The Hatching of – Bars, Veg and Things Unknown

Spring, as we know, is a time of new life and surprises. This has certainly been the case with the allotment project.

Firstly, I was approached by a staff member of my ‘proper job’, asking if I would be able to support one of her cleints to do some gardening. Apparantly, she has a number of people she supports who are ‘outdoorsy’ and had been ringing around to find suitable activities for them. On speaking to Chris the Eco-Bloke, she found out about the allotment. I have not even ‘gone public’ with the project yet! As a result, she brought her client up on Thurs a.m. and he appears v enthusiastic. My colleague also wishes to let her other clients know, so I may have a whole new group within the next few weeks. Note to self: Sort out all the background work very soon(insurance, equipment, health and safety etc. Phew!) As an offshoot of this first incident, word is getting around among members of the Mental Health Drop-In where I work. Consequently, there may well be even more interested people coming forward, and my manager has said that she will assist me in letting other staff know what is on offer.

Secondly, I have been offered some greenhouse glass to replace the broken and missing panes in our new-ish purchase. This happened on Thurs a.m., after the meeting mentioned above, simply by talking about the state of our greenhouse to a bloke on the allotment site who then spoke to a passing mate who had some glass available. Note to self: visit second bloke and sort out acquiring glass.

Thirdly, I went to meet a tutor at the local agri college who works with vulnerbale people. He also gave me some food for thought.

Finally, I have managed to sow some seeds under cover at last. One aspect of this was to put the seed potatoes to chit, which means to place them in a light place so that they can begin to produce shoots before planting out. Surprisingly, they had already started this process, without any intervention from me. I love nature, don’t you? So full of allegory!

Although blog entries have been thin on the ground, the project has been ticking along nicely.

COMMITTEE
- Jeff has been in contact with our Trustees and identified the days of the week which would be most suitable for them to meet.
Target: To have held the first Trustees meeting by the end of March.

WORKING ON THE PLOT
- The routine of one afternoon session per week has been kept up, even in the absence of Chris and the team on a number of occasions this month. (I have got to know Bob the Robin pretty well though.) Four entire beds have been dug over now, which is perfect for beginning our organic crop-rotation system.
- The greenhouse has now been paid for. I have marked up the (remaining!) panes of glass and tidied the contents ready for removal.
- The outstanding amount of plot rental has been paid. Chirs and I attacked the overgrowth of vegetation on the top plot last Thursday, for which I learned how to use a brush cutter. That was fun, and very satisfying!
Targets: Plant tender seeds under cover and begin to sow the hardier ones after the final frost has passed. Organise the removal of the greenhouse from its current situation to its new home on the top plot.

FUNDING
- Jeff has been doing some lay preaching, for which grateful congregations have paid him. We have decided that all such payments will be donated to the project. The first offering has been earmarked (by me) for some potting compost and a retrospective payment for some seeds.
Target: More of the same, please!

OTHER
- I would like to make a specific prayer request at this point. Without betraying too much info, Chris’ work situation is in need of some divine intervention. From his standpoint as a self-confessed atheist, he has admitted that ‘a miracle’ is needed. So lets send up some prayers for exactly that!

Dith