Who Can Grow the Biggest

After the success of last years largest pumpkin competition our quest this year is to see who can grow the biggest marrow.Free seeds are now available either from Clive or the trading shed on Sunday mornings.The judging will take place at a social gathering on 20th September when marrow soup(yummy!!)will be available.Please bring along anything you may have made from marrow or squashes (jam,chutney,rum etc.)for a tasting.A trophy will be presented to the winner.

Talk on Organic Gardening

Hello everyone:We are very pleased to announce that Jack Dudley Swale of Spa Hill and the Spa Hill Organic Gardening Group will be talking on organic gardening on Saturday, May 9th at 3.00pm at the Forster Road Allotments Community House.Jack has much experience in this area; he says that "the secret is in the soil". There'll be lots of time for questions and it is free of charge. Coffee and tea will be on sale; proceeds of which will go toward the allotment fund.

Coffee Morning and Seed Swap

Everybody is welcome to come along to the Forster Road allotments Seed Swap and Coffee morning. Bring a long any seeds that you no longer need or want, and add them to the "Seed Swap" table. Then have a rummage through the table to see if there is anything you fancy... you never know what you will find.Tea's, coffee's, cakes and maybe even bacon sandwiches will be available for the duration. Please pop along with your seed (spare seedlings if you have any yet....)There will be no official "charge" for the refreshments, but an honesty box will be available, with all proceeds going to the allotment fund.

Come along on Sunday 5th April to Forster Road Headquarter Building Clock House Road Beckenham. 10am - 1pm

I Do Like Monday's

This is Simba our "Bengal" which is a cross between a domestic cat and a wild Asian Leopard Cat. Simba is three generations away from the wild cat but is a real softy though he has his "mad half hour moments"
I don't know this persons name but rain,snow or shine he(or she)is always there.


As it is now warming up the bees are beginning to be more active.As I took this picture I should really have taken heed of the sign on the entrance as they were buzzing about me a bit. (Sorry Mike and Sue)

No flowers, no bees;No bees, no flowers.Blooming and buzzing,Buzzing and blooming;Married and still in Love.- Mike Garofalo

On Our Way At Last

We were really looking forward to Sunday to finally get some work done on the plot. When we arrived I discovered that I had a puncture and spent the next half hour changing the wheel,not a very good start to the day.The metal pole that Barb is holding I have been trying to remove for the last five years and yesterday finally succeeded as the ground was so wet.

We are trying to level off the part of the plot that tends to get waterlogged in heavy rain and we were able to prepare the bed for our onions.So what started as a rotten day turned out quite productive.Man - despite his artistic pretentions, his sophistication and his many accomplishments - owes his existence to a six- inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains. - Anonymous

A Kipper Month

An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.- Martin Buber

Not much happening at the moment.I went to the allotments this morning just to top up the bird feeders and hang up a peanut ring that my grandchildren gave me.It was their birthdays this week my granddaughter Cassie was five and Rhys was nine.They were both born on February 11th 2000 and 2004.
I went to the garden centre today and bought some onion and shallot sets but heaven knows when the ground will be dry enough to plant them.Barbara and I will be going tomorrow to put up a couple of nest boxes and do a bit of pottering,lets hope that it stays dry.

Trading Shed

It took a supreme effort to get out of a warm bed this morning to go and man the trading shed. I really did not think that we would see anyone but when we arrived Mike was already underway in the site hall giving one of his bee keeping lessons to quite a few people. We did have a few visitors to the shed. Some to pay rents for the next year and I sold a few bags of John Innes and even some slug pellets.

Babara had the good sense to take our stove and stuff to make a hot drink, it really was freezing. Our next time to man the shed is mid May so I hope that it will be a lot warmer then.

"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get" - Mark Twain