Moor Green in Spring

Greetings plotters! Spring's arrived! Blossom is out! Spuds are chitting! I trust you enjoyed your enforced absence from the plot in February. The whole month was so wet and uninspiring that your editor's usual picture gallery comes from early January when it was freezing cold, snowy and alll proper wintery like.

Beautiful eh? And if you poked about here and there there were things growing about the place. And woodpeckers drumming. And rumours of a marmalade competition. So Spring is definitely on its way. And channelling Monty Don - who your editor closely resembles in terms of good looks, wealth and paid staff - here's a list of things you can be doing this month nicked from our good friends at the National Allotment Society .

Allotment Tasks

Even if the soil is frozen or soggy, there’s plenty you can do to prepare for the growing season:

Broad Beans : In mild, well-drained soils, sow broad beans directly under cloches. In wetter areas, sow under cover to avoid leggy growth.

Early Cauliflowers: Start sowing early cauliflowers undercover. These can be a bit tricky in cold months, but with a bit of care, you’ll have healthy seedlings ready for the spring.

Jerusalem Artichokes : Time to plant Jerusalem artichokes in well-prepared soil. They’re hardy and will thrive with a little early attention.

Lift Root Vegetables : If you haven’t already, lift parsnips, swedes, and other root vegetables from last year. This frees up space for the new crops coming in.

Early Potatoes : In colder regions, start early potatoes in pots. In milder climates, plant them under cloches outside to give them a head start.

Tomato Sowing : If conditions are right (i.e., warm and bright enough), now’s a good time to sow early tomato seeds, so they have a head start when spring arrives.

Weed Control : Keep on top of weeds around onions, garlic, and early cabbage. These will thrive better with minimal competition for resources.

Marmalade Competition - Don't Miss it

This is becoming a March institution at Moor Green. Have a go - buy some Seville oranges now and then - after filling the kitchen with lovely smells, sticky surfaces and exploding jars - bring the finished product down on Friday 13th or Saturday 14th. Full instructions below

Scarecrow Competition

Are you thinking of putting a scarecrow on your plot to avoid the devastation of last year? Or just reclothing your current model with stuff you can't even give to a charity shop? If so you can enter our new competition. Not much detail available on the criteria yet but it won't include effectiveness in keeping off pigeons/crows/squirrels or we won't have any entries. Judging will be April/May and results announced either on Bank Holiday Monday 4th May or AGM 9th May. More details to follow.

Seedstore

More positive evidence of Spring - Phil's opening the Seedstore on March 7th! It's well stocked with seed potatoes, onion sets, manure and compost. Open Saturday and Sunday 1.00 - 2.30 for the next couple of months.

Allotment Rules

After several months of badgering, representatives of BDAC*- the body representing all tenants and sites in Brum - managed a meeting with representatives of Birmingham City Council on 26th January . Very long story short - the Council wanted to introduce some rule changes and BDAC are saying we can't agree to that unless you look at the rulebook as a whole - a Rule book that hasn't changed since 2015. So we're now in a process of negotiation. The Council to be fair seem to be reacting favourably to alot of changes proposed by BDAC on behalf of their membership. For example they are happy with our proposals that there should be water harvesting on all plots, new ponds requiring committee approval and no overnight stays on site. We are still arguing about some rules that the Council want to introduce which, for example ban all barbecues on plots, ban all play equipment,fixed or non-fixed, "anywhere on a Plot or on the Site, other than for a permitted and approved event held by the Association", ban gas bottles of any size (even those little camping gaz ones that some plotholders use to make a brew).

Council Officers are clearly - and understandably - driven by the desire to reduce the risk of any liability arising from an accident on a plot or site. The point being made by BDAC on our behalf is that these rules have to be enforceable or they fall into disrepute - and the Council simply isn't resourced to do the job. Realistically the enforcers are the site committee, all volunteers, all with other calls on their time. Requiring them to spend all their time on site telling other plotholders to put out a barbecue, for example, is likely to reduce the number of volunteers.

We'll keep you posted as negotiations continue. Even where we think we have a positive reaction from officers in the allotments section, they have to check with a higher authority and/or Legal Services. One problem is that the BCC officers are currently judge and jury. Your elected members don't seem to have a role in this at all. Given that we're coming up to an election we might need you, dear plotters, to exert a bit of people power by writing to local councillors reminding them that you have a vote and might not take kindly to your needs as plotholders being ignored. Draft email coming up in the next Newsletter....

*Birmingham and District Allotments Cooperative - check out their website if you haven't already - https://bdacallotments.co.uk/

Site Security

The committee has done - and continues to do - an immense amount of working around keeping the site secure. We're also greatly assisted by other volunteers like Rob (wifi and telecomms generally) and Glyn (gate locks) . We should alll be grateful for the work they do and the difference it's making. Main areas of action are

Fence

That new fence on the Holders Lane side seems to be a better deterrent than its knackered predecessor - despite its wonkiness here and there. Entry from that side followed by vandalism and arson used to be a frequent occurrence. Now much less so. We've also planted a line of saplings outside the fence which in time we can turn into a stout hedge. We'll give you an update in about five years. In addition to that we've done some pretty meaty strengthening of the fence running along the bottom of the site alongside the wooded edge of the Rea. Using Heras fencing we've made it a good deal harder for anyone to climb over along a fair piece of the most risky stretch - where there is a footpath immediately outside or nearby.

Cameras

We now have cameras strategically installed at the main gate, borehole car park and elsewhere on site . They give very good pics 24/7 and we have people monitoring the video feeds. We've noticed a reduction in people leaving gates open so they are already having a deterrent effect. In the past couple of months we've identified and reported some flytippers to the Council - the new cameras enable us to get car details, particularly registration plates. The threat of prosecution is a serious deterrent. We've had intruders spotted on camera, challenged and asked to leave. We've also encountered some oddities. If any reader can tell us who might be entering the site at 2 in the morning and leaving an hour later - and in particular why - we'd be delighted to hear. We also have footage of someone repeatedly walking past a camera with an empty bag and then returning with a full bag - when no theft of either shed contents or produce has been reported. This was in November. We're continuing to monitor in case either weird incident is repeated.

Flytipping

We are about to set up a new lockable gate barrier to the area of bays near the main gate where much of the garden waste material is dumped. Some of this is legitimate and agreed but frankly we have little control over who dumps what once someone has managed to get hold of a main gate key. The threat of prosecution is a deterrent, but it would be better to simply prevent people from accessing this area unless we actually know who they are and - if they're not tenants - have given them approval. To make this happen we'll be setting up a registration system. Basically you only get a key to the padlocked barrier if we have your contact details and a signed undertaking not to dump plastic, lumps of leylandii trunk or other unwanted rubbish.

There are also some cases of flytipping by tenants themselves which we're following up. Please report anyone you see doing this - its not fair to the 95% of plotholders who either manage their own compost or take their own rubbish home.

Gate Locks;

The main gate gets a real pounding in terms of usage which is why we invested in an expensive and robust padlock which also gives us keys which cannot be duplicated. Most of the time, thanks to Glyn who keeps an eye on and maintains all the gate padlocks, the padlock works well but occasionally people report difficulty in opening and closing. Some of this is down to bent or worn keys. If you think your key is faulty contact us on madahal.secretary@gmail.com and we'll get it checked. The other problem is people dealing with a sticky lock mechanism by inserting WD40, machine oil, fairy liquid, Campbells mushroom soup*to ease the key in . Please don't - it only makes the problem worse. Your committee is comprised of many regular attendees on site - we'll be on the case very quickly to sort the padlock out

*OK , I may have made the last one up.

Experts Wanted - Hours to Suit Applicant

One positive outcome from the security project is that we've pulled together a team of people who understand and are competent in telecomms, solar power, wifi and climbing trees. We wouldn't have the setup without their skill set and their limited time volunteering - probably a few hours in all - have massively improved our security on site. Similarly we wouldn't be able to manage the Clubhouse without people with an entirely different set of skills keeping the beer (other beverages are available) flowing. It shows once again how crucial volunteers are - especially in areas where a level of professional expertise is much more important than the amount of time available. We have a number of jobs that need a bit of time from a volunteer pro. Can you help in any of the following areas?

• electrician - need someone to tidy up the electrical spaghetti behind the Clubhouse Bar and help us install a single control panel

• plumber - very occasional assistance in maintaining the water supply to the two site toilets

• small business expert. We're thinking of establishing a Moor Green Allotments company limited by guarantee and would like to know the benefits and pitfalls of such a move

• joiner. The bulkstore, seedstore and clubhouse all need repair and maintenance to some degree. This - and the electrician role - is less about doing the work, though completing small jobs would be very welcome. It's more about speccing the jobs properly so we amateurs understand what really needs doing and what we're likely to be in for in terms of costs.

• tractor/jcb driver (especially if you have access to a tractor/JCB). Three or four times a year to tidy up our mounds of leaves, grass cuttings and woodchip near the main gates and behind the Clubhouse

• musicians - we have live entertainment occasionally at the Clubhouse. Do you have a musical offer?

Do we have anyone out there prepared to talk to us about a possible contibution in any of the above areas? No commitment obviously but just a willingness to chat. If so, please contact us on madahal.secretary@gmail.com

Thats all for now people. Enjoy your plotting!