Seeds and Signs

As the weather has turned colder, we sowed some coriander and land cress in the warmth of the Lily Thompson Rainbow House.

 Ros is always happy to help

We have also made a start on the long-awaited signs for the various raised beds.  Cliff Hardware cut the wood and stakes, Danny assembled the wood and painted the signs white, and letters have been added so we can easily identify the areas. 

A good morning's work followed by lunch.





Meanwhile, down on the allotment, the crops we planted to overwinter seem to be doing well.

 Red and white onions

 Broad Beans

 Shallots

 See you next year!

Winter approaches

We have just about finished planting up for this year.  Lots of other tasks to do such as making signs to identify each bed and what is planted in it.

 planting up garlic and sowing oregano and chives in the polytunnel which we like to call greenhouse

 women who weed

 The soft fruit bed before

 ....... during

........ and after

Proving many hands make light work!
Here's hoping the winter isn't too severe

 

Autumn Planting

In the first wet weather session for as long as we can remember, we planted up Garlic Marco, Onions Radar and Shallots Jermor to get us off to a good start for next year.

The remaining tomatoes were harvested and daffodil bulbs were put in to cheer us up in the Spring.
 

Presentation and Party

To mark our success in being awarded Level 3 by Yorkshire in Bloom in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category, we celebrated at the allotment with a scrumptious lunch.

Pam Wisnia, Rainbow Project Services Manager and Dr Ron Wiener, outgoing Chair of the Green Committee presented the certificate to the residents of the Rainbow Houses and volunteers.

 

  We then tucked into sandwiches, scones and cake and helped to tidy up the plot.

Our tomatoes and mint

 The weather stayed fine and the sun even made an appearance.

 Even Pickles joined in the celebrations

Thanks to everyone who came down and joined in our party.

During the winter months, we are planning to sow seeds and produce signage in the warmth of the Rainbow Houses.

Autumn arrives

Autumn is the perfect time to take account of what we’ve done, what we didn’t do, and what we’d like to do next year. ~Author Unknown

We are delighted with our certificate and, just as this quote advises, we have started to plan for the next year.  We are entering the competition again in 2015 and hope to improve on our present status.

We are as excitedly browsing through the seed catalogue.

 Many hands make light work and we'd love you to join us!

We sowed some Meteor peas

 Some of this week's harvest

 The broad beans sown a couple of weeks ago are developing nicely

Result!

We are delighted to announce that Rainbow Allotment has been awarded Level 3 (out of a possible 5) by Yorkshire in Bloom in the It’s Your Neighbourhood category.  This means we are at the “developing” stage and we will be working towards the “thriving” stage for next year’s entry.

Residents of the Rainbow Houses, carers and volunteers are to be commended.  We are always seeking additional members to join our team.

 

 Cabbages, broccoli and cauliflowers planted up

 Brussels Sprouts almost ready for the table