General Information and Links

​This page aims to provide items of general interest to potential and existing gardeners and allotmenteers.
​Please scroll down to view the miscellany of articles and links to other useful websites.

Rents - details of current plot rent charges can be found on the Sites page here.

Gardening - a full body workout

Allotment Tenancy Agreement

effective from 01 April 2021
​or next rent renewal

See it here

Control of Rodents on allotment sites

​Rats are a particular problem on allotments,
particularly in unturned compost bins or loose heaps of rubbish.

They will eat almost anything; windfall fruits and berries, discarded food, snails, insects, frogs, mice, carrion and much more. In natural surroundings they like to burrow into banks, normally near a food source. However, humans have provided them with many habitats: dark unused areas of sheds, wood piles that are not being used regularly, under bushes, in tall thick grass. untended compost heaps or bins, in holes or gaps under buildings.
If we offer them food and shelter they will soon appear and settle down, bringing their friends and rapidly breeding. Prevention is the best cure and good site maintenance routines are essential to make them unwelcome. Also be aware that purchase and use of rodenticides is now much more strictly regulated than in the past, and hence:
​                                         no poison is to be used on any of the Association sites.
​
For much more information download and read this presentation given by Ken Brown at the 2019 Awards evening.

Summary

• If you think rats are living on your plot tell your site rep as soon as possible. They will provide or obtain specialist advice to be compliant with current legislation
• Don’t put poison down yourself or use traditional methods – you will probably be breaking the law and in breach of your Tenancy Agreement
• Remember - Avoidance is far preferable to Elimination

What is a pole as a measurement?

We get lots of questions about the arcane land measurements used in Allotment language.

   Rods, Poles, and Perches are all different names for one measurement. The term Pole is a medieval ploughing measurement – the ploughman had up to eight oxen in pairs harnessed to the plough and his boy controlled the oxen with a stick. This stick had to be long enough to reach all the beasts and acquired the names rod, pole or perch. The Pole was measured as the length from the back of the plough to the nose of the ox.
   In the 16th century the lawful rod was decreed to be the combined length of the left feet of sixteen men, as they left church on a Sunday morning. Maybe an attempt at standardisation but not one we would use today!  Traditionally a linear pole is a measurement of 5 paces or 5½ yards. An earlier name for a rod was a ‘gyrd’ from which came the yard.

  More confusingly the same term Pole is used to measure area. Strictly it is a ‘square pole’, the area bounded by one linear pole on each side. However the ‘square’ has disappeared along with the linear pole and now ‘pole’ invariably means a measurement of area.
  Finally, by doing the maths you will find that the traditional allotment size, a ’10 pole plot’ is just over 300 square yards. I’ll leave you to work it out in square metres!

LINKS

Links to other relevant websites which allotment holders may find useful, interesting, or just amusing. Note – the linked pages will open in a new tab or window.

Allotment Beginners Guide
Useful common sense advice from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

How much time do you need for an allotment?
Discussion on mumsnet – can you run a young family and an allotment? (Note: ‘full plots’ and ‘half plots’ are 10 pole and 5 pole – the size of the plots on Ely’s Bridge Fen and New Barns sites.) There are many other allotment pages on mumsnet.com.

Vertical Gardening
How to grow food in small spaces at home, perhaps some ideas whilst waiting for an allotment?

Behind the Sky     
A personal blog by a member of the Association. Read this stunning reflection on the allotment being a place of hope during troubled times.  

Selwyn’s Soil Secrets: Soil basics 
YouTube video of soil scientist Selwyn Richardson from Swavesey Allotments society

NSALG – The National Allotments Society.
The City of Ely Allotments and Gardens Association is a member of NSALG, and part of your plot rent pays your NSALG subscription. Be sure to use this resource – you have paid for it!

Aeron Vale Allotments Trust.
Perhaps the most comprehensive website from a volunteer allotment society I have ever seen. Particularly useful vegetable growing reference section with calendars of what to do when – check out the ‘Basics’ section.
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Plenty of room for more good links – please let us have your ideas for appropriate sites.
​Use the Contact us form to send your suggestions.