Our Group's History
A Photo of part of our allotment field July 2009
Dudleston Heath Allotments...The beginning.
As mentioned on the home page, our small group has only been in existence since Jan-Feb 2009 and as you can see from the photo above...we have managed to develop a respectable and productive allotment field in a little over 5months.
Our beginnings were very humble indeed...they probably stretch back to summer 2008, when one of our members canvassed the local villagers to ascertain if their was any local interest in allotmenteering. She initially produced a short list of six interested families. One of our local Parish Councilors was approached and kindly agreed to investigate the possibilities of locating suitable land.
Shortly before Christmas our Parish Hall agreed to rent an adjacent field...and our project got underway.
The Parish Hall committee members provided additional land drainage and cleared ditches with the aid of "diggers" from a local construction digger hire company.
By February 2009...our group had help its first meeting and volunteers spent several days burying land drains & digging in a water supply. Our Chairperson provided additional machinery to make life easier for all.
After a further couple of weeks the land had drained significantly.
The Group took a decision to weed-kill the existing grassland (which does prevent us from claiming "Organic Status" for several years) The Parish Hall committee provided weedkiller and manpower and members volunteered further assistance.
Three weeks after the initial weedkilling...one of the local farmers rotorvated the entire field...we were almost ready!
After a couple of evenings of measuring & "Pegging-Out" the original 12 plots...we were ready to begin allotmenteering (Interestingly enough, the date was April Fools Day 2009!)
Since 2009 there have been several alterations to our allotment field as membership grew. There are currently 17 plots in total (7 x Full-Plots, 7x Half-Plots...and 3x Quarter Plots)
The allotment plots are approximately 20metres x 10 metres for a Full-Plot & 10metres x 10metres for a Half-Plot...The basic layout can be seen on our "Available Plots" page (or Click Here)
To Summarize our Group
We are a very small & very friendly group, We come from all walks of life and are of varying age groups. There is no "pecking-order" and everyone has an equal say in the group's future.
We intend to hold regular meetings throughout the year, giving our members a chance to air their views.
We are all keen to take our turn at undertaking occasional group "chores".
Every member is keen to ensure this project remains "active" for many years to come.
Getting Ready for next year!
If your keen to choose your allotment seeds for next season...We have included a few of the popular seed manufacturer's catalogues.. all of which are packed with hundreds of "traditional" and "new" varieties.
Watch out for end-of-season "special offers" and snap up a few bargains.
You'll be spoilt for choice!
Click on any of the Seed Manufacturers Below.
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