Lavendon Allotments
***Please see the link from The National Allotment Society about Covid19***
Lavendon Parish Council lease land from the Diocese of Oxford for allotments which are situated at the edge of the village on Olney Road.
The rates since 2014 remain at £4.20 per pole per annum. With plots ranging between 3 and 11 poles, a pole is the traditional term to measure an allotment plot, also known as a rod or a perch it measures 5.5yds.
There are currently no plots available. If you would be interested in being added to our waiting list, please Email the Clerk at clerk@lavendonpc.org
The Last Nine Months of a New Allotment Holder
Last October I became the proud tenant of an allotment in Lavendon. I had spent the previous two years working on the house and garden after moving into the village in 2015 and was needing another challenge. I had grown vegetables before and grow tomatoes, peppers and strawberries in my back garden but this was another level. A dedicated area of land to grow fruit and vegetables. My plot is perhaps the smallest allotment – only measuring three poles. A pole – or rod or perch – measures 5 and a half yards. A more usual size is nine to eleven poles. However when I first viewed it I realised that this was a good size for me. I would be working the land on my own and so this was a big enough. When I saw it in October I remember seeing a patch of fruit bushes and two small patches of dug over land. The rest looked fairly wild. When I saw it again in March this year there was wild grass covering half the allotment. I was determined not to become overwhelmed with the task of clearing the ground and with the encouragement of fellow allotment holders I approached the task in a methodical way.
Through the Lavendon Noticeboard Facebook Page I was able to source a supply of horse manure. I thought this would enrich the soil. On one of the small previously dug over patches, I covered it with horse manure and planted a crop of early potatoes. Since then I have cleared the site – constructed two wigwams for peas and beans – and built two raised beds for courgettes, beetroot and swiss chard. I'm also growing pumkins, rocket and kale. The fruit bushes have yielded well and I also discovered a healthy rhubarb patch. I've been enjoying fruit crumbles and have made three jars of gooseberry jam.
Being an allotment holder adds to my experience of village life. It gets me out in the fresh air and working the land awakens something primitive and rewarding. The other allotment holders are very kind and helpful exchanging information and experience. The best piece of advice was to cover everything to stop young plants being eaten by wildlife. I learnt the hard way that young pumpkin plants were particularly succulent to something and disappeared within four days.
If you want to share in the experience of being an allotment holder there are some vacant. Why not give it a go.
Submitted by an allotment holder - July 2018