The months of wet, wet weather may not have dampened our spirits - but they have slowed down work on the skip site at Levenshulme and District Allotments.

We snatched a dry day in November, and the New Year has started with two volunteer weekends in a row. So now that the clearance of the Skip and Recycling site is complete, the next step is to build the path that will lead to the recycling bays.

The finished area will allow waste from allotment plots to be separated into potentially re-usable materials. Green waste can rot down, and branches and bracken be shreaded into mulch; Timber can be re-used for minor repairs to plot sheds and fences.

We hope that an increase in recycling of materials will reduce the use of the skip, and limit the number of times it will need to be emptied.

The next day for action is 3rd February, meeting at 11am at the Skip Site - here marked with a “1″.

The presentation evening took place on the 29 th N0vember at the Oasis Suite, Platt Lane. The evening consisted of an opening address by Jeff Staniforth, head of Leisure Services, at which he announced that he would be leaving the post at the end of the year.

John Steadman, the competition judge, gave his comments on this year’s competition. The overall picture was of of well looked after set of allotments in spite of the very poor growing conditions. He also commented that they could tell what a site would be like by the quantity of green material in the skips as they walked into the site, all green material should be as compost to improve the soil.

Dave Hampsey of the National Vegeetable Society than gave a talk on growing vegetables and in particular potatoes. This year was the worst year for blight since the 1850’s but there is some hope on the horizon with introdustion of the Sarpo varieties which grow through the infection which only affects the lower leaves. He finished off by answering questions.

The evening then progressed to the presentation of the trophies and certificates won in the annual competition by the Lord Mayor, Glynn Evans

HDM PERPETUAL CHALLANGE CUP                          M Horton

H SHARPE PERPETUAL CHALLANGE CUP                V Murray and A Alaimo

ALDERMAN HILL CHALLANGE CUP                             R Hughes

NOEL TIMPSON CHALLANGE CUP                                P Dudley

COUNCILLOR RODGERS CUP                                           Broadhurst Park Allotments

DAVID TEAL TROPHY                                                         J & C Richards

MARGRET TAYLOR CUP                                                    R Hughes

JACK BENNET ROSE BOWL                                              J Richards

JIM BROWN MEMORIAL AWARD                                  G Bird

COUNCILLOR HUGH LEE CUP                                        Crumpsall & Cheetham

After the last of the presentations the enjoyable evening finished with a buffet provided by the council.

This is the time when the crops are finishing and the plot is starting to clear ready for digging. Once an area is cleared the soil is then dug over and either covered with manure or a green manure is sown.

The sweetcorn is finished in one bed so I have cut the tops down to let me get to the squash below. The carrots are out of the ground and the whole area has been dug over. The runner beans are finished and have been removed and so has the beetroot.

The brassica bed is nearly empty and will soon be cleared, ready for digging over.

This is the fourth show held by the society, and it is held on the site in the open air. The weather this year was just a little damp, but it in no way upset the show. The afternoon is a social event as well as a show, with a barbeque to help the event along.

The exhibits are staged on tables alongside the sites roadway with the car parking area having tables for food and two barbeques.

A large bonfire at the side of the car park warmed the area up and was a distraction to the steady rain, but the whole event gave off an enjoyable feeling which was not affected by the rain.
The trophies were presented by our own Sue Roberts.

The annual show for the society is held in the nearby community centre and is a good show. The quality of the entries is good and the range of exhibits is a lot larger than most other shows.

There is a lot more fruit entered than in the other shows that I have visited, and a larger variety of vegetables.

This is a large hall and the three tables for staging, run the length of the hall and there is very little empty space on them. The poor weather, this summer, made it’s presence felt in the shortage of entries in some classes but was made up by larger numbers in the unusual classes.

The best in show was a plate of three red onions entered by Bob and Kate,and it made a nice change from the usual winning class.