Our associaition decided to become members of the County Durham Foundation earlier this year who recently helped us to secure a £700 grant from Northumbria Water to install a perminant water supplier to the allotment.
Beautiful Durham Award Winners 2009
After one year on site the team were please to hear that they had received an Award of Merit from the Beautiful Durham 2009 judges.
Welcome
If you are interested in renting an allotment plot currently (£15.00 per year) at Church Vale or need more tenancy information please contact the allotment association on 0781 8557576 and ask for Ian
Membership
FULL MEMBERSHIP (PLOT HOLDERS ONLY)
Fully membership of Church Vale Allotment Association is limited to plot holders only. There is no annual membership fee but all members are required to pay £2.00 per month for 2009 season.
The current annual rent for individual plot holders is £15.00 per year payable to Pittington Parish Council. www.pittington.org.uk
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Well wishes including individual sponsers or group sponsers can join the association and would be offered associate member status. There is no charge but a donation of £5.00 would be welcomed and used to fullfill the aims of the association be it cultivation, regeneration or wildlife conservation as defined in our constitution June 08
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
The Association aims to bulk purchase garden sundries from large trade suppliers and we therefore expect to benefit from lower purchase costs. Associate Members will be able to buy sundries such as seeds, slug pellets etc from the Association and we expect to pass on these cost savings where possible. Any profits made will be used towards the fullfillment of the Associations aims as defined in our constitute June 08.
Site Plan
Contact Us
If you wish to have more information on the regeneration of Church Vale Allotments and plans for attracting more wildlife to the site please contact Ian Jobling Church Vale Allotment Association via e-mail or telephone
e-mail: ianjobling@btinternet.com
tel: 0781 8557576
Wildlife
The Church Vale allotment site backs onto a large wooded area. So far this year we have see Hawks, Owls, Woodpeckers and Pheasant’s. We hope to dedicate a plot of land toward the back right of the site leading down towards the woods as a wildlife conservation area.
We are planning to strim the grass down a little and implement some path ways. The site will be planted up with wild flowers and grasses. Who knows maybe a small hide in the future for bird watching.
The association is looking to secure some funding to buy some nest boxes that can be put into the woods to attact wild birds. Keep looking on the website as we will be posting some images of the widlife we spot down on the plot.
Images
May 08
August 6th 2008
Geordie and John are ahead of the game. They will be pulling spuds next week. Last year the guys lost 50% of there crop to cabbage root fly but this year they put lime in the hole before planting and around the plants afterwards. They are looking great at the moment and only one plant has been lost. Its been a very dry May and this could be helping.
Ian only took on the plot 3 weeks ago (end of May 08). The land was 6ft under but some hard work with the strimmer annd a spray of gallup has tamed the beast. He has cultivated a small plot and already has some cabbage, leeks and a dozen spuds in. More to follow regarding Ian’s plot in the coming weeks.
May 08
Bill and Joe planted late but crops are growing fast now. Joe likes to chill with a couple of beers. The onions are coming on and the sweetcorn has picked up with the last few days rain. The land looks a bit dry but hopefully soon we will have some water supply on site.
August 6th 08
May 2008
Yes you might think its Kew Gardens but your wrong. Yes it Batman and Robin (yours truely Geordie and John). The polytunnel is bringing their gurkins on great….yep I did say gurkins.
Ian might not have a plot to die for yet but look at his plot at home. The boy’s in business!
Look at the quality of those crops! Carrots in pots as well!
Our members
Meet the team:
Our team consists of:
Retired Policeman, Product Design Consultant, Bicycle Build/Repair Specialist, Ofsted Inspector, Decorator, Nurse, Bank Clerk, plus a number of senior retired professional cabbage growers. We all have two thing in common:
1. We want to enjoy the outdoor life, mix with new people and enjoy the crack about growing fruit and veg. Why not get in touch!
2. Retire and spend time on the plot with our family and friends……but dont tell the boss just yet!
Its now mid August 08 and we have many new members. Kevin our resident painter and decorator has took a plot on and made great progress. In two weeks he has cleared the site and ploughed the ground. He has made a garden bench and learning quickly about allotment life. A challenger for the leek of the year I think!
Christine and son have joined the group and they are getting to grips with the land.
Aisling and her two sons are on board and brings along her Irish charm to the team. She attended the first meeting and starting talking about wine, warm summer evenings and BBQ’s on the plot. Sounds great!
Dave and his family and going great guns now. Beans in….Cabbage in………job done. Dave goes straight to the plot after work at Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operation in Newcastle where he is an expert bick builder.
Scott has really got stuck in as well. His plot was covered in brambles but out came the axe and all got done quickly. If you want to know about Fruit he is your man.
John and Geordies plot has done well this year. No major problems to report. In particular the greyhound cabbage and potatoes have done well. The warm wet weather has helped everything to grow well. Runner beans will be picked mid August.
Ian has adopted the no dig raised bed solution. Lets see how it goes……will plots holders follow his idea!
His cabbage is looks good.
Sorry that’s Geordies and John’s stuff.
This is my plot. (Ian) Cabbages to die for……..yes…comfrey tea please.
look at this beetroot. I only set the seeds away 1st week of July. Our soil is full of stones and bricks so drainage is not a problem. In fact we can’t keep the soil wet. This is great however for root crops and onions. They dont need much water at all. I am however helping my daughter Anna to grow our pumpkin for the Pittington School competition. Its needs a few pints of water per day.
Talk about compost bins. I managed to get some old timber off cuts and convert it into a compost bin. Muck is hard to come by at the moment. Our local famers are holding onto it because of the cost of fertiliser.
