Enable Parks: Allotment Updates Page 1 of 20

Wandsworth parks and open spaces are managed by Enable Parks on behalf of Council.

Enable Parks: Allotment Updates, March 2018

Image: Garratt Park Allotment. Credit John Hooper

Hello and welcome to the Allotment Updates! Spring has officially arrived and life is finally returning to the allotments as we emerge out of what feels like a very long winter.

The aim of the updates will be to keep you all informed with what's going on with regards to the allotments and to better connect you with the wider allotment community. It will be released biannually, once in the spring and once in the autumn.

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This first issue introduces the Enable Parks team, as well as provides an overview of all the sites and site managers.

This issue also includes important information about changes to site inspections, as well as an update about allotment waiting lists.

There is also a section on gardening tips and trivia, allotment wildlife, and upcoming allotment events.

We would love to hear what you think of the Allotment Updates and any recommendations you have. Email your thoughts to [email protected].

Also, a very big thank you to everyone who contributed to this issue.

Happy gardening!

Meet the Enable Parks Team Enable staff team profiles

Anna Costello, Allotments Officer

Anna has worked part time for the allotment services for two years and is in the office on a Monday morning and all day on a Thursday.

Anna is responsible for managing the ever growing waiting list, letting plots and works with the site managers to upkeep and maintain the sites. Anna attends all the formal site inspections.

If you would like to contact Anna please either email her at [email protected] or by telephone on 020 3959 0063.

Valerie Selby, Parks Development and Biodiversity Manager

Valerie, who managed to escape having her picture taken so we have decided on daffodils as a pictorial representation, has overall responsibility for the management of allotment

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sites and the allotment service.

Sam Kemp, Horticulture and Infrastructure Officer

Sam is responsible for giving advice on infrastructure such as paths and fences.

You may see Sam visiting the allotments over the summer with Andrew Green, who is part of the Parks Contracts Management Team, as they become familiar with your sites.

Ella Rothero, Participation and Communications Officer

Ella has just recently joined the team and will be managing all aspects of 'information in and information out' for Enable's Parks including consultations, surveys, websites, temporary notices and social media.

You can contact Ella on her email at [email protected].

Allotment Profiles

Beatrix Potter, SW18 Site manager: Mark Hewitt

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Credit Mark Hewitt

The Beatrix Potter Site is located off Magdelen Road just up from . Situated in the lower Wandle valley the site is characterised by yellow clay overlaid by light sandy loam soil. Initially laid out with 65 five rod plots, the site now offers over 100 smaller plots. Originally the site was arable farmland and was then used as sports field during the First World War. The land has been used for cultivating vegetables since the 1920s when it was managed by the London County Council education movement and was used primarily as test plots.

Mark Hewitt says, "I've only been the site manager for a few months having taken over from Margaret who had undertaken the job for a number of years. Margaret is a hard act to follow. Although new to the role of site manager, I have been at the site for over 30 years. In fact, I've been there for so long I have a full plot. It is a very diverse site now with many organic plot holders. It is also good to see children becoming involved with their parents."

"When I started we were not allowed to call them allotments because they were 'trial plots'. In those days to obtain a plot you had to join a horticulture class run by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). There were classes once a week held in a school and the idea was you had a trial plot to put into effect what you learnt at the class. The reality was I learnt more from reading books and listening to Wally who

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had a plot next to me than attending the classes. When the classes were abolished, Wandsworth Council took responsibility for the site. We were then allowed to call them allotments."

"Back in the mists of time Beatrix Potter joined with the Sailor Prince Site to form what is now known as the Wandsworth Horticulture Association (WHA). We have a constitution that means we all meet for an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once a year at which we vote in several officers and committee members to run the association until they face the membership the following year. The Committee are responsible for having oversight of the day to day activities of the WHA, but especially the running our annual show which is held in the Earlsfield Baptist Church on the first Saturday in September. Everyone is welcome to attend. This is probably the high point of our season, but we also have an annual BBQ as well as visits to other allotment sites."

Garrat Park Allotments, SW18 Site manager: John Hooper and Phil Gardner

Credit John Hooper

Garratt Park Allotments is the largest allotment site in Wandsworth and borders the River Wandle for half a mile. There are 140 plots on the site, which is split into two by an active rifle range; about 1/3 of the plots are in the north end off Steerforth Street, and 2/3 in the South alongside Garratt Park. Each section also has its own entrance.

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The site was originally a garden belonging to the owner of the old Garratt Mill by the Trewint Street bridge. In 1917 the land was turned into allotments to help alleviate the food crisis brought on by the First World War. The original Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth subsequently acquired the land to use it as a depot, but shortly after it was reverted to allotments because of the Second World War, with allotments spreading to cover much of Garratt Park during this time.

John Hooper says,"I have been a lifelong veg gardener from childhood on to the present (I am now 80) and an allotmenteer most of my adult life. I have been on Garratt Park for about 25 years and Site Manager for about 14 years, recently handing over management of the north side of the site to Phil Gardner. I find the site especially attractive as it borders the River Wandle and is tucked in behind Garratt Park. We have a large and varied community with wide ranging ages and cultural backgrounds. With the varied habitat between the park, the allotment site and the river we enjoy a particularly rich variety of birdlife."

Herlwyn Gardens Allotments, SW17 Site manager: Dave Cleal

Herlwyn Allotments consists of nine plots and is situated in the middle of a small housing estate in with access only possible by foot. The allotments were formed just after the estate was built in the 1950s.

David Cleal says, "On the allotment Jan and I like to grow mostly soft fruit, the usual vegetable suspects and occasional exotic experiments, the last with variable success. Last year it was Ocas. We've been on the site for 12 (or so) years, but which crops work in which year is still quite mysterious to us. When away from the allotment, I write computer programs for a living."

King George's Park Allotments, SW18 Site manager: Andrew Puxley

With around 56 plots, King George’s Park Allotment is situated between Academy and the Territorial Army and King George’s Park, with views across the park to the River Wandle. There is a fine and fertile soil as a result of the river alluvium. An unusual feature of the site is that each plot has its own shed.

Andrew Puxley has been site manager for around 12 years and has had a plot for about 20 years, managing one of the few remaining four and half rod plots. The plots holders are mostly comprised of local people who live in Southfields and there is a committee of 11 people who meet once a month. It is a very social site with the committee securing a grant last year to convert half a plot into a recreation space. There are several social occasions throughout the year including BBQs in the summer and a Christmas Party. A local church is holding a service in the allotment in June and the allotments provided produce for

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the Abundance Festival held at St Barnabas Church last autumn. There is even an allotment band who play at the BBQs and have performed at the local church.

The allotments were established and managed by the Metropolitan Park and Gardens Trust on behalf of Wandsworth Council during the Second World War as part of the Digging for Victory campaign. Initially the allotments stretched across to the River Wandle but by the 1960’s were reduced to the area that now makes up the current site.

Morden Allotments, KT3 Site manager: Deborah Hardy

Credit Deborah Hardy

The first thing to say about Morden Allotments is that they are not in Wandsworth but are in a bit of land owned by Wandsworth Council six miles away in the Borough of Merton. This land originally comprised of Sports Grounds, the cemetery, the allotments and the Wandsworth plant nurseries which provided plants for all the parks. The nurseries and the sports grounds were sold off, but the cemetery and the allotments

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remain. [In the 1980s plots at the site were offered to displaced plot holders who lost their plot following the closure of allotments in Shillington.]

I originally got my plot as a share with a colleague from work, in 1986 and it has been a serious learning journey since then. The whole site was very neglected and prone to flooding and not many plots were cultivated, as a result of which many of the long-term tenants gradually acquired more than one plot, some had as many as 15 rods (three large plots). Since 1990, I have worked the plot with my husband and we have 10 rods to cultivate.

Morden is now a thriving site with 45 plots of varying size. The tenants maintain an extensive drainage network and we have electric pumps to draw the water off. We also have a wildlife area with a large natural pond full of frogs and newts.

My husband has been treasurer for the last 10 years and our longest serving Allotment tenant, Joe Elston, is our honorary president.

Deborah Hardy

Putney Vale Allotments, SW15 Site manager: Chris Cooke

This out of the way site sits on a south-west facing slope, offering views across to . It is situated between and a housing estate which backs onto Vale Cemetery. It is a very peaceful place and never gets crowded. The soil here is a very stony heavy clay loam which can be quite challenging as it can dry solid during the summer but if managed in the right way can be very fruitful. Chris Cooke has been site manager since last summer.

Photographs suggest that there have been allotments on this site since at least the 1930s and maybe even dating back to the First World War. Previously, the site formed part of more extensive farmland belonging to Newlands Farm since at least the Middle Ages. Where Asda now stands were once Newlands Farm buildings and later during the Second World War a munitions factory. The allotments became Council owned in the 1980s.

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Ravenslea Allotments, SW12 Site manager: John Low

Hello, I’m John Low, site manager for Ravenslea Road Allotments which were established in November 1984, as a result of the redevelopment of the old railway sidings at station into the Jaggard Way industrial estate. As the first person to be offered a plot I was also invited to be site manager and have carried out the role ever since.

We are a tiny site of six plots tucked away pretty much out of public sight alongside the main London - Brighton railway line – and it is a lovely peaceful haven to grow our crops in and ‘veg out‘ from the stresses of everyday life. Most of us are also neighbours in the street within a few yards of the site, so we all know each other and get on. Being so small, we have none of the management problems inherent in

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larger sites and tend to sort things out between us. Plot turnover is rare, as might be imagined and the latest plot holder got theirs three years ago after a fifteen year wait.

Being alongside railway lines does present problems, mainly in the form of foxes whose nightly depredations frequently cause havoc and in season necessitate enclosing every growing area in mesh and wire netting. We are always looking to maintain and improve the site, including in the recent past relining and re-laying all the internal site paths with hard core, using entirely our own labour.

Alongside the physical labour we have also long been involved in contesting several different planning applications, ever since the site fronting the allotments was sold for private development. This is still ongoing and our current concern is ensuring that we have our own long-promised dedicated access to our plots when development takes place - which could be compromised by the developer’s latest proposal. In the process we have all become battle-hardened campaigners, as much as weather-beaten gardeners. In the end of course, the real joy is just to be out working on our plots and I don’t think any of us could imagine life without that.

John Low

Roehampton Garden Society Site manager: Shirley Gillbe

Credit Garden Society

The Roehampton Garden Society (RGS) was founded in 1922. It incorporated the Roehampton Horticultural Society, founded in 1873, making it the oldest horticultural society in London.

We manage about 250 allotment plots on two sites off Dover House Road and encourage membership from people who have a general interest in gardening. An allotment plot holder must be a full member of

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RGS. There are about 50 associate members who are not involved in the allotments. We have a wide diversity of crops grown on our plots and a few plot holders also keep chickens.

The RGS holds two annual shows, in June and September, at St Margaret’s Church Hall, . There is a wide choice of classes for flowers, vegetables and cookery; also, classes for novices and children. Then in November there is our well attended AGM which is an opportunity to socialise and present the Prizes that have been awarded during the year.

All members receive a monthly bulletin giving horticultural advice, topical information and RGS news.

We have several events each year; coming up soon we are hosting a Sunday morning talk on hedgehogs from the London Wildlife Trust and a Friday evening Question and Answer Event with specialists from the RHS.

Our website: www.roehamptonallotments.co.uk has been recently revised and is full of information about us and all matters horticultural.

Friendly advice for gardening problems and a full selection of gardening products are available for members at The Store (next to 18 The Pleasance, SW15 5HF). We are open every Sunday from 10am -12 noon (and on Saturdays from 9am -11am in March and April). Why not come in and have a look round – and you could stay for a cup of tea or coffee in our Café.

Jackie Savage, Chair of Roehampton Garden Society

Sailor Prince Allotments, SW18 Site manager: Sue Jones

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Credit Sue Jones

Although it's not very clear why we should be associated with a pub, we've always assumed the site got its name from the pub of the same name nearby, on the corner of Garratt Lane and Penwith Road (now called The Wandle). We are a small site (19 plots in total), and what we all love about it is that it’s a bit tucked away, with houses on three sides and the River Wandle on the fourth.

I started on my plot during the Easter weekend of 1993, so 25 years to the day almost! At that time, Sailor Prince and Beatrix Potter sites were still part of an evening class run by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). When the ILEA was abolished the following year, both sites were taken on by Wandsworth Council, and we were all allowed to keep our plots. Beatrix Potter and Sailor Prince form the Wandsworth Horticultural Association. I’ve been Site Manager for about 8 years.

Sue Jones

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Image: Looking for tadpoles. Credit: Roehampton Garden Society

Allotment News

Allotment Inspections

The annual spring and summer inspections will be undertaken using a new format that all 450 plots across the borough will be assessed on.

Below is the form that will be used during the inspections:

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Allotment Waiting Lists

Inspections take place to help manage the waiting lists for the allotments. Enable Parks have a responsibility to people on the waiting list to ensure that people with plots are gardening within the allotment tenancy rules. The waiting lists for all the allotments are as follows:

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• Beatrix Potter: 402 • Garratt Park: 272 • Herlwyn Gardens: 44 (Closed) • King George's Park: 242 • Morden: 65 • : 134 • Ravenslea: 103 (Closed) • Sailor Prince: 135

Compost Corner

Gardening Tips

Don't be in too big a hurry to sow or plant out your veg - better a bit late than too early. Also, don't start rushing around with your watering can every time the topsoil looks a bit dry. Let your established plants go down and find the moisture that is in the subsoil. It is what they are programmed to do. (Tender seedlings excepted of course.)

John Hooper, Garratt Park Site manager

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A gardening tip regarding broad beans: once you see ants coming up onto your broad beans cut the tops off as it means black fly are around. It will reduce considerably black fly attack. Turn the broad bean tops into soup.

Mark Hewitt, Beatrix Potter Site manager

NPK

Not a branch of State Security, but three essential plant nutrients, the proportions of which should be displayed on the packaging of products sold as fertilisers:

N = Nitrogen for protein synthesis. P = Phosphorus for energy metabolism. K = Potassium for overall health and vigour.

And why, one might ask, K for potassium?

There’s a scruffy little plant, common along sandy coastlines, known as saltwort. Its botanical name is Salsola Kali from its Arabic name al-kali (from which we get the word alkali). In the Middle East, large quantities of this plant used to be collected and reduced to a fine ash in fire-proof pots (not unreasonably, ash so prepared was referred to in English as potash, of which potassium is the Latinised version) and used in the manufacture of soap.

As for the related glasswort, a saltmarsh plant becoming familiar to patrons of gourmet restaurants as samphire, that’s another manufacturing story, involving Venice and the Ottoman Empire (the clue is in the name!).

Chris Cooke, Putney Vale Site manager

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Image: Wildlife pond at Morden Allotments. Credit Deborah Hardy

Allotment Wildlife

Growing research is revealing the value of allotments, not just for those that are involved in cultivating them, but also for wider society. Allotments have been found to potentially play a crucial role in preserving the genetic diversity of plants and animals, not only through people directly cultivating a range of species, but also the same species adapting to a diverse range of conditions offered by different allotments and even between different plots (Langemeyer et al., 2016). Thus, allotments can act almost as a ‘gene bank’, making biodiversity and food production more resilient in the face of challenges such as climate change (Langemeyer et al., 2016). For example, a study which compared allotments in Manchester and Poznań in Poland with parks found that the species richness of spontaneous flora (incidental plants found in the verges and paths) was much higher in the allotments than in the parks (Speak et al., 2015).

Studies have also revealed that allotments and gardens are an important component in the wider network of foraging and nesting habitat for pollinators such as bumble and solitary bees (Andersson et al., 2007; Jansson and Polasky, 2010), with evidence that the same individual pollinators will move from these urban spaces out to pollinate nearby rural areas (Langemeyer et al., 2016). Many insect pollinators in the UK have suffered serious declines in abundance and species richness since the 1950s, certain species even becoming extinct. The loss of foraging and nesting habitat and the increasing isolation of remaining habitat patches, as a result of changing agricultural practices and increasing urbanisation, are thought to

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be the primary causes for this decline. This emphasises the importance of allotments in helping to maintain and enhance populations of pollinators.

Ella Rothero, Enable Parks Participation and Communication Officer

Let us know about what things you've been doing to make your allotment more wildlife friendly. Email Ella at [email protected].

Image: RGS Summer Show. Credit Roehampton Garden Society

Upcoming Allotment Events

RGS Summer Show Saturday 16 June, Doors open 3pm St Margaret's Church Hall in Putney Park Lane, SW15 5HU

A show of fruit, flowers, vegetables and home cooking, some of which is for sale by Auction at the end of the Show. Also Plant and Produce Stalls, Tombola (for adults and children) and Home Made Teas. Entrance by donation at door. All welcome.

Q&A with Horticultural Experts from the RHS Friday 22 June 7.30 - 9.30pm Event to be held in Putney

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A Question and Answer Session with four Horticultural Experts from the Royal Horticultural Society. Tickets available from May. Please apply to [email protected] to express an interest in attending.

Annual Better Plots Competition Plots will be judged mid-July. Look out for posters on your site about when and how to nominate!

Wandsworth Horticultural Association Annual Vegetable Show Saturday 1 September, Doors open 3pm Earlsfield Baptist Church Hall, Magdalen Road, Earlsfield SW18 3NZ

Annual vegetable show displaying this year's harvest.

Contact Details

For any enquiries about allotments please contact Anna Costello, the Allotment Officer, by email on [email protected] or Mondays 9am - 1.30pm and Thursdays 9am - 5pm on 020 3959 0063.

If you have any questions or comments about the Allotment Updates or you would like to make a contribution to the September issue, please email Ella Rothero, Participation and Communications Officer, on [email protected].

Wandsworth parks and open spaces are managed by Enable Parks on behalf of Wandsworth Council.

Copyright © 2018 Enable Leisure & Culture, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are a Wandsworth allotment plot holder.

Our mailing address is: Enable Leisure & Culture The Park Offices Staff Yard, Park Wandsworth, London SW11 4NJ

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