News.....

Honey
We all now can purchase DELICIOUS Knapmill Way honey!!!  It was available at our bonfire night party- and sold really well.
If  anyone would like some (£4 large jar) contact Mike the Bee Man by email at honey@chezelliott.co.uk

Poly-tunnel meeting
The idea of a  poly tunnel as an allotment purchase to go on the communal area, has been well received.  
A meeting to answer questions and make a decision on the purchase is scheduled for Sunday 11th Nov at 2pm. All welcome.
 
Seed Orders
Seed orders have now been sent off- thank you to all who supported this scheme; it is a win win idea- we get seeds at half price or less, and the allotment gets a small percentage of the final order cost, seeds should arrive in about a month.

Awards
Rachel, plot 13, won best plot on Knapmill! She has been nominated for entry to best in the borough, good luck Rachel.

Our site has also been nominated for best in borough- awards evening is the 13th Nov....fingers crossed.

Free woodchippings....

Dear All

 I am informed that Craig will be in the area on Friday doing tree work. He will have approximately a Transit Tipper load of chippings as well as logs.

 If this will be any use to your allotments or community gardens and you are free on Friday to accept the chippings then please contact Craig direct on the number below.

Kind regards

Katy 

Allotments Officer

Wearside Service Centre

Wearside Road

Ladywell SE13 7EZ

Tel: 020 8314 2277

Mob: 07841 733 776

Fax: 020 8314 5908

Sent: 31 October 2012 13:15

To: greenscene

Subject: free wood chip and logs

Dear Sir / Madam,

My name is Craig Chisholm and I operate a tree surgery company based in Medway, Kent. We will be working in the SE6 area on Friday 2 November and would like to know if you have any allotment sites that would benefit from wood chip / mulch, or logs - delivered free of charge ? 

Best regards,

Craig

www.CraigChisholmTreeSurgeryLtd.com

Tel. 01634 420018 

Company no. 6309412 VAT no. 980850789 UTR no. 57232 03640

Lewisham Self-Managed Allotments Assoc. AGM minutes

Lewisham Self Managed Allotments Association

AGM October 2^nd 2012

Present :

Name	Allotment		Name	Allotment
J. White	St Mildreds		R.  Aldridgge	St Mildreds
M. Taylor	Barmeston		S. Fraser	Firhill Rd South
D. Gibbins	Jim Hurren		G. Richardson	Castillon Road
D. Watkins	Taylors Lane		R. Melluish	Taylors Lane
R. Tomlinson	Chinbrook Meadows		I. Winter	Slaithwaite Rd
P. Taylor	Royal Naval		B. Rogers	Royal Naval
C. Granger	Romborough Gdns		L. Hubbard	Knapmill Way
D. Senner	Knapmill Way		K. Delaney	Lewisham Allotments Officer
S. Brooks	Hurstbourne		M. Kyriakides	Meadow Close
J. Holman	Firhill Rd South		S. Vaughan	Broadmead
P. Walker	Broadmead (Treasurer)		G. Gibson	Trewsbury Rd (Chair)
V. Fairbrass	Blythe Hill (Secretary)		A. Lewis	Blythe Hill

Sites not represented : Ballamore, Blackhorse Road, Clarendon Rise, Hazelbank, Longton Nursery, Priestfield Road, Stanley Street, Kendale, Lee & District

Apologies : Andy Grant, Romborough Gardens

Meeting opened 19.00             Guy Gibson, Chair of the Association welcomed members.

1.     Minutes of AGM 2011 were agreed as a true record and there were no matters arising.

2.     Chair’s report

            2011/2012 had been a poor year as regards weather and harvests. Demand for plots was still             high. The Association will be looking for a new secretary as Valerie will have to retire from             the post as Blythe Hill is no longer self- managed. The Chair offered thanks to Valerie for her             contribution over the last four years. A new constitution has been developed with the             Council and will be presented to the meeting later. The Chair thanked all allotment site             committees for their hard work this year.

3.     Secretary’s report. A written report had been provided for all sites outlining the number of plots rented out this year and the extent of the waiting list.

4.     Treasurer’s report. £70 is currently in the Association’s account and this will need to be topped up by the Council to cover the next year’s outlay

5.     Election of officers. The Chair and Treasurer were re-elected unopposed. It was agreed that Valerie Fairbrass would remain in post until next autumn with the intention that the role be handed over to Denny Senner, Knapmill Way during the spring and summer of 2013.

6.     Association Consitution.

            This was presented to members by the committee who had agreed the details with the             Council and the Legal Department.  Various issues were raised by the meeting :

            If a site is struggling to manage, for whatever reason, then the Chair and Secretary of the             Association will try and assist. The Committee will endeavour to provide some form of             training for site committees to give them confidence to deal with issues as they arise.

            Tenancy agreement – site committees can make local adjustments to this to suit their own             site while remaining within the spirit of the agreement

            If plotholders leave part way through the year they are not entitled to any of their rent back.             This can lead to plotholders hanging on to their plots for longer than is helfpful.

            The Committee recommended acceptance of the Constitution and it was agreed             unanimously           

7.     Water – not all sites have metered water and there was a variety of means by which sites ensured that water bills were covered. It was essential that where water was metered, sites keep a regular eye on the meter. There was a suggestion that water farming could be a useful way of ensuring water was conserved and possibly reduce water rates. If sites wish to impose additional charges on plotholders to cover water they must let the Allotments Officer know of their intention.            

8.     Waiting list. It was essential that all sites use the same procedures for offering plots to those on the waiting list. It was agreed that those offered plots be given two weeks to respond. If they miss that window of opportunity they will remain at the top of the list and the next name will be offered the plot. Sites should ensure that they only offer plots to one person at a time.

9.     Managing untended plots. It is necessary to be firm with all plotholders who are not tending their plot according to the tenancy agreement. Where medical issues are involved then plotholders should be encouraged to use friends/colleagues/other plotholders to maintain the plot.

10.  Any other business

a.     Management agreements should be with sites by the end of October.

b.     Insurance – Hiscox did not require NSLAG membership

c.     Barmeston Road had a crane working overhead during building works. The crane company             are responsible for all issues of health and safety regarding plotholders beneath the crane.

d.     Tenancy agreements do not need to be re-signed each year.

e.     Composting toilets – Trewsbury Road built theirs for £800

Meeting closed 20.25

Polytunnel Meeting 11 November

A meeting to discuss the proposal for a polytunnel on the communal area has been scheduled for Sunday 11 November at 1pm.

Please attend if you are able. If you are unable to attend but wish to contribute you views or ideas on this proposal please feel free to post a comment here send an email or put a comment in the postbox by the site noticeboard.

Reminders:

• Seed orders and cheques should be returned by the end of this month.

• Bonfire next weekend (3/11) from 6pm.

Thanks

Would You Use A Poly-tunnel???

We are looking into building a poly tunnel on the communal area so that all plot-holders could have the opportunity to start seedlings off, grow plants under cover etc.

Plot-holders without a car (to transport seedlings) / greenhouse of their own/ or even, sunny window sills often really struggle to grow the plants that need heat to start them off.

We could also use it to grow surplus plants to sell on at fairs etc that would supplement allotment income and fund future projects / just pay for necessary maintenance.

What do you think???? Be good- if we were to do this- that it be up and running by early spring 2013.

If it does go ahead, we will need volunteers to help with the build......could that be you???

Please let us know your thoughts- either in the postbox, on our blog, or email Denny at denny.senner @yahoo.co.uk

Thank you

BONFIRE SAT NOV 3RD 6pm.

Thanks to all who gave generously to the social fund- food and drink will be provided for our annual Bonfire night celebration-

SO PLEASE COME................  all welcome.

It’s been a difficult year, let’s go out with a bang!!!!

A bonfire (NB actual fire may differ)

(Please note there is no obligation to come, and it is not dependant on donations made or not made.  Everyone is very welcome- and we hope to see as many of you as can make it) 

SEED CATALOGUE

SEED CATALOGUES ARE NOW AVAILABLE – PLEASE COLLECT FROM TOILET

IT’S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BUY YOUR SEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR AT HALF PRICE, AND THERE IS A VERY GOOD SELECTION OF MORE UNUSUAL CROPS AND HERBS,AS WELL AS HERITAGE VARIETIES.

PLEASE HAVE YOUR ORDER IN BY THE END OF OCTOBER- YOU NEED TO COMPLETE AN ORDER FORM, AND MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO ‘KNAPMILL WAY ALLOTMENT ASSOCIATION’ (PLEASE ADD £1 FOR POSTAGE)

SEEDS WILL BE DELIVERED TO DENNY, AND THEN BROUGHT TO SITE, LEFT IN TOILET IN INDIVIDUALLY NAMED PACKETS.  THIS NORMALLY TAKES A COUPLE OF WEEKS.

ASWEL AS SAVING MONEY, A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL ORDER AMOUNT IS CLAIMED BACK FOR THE SITE – SO YOUR SUPPORT OF THIS SCHEME IS MUCH APPRECIATED.

Plot reviews

AUTUMN PLOT REVIEWSIN LINE WITH OUR PRACTICE OF RECENT YEARS, WE WILL BE ASKING VALERIE FAIRBRASS (SELF MANAGED ALLOTMENT SECRETARY) TO VISIT OUR SITE AND ADVISE THE COMMITTEE OF ANY PLOTS WHICH LOOK UNCULTIVATED.
IT HAS BEEN A DIFFICULT YEAR WITH THE WORSE WEATHER SINCE RECORDS BEGAN, HOWEVER WE ARE ALL STILL REQUIRED TO REGULARLY CULTIVATE ( WHICH MEANS TO ACTUALLY PREPARE,PLANT AND MAINTAIN) OUR PLOTS.
PLEASE THINK ABOUT THIS IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING, AND SPEAK TO ONE OF THE COMMITTEE- WE WANT TO HELP IF WE CAN.

August holiday: Contact info

PLEASE NOTE: From 4th to 22nd August,NICK (07515113390), our acting chair, will be the point of contact as other committee members will be away.

IF YOU NEED FURTHER HELP, PLEASE CONTACT
KATY DELANEY(02083142277)
LEWISHAM ALLOTMENT TEAM


Enjoy the summer – see you all soon

Denny and Lynn

(As many people have asked, just to let you all know Allyson (chair) is doing as well as can be expected at the moment, and appreciates all your good wishes)

Bellingham Fair 30 June

Nick is setting up a stall at the Bellingham fair this Saturday (30 June) and needs donations of goods, crops or plants to sell.

Donations can be left on communal area up site.

Thank you.