Site information
This section will give new tenants a quick overview of the site.
Site Gates
Entry to the site is by two gates, both on Folly Lane. The lower gate is the one near the Total garage. Both gates should be locked at all times please. (The Council will provide you with a key.)
Security
Please lock the gate of your choice whenever you think you are the last to leave. Just make a quick check and err on the side of caution. Vandalism is frequently opportunistic so shutting the gates DOES make a difference. Most sites also have a problem with fly tipping; it is clear this increases when the gates are gaping open.
Soil
Generally slightly alkaline, being largely gravelly loam over chalk – easy to dig but drying out rapidly in summer. It is important to get as much organic matter as you can into the soil to retain water. (See note about leaf pile.) Avoid treading on soil when it is wet and sticky.
Club House/ Wildlife/Barbecue site (plot No: 29)
The new Club House, pond and children's play area are free for all tenants to use. Please do not leave any children completely unsupervised and if any of the toys are in need of attention please tell a committee member or leave a note in the post box.. Incidentally - do you have any large, sound garden toys that your own family has outgrown? Any contributions would be gratefully received.
Community Shed
This is a steel shed next to plot 58. You can use it for secure storage. If you would like a key please leave a note in the post box..
Post Box
This stands behind the steel shed. Please use it for seed orders or any other correspondence to FLAG.
Notice Board
Next to the community shed and available for both FLAG and Council notices. Announcements will appear here and daily news will also be written on the two slate boards by the gates.
Sharing
The Surplus table: Behind the steel shed and for everyone to use. Please - leave any pots, plants, fruit, vegetables etc that you do not require but which be useful to someone else - help yourself to any items there you could use!
Work parties - more sharing
As the Council is obliged to do only minimal maintenance we organise work parties the 1st Saturday of every month at 2pm (except Dec.& Jan.). If each of us gives just 1 hour a year we can keep the place tidier and more secure.
Plot signs
FLAG has made sign posts for every member’s plot. This involved a great deal of work but we hope it will save misunderstandings with the Council as to whose plot is cultivated and whose not. Please help keep it in place and visible!
Daily life on site paths
Paths between plots are the shared responsibility of both tenants. Please keep these accessible for others to use. The main, larger paths are the council’s responsibility and it is their contractors who cut the grass. It is important to keep the main paths clear of any obstructions; anything left on them will prevent the contractors from mowing. (Heaps of stones, bits of old carpet etc damage their machinery.)
Rubbish
Try to compost any bio-degradable rubbish, but avoid any meat scraps from the kitchen (rats!). Any other green waste (brambles, stout plant stems and the like) should be tipped onto the long heaps. One is by the southern hedge adjacent to Folly Lane, the other at the perimeter of the site by the houses on the hill into town. Please throw everything WELL BACK so nothing encroaches on the path. Other rubbish (metal etc) should be placed in the occassional skip sited near the lower gate on specific dates. Please pack rubbish as tightly as possible into the skip and do not waste the space by including things you could compost.
Respect! Allotments at the site are in various stages of cultivation and some are poorly tended by tenants who are struggling. However – please do NOT dump your rubbish wherever you do not see neat evidence of gardening. All plots are allocated so please treat them with respect. Please deal with your own rubbish.
Leaf and woodchip piles
FLAG arranged for these to be supplied by the Council contractors. Leaves are very useful as mulch or as compost as they conserve water. Please use this resource appropriately; do NOT leave rubbish on the leaf piles. There are leaf piles at the top of the drive from the lower gate; the contractors will also leave them on the grass behind the steel shed and at the top of the townward slope so long as ground conditions allow their vehicles through.
Bonfires
Whilst these are not yet specifically forbidden in your lease, please keep them to a minimum to avoid antagonising our neighbours. Above all NEVER NEVER NEVER leave a bonfire unattended, nor leave it smouldering when you go home. Water is only available from stand pipes around the site during the growing season.
Water
Please use water responsibility. Never leave hoses running unattended. Every drop has to be paid for. Please follow the Three Valleys Water Company instructions in time of drought. (Minor modifications to the system will be down graded or the water could be cut off altogether if we fail to use it with respect.)
Treasure!
The site is near the Roman road from Verulamium to Colchester and alongside a range of Roman and ancient British foundations. So look out for Roman coins, pieces of pottery and medieval silver pennies! Flag Folly.