Garthdee Allotments – Page 94 – Grow Greener with Garthdee Field Allotments Association

TAMS Success Story

On October 29, 2014

I am delighted to report that the Allotment Market Stall Project has had a very successful season. The project seeks to sell surplus allotment site produce to the public, so spreading the benefits of good, local food growing to the wider community. This year TAMS sold almost £1000 of veggies over the summer weeks – a magnificent effort.

Here is an extract from the thank you letter we received from the TAMS team:

Dear Garthdee Field Allotment Gardeners

Thank you for participating in the Allotment Market Stall in 2014. It has been an excellent season and the stall in Duthie Park was very successful. It would not have been possible without your input in preparing the produce for collection and in volunteering on the stall. We would very much appreciate feedback on how we can improve operations for next season.

Thanks to a small Lottery grant to cover running costs and the partnerships with ACC, the unpaid work scheme and CFINE we are able to redistribute all the proceeds from sales of produce.

In terms of total weights, over the 10 weeks we collected 1005kg of produce, sold 816kg, donated 146kg and composted 43kg. An excellent achievement for all those concerned as it represents an improvement in access to locally grown fruit and vegetables, a reduction in waste, a reduction in food miles and contributes to an improvement in healthy eating.

We are in the process of writing up a full report on the operations in 2014 in preparation for the 2015 season and will make it available as soon as we can.

The return from TAMS to GFAA this season has totalled to over £140. I want to offer my congratulations and thanks to all who contributed to this magnificent community effort and to the TAMS team for making this possible.

Aberdeen and It’s Your Neighbourhood

By Norman

On October 28, 2014

In Advice, Events, News

Sandy Scott from ACC

Aberdeen was well represented at this week’s IYN event in Stirling. Fifteen city organisations won awards and Aberdeen provided two of the keynote speakers.

Sandy Scott from Aberdeen City Council gave an interesting account of his experiences as a Beautiful Scotland judge. He stressed that he and his fellow judges likes to see passion, a sense of place and history and lots of community involvement in projects and organisations – especially from youngsters.

Sandy offered lots of practical advice for those being considered for IYN or Beautiful Scotland awards:

be prepared for visiting assessors – have some brollies to hand or water bottles on hot days
encourage as many as possible to come along and have their say
point up ties to local heritage and traditions
use interpretation panels and photos
don’t be afraid of showing some humour
get the next generation and schools involved if possible
show off your pride and your passion for your site
demonstrate examples of recycling and repurposing
provide evidence of all year round activities
provide examples of press coverage and other publicity events
apparently scones and pancakes often play their part in successful visits!

Wendy Gibson (Slopefield)

Wendy Gibson from the Slopefield Allotments Association gave a great account of their history and work towards achieving their outstanding award. They have worked hard at site and association improvements including:

adding a pond and wet area.
planting areas of wild flowers
inviting local councillors to their community days
developing their communal area and repurposed James Hutton Hut
holding seed swap days and awards events – including welly-throwing!
exploiting plotters links to business and community resources
working with their local primary school on visits and curricular activities
establishing bio-diversity partnerships and projects
seeking advice from IYN assessors and representatives
bribing Community Sunday volunteers with tea and cake after work sessions!

Break out the bubbly!

By Norman

On October 28, 2014

In Events, News

Michael Hart and Norman Coutts subbed for Stuart at this week’s It’s Your Neighbourhood event in Stirling. A full report of the event will follow, but we were surprised to find GFAA were to be presented with an award having achieved a thriving level assessment in our first year of participation in the scheme. Here’s what IYN had to say about our efforts:

“Working in partnership with Aberdeen City, Robert Gordon University and its Student Union, the group has established broader community involvement in the allotment. The group has established, and maintains, a community orchard and is developing a Community Garden for use by people with disabilities.”

As well as a series of very interesting presentations the event featured an exhibition area with stalls hosted by a range of commercial and charity organisations. A folder of their publicity materials has been placed in the bothy. Just the thing in case a rainy day or two interrupts your winter digging and you are looking for something to read!

Thanks go to Aberdeen City Council for laying on the mini-bus that took us to the event and Sandy Scott who did all the driving. As I say, the presentations were packed with good practical ideas for improving our plots and site and a full report will follow in a later post.

Our Merry Tiller

By Norman

On September 21, 2014

In News

Thanks got to Vinny for this account of his efforts to bring our very own Merry Tiller back to life.

“I spotted the Merry Tiller when Stuart showed me round the common tool shed, I factored this in to my plans for clearing my plot (No 33) once all of the heavy workload was complete (weed clearance and moving an overgrown grass path.)

So I got the Tiller out of the shed and attempted to start the machine but to no success, at this point Stuart came over and we conducted a brief inspection in to the non-starting engine which resulted in the removal of the engine (only once I had electrocuted Stuart with the condenser / spark plug) ha, ha… I then agreed to take the engine home and have a look at it (semi -committed)… but it was turning in to personal challenge as I couldn’t return empty handed!

I went through the 101 of engine repair and looked at the electrics and found that the spark plug was a bit cracked, so I change this out to no avail, as we had a spark but no engine turnover. I then concentrated on the carburettor and the fuel system where I stripped the carburettor and checked it was working correctly…everything was in good working order?

I then removed the cylinder head and found the valves and piston gunked up, so I cleaned them up thinking the fuel / air mixture was compromised due to the carbon deposits? I then noticed that the piston was not moving up and down when I pulled the start cord…hum! I suspected there was something major wrong with the engine internal parts?

I removed the crank case and found the piston connection rod totally destroyed ( I think the engine oil had run dry). At this point I started to look on the internet to source the engine manufacture and parts required to repair the engine. I did a bit of digging on some Woolsey Merry Tiller enthusiast web sites, where the information pointed to the engine being manufactured by Briggs and Stratton? So I contacted Brigs and Stratton in the USA who informed me (after sending photos of the engine) that this is a Tecumseh engine (French / Italian).

With this info I contacted a distributor in Poland who confirmed the engine manufacturer and the model type. From this contact I learnt that the engine was manufacture in the early eighties (1982) and that the factory that built the engine in was no longer standing. With this new info I was able to find an online manual and identified the part number for the piston connection rod. With a bit of internet wizardry I sourced a new OEM part on the UK EBay, but the new part was not enough to fix the engine as I had to grind and polish the crank shaft and blend the piston head as this had been badly scored when the connection rod exploded.

After some TLC I got the engine to rotate freely by hand and then added fuel and crossed my fingers as I pulled the rope? The engine didn’t start on the first five or six pulls but then it bust in to life…Hoorah.

With a large grin on my face I left it running and vibrating around my back garden patio for 10 minutes (to the amusement of the kids and annoyance of the wife) and then I started it again to ensure it was not a fluke…the rest is history.

I really enjoyed fixing this engine as I am an engineer by trade, albeit electrical biased and now in management (promoted out of the coal face), but this is as fantastic piece of solid British garden machinery that all the plotters can now use to lessen the burden of tilling the land. And as new acting authority on Tillers I can offer instruction on the use and maintenance of the Tiller if required .

I am not a qualified engine mechanic but I have worked on Tornado F3 and GR1 jet aircraft engines in a previous life (12 years RAF 1990 to 2002) so I can turn my hand to most engineering type things. If anybody on the site requires assistance please just ask? But I don’t work for free…cups of tea, jam, chutney or biscuits are all tradable goods!”

BBQ Thanks and Photos

By Garthdee Field

On September 15, 2014

In Events, News

Our BBQ last Sunday was a great success. It was super to see so many generations relaxing together and enjoying themselves. As many of those present said, we are very lucky to have such a great space on site for our social gatherings.

If you could not make it on the day there are more pictures available via the Photos pages above.

My thanks to all who gave of their time and efforts behind the scenes and on the day helping make it such a relaxed and enjoyable afternoon. Here’s to next year!

Stuart

Work underway on Access Raised Beds

By Norman

On September 11, 2014

In News

GFAA’s joint project with RGU and the City Council took a big step forward this week with work commencing on phase 1 of the raised beds to give access for gardeners with disabilities.

First, a six-foot deep soak-away was created to relieve the occasional water-logging that occurs at this end of our site.

Next, the first part of a field drain was added, draining into the sump. In future works this drain will be extended to run the length of the south boundary of the raised beds area.

Finally, the areas of hard-standing were laid and the bases of the raised beds put in place. In the completed scheme the hard-standing will help wheelchair access from the nearby car parking area and the narrow planting beds will allow easier access to the plants.

This work is phase one of four, with three more sets of beds to be added in the future. It is wonderful to see this work underway as a return on the hard work done by GFAA, RGU and the City Council to plan and find funding for the development.