Sunday 27 January 2013

The good, the bad & the ugly



 The good news is that after the snow comes the thaw. Snow can be great fun but there's a limit to how much can get done on the allotment.
There will be a period when Lotti is a bit soggy but we should be clear of snow and ice for Hillside Harvest's first open day on 16th February. The day is free and includes workshops, hot lunch and opportunities for volunteers to get stuck in. Considering the amount of planning it would be a shame if these couldn't go ahead because of snow.

The bad news is that the polytunnel got squished by the weight of snow. Our polytunnel is really useful for extending the growing season and allowing us to grow things that might suffer outside. Losing it would be a big blow, particularly as we don't have a  greenhouse. 

Today a rescue was underway. First the snow was pulled off with the flat side of a rake, taking care not to puncture the polythene membrane. Once we could get inside we discovered things were not as bad as it had first looked. The flexible plastic tubes, that form the arches over which the membrane is pulled, had not broken as feared.
 Some of the wooden supports had. makeshift wooden supports were fashioned from spare wood and put in place to prop up the tubes. Further repair will be needed, along with permanent central supports, but the polytunnel lives to last another season.
 












And finally an ugly truth. These are, or were, allotment sites. Now they are an overgrown wilderness. Wilderness has its place but it is a shame that this has been alllowed to happen at a time when waiting lists for allotments are on the increase. The Rivelin Valley could see a vibrant allotment community but too many sites look like these. The silver lining to this particular cloud is that community allotments like Hillside Harvest do exist. So if you're on the waiting list come and join us. This weekend we found out once again that we can achieve a lot more working together than we can separately.

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