Firstly, here is the work that the Council has done. It has to be said that it has been more active than it has been for the last seven or eight years:
- Rod on the smaller gate fixed after a vehicle had clipped it and bent it such that the gate could not be opened
- Beech hedge in the car park pruned
- grille over the gulley adjacent to the seat inspected and the layout adjusted in an attempt to stop the individual pieces from popping out (needs to be monitored)
- bay tree next to the seat pruned
- ditch – hollies etc cut back away from the ditch
- privet hedge pruned
- deer fence – four posts replaced
- broken water tap support post near the school fence replaced.
The tasks that were undertaken by plot holders follow. I have only received information from two plot holders with respect to work that they have undertaken. Apologies if I have missed anything. If you let me know of anything else that you have done then I will report it in the next email.
Outside the gate
- Rod ground sockets cleared. Stones and other debris collect in the holes making it difficult to drop the gate rods into them. Needs doing twice a year really
- Section of the conifer outside the gate which had been hanging down (and which looked worse after the strong winds in early January) cut out
- Ground ivy that had spread off the bed cut back. It grows about 12 inches per year and needs doing annually
- Sumacs growing off the bed cut back
- Leaf sweeping.
Car park area
- Wood chip (full of pine needles and hence unlikely to be used by plot holders) laid under the beech hedge and around the seat
- Leaf sweeping
- Removed stones from the gulley that carries rainwater away from our car park and the Village Hall car park. The gulley was completely full of stones. This job needs doing twice a year. Subsequently experienced a number of instances where parts of the grille which covers the gulley “popped out”. Council had a look at it. Needs to be monitored.
Site
- Minor pruning of tulip tree next to plot 29 (JB and neighbour)
- Wood chip (full of pine needles) laid along the deer fence line.
- Remainder of this duff wood chip spread across the SW corner parking area
- Water tank by plot 7a emptied and cleaned (DV-S)
- Water tank by plot 15 emptied and cleaned
- Water tank by plot 22 emptied and cleaned
- Water tanks by plots 24 and 29 dredged (they were emptied and cleaned a couple of years ago)
- Hump next to water tank by plot 29 levelled
- Collections of twigs and small branches lying in the common parts that came down in the strong winds in early and late January
- Leaf sweeping (by anonymous individuals)
- Bonfires ?
Miscellaneous
Conditions in the ditch and surrounding areas in wet winters. I have added a section to the general site information web page on this subject.
The water is due to be turned on for the season on April 2nd, 2024.
The Allotment Gardener Magazine (issue 1 2024) had a useful article on water regulations. I have added a link to it in the Threat to Water Tanks piece that I penned last summer. That item can be accessed via the water tanks section on the general allotment site information web page.
Other people’s plots. Mainly for the benefit of new plot holders, I have added a brief section to the general allotment site information web page on the importance of not assuming that any plot has been abandoned and thinking that it is ok to help yourself to its contents. Always consult the council on the current situation with respect to such a plot in the first instance and seek any necessary permission from them or the current tenant (if there is one).
General Allotment Site Information – BK .. This and That (bkthisandthat.org.uk)
BK .. This and That 