Category: Old

The horrible little allium leaf miner flies are still active through November, so it is a good idea to protect crops like leeks and autumn planted garlic and onions with fine mesh, as recommended by the RHS.

Several people have pointed out that the itv article was incorrect (thanks!), and we are allowed to water our food crops with a hosepipe:

A hosepipe can be used for watering food crops but not for general flowers and plants. Where you can, we’d encourage you to use a watering can to save on the volume of water which is used through traditional hosepipes. It’s best to water in the morning or evening, as that means the water won’t evaporate quickly in the sunshine.

Yorkshire Water web site.

Watering dry, bare soil requires patience. It can take a long time for the water to soak in, as shown in this clever little video.

A layer of mulch helps prevent evaporation from the soil, and it also helps the soil soak up water more quickly. I’ve seen a great little video showing this, but I can’t find it just now…

There is a very useful article about summer pruning for apples and pears on the RHS website – good advice about when and how to it.

Can you spend 15 minutes between 15 July and 7 August counting butterflies for a UK-wide survey? All the information is on their web site.

The National Allotments Association recommendations on Covid19 were updated in July 2021.

Feed Leeds is running a Sow a Row Xtra project – SowX for short – to give people all over Leeds a start in growing their own food. They are looking for help to produce seedlings and find seeds, pots and other useful stuff from growers around Leeds. Seedlings and plants can be left at Drop-off sites and and people can drop of or collect them from Xchange sites. There is a list of Drop-off and Xchange sites on their interactive map.

Here is a list of local garden centres who deliver around Leeds – useful during lockdown.

An Ecology student at Leeds University is conducting an online survey about Leeds allotments and their value to urban food production and people’s health and wellbeing. The survey is easy to complete and only takes about ten or fifteen minutes. People who have done it find it quite interesting, and it may even help us in our campaign for more allotment sites to meet the huge demand in Leeds.

It’s that time of year again.  If you want a quote in November for Allotment Site Insurance then now is the time to complete the data form (It has not changed since last year).  If you are new to the form and or process, Ken Mulley-Smith is here to help you.   He has run this process for the last two years on behalf of and for LAF. 

Attached is the data form for you to complete and return by Oct 30th to Ken, by email (groupinsurancecoordinator.ldgf@gmail.com).   He will then work with Chris Knott Insurance to get a group quote for us all.  

The data form has not changed, but Shield Insurance have sold their business to Chris Knott Insurance.  Attached below is the Chris Knott Insurance (CKI) Summary Of Cover document and a link to their website for further information. 

Ken has still to review and compare the CKI Summary Of Cover document line by line to the Shield 2020 document. If you see anything different, then please let him know via email. The Summary of Cover includes:

1. Public Liabilities of the club, its members (not landlords)
2. Court Awards
3. Employers’ Liability
4. Wrongful Acts 
5. Property
6. Abandoned Events
7. Loss of Money
8. General Exclusions

Do not click the “Get a QUOTE” button on the CKI web page. To get a quote, fill in Ken’s form and email it to him.