Valentines day report from the allotment.

We had the first sunny and even mild day on the allotment this year. Good to see the growth starting on the pears with the flower buds fattening up. The pears are always the first to flower and it is a chancy business – frost can destroy the flowers or it could be too cold for the pollinating insects to be out as it was last year, so you may have a year with no pears. A covering of fleece can help protect the flowers. The bright pinky-reds of the rhubarb are starting to show too. A tall bucket over the shoots will give you the delicious early pale pink stalks but we prefer to keep it all for later. 

On Saturday 9th we had our regular and ever-popular workshop on the winter pruning of fruit, with participants from various allotment sites, community gardens and people with their own gardens. Pruning fruit in winter is done to keep the plants healthy and direct their energies to maximising the production of fruit. Many thanks are due to George Anderson who explained very clearly and simply that you need to understand how the plants fruit so you can prune out the unwanted growth but leave the fruit buds and keep the height of your trees manageable.  (The notes from the winter fruit pruning workshop are on the allotment page on the web-site.)

Diary Date
Potato Day Sunday 24 February 11am – 3pm
at the Bridgend allotment site. Organised by BGC. Giving you the chance to buy organic seed potatoes in small numbers. A very popular day so come early for the best choice.