News

Rents for the season ending 30th September next year are due in advance on 1st October this year, and are payable during the month of October.

The annual rent is currently £24 for a full plot and £12 for a half plot. In addition, the annual rent for a lockup is £25.

Over the past week there have been two separate cases of plotholders finding a drowned woodpecker in their water butts. Woodpeckers are at particular risk of drowning, due to their shape and the weight of their head. If you have an uncovered water butt, you might want to cover the opening with netting to prevent this. Birds can also drown in pump water tanks or baths. If there is a milk crate or similar in there, that will give them a way to escape. If there isn’t, why not float a small plank in the water to give them something to climb onto.

Please do not use the incinerator until further notice. The prolonged drought means everything is tinder dry and we cannot run the risk of starting an uncontrollable fire. Bushy Park officials have told us that they strongly support a temporary ban, as they are extremely worried about fire risks. Sorry for any inconvenience – but we hope you understand.

Plotholders will have their own strategy for dealing with drought conditions but target watering, heavy mulching and water harvesting from shed roofs are all worth considering.

The spell of hot, dry weather that we are having means more pump use and sometimes pump failure.

A dry spell always results in pump problems. If your favourite pump is not working, please contact the Pump Team directly at rayhulm@hotmail.com.

Going abroad this summer?

Then you need to know about Xylella Fastidiosa. This is a KILLER DISEASE affecting a huge number of trees, shrubs, herbs and plants. It is currently sweeping through Europe and has wiped out swathes of olive groves in Italy and herbs in Spain and France as well as other countries. If a plant with Xylella Fastidiosa is discovered, all plants within a 100 metre radius must be destroyed!

SO PLEASE DO NOT BRING BACK ANY CUTTINGS, PLANTS, SHRUBS OR TREES FROM CONTINENTAL EUROPE.

Despondency as the rain poured down on Saturday gave way to great relief as Sunday dawned overcast and damp but no rain! The early birds tent team set up in record time and the Sales Team were able to get organised and set up with time to spare. Priority buyers had the pick of the selection, before a queue formed for an opening rush, as courgettes flew off the shelves!

You’re probably as sick of reading messages about bonfires as we are of writing them. But no matter how often we send messages, there are some plotholders who continue to ignore them.

Although the rain of the past few days will have deterred any sensible plotholder, it’s possible that the imminence of April 1st (this Sunday), after which bonfires are no longer allowed on plots, will persuade some plotholders that a bonfire on Saturday would be a good idea. It isn’t! Don’t! Any bonfire now would produce far too much smoke.

You might think it unlikely that anyone could be contemplating a bonfire tomorrow, but judging by our experience it isn’t…