Smashing pumpkins!

The grand pumpkin competition reached its climax at the Red Lion, when three of the allotments' biggest pumpkins were weighed.
In 3rd with a very creditable 7 pounder (and by far the roundest pumpkin) was Sarah E.
In 2nd with a fetching yellow pumpkin weighing 19 pounds was Ellie
But first prize goes to Gareth with a whopping big 33 pounder, as the picture shows.

Thanks to all for coming to our little social!

Blog rival!

Not content with having the tidiest plot on the allotment, it appears Geoff is now extending his interests to blogging too. This is the man who taught me everything I know about double digging (not a lot) and the need for forward planning (rather than the manana attitude that prevails on my patch).

If you want a textbook "how to" blog - here it is. Excellent stuff.

Meanwhile, Steve continues to dig deep...

Council praise for new allotments

Council chiefs have praised a new allotment. Councillor Dave Bithell and John Bradbury, Wrexham Council's chief environmental officer were visiting the new allotments at Pentre Gwyn in Caia Park, Wrexham, where a community group has established 54 plots from scratch in under a year.
There is now a short waiting list for plots. According to Marc Jones, the chair of Caia Community Gardens Association, which runs the site, the allotments have proved there is a real demand among local people to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
Cllr Jones, who is also the local councillor for the Whitegate area, said: "We've been open for under two months and the site is thriving. It's only in the last couple of weeks we've had water installed, so people have been struggling with water tanks and butts in the recent hot weather.
"It was great to welcome Dave and John as well as Alan Guest and Nicky Ellis from the council down to the site because we got help from the council to get the ball rolling.
"I hope other areas, where there is growing demand for allotments, will take their cue from this and go for it themselves."
Cllr Dave Bithell, lead member for environment and transport at Wrexham Council, said: "The new allotments at Pentre Gwyn are an excellent example of the local community and local councillors working together and it's nice to see all the hard work has paid off."
John Bradbury added: "I must admit, at one time I did wonder whether the project was going to get there but it shows that, by commitment and hard work, what the local community can produce. It is a credit to everyone involved."
Cllr Jones thanked the team for their kind donation of water butts, composters and some compost.

Double digging

Among the many things I've learnt in the past fortnight since we opened the allotments is about "double digging". Geoff, who has the plots nearest the gate, is the leading "double digger" on the site and it looks like his hard work is paying off. Hopefully the rain will help along the runner beans!

Next wednesday the Pentre Gwyn youth club will be coming down to see the allotments and I hope they'll be interested enough to take one on.

From a field to allotments - 10 days on

What a difference 10 days makes...

We're also discovering a bit more about the plot: good soil, some clay, some builders' rubble, no pre-historic finds yet.

The next project?

Now that the Caia Community Gardens project is off the ground, there's interest in developing the derelict bowling green at the Queensway Sports Stadium for a community garden/allotment. We'll keep you posted on this.

Readers from Rhos have also been in touch wanting to know if a similar scheme can be started in that area - I'll make enquiries.

The allotments bandwagon is well and truly rolling.

I'm lagging behind with the photos at Pentre Gwyn - the photo above is how it looked 10 days ago before anyone started digging. Now more than 20 plots have been started and many look fairly complete.
The first horse manure run was completed this morning - although the weight of the manure burst the trailer tyres! I've also been introduced to the mystery of double digging - as I've only turned over half my plot, I might give it a go for the rest of the plot to see how that works.

Good growing weather

It's been wet, it's been warm and more and more plots are being turned over. In many cases kids have been down to help their parents - here's my youngest, Lew.
Unfortunately, the tidy plot behind him isn't mine...

Pentre Gwyn allotments open

After months of hard slog, the allotments at Pentre Gwyn are finally up and running. This is how it looked the day after the last fencing was put up - mainly wet!

Within a week, some plot holders had started to transform this underused part of the field at the junction of Cefn Road and Abenbury Road on the outskirts of Wrexham into a brand new allotment and community garden.

I hope it's worth the wait for the dedicated band who have stuck with the project and made it a reality. Now the hard work begins. Despite being told there was no demand for allotments in Caia Park, we have almost 50 of the 54 plots let.

The entire project would have folded without the help and support of a number of people - firstly John Bradbury and the environment dept at Wrexham Council for his support, along with Cllr David Bithell who gave his support at a crucial time.
The land has been donated on a 99-year lease by the local community association, who have also made a donation to get us started - we owe Les Stamp and the rest of the committee a huge debt of gratitude for their backing.
As we needed thousands of pounds to pay for fencing, water supplies, a disability access path and planning permission, we had to become fundraising experts very quickly. Thanks to everyone who helped write applications and, more particularly, those bodies who contributed to the project:
Pentre Gwyn, Tanycoed and Coed y bryn Community Association
Caia Park Community Council
Keep Wales Tidy
Caia Park Communities First
Communities First Trust Fund
Wrexham Local Health Board
Last, but not least, a special mention for someone who never gave up and has shared the frustrations and setbacks that have made this launch so sweet - Nicky Ellis of Wrexham Council.

There's a long way to go and this blog will do its best to let you know how it's going.

If anyone wants one of the few remaining plots, get in touch with me at marcvjones [at] gmail.com - plots measure 8m x 5m and cost £20 for a year. The fee is decided by the plotholders who elect a voluntary committee of four every year. The rest is all decided democratically - down to where we put the compost heaps.