Growing in Capel St. Mary
We publish a monthly newsletter containing both garden and allotment news and advice as part of our service to the community, along with advertising events that are being organised and other notifications and warnings as deemed necessary.
Show Schedules are now available for the Capel St Mary Allotment Association's Annual Show which will take place on the weekend of 2nd & 3rd 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 120 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 40th 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 the Show Secretary.
Onion Sets and Spring Bulbs - Cut down uncultivated areas and spray regrowth with Bio Glyphosate (100ml £1) ready for next season. Scatter slug pellets (835g £2). 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 £9) for those late summer barbecues.
The results for the 2017 Best Kept Allotment are in and the winners list is available on "The Show" page
Hoe weekly to stop weed seeds germinating. Cut down uncultivated areas and spray re-growth with Bio Glyphosate (100ml £1) ready for next season. Scatter slug pellets (845g £2). Apply path weed killer (£1.20 a sachet). Water plants thoroughly, do not waste time & water by indiscriminate spraying. Top-dress containers with horticultural 4mm grit (£5). Feed weekly with Maxicrop (£2.50 ltr) or Phostrogen (160 can £4.30). If going on holiday arrange for a friend to water plants in containers, frames, greenhouse, outdoor tomatoes, marrow's, courgettes & cucumbers. Tell them to pick ALL sweet peas, courgettes, french & runner beans as these will stop producing if left on the plant. Stock up with ‘Restaurant Quality’ lump wood charcoal (12kg £9) for those impromptu barbecues.
Show Schedules are now available for the Capel St Mary Allotment Association's Annual Show which will take place on the weekend of 2nd & 3rd 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 120 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 40th 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.
Summer BBQ 2017 for Members & their guests. Join us from 5.30pm at the Pound Lane Allotments Site on Saturday July 30th. Join in the games, quiz & treasure hunt or just sit back and relax. A three course meal (plus cheese board) will be served from around 7.30pm. Tickets at £8.50 each are available from ‘The Hut’ or Graham info@capelallotments.co.uk. B.Y.O drinks. Teas & Coffee available all night from our ‘pop-up kitchen’. Limited seating will be available so please bring your own. Sample menu on our web site which is subject to change. Tickets are going fast so book now if you would like to join us.
(@’The Hut’ or call Graham)
Following on from the success of the previous two years when the SSALG stand at the Suffolk Show won a Silver Guilt and a Gold Medal, Dennis Smith and Graham Whybrow, from Capel St Mary Allotments, were again asked to grow the plants to fill the raised beds. At a meeting of the SSALG held before Christmas Graham proposed an L shaped design with five red wheelbarrows elevated on a stand-alone plinth around an 8 ‘ high white flowered runner bean wigwam. He also suggested that two 8’ x 4’ photo boards were used in the right hand corner of the plot depicting 160 photographs taken over a 12 month period, which he had been working on for Capel Allotments web site, of vegetables, flowers & fruit at different stages of growth to give a ‘wow’ effect to visitors as they progressed through the flower tent. Ray & Tom Bedwell, Sylvie Bettsworth, Mick Webb & Pam Rushbrook would supply and display the support material, a table, chairs and sun brolly to complete the display & man the stand along with Charles & Brenda Heath, Christine Hussey, Philippa & Mike Brandon & Karen Kenny. Kings Seeds very generously provided the seeds required to grow all the plants need for the display and a box full of seed packets to give out over the two day event.
In mid-March Dennis and Graham began sowing 300 pots of plants in the Polytunnel at Capel. With many successes, and a few failures, these were tended for the next 10 weeks, thinning out & watering, sometimes twice a day. They also had trial runs of radish & cress in egg shells to get the timing right.
Along with the arrival of summer, we are pleased to announce our summer newsletter for 2017 is now available and can be accessed here. Please take time to read this and if you have any comments please feel free to email us using one of the email addresses on our contacts page.
A sample menu for the 2017 40th Anniversary BBQ is now available
