Brandlesholme Community Allotment

Fantastic News...

Brandlesholme Community Allotment is here and just waiting for you to come and grow your own!  It doesn't need to be hard work - a single raised bed isn't at all daunting.  You can get at it from pretty much all sides and you wont be grubbing about on your hands and knees. You might want to grow flowers for your house rather than fruit and veg.  You could plant permanent stuff like rhubarb or raspberries which take very little work and go on from year to year.

The above photo isn't that flattering thanks to rubbish weather but you can see how much it has changed from this scary start:

This might be a hard thing to promote after last summer which was very wet BUT they aren't all like that.  This is somewhere you can get out to on a fine day, maybe have a little bit of exercise and come home with a 'gift' from your little plot.  All pretty much for free.  How often can you do that?

Readers of this might be wondering why all this enthusiasm when I have just this year put my four foot by sixteen foot border back to flowers from veggies.  Here's why I gave up on my veggie strip at home:

1. Cat toilet 
2. Too low - 1 was still working kneeling on the floor
3. Impossible to work the beds as I only had front access
4. Impossible to easily pick the veg for the same reason
5. Not enough space to do everything I would have liked to do
6. Difficult to cloche or net due to its construction of timber-framed 4 x 4 beds

As far as I can see BCA offers ways round all those issues.  Primarily as I can get all round the bed I can easily net them to deter Cats, carrot root fly, cabbage white butterflies et al.  If I can get more than one box I can permanently plant stuff because I will still have room  for what I want.  I can plant enough potatoes to make it worthwhile, 4 x 4 feet isn't enough.  I love spuds!  I might have people I can give seedlings to or give surplus veggies to. The waste always frustrated me doing it at home.

Please get in touch with Donna and lets start a great five-a-day community on our doorstep.

Here's all the info I have so far from Donna Cartwight, a community development worker; this was an email she sent to people who had expressed an interest:

Donna Cartwright
Community Development Worker 

Six Town Housing 
6 Knowsley Place 
Angouleme Way 
Bury 
BL9 0EL 
Tel: 0161 686 8000

Hi

I have your details from the survey we carried out regarding the community allotment.  After much work trying to get it cleared and the raised beds made, we opened the site to residents at the end of October 2012.  Currently the site has 25 raised beds and the Community Payback Team are constructing a summer house and also storage shed.

It is a very large area and we have plans for the following:
Wormery
Compostery
Mini fruit orchard
Habit mound
Greenhouse
Water butts
Junior Gardening club
Wildlife area
Sensory garden
Seating area

However, this is all dependant on the level of support from the community and how well the site is being utilised.  There are many more options for the site and if people would like to develop a section themselves, this is also an option.

We are also looking for a person to oversee the site and liaise with myself with any problems, concerns, or for support in developing the site.  Ideally a small group of residents to assist them would be great.

Whilst it is not the growing season at present, there are winter vegetables that can be grown, and we are keen to get all the beds signed for.  If we have spare beds, there is an option of having additional beds.  Community Payback are happy to create more beds.

Community Payback have offered training and advice sessions every Friday, on site, between 10.00am and 2.00pm.  They can offer advice on what to grow and when.

If you are still interested, please let me know so you can sign up and receive a key and a set of rules.  You will then be free to visit the site whenever you want.

I look forward to hearing from you and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks.

Donna Cartwright

Email: D.Cartwright@sixtownhousing.org

My photo album Garden - The Lotty - 2012