Sekonda watch found at Muriel Jones Allotments. If it belongs to you then please contact info@fromeallotments.co.uk

Rowden House is looking for gardeners to give up their time to come to the home to work alongside residents on their raised flower beds. They are also looking to have a vegetable patch and use the produce in the kitchen.

If this is something you would be able to help with, for a couple of hours a week, then please contact Natasha Weston on 07740116258.

There will be land available for volunteers to have their own vegetable plots if they wish.

Frome Allotment Association’s 2016 AGM is on Wednesday 23rd March at 7.00 pm. Trinity Church Hall is the venue.

Members have been sent an agenda by post.

Our Get Growing club for parents at Vallis and St Louis schools at Welshmill allotments starts on Thursday March 17th. Parents can pick up a flyer and application form from their school office.

Application needs to be in by Thursday 10th March.

Gracewell of Frome has presented Welshmill Allotments with two beautiful new benches. The care home, formerly Rossetti House, and the allotments are neighbours on the banks of the River Frome and they like to share their resources with each other.

Gracewell residents regularly drop over to the allotments to enjoy some gardening on the raised beds, while the allotment association use the care home for meetings. “It’s great to have a friendly relationship with our neighbours,” said Andy Wilson of Frome Allotment Association. “These benches will be used not just by Gracewell residents, but also by pupils at Vallis and St,Louis schools who have plots on the site and by their parents and other visitors. We’re quite a sociable lot !The benches have been sourced locally and are strong enough to last for many years.”

Recipe for Potage Bonne Femme

A classic French soup and very much an old favourite. Call it leek and potato soup if you prefer. It’s good to cook at this time of the year when you have plenty of plump leeks ready for digging up from the allotment.

This recipe is closely based on one from French Country Cooking by Elizabeth David.

2 oz butter
1 lb potatoes
2 pt water
1-2 carrots
2 large leeks
chervil or parsley
salt, pepper
cream

Clean and slice the leeks thinly, including some of the green stem, and dice the carrots.
Melt the butter and cook the leeks and carrots for a few minutes until they are thoroughly coated in butter.

Add the peeled, diced potatoes and stir for another minute. Add water and salt to taste. Cook uncovered at a gentle boil, for about 15-20 minutes. Then liquidize.

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One of our plotholders at North Hill Allotments in Frome is Mary Longford of Absolutely Preserves. She talked about her passion for preserving on BBC Radio 4’s the Food programme, “Jam Tomorrow.. Today.”

Our Get Growing course which meets every Thursday at Welshmill Allotments goes from strength to strength. The course is for parents from Vallis and St Louis schools. We have covered a range of topics from growing in a small space to protecting your brassicas from birds and butterflies. The course has been supported by Aster Communities.