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Issue Number 13 |
Spring 2003 |
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OUR MAN IN COVENTRY A plaque celebrating the Dartford origins of Lawrence Hills, founder of the Henry Doubleday Research Association, the champions on organic gardening in Britain, was presented to executive team Alan and Jackie Gear at HDRA's annual Potato Day Celebrations at Ryton Gardens near Coventry on February 2nd by the QED Allotment Group's Chair, Richard Stone. Lawrence Hills grew up in West Dartford's Tower Road, and started his horticultural career in Central Park. QED has purchased a similar plaque for donation to the newly renovated Central Library. The link with Dartford came to light three years ago, when QED first organised a coach trip to Potato Day, and Richard observed some of the changes which have occurred at Ryton since then - most notably the ongoing construction of HDRA's "Vegetable Kingdom" project. Following the presentation of the plaque Alan Romans, Kitchen Gardens magazine's resident potato guru, gave a talk on the finer points of tuber growing. Alan's 30-page Guide to Seed Potato Varieties can be obtained by writing to Alan Romans, WCF, Cromwell Store, Almondbank, Perth PH1 3GT (Price £1.25). Richard's visit to Coventry followed an eventful coach trip to London's First Potato Fair at Dulwich College on January 26th, sponsored by the QED Allotments Group, during which more than thirty local gardeners took their pick of the rare varieties on offer to try out in Dartford this summer, as well as spending time at Dulwich's Farmers Market. THE HISTORY OF ALLOTMENTS Just published by the Boydell Press, Jeremy Burchardt's The Allotment Movement in England, 1793-1873 (ISBN 0-86193-256-0) charts the rural origins of allotment gardening as an offshoot of the Enclosures Movement. While allotments are nowadays thought of as part of the urban landscape, it was not always so, for of fifty-four sites known to have been founded before 1830, twenty-five were in Wiltshire and the Wiltshire borders. It was here that the landed gentry saw the allotment as a means to a wholesome life for farm workers, and an alternative to the alehouse and intemperate drinking of that other demon of amber liquids - tea. To mark the publication of Burchardt's book, a seminar on the allotment past. present and future is to be held at the University of Reading on May 31, at which the QED Allotment Group's Research Officer is to give the concluding talk on "what next for allotments".
DARTFORD FESTIVAL ALLOTMENT COMPETITION 2003 This year's competition will again be for three trophies: the Borough Shield, the Villages Cup, and the Fred Brown Cup, which will be awarded at a prizegiving ceremony at the Civic Centre in the Autumn. Judging will take place on the weekend of July 5-6, 2003, and will be in the hands of a senior officer from the allotments federation in Bexley, who has been asked to give consideration to the following criteria: (1) crop quality, (2) crop planning, (3) good husbandry, (4) waste management within the plot, (5) use of organic methods, and (6) visual amenity. If you have an allotment in the Dartford Borough area and would like to take part, please return the slip below, by June 5, 2003 and await further details. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ To: Dartford Festival Allotment Competition, 18 Stanham Road, Dartford DA1 3AW. I would like to enter the 2003 Allotment Competition: please send me further details.
Your Name: ____________________________________ Allotment Site: _________________
Your Home Address: ______________________________________ Phone Number: _______
Were you gardening on this site before January 1, 2002? YES/NO |
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