A SUTTON Coldfield allotment site is buzzing after scooping a £3,500 donation to create a colony of bees.

Read More http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/11/11/sutton-coldfield-allotments-get-new-bee-colony-97319-29756425/#ixzz1dPUjAw37

ALLOTMENT holders in Barrow are set to be issued with new contracts which could spell changes to conditions for green-fingered enthusiasts.

NEW RULES: Allotment holders could soon be asked to maintain fences and communal areas, and face a crackdown on rent collection

Barrow Borough Council has been carrying out a review of allotments in the area after being hit with a £55,000 bill for their upkeep last year.

some of the things they mention like trying to cut water use makes sense anyway! Rainwater storage could help reduce water bills. There are allotments without water supplies!

The English allotment lottery mapped at the Guardian

Hundreds of freedom of information requests have revealed the length of council allotment waiting lists and the rents. Use the drop down list to explore the data (the grey areas are where no data was available)

Slight insanity reigns in Tameside

The new agreement (PDF) for Tameside (Greater Manchester) for example highlights this new plot use clause:

For the purposes of excluding compensation for improvements under section 47 of the Small Holdings and Allotments Act 1908 the Tenant must not plant on the Plot: (a) standard or other fruit trees permanently set out; (b) fruit bushes (c) strawberry plants; (d) asparagus, rhubarb, and other vegetable crops which continue productive for two or more years. (5.11)

Man told to leave allotment given second chance by Epsom and Ewell Council

Another case of a plot not being tended enough to meet standards but they have given him a second chance.
Perhaps he needs a co-worker to help?

Slideshow about the allotments at Ashton

They’ve been in the news a lot – Guerilla gardeners claim squatters rights on Ashton Moss

On St. George’s Day, Saturday 23rd April, 2011 we started a Green
revolution in Ashton-under-lyne, Tameside, in the tradition of English
radical group The diggers who during the period of the English
Commonwealth, in 1649 reclaimed the common land of St. George’s Hill
from the Lords of the manor by digging and cultivating it.

Thieves who stole from an allotment were caught after a vegetable identity parade
Story in telegraph

Story also made it to the mirror

Pumpkin cheat wins for real –

Weston Town Council will take over the site next to the current Bournville allotments in a deal with North Somerset Council that could see up to 20 new plots created.

Good news for people on waiting lists!

If you have a wood burning stove you’ll find yourself with plenty of ash!
wood ash is a potash – a potassium rich fertiliser.

What to do with it?
This site reckons put wood ash on the fruit!

RHS sources state that Ash has a slight liming action and can be used to raise soil pH. Where ash contains larger particles, its incorporation also helps to improve soil structure. Ash produced from young sappy prunings contains a useful proportion of potassium and traces of other nutrients while older wood tends to contain lower concentrations of nutrients.

If you’re composting it then it counts as brown not green if you follow layering of compost rules.

Bridgend Allotment has an allotment for health project

The project is seeking to promote an holistic approach to health – encouraging people into physical activity, healthy eating, being outdoors and mixing with others through the practical and companiable work involved in creating a garden. Older people escape the loneliness of social isolation and young people and children find role models and surrogate grandparents, whilst those lacking confidence through illness perhaps regain their esteem and a sense of well-being.

They’re in Edinburgh if you want to get involved!

More indepth info here

Another document here
by Juliet Josse Johnson
How does taking part in a community allotment group affect the everyday lives, self-perception and social inclusion of participants?
Submitted in partial fulfilment for the BSc (Hons) degree in Occupational Therapy