ‘Scarecrow Tavern’ Horse Box looked brilliant & more than ever of you took advantage of our excellent ridiculously low priced Draft Ale & Wine. A huge thankyou to all our Chefs for created some sumptuous dishes & everyone who poured so much time & effort into creating another memorable event. And yes as mentioned above it RAINED ALL NIGHT.