I would like to start of by wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

This is the time of year when most of us have time to relax and think about the past year and the future. What did we do well and what can we do better next time, that is the one thing about growing vegetables, each year you start with a blank canvas and a new picture is painted on the plot.

What has happened this year off the plot?  AMAS and the Edge Lane Society has won an important and significant victory in fighting off the threat of closure of the site. Let us not deminish the emensity of this, Manchester City Council applied to the government for a Section 8 order for the closure of the site under the Allotments Acts. They used the full backing of the legal department and other sections of the councils staff to make a case for closure, even though the factual evidence was weak.

The objections by the Society and AMAS were made on the grounds that the Council’s case was not proven, that actions the council took after the decision to close Edge Lane site and the information supplied in the ‘Section 8 Application’ was incorrect.

The Government Office of the North West rejected the application on all points. This was a complete vindication of all our statements and arguments.

The second item of good news is that this web site has been shortlisted for a national award for web sites. Much of the work toward this shortlisting was done by the staff of MDDA who sorted out a specification for the site and e-connect who designed the site. Many thanks to them, and to all who contribute to the site and to all you who visit the site.

Looking to the future, a meeting has been arranged between AMAS and the councillors who lead the Leisure Section to open a dialogue to discuss the future of Allotments in Manchester. The meeting will take place in late January and we will report back to the committee and the meeting afterwards.

Back to the plot, as I said at the beginning this is the time to plan the new picture for our plots, so let’s hope that the weather is more favourable this year and potato blight does not visit with the same results as this year.

Once again enjoy your Christmas and New Year but don’t forget about the plans for next year.

This frosty weather certainly makes a difference, when the sun is out you feel like doing some work. The only snag is the frost hasn’t thawed until the afternoon still it’s better than the cold and rain. The water buts have a nice layer of ice on them which can make pretty pictures if you keep on breaking it up.

Still not got round to ordering my seeds, I’m never in when I have enough time. I keep on digging when I can and tidy up or get on with some other job if it is frozen. I have managed to cover the doors forming the manure area with some tin sheets to protect them. I think this week and next week will be very much a case of doing bits and pieces round the cold weather and the other events taking place !

The crops growing in the tunnel are keeping going slowly and I am able to pick some regularly. Outside the winter crops are still continuing to produce and the garlic I planted some weeks ago is pushing it’s nose through the soil.

JOBS TO DO THIS WEEK

1. Continue tidying and digging the last flower bed
2. Burn and dispose of items that are not going to be used

WORK DONE THIS WEEK

Sunday

1. Screw tin sheets onto manure area
2. Start digging flower bed

Monday

1. Top up third leaf bin

Tuesday

1. Continue digging flower bed

Wednesday 

1. Too frosty to dig.

Thursday & Friday 

1. Too frosty to do anything!

Saturday

1. Water tunnel 1 

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK

1. Leeks
2. Carrots
3. Sprouts

So we change overcast, dull, wet days which make you feel miserable and not in the mood to do anything, to sunny days after an over night frost when it is not always possible to do any work, even if the sun makes you feel raring to go! It’s a good thing that I’m on top of a lot of the winter work at the moment.

I might get round to working out my seed order soon! What can be done in this weather? Once the frost is lifted and the ground has dried out,  it will then be possible to carry on preparing areas of soil for next year, but until that happens we are restricted to working off the soil as it is so wet.

This week it will depend on the weather how much I get done on the plot as I have two AMAS meeting which will restrict the time spent on the plot. I have already finished tidying up main brassica bed, clearing the fallen sprout leaves and weeding  so that is another job out of the way.

I have now got to start tidying up the area for the last flower bed which, at present, is part worked and part covered with odds and ends of timber and other items stored in case they are needed - a case of deciding if they will be used or shall I dispose of them!

The leaf bins already need topping up as they have settled somewhat, and the ‘tin sheets’ need screwing onto the doors round the manure area.

Great news

I have just heard that we have been shortlisted for an award on new websites, I will let you know the outcome.

WORK TO DO THIS WEEK

1. Finish tidying brassica bed - done
2. top up leaf bins - Done
3. screw sheets onto manure area
4. dig over and tidy flower bed

WORK DONE THIS WEEK

Sunday

1. Finish clearing old leaves from brassica bed
2. Water tunnel

Monday

1. weed brassica bed

Tuesday

1. too frosty to do much

Wednesday

1. Lovely  day but no work due to morning meeting.

Thursday 

1. Top up leaf bins

Friday

1. ground too frozen to work on today 

Saturay

1. Weed alongside paths 

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK

1. Carrots from tunnel
2. Red cabbage
3. Celery
4. Sprouts

December has come in and let us know, wind, rain and cold, put the three together and you get depressing days that finish early! We must not be put off by negative thoughts as we look through the windows before deciding to venture out.

Yesterday, sunday, I would have thought twice before going to the plot because of the wind and rain but we had a site inspection so off I went. Suprisingly the rain eased and the wind dropped during the inspection and so I stayed and managed to get a little work done - the same happened again today, so the moral is go to the plot and see what can be done. When you get home into the now ‘hot’ house you feel good.

The main jobs that can be completed in this weather are tidying up and clearing away rubbish from those areas that have just been left, but overall the plot begins to look better as a result.

Have you worked out your seed order and sent it off, I haven’t yet even though I’ve been trying to get round to it for some time now. Last week I managed to get quite a number of these little jobs done and out of the way and I feel better for it, as I had been ignoring them for some time.

This week I think it will be the same as the weather is going to continue in the same mould and the early nights seem to affect us all one way or another. When I moved the compost bins and filled two of them up with the part rotted material, I was surprised by the pile of good compost that came out of them. I stacked it in the enlarged manure area because I didn’t think that there would be enough to finish tunnel 2 off, but seeing the pile I have changed my mind and will now complete the job started last week.

Just remember that even in the awfull weather it is still worth going to the plot

Note

I have been asked to advertise the following water containers:-

Lamb Pitts Allotments have a couple of 1000 L liquids containers to dispose of. These are ”Schultz” type cube-shaped containers, made of plastic with a tap at the bottom, and are free-standing in galvanised metal cages.

They £25 to anyone who can arrange to collect them from Lamb Pitts. Please contact myself, John Boyle on 998 4564 or the site manager, Derek Moore, on 286 2355 or mobile 0781 6956913 

JOBS FOR THE WEEK

1. Spread compost in tunnel 2 - done
2. Prune grape vines in tunnels - done
3. Tidy old dead leaves in tunnels - done
4. paint shed if dry
5. dig over area where compost bins stood

WORK DONE THIS WEEK

Sunday

1. tidy old brassica leaves from beds
2. water tunnel 1
3. pull old flowers from sides of paths

Monday

1. Prune grape vines
2. clear old leaves from tunnels
3. tidy planks up
4. Continue pruning shrubs

Tuesday & Wednesday

1. What with the weather and work related items I have not mqnaged to get any thing done 

Thursday

1. Water tunnel 1
2. Spread compost in tunnel 2 

Friday 

1. Prune apple and pear stepovers
2. Start clearing storage area

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK

1. Sprouts
2. cabbage
3. Leeks
4. Parsnips