The AGM, which was scheduled for Saturday April 4th, will be postponed until later this year. Ideally at a time when we can hold it outdoors, but we do not yet have a rearranged date. This is in response to the latest guidelines on checking the spread of coronavirus.
An excellent time was had by all at the Woodhouse Allotments’ annual social and produce competition yesterday.
As well as a chance to meet and get together with fellow allotment holders, we also ran the traditional informal produce competition, with Trading Hut vouchers as prizes. Thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to our winners, the full list is as follows:
Heaviest pumpkin
Margaret McNamara – pumpkin not formally weighed as too heavy to lift!
Heaviest tomato
Barbara Pountney – 265g
Heaviest onion
Ron Williams – 410g
Heaviest beetroot
Di Hayden – 2,175g
Heaviest potato
Margaret McNamara – 590g
Heaviest courgette/marrow
Christina Erskine – 3,750g
Longest runner bean
Barbara Pountney – 42cm
Longest carrot
Michael Evans – 16cm
Longest parsnip
Michael Evans – 26.5cm
Longest cucumber
Barbara Pountney – 38cm
Tallest sunflower
Marta Matejkova – 278cm
Most unusual fruit/veg
Marta Matejkova – chickpeas
Basket of five fruit/veg varieties
Dimensions (plot 8)
Winning Basket of Five display
We have confirmed dates for the last two working parties of the year and also for our Bonfire social get-together, which is back this year by popular demand.
Working parties
If you have not yet done your two working parties this year, this is your LAST CHANCE to join us, so do make sure you are free to come along on at least one of these dates:
Saturday October 29th, 2.00pm-4.00pm
Sunday November 13th, 12 midday – 2.00pm
Meet at the Trading Hut on both days. The last two working parties of the year are when we ensure all our communal areas are cut back and tidy ready for winter. We should also be able to collect lots of material for our bonfire, of which, more below –
The November working party is being held at an earlier than usual time, as it will segue seamlessly into …
BONFIRE SOCIAL GET-TOGETHER
Sunday November 13th – 2.00pm onwards. An afternoon in which we can eat, drink, and be merry around our communal bonfire as the night draws in. More details nearer the time on the noticeboards.
It was terrific to see so many people at the Summer Social yesterday afternoon, on a slightly chilly day for early September, but at least it was dry. As usual we had a tremendous variety of delicious dishes to try using allotment produce and we owe many thanks to our barbecue chefs (above) for tending the sausages, burgers and vegetable skewers.
More photos and full results from the Produce Competition can be found over in the Members’ area.
I hope everyone has been enjoying the recent spell of warm weather – the fruit and veg certainly seem to be benefiting from some much-needed sun.
This is a reminder that there is a working party this Sunday, August 28th, where we will be working on clearing overgrown parts of the site. Start time is 2.00pm outside the Trading Hut, and we should be finished by 4.00pm. As usual, refreshments will be provided for workers. Please come prepared with stout gloves, and secateurs/shears/strimmers if you have them.
The next four working parties at Woodhouse Allotments will be on the following dates:
• Sunday, June 26th, 2.00pm
• Saturday July 30th, 2.00pm
• Sunday August 28th, 2.00pm
• Friday, September 23rd, 11.00am
We’ll be working on keeping communal areas clear and also clearing overgrowth on vacant plots.
Members should attend at least one of the working parties if they can – the allotment society is run entirely on a voluntary basis and it is the working parties that keep the communal areas on-site trimmed and clear.
Please also note that your tenancy agreement requires attendance at two working parties in each year. Each working party lasts around two hours, refreshments are provided and it’s always a good way to get to know your fellow plotholders as well.
We had a great turnout for the annual barbecue and informal produce competition on Saturday September 20. It was especially good to see some new faces at the party and a wide range of entries in our competition categories.
The results of the competition were as follows. Winners each get a £5 voucher to spend in the Trading Hut before the end of the year.
Heaviest pumpkin
Barbara Pountney, plot 81
Heaviest tomato
Barbara Pountney, plot 81
Heaviest potato
Geoffrey Crabtree, plot 9
Heaviest beetroot
Di Hayden, plot 110
Heaviest Marrow
Rebecca Davies, plot 33
Longest runner bean
Bisi Williams, plot 50b
Longest carrot
Barbara Pountney, plot 81
Longest parsnip
Christina Erskine, plot 25
Best five apples
Di Hayden, plot 110
Best 5 potatoes
Ron Williams, plot 65
Most unusual fruit or veg
Gita Patel, plot 138, for her spray of orache
Best basket of produce
Clare O’Hagan
The event could not have taken place without those who provided food and drink, for which many thanks, and thanks are also due to Howard, Katie and Carrie for organising the day’s schedule and running the barbecue and to Dave Taylor for help with judging.
The Barnet Federation Horticultural Show will take place this year on Saturday August 16th at Rathbone Allotments, Ryalls Court, Oakleigh Rd South. For visitors, this is a chance to see the very best produce grown by allotmenteers throughout the borough of Barnet. It’s also an opportunity for you as a grower to enter your own produce in competition with others in the borough. The show opens to the public at 12 midday on the Saturday and continues through until 5.30pm with the prize presentations starting at 4.00pm.
Show categories cover fruit, vegetables and flowers. Entry forms and full entry details explaining exactly how entries should be presented are attached here for anyone who would like to enter produce for the show and there are also copies available in the Trading Hut.
Note this is a separate event to our own Woodhouse Allotments produce competition and barbecue which will take place in September as usual. The Horticultural Show is a borough-wide competition involving all of the 49 allotment sites across Barnet.