September Newsletter

 
 
 
Another jam jar flower sale this Sunday
In the morning and afternoon before and after the Barn discussion this Sunday 28th September (see below) Jenny will again be selling jam jar dahlias and other flowers to raise money for Save the Children. 
 
Dates for the diary
 
A busy autumn ahead…
  • This coming Sunday 28th September: Esther’s bee talk has been postponed to another month, instead Jenny will lead a discussion about growing flowers for cutting.  Discussion 12-1; lunch 1-2.
  • Café at the Barn: Wed 8th October, 10.30-12.00
  • Barn discussion and lunch: Sunday 26th October.
  • Café at the Barn: Wed 12th November, 10.30 – 12.00
  • Winter Warmer: Sunday 30th November 12-3
And looking ahead to 2026:
  • Sunday January 18th: If you would like to learn more about Biochar or share your knowledge about it, come along to the Barn discussion 12-1, followed by lunch.
  • 8th Feb: Potato Day 
  • AGM: April 26th 12.00
  • 10th May: Plant Sale 
Maintenance Working Party
A big thanks to all those who turned out for the recent working party on the communal composting area. Great progress was made with beginning to sort out the bays, including putting in aerating pipes and compost activator. See pictures above. There’s still plenty more work to do… more dates to follow.
 
A reminder
At the last committee meeting we discussed the recent notices that have appeared around the site about the bonfire ban.  A reminder to all that if there are issues you want to raise for site-wide discussion, the appropriate route is to write in to info@ and request an agenda item at the next AGM (which will be held in April).

Hornsey Food Bank
For those who would like to continue contributing to the food bank, now the season of excess fruit and veg is ending, they welcome donations of toiletries, so if you have any spare please leave outside the Barn (in the same crate where we collected veg) and we will take them to the food bank.  Many thanks for any contributions.  We will also be making a contribution to the food bank from money raised at our Winter Warmer in November.

The history of Shepherds Hill Allotments
A message from Jill Russell and Ian Potts: As part of the centenary celebrations planned next year we are researching the history of the site, to be included in a booklet and a film about our allotments.  We’ve gathered lots of interesting information from the Haringey archives at Bruce Castle and the Hornsey Historical Society, but would love to hear from plot holders who may have old photos or stories, perhaps when plots have been inherited from family members over the years.   We would also be interested in hearing what you would like to know about the history of the site – what questions should we try and answer?!  Please send any information and ideas to info@
13:29, 06 Oct 2025 by Website Admin
water wisely poster

AUGUST NEWSLETTER

Dates for the diary

  • Sunday 24th August 12.00: Barn discussion group followed by lunch at 1.00.  Nevil will give some tips on composting.
  • Sunday 31st August: 10.30 maintenance working party: special focus on the green composting area (see below)
  • Wed 10th September: 10.30 – 12.00 Café at the Barn
  • Sunday 28th September: 12.00 Esther’s bee talk and lunch
  • Winter Warmer: Sunday 30th November 12.00 -3.00
  • AGM: April 26th  2026, 12.00

Reminders

  • The next site inspection will be in the autumn.  Please make sure your plot is clearly numbered.
  • If you want to circulate or put up a notice on the site please write in with details to info@ 
  • Water wisely! (see image above).  Also see the advice on the Haringey Allotment Forum website: https://www.haringeyallotmentforum.org.uk/documents 

The green compost area and a maintenance Working Party Special – HELP NEEDED
On Sunday 31st August from 10.30 am we are holding a special maintenance working party where we need as many helpers as possible to help reorganise the green composting area.  The composting plot has been a victim of its own success and is so well used it has become unwieldly and needs attention.  The maintenance team are developing a plan for it and need help moving piles of green material.  There will be free cake and coffee provided – please come and help if you can.
 
In the meantime if you have green waste hold on to it on your plot until after 31st August, when it should be clearer where and how to use the bays.  
 
The committee are exploring how best to organise and aerate the composting bays.  We also want to encourage plot holders to compost as much of their waste as possible on their own plots.  This Sunday 24thAugust Nevil Yildiz will be at the Barn discussion at 12.00 to give composting tips.  And later in the autumn we hope to have Gary Sycamore repeat his popular composting masterclass! 
 
Some tenants have asked about access to the site in an emergency:  

  • The emergency services have access to the site with the special locks we have on the gates. 
  • The address of the site is Shepherds Hill Allotments, Montenotte Rd, N88RL.
  • We are going to put a site map with plot numbers on a new noticeboard outside the trading shed.
  • You may want to download the what3words app on your phone.  This app can be used by emergency services to locate a caller’s location to within 3 square metres.

Messages from plot holders
Message from Colin Reading, plot 6A:
On behalf of the cider group I'm looking for more members who are interested in participating and or donate apples for the cider group. The main task is the cutting up grinding and pressing of the apples (Saturday or Sunday mornings). Last year we gave bottles of fresh juice to those who participated, the remainder went to make cider for distribution around Xmas ( those who just supplied apples are eligible for cider as well). The pressings are made into cider vinegar by Annie to be sold at the plant sales etc. (very sought after).
 
If you are interested please contact me.
 
Message from Jill Morrell, plot 9B:
We have inherited a pond on our plot with some filtering equipment, but we are not sure how best to use the equipment and what we need to do to make best use of the pond.  Is there anyone with some pond expertise who’d be willing to come and have a look and give us some advice? Please contact me.
 
Hands off our allotments petitions 
You may have read in the news recently about the selling off of some allotment sites.  There are two petitions currently circulating with more information:
https://weownit.org.uk/act-now/hands-off-our-allotments
https://www.change.org/p/protect-allotment-lands-from-council-sales
 

12:30, 20 Aug 2025 by Website Admin

JULY NEWSLETTER

Reminders
A reminder that in addition to our monthly Sunday lunches we also have the Wednesday ‘Café at the Barn’ on the second Wednesday of the month from 10.30 – 12.00.  This is a great opportunity to pop in for tea/coffee and delicious home-made cake and a relaxed chat.  There’s one this week on Wednesday 9th July so do come along if you're on site and can make it.
 
Please make sure your plot is clearly numbered and the number is visible from the path.  This is a requirement of your tenancy agreement.  
 
Another requirement is that you keep paths around your plot clear.  Particularly at this time of year make sure the paths are free of brambles and any other obstructions.
 
And please DO NOT leave plastic pots outside the trading shed or Barn.  
 
2026 – SHA Centenary Year!
Our site will be 100 years old next year and we would like to plan 10 special events to mark the 10 decades of the site.  Ideas put forward so far include: 
  • Allotment cookbook
  • Tea dance 
  • Plant show
  • Scarecrow competition 
  • Site open day 
  • Film about the site including some oral histories
  • SHA Calendar 
 Let us know if you have other ideas to add to this preliminary list, and if you would like to get involved with any of the above.  Any help is very welcome.  Also if you have any snippets about the history of the site we would love to hear them.
 
Thanks from the Harington scheme
We've received a letter of thanks from Harington for our donation from money raised at our annual plant sale in June - see below.
 
Dates for the diary
  • Wednesday July 9th 10.30-12: Café at the Barn
  • Sunday July 20th 1.00 – 2pm : Lunch at the Barn, accompanied by the London Metropolitan Brass Band! **** special event***
    Friday July 25th 2 – 4pm: Bridge at the Barn, all welcome
    Wednesday 13th August 10.30- 12: Café at the Barn
  • Sunday 24th August 12.00: Barn discussion group followed by lunch at 1.00.
     
 
15:36, 07 Jul 2025 by Website Admin