Hague Bar site shows off!

The sun shone. Sandwiches ,cakes, chilli and endless cups of tea were on offer under the gazebo and almost everyone with a site already established at Hague Bar site was on hand to show off their plots and chat to visitors about their gardening year so far.

It was, of course, Hague Bar Allotments first annual open day.

Club secretary Rick was there to show new and potential allotment holders where their plots might lie from amongst the rest of the former paddock now a meadow with its myriad of grasses, weeds and wild flowers.

Visitors were amazed that so much had been achieved in just eight months by the first dozen plots now under cultivation, with water tanks full to the brim, neat sheds built but, most of all, the prolific crops that the south-facing sites are yielding.

They were interested to hear about the trials and tribulations encountered - the clearing of the thick grass and weeds, the hard work of turning the soil for the first time and then, with plants just coming up, the long summer drought and how everyone coped. Even the pesky local rabbits got a mention!

So, as we take up the last of our potatoes, consign the rest of the beans and peas to the freezer and watch as the butternut squashes slowly develop praying that the current weather turns no colder... we look forward to an autumn of digging, and a winter of content, happy in the knowledge that our first year on site has been a successful one.

Now then, where's that rotation plan for next year's fruit and veg......

Wendy Battersby.
"The Wendy House", Plot 6.

 Photos: Sheila Brown