Join us this Sunday for a working party (focusing on plot and bonfire area clearance) and a social with tea, cake and a seed swap afterwards.

Hands off our allotments

Workers will be on the allotments from approximately 8.30am tomorrow (Monday 20 Feb) to begin the fencing work that the committee reported to you a couple of weeks ago. We will be having 2m high green chainlink fencing put up on part of Field B (ie at the top of the allotments). The extent of the work is outlined in the PDF attached. The fencing will improve security on the school side and hopefully will prevent some of the incursions and thefts being reported by plotholders up there. The work will be undertaken by Warefence, a City Council contractor (www.warefence.co.uk). If there are any issues, please contact their contracts manager, Rory Morrison, 07725 670905 and me 07986 365712 but we expect minimal or no disruption, with the possible exception of plots B8-10 where some of the fencing will be put up. Given the weather is currently good, the contractors will be given vehicular access for the duration of the work and so there is likely to be a work van or light truck up the top at some points during the next few days.

Several of you have asked about access to the Forest School area and the Committee wants to reassure all of you that there will be a gate in the fence to allow access for plotholders (and of course Forest School itself). At the moment it will remain unlocked. The intention is to have a lock fitted that will open with the same key that will operate the main gates. Please make sure you shut the gate should you wish to go up there.

The committee is very grateful to the City Council for finding much of the funding for the fencing. In addition, Oxford Spires Academy has kindly provided £1000, which the Association has matched from its funds. The committee’s longer term intention is to have the fencing extended along B Field to secure the whole fenceline with the Golf Course; this plan will happen as finances permit over the next few years.

If you have any questions or comments, please do get in touch.

Welcome to the 2017 allotment year! The committee hopes you are all itching to get back to your plots and make this a great growing year.

One of the best things about being an allotment member is feeling you are part of a shared community. For the Association to work properly, we must all help to keep our community tidy and well-maintained, but working parties are also there to help each other, especially those with problem plots or in need of an extra hand. This is why your membership of the Association includes the expectation that you attend to at least one community working party per year.

Please help. The working party dates for 2017 are below. The Committee has listened to comments from members who aren’t able to make weekends, and has therefore agreed to trial two mid-week working parties, subject to sufficient demand, in May and June as the nights get longer. We will review how many sign up for these to determine whether or not they are viable.

Sign up for any of the dates at Doodle here: http://doodle.com/poll/y8i736zhngh34bur

Last year, we finally managed to clear several troublesome plots for new members to use, to demolish the old shed and replace it with a shiny (well green) container, and fill several very large skips with rubbish. This year, we have more plots to clear, a community garden to build, and a project to ready a plot to construct a communal polytunnel.

If you have other jobs you think the working parties should address, please email the committee or talk to one of us and we will see what we can do.

Working party meet-ups: We will always meet in the Orchard and children’s play area at the starting time where you can sign in so that the Committee can monitor attendance. Please make sure you are suitably dressed with appropriate footware, and that you bring gloves with you. Basic tools such as secateurs, spades, loppers etc would be helpful (the Association does not have these). If you have strimmers or other powertools, these are used at your own risk and you must confirm with the Committee beforehand that you have read the manufacturer’s instruction manual and understand how to operate the machinery safely. IF you use power tools at a working party, you must wear all the protective clothing stipulated in the manufacture’s instruction manual. A basic risk assessment will be carried out in advance of each working party and will be available on request. There will always be at least one member of the Committee present who will have a mobile phone in case of any issues (name and number will be notified before each working party). If you are First Aid trained and will be at a working party, please let us know in advance. A First Aid box is kept in the Committee hut.

The Coffee Run is a brand new environmental project being launched by Oxford Hub and Oxford Circular Collective. We will be taking “waste” coffee grounds from Oxford cafes to local allotments where they can be used as fertiliser to grow new produce. The Deliveroo-style transportation process involves university students cycling between a pick-up and drop-off point in the city, carrying coffee grounds in a bike trailer. If you would like to be involved in the project (for example coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs at Barracks Lane, or helping to plan how to actually use the fertiliser) then come along to our open meeting 6-7:30pm on Thursday 19th January, in the Large Meeting Room at the Oxford Hub. Check out our website or recent feature in the Oxford Mail to learn more, and if you have any questions, just email hello@oxfordhub.org.