General News

As with previous years the Allotment Association will be organising full or half loads of manure for delivery early to Mid December. The last ordering date for Plot holders is Sunday 19th November, with all orders through Peter Hunnable or the trading hut.

Full payment is required with the order at £30.50 per full load or £15.50 per half load if you can find someone to share a partial delivery with. If struggling with the latter, the Association may be able to put loads together.

Delivery dates when known will be advertised on the gates or website, and if access is poor to your plot and the delivery has to be made on an access path or road, it must be removed and put to the plot within 7 days of delivery.

A big thank you to Peter for all the co ordination and effort that goes into this.

The annual Melbourne Park Allotment Association plot competition was judged by Margot Turner on 15th July, ably escorted around the site by Steve Withers. Despite the inclement weather requiring some shelter behind Richard's shed half way through,we are now pleased to announce the results.

The judging is split into two categories, an award for those members who have held a plot for less than 18 months, and those more long standing allotmenteers holding plots over 18 months.

It should be said we have had a number of newcomers to the site over the last 12 months and some fantastic results can be seen. It is very easy to be overwhelmed with the daunting prospect of a full plot and as some of the photographs show, some excellent results have been produced.

In the category of newcomers:

The overall winner was Alan Peck, plot 78



in second place Rob Hurst, plot 62



in third place Michelle and Matt, plot 43R



and a highly commended award was offered to Viola Saldavol plot 12R and 25L



In the category for the more experienced allotment plot holder

The Overall Winner was Patrick Tilley 124R



in second place - Project 63 operated by the Association
in third Place - Tony Holbrook, plot 45



Congratulations to the above individuals, and importantly thank you to Margot Turner for offering us her viewpoint and judging the competition.

Certificates and Trophies for the winners and runners up will be presented at the Annual General Meeting on 7th October at the Trading Hut, commencing 10.30 AM. Please put this date in your diary, and for all our other members hope you will come along to help us congratulate the above plot owners.

With the growing season now in full swing, project 63 is awash with green and the number of trugs of vegetables being delivered to our charities is gradually increasing.

The courgettes continue to crop profusely, with four different varieties being grown this year. The Varieties are All green burst, Tondo Chiaro di Pizza, Floridor F1, and Black Beauty. The first early potatoes have now been harvested, and apart from those speared by my fork are looking good.



Three different varieties of squash are being tried, the two new varieties being Rolet and Yellow Scallop, all of which seem to be growing well, and the two raised beds of Mooli, Radish, Chicory, Celtuce, Rocket and Carrots are equally producing for us.

The poly tunnel has three varieties of peppers growing, Italian Long, Arianne and Bell Boy, an assortment of tomatoes, aubergines, and some jalapeno's on the potting bench.



Leeks have been planted out to replace the now harvested Broad beens, with the only disappointment being the french beans, which seemed to be sabotaged by a fleet footed fiend that picked out all the beans shortly after planting. Next door to the leeks we have two different types of Celeriac which seem to be in good heart, the Giant Prague and Asterix F1.

Please don't forget we send to the charity a couple of times a week and if you do view you have excess produce and would wish to make a donation, please get in contact with Karen Lawrence.All and any donations are gratefully received.

There is really no need to travel too far to see a host of wildlife. In fact our gardens and allotments play host to a fantastic array of beasts that are either friendly or foe depending on your viewpoint.

With the temperature this weekend reaching some testing levels, I was caught red handed with camera in hand (ignoring much of the to do list) and hopefully this post shows that there is plenty to be seen.

Around project 63 we have some rogue cornflowers that have made the compost bin their home, but equally attract a range of pollinators, including hover flies. This particular species, a marmalade hoverfly (Espisyrphus Balteratus) plus others are good for the allotment plot holder as they feed on decaying plant matter and aphids.



The second image shows Alfie the Aphid at risk from another variety of hoverfly which I will try and identify. Am not sure of the outcome of this, whether lunch was served, or Alfie made a great escape!

Another keen consumer of aphids is the Ladybird, this particular specimen a 7 spot ladybird, Coccinella Septempnuctata, travelling across one of the potato plant leaves.



Whilst these three characters are friends, the Dock Bug, Coreus Marginatus may not be considered so.

Squashbugs are members of the large Hemiptera order of insects known as true bugs. Within this group there are many families of insects and squashbugs are part of the order Hemiptera which includes their smaller Coreidae sub family.



They obtained their name Squashbug because of their pest status in the United States where some species such as Anasis tristis cause severe damage to squash crops.

In the UK the native species of Squashbugs have less of an impact on crops and rarely obtain pest status despite feeding on fruit and seeds. They have specially adapted mouth parts that they use to pierce plants and animals to extract juices. They are fully winged, have stink glands to ward off predators which have led them also being known as ‘Stink bugs‘.



Finally, a friend that am hoping to see plenty of. The Wildlife area on Project 63 has proved a welcome place for the frogs, and after our friends have 'done their thing', the water has been alive with tadpoles that are now gradually becoming fully fledged adults. I am really hoping that our friends have a major impact on keeping our snails and slugs at bay and will be taking great steps to encourage them.

Whilst it may seem really early to be advertising the Annual General Meeting, we appreciate that it is a date that everyone wishes to remember and participate in view of it's importance in the Association calendar. So to ensure that you can keep the date free, enjoy some refreshments before taking a quick breeze through the years activity on site, please put the 7th October into your diary. For those of you who prefer a more formal invitation, notices are posted at the trading hut as under. We look forward to seeing everyone on the morning.



Annual General Meeting
Saturday 7th October – 10.30
At the Trading Hut

Please be guided that the Melbourne Park Allotment Association will hold it’s Annual General Meeting (A.G.M.) on Saturday 7th October 2017, starting at 10.30. It is an important fixture in the diary, and allows members to catch up with activity from the year, and express a viewpoint. Refreshments will be served prior to commencement. It would be good to see as many of you as possible to support the committee and this event.

The Annual Melbourne Park Allotment Association plot holder competition will be judged on Saturday July 15th. Our Judge for this year is Margot Turner from the Writtle Gardening Club / Society.

There are two categories as usual, a competition for those who have held a plot for less than 18 months, and one for longer term members.

There are only a couple of rules of engagement: Your plot must be clearly identified with your plot number displayed (so we don't have to go squirrelling around finding out which belongs to who) and you must be a paid up Association Member (a very reasonable fee of £2/- per annum).

The accompanying image shows last years award winners, and we wish everyone all the very best come the day.

Food Donation

Project 63, an activity developed by the Melbourne Park Allotment Association is pleased to announce that it will again donate various fruit and vegetables to charitable organisations, which continues to be extremely well received.

Should any one view that they have any excess produce, and would be willing or would consider donating to a worthy charitable cause (causes), please liaise with Karen Lawrence to co-ordinate. (Plot 45, 24, 13 or of course Plot (Project) 63)
Thank you.

It's been a while since the last post to the project 63 site, and despite the 'radio silence' there has been quite a lot taking place. All around the site plots are looking good with all the endeavours of the owners, with splashes of colour and swathes of green as the growing season gets into full swing.

In terms of project 63, decisions have been taken in terms of the crops for this season, and the first trug of vegetables has already been readily accepted on behalf of the homeless, one of the two charitable organisations we plan to support.

Aside of broad beans (which in the main took well and are now cropping) the onions - which don't look that great, and garlic which appears in good shape, an extra bed of strawberries are being cultivated this year (last year one bed used to grow carrots, celtuce and later a small crop of Mooli).



Potatoes were planted over a month ago, and these have now been complimented with several different varieties of courgettes, some which cropped exceptionally well last year, plus a couple of others that we are trying, and a variety of squashes. we have borrowed and idea from Darryl in terms of two pallets locked together to encourage the squashes to grow up and are hoping that we can produce as prolifically as he seems to manage!



Sweet corn is in the cage (having cleared out a veritable forest of weeds), and the poly tunnel plays host to various tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and an assortment of peppers.

The two larger raised beds kindly built by the community payback scheme have been topped up with compost and sewn with various varieties of carrots, Radicchio, Rocket, and in the other Fennel, Celtuce, Mooli, and various different radishes. The beds have been covered over very crudely with some chicken wire so that as far as possible we can avoid any interference, and heavily watered.

The wildlife area is encouraging, looks good thanks to the artistry of Karen's planting, and teaming with wildlife which we hope will mature and provide an army of predators to keep the dreaded slug and snail population under control.



Finally, we have planted several rows of beetroot, parsnips (some of which have struggled) and this year are experimenting with two types of celeriac.

So pretty busy, despite the lack of posts on the website. Please don't forget, if you have additional fruit and vegetables that maybe excess to requirement, to contact Karen or Ray Lawrence if you would like to donate to the two charity organisations we are supporting this year.

Please be guided that the greenhouse that was offered for sale has now been sold.

The Association has been contacted through the web site from a local resident who has 'a 6ft x 4ft aluminium and polycarbonate green house and my wife wants to sell it and do something different with the top of the garden. If anyone is interested in the green house, We would like £30.00 for it.'

'When I take it apart next weekend it will all be cleaned and packed nicely with instructions.

If you want to come see it before I dismantle just give me a call and I will arrange that for you.'

We suggested that we felt someone may well be interested, and if this is the case, the contact details are Rob Haldane and Mobile telephone number 07983 994662

A big thank you to Rob for thinking of the Association.

The trading hut has seen a bit of a face lift over the last few days, with the replacement of the notice board. Over a period of time we have pinned notices to the gate which after a while get blown away, and it was decided that a central point for information and notices for members should be addressed. Ian Moore kindly crafted the new board, which was recently erected, for which the association is very grateful.

Notices will still be pinned to the Highfield Road entrance gate so that we can catch plotholders who may not use Hobart Close as an access point, and in future all notices at the Hobart Close end of the site will be placed on the new board.

I can’t quite believe that almost a year has passed since my one and only Baldrick moment, (never to be repeated I may add) and a cunning plan was hatched for the Association to take on plot 63 from the charity Essex Youth Build, who sadly had to relinquish the site.

That very early laissez faire approach of how difficult can it possibly be, replaced with weeks and weeks of digging, weeding, and then endless watering, proved that tending what initially seemed to be a reasonably irrelevant sized piece of land, which gradually turned into a veritable jungle of growth, required not inconsiderable attention and effort.



On the allotment website and in most good books, it advises the new plot holder to carefully consider a plan of attack in terms of how to tackle the task in hand, and whilst planning was never one of my strengths, including cunning plans as it turns out, several initial sketches were drawn in terms of ideas for the plot which measures some 80 x 30ft.

Several initial iterations of the plot were drawn, with a view of where to place compost bins, a shed, pathways, together with an initial plan of attack in terms of what to grow, and where.

If you have been following the project 63 blog on the web site, it will be noticable that over a period of 10 months, the plot has gradually transformed into something that vaguely mirrors the original drawings, with a shed, decking, wildlife area, compost bins and marked pathways all being added.



Some of the original ideas have been slightly modified; the area directly between the poly tunnel and shed being targeted as an area for dwarf fruits, which has now been shelved on the basis that the site has a community orchard already, and that perhaps a more productive use of the area would be raised beds for vegetable production.

Those original plans remain crucial; they provided a template to tackle the initial development of the site, and as we now approach a second growing season, these diagrams are being used to identify where we grew everything last year so that we can rotate our crops for year 2, and so forth.

Equally over the winter months, the time is being used to tidy up the plot, fix various borders, or dig and place perimeter boarding, plus essential tasks to ensure that growing season can be approached without too much 'spade work' to coin a phrase, as most of the effort already put in.



Finishing touches to the wildlife feature include the provision of a fence (for the writer a feat of engineering that borders on epic, despite the fact that the most careful of measurements, checked and double checked, still didn't quite match up), and repair and re location of the bird table.



In addition to this the Autumn fruiting Raspberries have been pruned, close to ground level to stimulate and promote growth for this year, and the three original raised beds have seen the introduction of further strawberry plants, well manured. The Rhubarb, kindly donated by Karen seems to have survived the trauma of being dug up and re housed, and much to the former's chagrin, the broad beans planted seem to be progressing.



That's just about it for this update to the project, and it seems that the cunning plan whilst not particularly cunning, is progressing reasonably well.

The Allotment Association has received a communication from the Planning Project Design Manager in relation to the Former St Peter's College Site. We are assuming all those that responded or offered up opinion following the briefing sessions will also have received the same communication.

The communication indicates the Chelmsford City Council's Development Policy Committee is sitting this Thursday 16th February at 7pm in the council chambers to consider the responses from the feedback received.

A link to the revised planning document following the commentary is attached.

Former St Peter's College Item 8

Having read through the revised document it would seem the plans leave the Melbourne Park Allotments reasonably untouched, apart from the securing of a small slice of land at the base of the site to allow the footpath from Highfield Road. It also suggests the need from the developers to consult with the Association in terms of future which we should seek to consider how best to maximise the outcomes.

Contained within the latest circular mail from Liberal Democrat councillor Robinson is an article containing links to the City Council page with the planning brief for St Peter's College. Responses to the brief and open evenings held are available as a download, and a copy can be opened, read or downloaded using the following link.

It would be well worth considering the responses contained in the link underneath as the suggestion is that a revised planning brief will be presented to the city council planning committee on 16th February.

St Peters College Site Consultation Responses Jan17 Pdf

The Association has taken delivery of the sarpo myra potato order and will be weighing and packing during the course of this week. For all those members who ordered this notice is to let you know that the potatoes can be collected from the Trading Hut from Saturday 4th February onwards.

It's also probably a timely reminder that the trading hut stocks potting and seed compost, and now is probably the time to be stocking up to ensure all of those precious seedlings get the best possible start for the growing season.

The period between Christmas and new year was not one that I expected to set foot on a frost and fog bound allotment, however, the powers that be had plans for the morning, which included one or two surprises – my Christmas gifts. I was positive that my Christmas list contained many things that I wanted, most of which seem to have been supplanted with other gifts that may have been the bright idea of ‘Mrs Claus’, and wholly more practical in relation to project 63. So the host of computer peripherals, photographic accessories, and one or two articles of clothing, seem to have been disguised as 8 lengths of 2x2 wood, wood stain, innumerable bags of compost, wire and ratchets for training fruit along the cut down 2x2, and other such accessories, including the equivalent number of post holders to be driven into the ground.

The general consensus seems to be that the fresh air and exercise will do me good! All I seem to recall from my exploits in 2016 was constant back ache, a snuffly nose, and the ability to be on the site most weekends, some in conditions that most wouldn’t contemplate drawing the curtains for let alone venturing out in. The phrase little and often seems to have been replaced with right away and all at once!

On a very cold frost laden morning, the 16 ft lengths of wood were cut and stained (need a second coat) in preparation for training the raspberries that had been dug up pre - Christmas and gently heeled in waiting for their new home to be turned over and manured. A couple of extra posts are required as I plan to grow a couple of grapes, a white and a red, which were actually on the list of requirements that Mrs Claus operated with for the festive period. Both are planned for the side of the shed and wildlife area, which is south facing where they should hopefully prosper.



Having considered the successes and failures from the initial project 63 foray, seeds have been ordered for 2017, with the emphasis on those plants that seemed to prosper well, with one or two different varieties to mix things up a little. The intention is to also read some of the instructions this year to avoid the same (easy to make) errors from last year, where the Peruvian cucumber rather overtook the poly tunnel and supressed virtually everything else planted. They apparently can grow in excess of 40ft, and therefore planting 3 in the space of 3 ft now seems a little rash, and more importantly heralded no product.



I am also hoping that the world of fruit and vegetable growing is unlike the world of high finance, and that past performance can be an indicator of future success. There were several veggies that performed really well, specifically some of the courgettes which produced and produced, the Psycho Mira and early potatoes, squashes, and would like to view that we can replicate these successes in 2017.

With almost a years experience behind us producing regular trugs of vegetables for our chosen charity, we are considering whether we add a further charity to our donations for 2017. Of course much depends on how successful we are growing the produce, however, with some valuable lessons learnt, the hope is to improve on what was achieved in 2016.

Project 63 remains as it is described, a project, with the principal rationale to grow and provide fruit and vegetables for charitable causes. The hope and aspiration remains to experiment with some varieties of crop that may not be considered by most.

Finally, During 2016 the project has had considerable assistance from various quarters, not least our neighbour Chris, the Community Payback Scheme, Derek, Peter, Daryll and others, for which we are enormously grateful.

A pretty chilly morning heralded the annual Mulled Wine and Mince Pie morning at the Trading Hut, with the now legendary brew lovingly 'mulled' over by Tony Holbrook again proving a hit. A great turn out from Association members enjoyed various pre christmas treats, plus the presentation of the engraved trophies to the Allotment competition Winners in 2016. Peter Hunnable (pictured here with Steve Withers (competition organiser) and Karen Lawrence (Chair)) was judged best plot, with the best newcomers Greg and Claire Saunders unfortunately not present.



A huge vote of thanks to all those that worked tirelessly to clear the trading hut and prepare for the event, produce food and donation of raffle prizes, plus the after event clear up. We hope that everyone thoroughly enjoyed the morning, which leaves us with the pleasant task of wishing everyone a very merry christmas, and a happy and above all healthy 2017. 'Keep on Digging'.

Sunday last was a bit of a shock for yours truly. Having just returned from India, where the temperature ranged from 26 - 32 degrees, Sunday morning at sub 5 degrees on the allotment truly wakes you up.

With the principal growing season behind us, there is now a list of things to do in preparation for next year, together with general tidying up and completing all those jobs, that either didn't quite get started, or alternatively didn't quite get finished!

Unexpectedly the Community Payback Scheme seemed to have spare capacity, with a commitment elsewhere falling through. With all the many additional hands, the team completed the pathways at the rear of the site, plus added an additional border mid plot between the growing area and wildlife feature, before tidying all the pathways up at the top of the site with barrow loads of shredding.

The group also took the top off, dug over and motivated a section of a neighbouring plot, Hat's off all round.

In terms of project 63, the CPS team have built raised beds at the top of the site, the plot is beginning to look similar to the original drawings that we set out at the start of the year, although now looking a little bare for the winter months.

The courgettes and squashes, which had been pretty prolific were now finished, and these dug up, the soil turned over and heavily manured in preparation for next year. Garlic and Broad Beans have been planted, the former relying on frosts to form the cloves, and the broad beans to encourage an early crop, free from black fly that seemed to plague the crop last year.

The Tomatoes and aubergine plants have in the majority been dug out, and the soil turned over in the poly tunnel, which leaves Chilli's ripening off and peppers, but expecting this to finish soon.

Once again, a big thank you to Brian and his team, for this weeks endeavours which were wholly unexpected but hugely welcome.

Brian and his colleagues from the Community Payback Team came up trumps again this Sunday with some further considerable assistance for the man with a plan that can't (pictured directing proceedings, and some would say in familiar pose!).

Project 63 has focused for some time on ensuring that we had sufficient fruit and vegetables to donate to our chosen charity, and in between times various practical activities have been undertaken to get us up to speed, not least of which was the edging and pathway building undertaken by Brian and the team a couple of months ago. This weekend, the focus was on the top end of the plot, with two 6' by 4' raised beds built out of remaining scaffold boards, plus further tidying up of the pathway at the shed end of the plot to ensure that there is a natural route through the site.

In addition to this and beyond project 63, the team also took the top off a newcomer's plot and then rotivated which provides a great opportunity for the new plot owner to make a decent start to their endeavours.

I would once again like to offer out a big vote of thanks to Brian and the team for all the effort and energy put into Sunday, which is hugely appreciated.

The Chelmsford City Council (CCC) have published a pre planning guide, a consultation document in relation to the St Peter's College Site. (a link is embedded in this news article to a pdf document of the entire consultation document. There are also posters on display at 'The Hub' in Melbourne Park avenue which is between the flats and the Red Berret public house (a pdf of these posters can also be downloaded from the site).

A hard copy of the consultation document can be secured from the above premises.

St Peters College Neighbour Version October 20161

A1 St Peters Display Boards


We would encourage members of the Allotment Association to seriously consider the proposals that are being offered within these documents and communicate your observations either directly to the planners on Friday 28th October between 4.30 and 8.00 pm or Saturday 29th between 10 Am and 1.30 pm at the Langton Road Scout Hut, and that written views or observations should be submitted by 14th November to

St Peter's comments
Planning Services
Civic Centre
Duke Street
Chelmsford
CM1 1JE

The Allotment Association will be presenting a view on behalf of the site, and would welcome any viewpoints that are felt strongly about. Please direct these to Karen, Ray, or any other members of the committee. You can also contact us via the contact page on the Association website.

It is essential however, that individuals also represent their own views in terms of the proposed plans. The more views that are expressed is important if there is to be any serious consideration undertaken by the planners.

It should be noted that this is only a pre planning consultation, after which the planners are obliged to digest all the commentaries and then put forward a revised set of plans for further public consultation.

Please do not ignore this opportunity to have a say in terms of what the future development of this site may represent.