Subject: [permaculture] Scotland's first organic allotment is being created in Edinburgh
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 07:16:36 -0600
(now they need a dose of permaculture in those allotments..)
Scotland's first organic allotment is being created in Edinburgh
A new council site due to open in Edinburgh is believed to be
Scotland's first official organic allotment.
Bridgend in the city's Craigmillar is being transformed into a
pesticide-free area with 60 individual plots, due to open in June.
The 1.43 hectares site on an old disused farm replaces Hawkhill
allotment near Easter Road.
The move comes after concerns over the risk of chemical spray drift
onto organic plots at traditional sites.
Edinburgh currently has 20 council-run allotments and around 1,100
plot-holders.
The Bridgend site will be ground-breaking in terms of supporting and
promoting organic cultivation and sustainability within the allotment
community
But more than 600 people are currently on the waiting list and the
council is struggling to find enough traditional allotment plots to
satisfy the city's green-fingered population.
Cllr Ricky Henderson, the city's leisure head said all allotment
holders would be bound to adopt only organic cultivation techniques.
"The Bridgend site will be ground-breaking in terms of supporting and
promoting organic cultivation and sustainability within the allotment
community. The accessible nature of the site is also a very positive
move."
The site lies within the Craigmillar Castle Park, which is listed as
a Site of Importance of Nature Conservation.
The unique allotment site will even have an organic composting
toilet, raised beds for disabled gardeners and a rainwater collection
system to be used for watering plots.
George Sutherland, Federation of Edinburgh and District Allotments
and Gardens Association trading secretary, said an organic workshop
in April would help people to learn techniques about growing crops
without using pesticides.
"I am not aware of any other allotment site in Scotland where it is
solely organic.
"I welcome the move because there are already about 10% of allotment
owners who are organic. Organic is definitely growing.
"It is harder to grow organically because the number of weapons
against pesticides is very much reduced as well as the low
availability of organic fertilisers.
"It is very exciting and I will be very interested to see how it
develops."
Organic growers need to use soap based pesticides to keep greenfly at
bay as well as regularly remove rotting vegetation to prevent slugs
from being attracted to the area as well as practice strict crop
rotation to stop disease.
[permaculture] Scotland's first organic allotment is being created in Edinburgh,
mIEKAL aND, 03/20/2006