What a bumper crop this year!
We’ve never seen so much fruit, weighing down the branches on trees, but it doesn’t end there…
(Those potatoes were from just two plants, one Charlotte and one Desirée. The largest are about ten centimetres, four inches long. The rest of the plants are still growing on, furthermore.)
Many people will find their trees offering far more than they can eat, but please don’t anyone let this go to waste. They can contact a charity, such as Orchard Cardiff (click the link), who will very gratefully meet them to harvest their surplus fruit.
Site representatives’ meetings
Allotments associations’ representatives in Cardiff attend two kinds of regular meetings. There are bi-monthly Site Representatives’ meetings with the Council’s Allotments department, where matters of Council policy, procedure, funding, and capacity matters are discussed, with a view to ironing out any problems which would affect sites across Cardiff generally.
One current project is the introduction of the Orkastrate IT system for the management of:
- allotments tenancies
- waiting lists
- billing
- further relevant data
When fully operational, this is intended to make accessible in real time, for Site Representatives, the state of:
- plot occupation
- the plot inspection process
- waiting lists
- other necessities
However, at present it’s only in the initial stages. Consequently Site Reps are still reliant for the time being on the periodic lists issued by the Council – which may be months out of date.
In addition to the Site Reps meetings, Sue has also attended the Orkastrate training session and taken receipt of the device – a tablet – that the Council issue to access the system. There’s one per site.
The second type of meeting that Site Representatives attend – as Sue again did recently – are those of the Cardiff Allotment Holders Association (CAHA). These are also bi-monthly, but on the alternate months from the Council’s meetings.
CAHA are completely independent of the Council, and the meetings are important, because they enable the collective of Cardiff Site Reps to discuss – in confidence if necessary – any matter, and then to speak with one voice on that at the meetings with the Council.
Thanks to our independent volunteers
The planting around the site of long-flowering, hardy, pollinator-attracting shrubs is moving on, and our special thanks go to Tim Robinson and Katrina Couper for their latest work in preparing and planting out the verge by the southeast gate, and, probably as we write, the vacant ground at the end of Road Seven.
The range and variety of these shrubs will be extended as cuttings are grown on and reach maturity, and as other suitable locations around the site are cleared and prepared.
A major project that the Committee hope to complete over the coming months is the removal of the unsuitable subjects such as sycamore from the main hedge, and their replacement with slower growing, traditional hedging, such as sloe and hawthorn. This will look better, improve site security, remove the nuisance to car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians, and also greatly reduce the maintenance burden. Furthermore these can be interspersed with honeysuckle, a batch of cuttings of which are presently being tended. (Incidentally, now that the legal position is apparently clearer, the hedge will shortly be cut, which will no doubt come as a relief to drivers.)
A last happy thing
In addition to the bumper crops seen about the site, many people have noted the frequent sightings of quite a range of butterflies. Anyone interested can help researchers to get a better picture of the national position, by taking part in The Big Butterfly Count (click the link.)
PPA Website Team
