Alpaca Poo- Sample Bag Available!

Open this Sunday!

Our team of volunteers are taking a break on Saturdays, until mid January 2018, when we will recommence Saturday opening. Until then we are open every Sunday between 9.30am and 12.30pm for free advice, free tea and cake, seed potato and onion orders and compost etc.

The BBC's Instant Gardener

Friends of Sheffield Botanical Gardens (FOBS) are hosting "A Conversation with Danny Clarke", BBC's Instant Gardener on Sunday 1st October.  He is travelling up from London and will be in conversation with Jill Sinclair, chair of FOBS, and answering questions from the audience on his career and background, talking about his garden design work and also why he thinks so few black people choose horticulture as a career, both here and in the US. This promises to be a very interesting session and is open to everyone

The talk will be held in the Dorothy Fox Education Centre within the Botanical Gardens, Sunday 1st October at 2pm

Members of FOBS free, guests and visitors £3
Alan Houldcroft
(FOBS member)

Has anyone seen these missing squashes from Plot 98?

Message from Stephen Kirby-Smith:-

"Two of my squashes went missing between 7th and 12th September. The pumpkins are still there and only my squashes were taken which are the plants I am most proud of this year. The gate of my allotment is intact, there are no points of forced entry to my allotment. There is only one possible entrance which is safe enough to get in through which is from plot 97.  There is certainly no evidence of it being eaten by an animal.

I have informed the council allotment team and logged it with the police. 

Crime reference K120403-2017"

 

Harvest Event - 24th September 2017- Plot 44 Roscoe Plantation

Please can you help?

"Plot44 is a small entity on the Roscoe Plantation Allotments that is hosting a 'Harvest' event on Sunday 24th September 2017. We would love keen allotment gardeners from around the city to join us and promote home-grown food. We are working with Ignite Imaginations and Regather to put on a family event based on food." 

 

Plot44 are looking for people to "fetch a courgette quiche or a rose hip jam they have made to share with potential visitors?
Anyone interested should call Mark Ramsell on  (0114) 2686353 (Home) or (07907) 606995 (Mobile)"

2018 Seed Potato & Onion Set Order Form

Crosspool Open Gardens - Tickets available from the hut at just £4 each

Countdown - an apt sell

A week on from our last Plant Sale, there's less than a week to go to the next one!

Once again, this is an invitation to all our members to join us at any time during the weekend, between 8.30 and 2.30.  There may or may not be lots to get involved with, but it's helpful to have bodies who can offer assistance to customers - whether it is with plants, compost or cake.  Last weekend there were periods when we were worn to a frazzle, although at other times we were able to huddle together with a warming cuppa.  It was a bit chilly.

Last weekend, sales were good.  Many, many vegetables have been re-homed, and the polytunnel is, once again, looking quite spacious.  Needless to say, though, we are still very happy to receive donations of different seedlings and plants and hope that you will consider this option before you head towards your compost bin!

Many, many thanks to all of you who have supported the Sales so far. Hope to see you next weekend.

Final crucial conundrum?  We remain a mental lot of folks - absolutely no offence intended.

 

Plant Sales - Stripped and ready for action

EARLY KICKOFF

The fun begins on FRIDAY, May 5th,with a delivery of compost!  What else?!  Apparently, this is promised to be a very small delivery, but strong volunteers are sought to help do a bit of pushing and shoving.  To me, to you.  The delivery slot is 9am, but it usually arrives early.  If you can make it for 8.30 you will hopefully be rewarded with a brew and, with any luck, some kind of cake...

 

THE MAIN EVENTS - May 6th and 7th, and May 20th and 21st

Pre-sale, we will be gathering from 8ish to explore the mysteries of the gazebo.  This could be very straightforward.  I'll say no more, but many hands might make lighter work.

 

The sales start at 9.30am and carry on until 2.30pm. We would welcome any help that you could give us on either of the days with:

• chatting with customers, giving encouragement and answering questions - none of us are experts (as if I needed to tell you that!) but buyers often like to throw in the odd query about whether they can grow sprouts on the patio, or plant out their tomatoes before the last snowfall is expected.
• selling - we have a central sales point, which can get a little hectic.  Mental arithmetic is a welcome skill at this one, and no, we do not accept card payment.
• manning (and womanning) the Hut, and its contents.
• fetching and carrying - from bags of compost to precious plants.
• making and serving tea, coffee and cakes.

We welcome all volunteers, for as long as they can stand the excitement, or, indeed, stay standing! The days are long, but its definitely a case of every little bit helps!

DONATIONS?

Yes please. 

Seedlings and full-blown plants will be gratefully received on Friday, or can just be brought along to the Sales.  If no one is around, donations can be left by the hut, or by the entrance to the community plot if the gate is open.  We have never turned away a plant yet, and aim to rehome as many as possible!

Cakes will also be gratefully received. Believe it or not, some customers come primarily for the refreshments, and your showstopper or humble rock bun will be equally welcomed.

 

THANK YOU

Finally - many, many thanks to all of you out there in internet land who have sown and grown and divided and potted and stripped.  The Plant Sales are very much a team/community effort and we are grateful to anyone who has contributed in any way.

 

Hope to see you next weekend!  

Straw Bales

Due to member requests we hope to have bales, and bags, of straw now available for sale.

Spring into life

 

Our lovely, shiny new polytunnel is now starting to fill up with seedlings which are growing away for the first of our May Plant sales on Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th May.  HOWEVER, each weekend we are finding that plenty of them are already flying off the shelves, as members are taking the opportunity to plug the gaps in their own sowings.

 

In case you are still undecided about what you are going to grow this year, or have not been able to sow your own, we currently have available to purchase a wide range of plants, of various sizes (some of them very tiny, but perfectly formed)! Veg, fruit and flowers, too many to list, although maybe I should put in a special mention for sweet peas and chrysanthemums.

 

Each weekend, we are also receiving new donations to the growing collection, so please don't chuck out your surplus seedlings.  Our volunteer team will continue to prick out until the polytunnel is full, and then we can put away our mini dibbers for another season.  Somewhere safe.  Has anyone seen that permanent marker pen?

 

Hope to see you at Fort Compost or Polytunnel Towers soon.

Heavy Duty Clear Polythene

Clear polythene, 1000 gauge, 4m metre wide, now in stock @ £2.40 / linear metre.

Community Polytunnel - Volunteer Watering Rota

 

Over the next eleven weeks we are looking for volunteers to water the community polytunnel. If you are interested in getting involved please contact us and we will add you to the list below:- Wk W/C Monday Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun       1 27 Mar 17 MM MM DK EL PK          2 03 Apr 17 MM EL DK PK GC          3 10 Apr 17 MM EL  DK  PK  GC          4 17 Apr 17 MM EL  DK PK GC          5 24 Apr 17  MM EL DK  PK  GC          6 01 May 17  MM EL  DK PK GC Plant Sale Plant Sale      7 08 May 17  MM EL  DK  PK             8 15 May 17           Plant Sale Plant Sale      9 22 May 17                   10 29 May 17                    11 05 Jun 17

Recycle your used plant pots here

We are currently running short of plant pots (especially 3.5 inch) for our upcoming plant sales. Rather than sending your plant pots to landfill we would like to give them a second chance! (provided they are in good condition)

 

 

New compost delivery

Thanks to all the volunteers who showed off their honed physiques and dare devil pallet dodging skills earlier today. Our compost delivery is always the highlight of our year and, as promised, it was something to tell the grandchildren about in years to come!!

 

 

Magnificant Seven

Sunday March 19th.  Just to let you know that the barmy and brave cyclists will once again be battling to become kings of the hills of Sheffield.

They are expected to sail past the society hut between 10.50am and 11.20am and we will be on the pavement to cheer them onwards and upwards.  You may encounter a little bit of a road closure at that time, but we invite you to join us earlier- to enjoy the spectacle, or later - for all of your gardening needs, but especially compost and growbags.

Organic Vegetable Growing Talk - Monday 13th March

FOBS (Friends of Sheffield Botanical Gardens) have arranged a talk entitled "Growing Vegetables Organically"

The speaker Rob Smith is a locally-based allotment gardener of both local renown and national fame, winner of the BBC 2 Allotment Challenge in 2015. He writes articles for Garden News and a monthly column in Kitchen Garden Magazine.

Entry is free to members of FOBS, visitors £3

The talk takes place on:- Monday next, 13th March at 7.15 in the Education Centre inside the Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Access will only be via the Thompson Road entrance which is off Ecclesall Road.

Plant Sale Dates

Our annual plant sales are due to take place on the following dates.

We aim to raise funds towards further allotment site improvements.

Thanks to Spear and Jackson

Thanks to Spear & Jackson for their kind donation of pallets towards our home made greenhouse staging in our community polytunnel :-) #recycling

Light at the end of the tunnel

Polytunnel
Saturday, February 18th is on the horizon, and we are still hoping to complete the erection of the polytunnel on that date. As far as we know, we have all the necessary components and tools for the job, but there is a very large piece of poly to be hoisted over a pretty tall tunnel, and much anchoring and securing to be done. This promises to be a fun activity for those of you who enjoy problem solving (read between the lines here) and we would welcome the help of any able-bodied volunteers with a spade. Any not-so-able-bodied volunteers are also welcome to show up to throw in helpful advice about how things should have been done... The stove will be burning away in the (warm and toasty) hut, we will gladly provide hot drinks and there is even a rumour of bacon sandwiches, in addition to a few crumbs of cake. Arrivals circa 10.30am.
If you think that you can help, please let us know - but just turn up anyway if you find that you are free at the last moment. If you happen to be passing and cant help, please don't point and laugh.

Obviously the weather may yet make its own contribution to the proceedings. We will post here if the match is postponed.

Fruit
We have recently purchased a bulk order of some more fruit bushes, and these are available for sale immediately.
Blackcurrants and redcurrants; summer and autumn raspberries; green and yellow gooseberries; and blueberries. We also have a small number of trees - apricot and apple (Blenheim orange) and rhubarb.


Seeds
As well as those that we stock in the hut, we are able to order Mr Fothergill seeds, and you can get a discount of 25% on all orders.
Also, we have had a number of requests for mangetout peas, and we have received a bulk order for these.

Want an even better bargain? We are selling off a number of 2016 herb seeds at half price, and various 2016 flower seeds at 10 packets for £1.

Want free seeds? If you are up for it, we also have some veg seeds that we would love you take away - to sow, prick out and return in time for the Plant Sales! Needless to say, we will not be counting them all out and counting them all back, so some may find their way into your own seedling collection. Please let us know if you can help.

Open for business
We are now open on both Saturdays and Sundays, and it has been good to see many of you collecting your potato and onion orders. We still have a few orders awaiting collection, and we also have quantities of potatoes and onions for sale. Different varieties are sold out (or are well on the way to being so), so if you are currently potato-less we recommend that you visit asap!

Potatoes and onions now in stock and on general sale from tomorrow

Big thank you to all our volunteers! :-)

Sooner or tatter - Potato Delivery

Sooner, actually, because, when the chips are down, the potato puns are starting to wear a bit thin. But, the bottom line is:
Its that time of year, again!!!

This Friday, January 20th, marks the arrival of the 2017 allotment new year, along with 20 sacks of spuds, many, many onions, garlic, shallots and a tiny bit of compost. Yeah, right!
Although scheduled for 9am, we anticipate that this year's delivery will probably arrive at around 8.45am, and we are appeeling for half a dozen or so strong and fit individuals to demonstrate some valor by helping us to transfer the contents of the lorry into the hut. With enough people, the operation should be swift, and then the second part of the process can commence.

From 10.00am, we will be weighing bags of potatoes and onions, bundling bamboo canes and generally making merry. We have ordered slightly less stuff this year, so hopefully the task will not take too long, but if you are free to join us between 10am and 12 noon we will be glad to make you welcome, put you to work and put the kettle on. Cake? Hopefully!

Orders should be ready for collection from 11.00am on Saturday, January 21st, and we will, once again, be opening the hut on both Saturday and Sunday mornings until the autumn. If you have not placed an order, we recommend that you shop early to avoid disappointment. As always, as well as welcoming your custom, we are always pleased to catch up with you, and cuppas and cakes are often on the go.

Looking ahead, we would like to complete the polytunnel construction before the growing season is upon us. With this in mind, we have earmarked Saturday February 18th as a possible date to show the tunnel the poly! Weather permitting. A number of you have kindly offered your services, and if you are free to help on this date we would be grateful if you could let us know.

Our annual plant sales will be taking place on May 6th and 7th, and May 20th and 21st. As usual, if you are able to help us with seed sowing, pricking out and growing on, we would be glad to chat with you about what is involved. We will try to coordinate seed varieties so that we have a good spread of veg, and donations of your own excess sowings are always very useful.

Hope to see you this week, or very soon. Don't be ratte. That's shallot.