You have to be logged-in on the site to see your Private Messages and have access to the whole of the discussion forum, which are excellent ways of us keeping us in touch with each other and helping ourselves as a Society. You also need to be logged-in to see any members-only content, create links and post news items. Site accounts are free and available to anyone over twelve years old who embraces the Society Aims. Sign-up is simple: you're asked for your name and plot number so we know who's who and we ask for a validated e-mail address which is used to administer your account and which you can hide from other users. And remember, when you have your account, check the box to have the site remember you and then you're automatically logged-in whenever you visit.

Our first newsletter is now available here. With the imminent introduction of the Growing in the Community tenant-council Working Group we're now at a stage in the Society where we need to develop a bit and the questionnaire should help with that. I'd really appreciate it if you'd complete one and let me have it back. If I haven't managed to see you to give you a paper copy then print one off if you can or let me know.

Shedtastic news, The Plot Thickens, Wash Common allotment's very own entry to the National Shed of the Year competition is through to the finals thanks to the huge support in the internet voting round! This is what Simon has to say.The distinguished panel of judges have convened over the weekend and the winner of the prestigeous Shed of the Year 2008 will be announced Tuesday.

Today's Guardian newspaper carries a story about gardens and allotments contaminated by manure with traces of the hormone-based herbicide aminopyralid which is not licensed as safe for human food crops.

The situation would appear to be that the herbicide is not licensed for use on food crops, but that it is licensed for use on pasture for cows and horses. The herbicide persists in the manure of animals pastured on treated fields or fed treated hay or silage. If you've used manure this year, the only guarantee that it is free from the herbicide is if it comes from a certified organic source because even if the supplier didn't directly apply the herbicide themself the herbicide can still be present if they have brought in any hay or silage.

How to deal with the problem

Destroy contaminated cropsThe safest advice is to destroy all crops grown on contaminated ground because the herbicide is not licensed for use on food crops. However, the RHS advise that

as this weed killer can be grazed by livestock soon after application there is no reason to believe that children, pets, gardeners or wildlife are at risk.

Do you have contaminated manure?Potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas, carrots and lettuce grown on contaminated manure have distorted foliage, with cupping of leaves and fern-like growth. Marrows and courgettes don't show any damage.

How should you deal with the affected area?Experts say rotavation is the best practice, or forking over several times as soon as possible. This incorporates the plant tissue into the soil, where it will decompose and the chemicals will eventually be degraded by soil microbes. Repeat the rotavation in late summer/early autumn.

Should you replant this season? No. The plant residues need to be given time to break down. The advice is not to replant for a year.

Why has the chemical lasted so long?Aminopyralid, like other herbicides, works by binding strongly to plant tissues. Once the plant's tissues decay, the chemical breaks down in the soil. If manure is stacked it takes far longer.

See more on the RHS site.

Hungerford Farmers Market - This Sunday 22nd June, 9am - 1pm. Range of local produce: Thames Valley Farmers Market

Plant Swap - Bring along your surplus plants - flowers or vegetables, to swap

Plant a Seed - For kids or novice gardeners. Learn how to plant seeds in containers made from waste material (egg boxes, toilet roll centres, old plastic milk cartons are all valuable resources). Take home your newly planted seeds, care for them, love them and EAT the produce.

Seed Swap - Come along and swap/get some freebies.

Seasonal food of the Month - Mint. Various minty food and drinks to taste and we'll have our recipe leaflets to give away as usual. Why not grow your own

What are you interested in? Come and talk to us about what food related things you'd like to get involved with / like to see in Hungerford

Garden Sharing - Is your garden too big? No time to use it? Overgrown? Unused veggie patch? Maybe there's someone nearby who would love to share your garden and the produce. Come and talk to us at the Farmers Market if you are looking for access to a garden or have a bit of garden to share.

Allotments - If you are interested in having an allotment but haven't yet written to the council then now is a good time to do so. Hungerford Town Council are gathering names of those interested and will be investigating the possibilities for access to land for allotments.

Car Pool / Car Sharing - Anyone interested in car sharing or finding partners for a car pool - come and talk to us at the market.

On your Bike - This is the season for biking - fresh air, exercise and no parking problems. With a few bike parking posts in Hungerford High Street and outside Somerfields its easy to bike to the shops in Hungerford. Dust off your bike and give it a go! Spokes, based in Newbury, promote cycling and organise local cycling events. Membership is a lightweight £3 pa! This week 14-22 June is Bike Week 2008.

Planning a Barbeque? The UK imports over 90% of its BBQ charcoal but there are now local producers. The Pang Valley Countryside Project was set up to to supply high quality, locally produced charcoal. It promotes the management of local woodlands, is reinstating coppice and provides local employment. This is available from Howards Pet Care in Hungerford. BioRegional Charcoal Company supply FSC sustainably produced UK charcoal to selected Sainsburys and Tescos and all B&Q stores. More info ion the Community Enterprise web site.


Newbury-Gardening Festival, Mary Hare School, Sunday 22 June 10am-4pm. Talks by organic gardeners, rare plants fair, composting. lunches, teas, grounds open for walks, activities in the Eco - Zone, workshops for children.

Guided Walk - Sat 28th June, 2pm meet at Town Hall Steps
As part of HADCAF, HEAT Biodiversity group guided cross country walk on footpaths from Hungerford to Kintbury with option to get the train or walk back along canal towpath. Just turn up

Farm Africa Day - Sunday 29th June 10-4, Little Hidden Farm,Hungerford Newtown. A great day out for the family. The theme is ‘All from this land’, with materials, food and inspiration coming as much as possible from the surrounding farm land. 10.30am Farm walk with Bill Acworth through wild flower meadows, agro-forestry strips and woodland. 12.30pm Lunch - local food cooked in wood-fired clay oven. 2pm-4pm Workshops in farm buildings (small materials charge): natural dyeing; kumihimo braiding; quilting; chalk sculpture; recycled weaving; Adinkra cloth printing; bodging; clay beads; basket making; clay oven making; drumming; Ghanaian/John O’Gaunt Schools link exhibition. Entry: £5 per car Pedestrians & cyclists free. All proceeds to Farm Africa.

Transition West Berkshire - presentation on Transition Towns & Local Groups, Thurs 3rd July, Newbury Town Hall, 7.30pm
Presentation on Transition Towns, conceived to respond to the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil with an update from other local groups involved in sustainability in the area FREE! For further information contact Ken Neal Tel: 01635 45535

Fishing for Beginners - HADCAF event by Steve Carvell Thurs 3rd July. A ‘taster’ session for youngsters aged 8+, provided by the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service youth initiative SAFE (Safe Angling for Everyone, www.staywise.co.uk). Equipment and bait provided.
Meet at the swing-bridge by St Lawrence’s Church 6:00 - 8:00pm
Limited tickets £3 from Newbury Building Society (Hungerford)

HEAT Display Sat 12th July 2-4pm Town Hall Steps
Display of environmental things - information & demonstrations of things to green up your life, plus practical ideas for the lower carbon lifestyle

Elm Farm Walk led by Bob Winfield HADCAF Event Sunday 13th July 2pm. Elm Farm is a 237-acre organic working beef, dairy and cereal farm which provides a huge range of habitats for wildlife as well as producing nutritious food. This walk shows how organic farming can work with nature, rather than against it. ORC is a charitable trust based at Elm Farm. The Centre develops and promotes organic agriculture through research, education, training and advisory services.
The Organic Research Centre, Elm Farm, Hamstead Marshall. Free, Boots or wellies advisable

Hope to see you Sunday

Suz
HEAT Food Group
01488 680642

There is currently no opportunity to volunteer to improve and maintain our allotment site but there is great potential in volunteer labour for building site facilities, and just as importantly, for developing a sense of community and ownership on site. The site ditches were cleared out this year through volunteer labour, and a great help that has been to the drainage, but the council have declined to allow anything like this happening again. If you believe that volunteering is a healthy feature of an engaged society then you might want to write to your Town Councilor and let them know.

Southby's Allotments Tenants Association have invited everyone at Wash Common allotments along to their annual open day. You can check out photos of last year's event here.

If you haven't visted Southby's before it's well worth it to see the variety of quality plots at the district's senior site. I had a visit just the other day and spent a couple of hours there. A few years ago a great chunk of the site was just meadow with the council unable to let the plots, but every one is taken now. There are two things remarkable about Southby's, one is that it looks so well established you'd imagine it had always been so, and the other is that they have a very well supported site association which is a model for Wash Common.

The winning shed is the Rugby Pub in Sufflok which is a very nice octagonal back-garden pub. Simon's shed was pipped at the post and came in second place.Watch out for celebratory tea and cake at the shed later this week. There's more on Shed Week at the official web site.

Wanted: Site Representative

Newbury Town Council are to invite the society onto a working group to review the allotment management best-practice guide Growing in the Community and then make recommendations for change. This is a great chance for us tenants to get involved in how the allotments are managed.

So we need someone to represent Wash Common. Do you have an interest in allotmenteering beyond just cultivating your own plot? Are you passionate about winning all of us the chance to have our voice heard? Are you good with words and able to make a coherent argument? Can you stay positive and constructive in a flustered meeting?

Please take the job – Wash Common allotmenteers need you! If you'd like the best-practice guide to see what good looks like then give me a shout – pop in, phone, e-mail, whatever.

It's National Insect Week. Follow the link to find out more about these interesting creatures and how to help some of the more threatened ones like the Stag Beetle here. There's some great advice on the web site

Try to live with pest insects and not automatically kill them. As long as they are not totally ruining your plant or crop, their presence may have no real impact.

Encourage pest controllers such as hedgehogs, slowworms, frogs, toads and spiders into your garden by providing suitable habitats. You can purchase toad and hedgehog houses in many garden centres or make your own.

I've got a couple of log piles to encourage beetles but there's an interesting suggestion on the site for a stag beetle hotel in a bucket - and you can dig it up each year to see how the beetles are getting on. Check out the site for more.

I know what you did this summer - you voted for Simon Kirby's allotment shed The Plot Thickens to win the coveted National Shed of the Year competition! This is what Simon had to say about his shed.This is the second year for the National Shed of the Year competition which is anounced in Shed Week. This year's judges are property guru Sarah Beeny, wind-up radio inventor Trevor Baylis, Professor of beach huts Kathryn Ferry and Shedworking expert Alex Johnson, Eco-architect Lloyd Alter and to give his sheddie's eye view last year's winner Tony Rogers.

So why not drop by and vote for The Plot Thickens and celebrate the shedness of Wash Common allotments.

Newbury Town Hall, Monday 2nd June, 7.30pm.

There will be a presentation on 'Transition Town Totnes - the story so far', followed by refreshments and a discussion on what role new volunteers can play in the future development of Transition West Berks. If time allows there will also be a short film.

And a taste of the Autumn programme of meetings:

Monday 8th September. Ruth Allen of SPAN (Sustainable Production in Active Neighbourhoods) will be giving a talk on the National Lottery funded Local Food Fund and how we may be able to access advice and funding for local food coops here in West Berks.