Second Look Stoke

Second Look Stoke, a new curated Facebook page to help promote Stoke town.

Wild Harvest Stoke

A new Wild Harvest locations map for Stoke-on-Trent.

The Greening of the Potteries

At the Film Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Wed 9th April 2014 (7.45pm)...

"Staffordshire Film Archive screening, 'THE GREENING OF THE POTTERIES: a reclamation special'. With newly digitised colour films taken by Percy Dyer (Head of Parks) in the 1960s and 1970s - charting the before, action and after on the City's main reclamation sites, turning Smoky Old Stoke into the greenest city in the UK."

Location on Google Maps

And that was that...

Springtime is about to spring and, sad to report, I won't be tromping around on the allotment readying it for the new growing year. Due to a sore hip (which I hope is temporary), I felt obliged to hand in my notice on the plot about a month ago.

I do have to say that I won't miss the bill for the annual rent, nor the cost of the manure/fertiliser, the seed potatoes, the other seeds and plants, etc. All of which I reckon added up to more than the value of the crops I took off the plot, over the 15 months that I worked it.

But overall it was a good and useful experience. There are some grand fellows on the site who I was glad to make the acquaintance of, especially Gareth. If I ever take another plot or garden, as I may in some distant future years, then I'll be a lot more prepared and informed.

I may continue to post here on this blog, from time to time, about wildlife / allotment / footpath / litter / environment matters in Stoke.

In the Ground

New documentary photography exhibition coming soon, at Gallery 116 in Stoke town, Stoke-on-Trent, on the old Victoria Ground (former home of Stoke City F.C.) in the town.

Fly trouble

Oh noez! Boris wants Stoke's allotments...

"Heathrow’s third runway could potentially be sited on an allotment in Stoke on Trent, Airport executives today confirmed, after top level talks between Senior Heathrow Directors and committee members of Myrtle Lane Allotments Society went well."

Go bats in Stoke

Clear it off

Weather: cold southerly breeze. Bright sunshine and high cloud. 7 degrees.

Up to the allotment after about six weeks away, due to the endless rain, time-constraints, and a sore hip. I found that Gareth has very kindly supplied me with a nice new wooden chair, which I've put in the shed to keep the rain off it.

A few golden leaves, still clinging to the apple tree.

I collected all the enormo-marrows, which had been lying in the open soil until now...

The marrows have very hard skins, and I'm interested to see what happens if they air dry gradually over time.

I cleared off the remains of the courgette plants, and then hoed all the weeds off my open sections...

There's a few potatoes under there somewhere, but they can wait until Christmas to be lifted.

Lots of little mushrooms were coming up from the dampest parts of the woodchip path...

All the rhubarb has vanished completely, from above ground.

Weather turning increasingly cold, and we're heading for the first proper frost. But the English rose — like the old nation herself — is still valiantly straining to produce buds despite the climate...

Killer potatoes

Killer potatoes. Really.

Gardens grow by 11%

Spending on West Midlands gardens was... "up 11% on average from April through to August", according to Barclaycard. In the context that...

"Consumer spending across the West Midlands was up again in September, growing 2.2% year-on-year" (David Gibbons, Barclays Retail Director for the West Midlands)