Preparing Plants For Table Top Sale

The past few days have been spent potting up seedlings, cuttings and divisions ready for the table top sale in a couple of weeks time. Above is the section of greenhouse with three types of mint plants; Apple mint ( Mentha suaveolens;), Old English Mint (Mentha piperita) and Garden Mint (Mentha sachalinensis).
Below in the other half of the greenhouse are the Gallardia goblin plants, hollyhocks, dwarf dahlias, Cayenne peppers, Verbascum, to name but a few.

Outside the greenhouse are all the Lily and Iris plants in larger pots.

Plot 46 Looking Splendid For Table Top Sale 6 Aug 2011

The entranceway to the allotments is looking wonderful, in readiness for the Table Top Sale on Saturday 6 August. Flower beds have been weeded, pallets and scaffold boards are coming tomorrow to build the table tops. Grass has been mown and the sheds are almost full to the brim with items donated for the sale. Everybody is now praying hard for good weather on Saturday.

Table Top Sale Planned for 6 August 2011

6 August is the date for the next planned table top sale to raise some more money for the special needs plot and the allotment association. Here are 17 pots of Iris sibirica from a clump of plants kindly donated by Sarah Robinson a couple of weeks ago. You can see the new growth starting below where I chopped off the long straggly excess foliage. The pots should be looking quite nice by the time of the sale. If you can help with donations of bric a brac or books for the sale contact Mac Mitchell of Mitchell landscapes, see advert to the top left of this article for a phone number or contact me via the comments section to arrange for items to be picked up. If you have any plants you are splitting, contact me via the comments section to arrange for me to pick them up and get them potted up. The plant stall will be a little smaller than the spring sale but we are hoping to have a produce from the plots available on the stall as many people asked after produce at the last two sales.

Plot 46 Open Day and Fundraising

 

Joanne adds the finishing touches to the refreshement area and it looks like we are nearly ready for opening up. A crowd has gathered at the gate and Dwayne is doing his best to keep them at bay.

Remploy have set up a stall loadded with garden furniture that has been made in their local workshop. During the day there was a great deal of interest in their stall.

Amazingly, all the lawnmowers in the picture plus the clapped out out one in the manure bay all sold along with allsorts of tools and garden implements on the tool stall. I even bought a bright flourescent orange kagool with a padded lining.

 

Dianne and Elaine at the tombola stall, every ticket a winner!

To perform the opening of the plot Gregg Scott from Minster FM local radio station came along and helped young Simon our newest plot holder to plant some broad bean plants before going on to cut one of the ribbons on the gateways to the plot.

For any opening you have to have a speech from the Chairman and this was no exception as Barry Bothamley chairman of the allotment association gave his speech preparations were made for the cutting of the ribbons. Behind Barry you can see some of the tools and the junior sized wheelbarrows for the plot holders of the special needs plot use that were part of the sponsorship from many kind donors that made this plot a reality.

Gregg Scott from Minster Fm watches as young William cuts the tape at the first entrance, then it's a quick walk to the second tape where young Simon is waiting with scissors in hand to open the second entrance.

So once the tape had been cut the sun continued to shine for the rest of the day and people were dropping in throughout the day until the close at 4.00 in the afternoon. The whole day was amazingly good but was marred only by the poor quality write up in the York Press which completely failed to grasp that the day was about the opening of the "Youngsters special needs plot" and the fund raising through sponsors and the tabletop sale for the Special Needs plot and the work the association plans to do in future on the site. The Press in their usual inimitable way focussed on the previously opened raised beds for adults with mobility issues which had been funded by the local ward committee and seemed to be more like an election plug for the Labour Party for the upcoming local elections

All in all it was a wonderful day that achieved much. A lot of what was achieved was done so through the hard work of various people in the allotment association (and some who were not in the association) putting in time and effort to obtain and then utilise the backing of the local sponsors who helped enormously in making this possible. I'll be doing a follow up posting to thank the sponsors and all those who helped in this enterprise.

For a photgraphic review of the activities leading up to and more photos of the Open Day visit this link.  

One Week to go to The Open Day and Table Top Sale

 

The daffodils are looking splendid if somewhat wind blown. Will they still be flowering in a weeks time, hope so. They really do make an impressive show at the entrance to Plot 46 for Special Needs Children.

 

Is Mac really helping to sort items for the table top sale or just gazing at himself in the antique mirror? Inside the shed out of sight, sorting and categorising is Ann, whilst in the foreground is Norah lugging around a circular table with folding legs. Somehow or other everything will be ready for Saturday 9th and the plot can be handed over to it's new tenants.

Further Tidying

 

 Levelling off roadway next to plot 46 for the special needs children. The mini digger was kindly loaned by Elvington Plant Hire.

Martin's Skip Hire come up trumps again with a free load of topsoil to be used in levelling out the roadway next to plot 46.

 

Reg with another barrowload (just one of several loads) for the levelling job.

Untidy area by the Scrope plots cleaned up and levelled, possibly for creation of some starter beds for new plot holders whilst they wait for a larger plot.

So once again it is many thanks to Elvington Plant Hire, Martin's Skips and Mitchell Landscapes for their generosity in donating equipment, materials and time.