Welcome to the new website of the Ward End Gardeners Association – an allotment association which manages 5 sites in Ward End, Birmingham 8. The first aim of this website is to tell newcomers all about our beautiful sites, where they are, what they have to offer, how much they cost and how to rent one. You can explore the menu on the left hand side to view the comprehensive information that we have provided. We invite you to do so.

The second aim is to serve as a community hub, as a repository for the sharing of information and for plot holders to raise issues, to contribute ideas or to help with the overall management of our facilities. There is also a “members only” forum where you can raise your issues . If you are a plot holder, we encourage you to join the forum and contribute!

The association is voluntarily and democratically run entirely by the plot holders themselves. Everyone is welcome to contribute ideas and help if you feel inclined to do so. There are many things to get involved with from helping with site maintenance, administration or contributing for fundraisers and events

Featured Articles

Coronavirus crisis: Going to your plot – yes or no?

You can’t move for information, advice and instructions at the moment, but a lot of them are general and it’s hard to take in when you’re thinking – Does this really apply to me? Quite a few of us plotholders are over 70, or have health problems of one sort ...
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International Womens Day

Sunday 8th March 2020 is International Womens Day! And why is that worth noting on a website for allotments? Perhaps because allotments have been a mainly male preserve until recently but we women are now waking up to what we’re missing and doing a positive ‘Me Too’ out there on ...
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Growing potatoes

Lifting Desiree potatoes at the end of August If you’re new to gardening vegetables, potatoes are a good one to get you going. Just about everyone likes to eat them - boiled, mashed, baked or as chips. They are inexpensive to buy, but growing your own means you can try ...
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Dealing with slugs

One of the main things you have to deal with as a gardener is the plant-eating competition! It’s not just you that wants to eat your lettuces and strawberries – there’s birds and insects and mammals who have a taste for them too, and they generally help themselves when you’re ...
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Slug pellets – To use or not use?

In December 2018, the government decided to prohibit the outdoor use of metaldehyde, a pesticide used to control slugs in a range of crops and in gardens, as from Spring 2020. Why? Because the experts said that it poses an “unacceptable risk to birds and mammals”. Slug damage - What ...
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Welcome to New Plotholders!

The longer days and sight of green shoots appearing in January have prompted an influx of new people to join our ranks! Over the past month or so, 5 new local people have signed on the dotted line to take on a plot at two of the Ward End Gardeners ...
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Wonder of Parsnips

Parsnips are an allotment favourite, a root vegetable related to carrots. Keen allotment gardeners who compete at shows enjoy growing ones with amazing long roots – which takes a lot of effort and skill. Fortunately for those of us with less patience and know-how, they taste just as good when ...
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Online Future Payments

We are looking into a facility to pay allotment rentals online. There are a few very strong reasons to do this. First, it's 2020, and according to people like Star Wars creator George Lucas we should all have super sci-fi flying machines, but in reality we cannot even pay for ...
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Community News and Bulletins

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Since the Government imposed further restrictions to prevent Coronavirus from spreading so rapidly, we've been advised to close and limit ...
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An upside to social distancing?

A big plus for Ward End Gardeners Association allotment holders – and anyone else with an allotment – is the ...
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Coronovirus epidemic – is there anything positive to report?

When so much of the news is bad, and some of it is very bad indeed, it’s still possible to ...
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Coronavirus crisis: Going to your plot – yes or no?

You can’t move for information, advice and instructions at the moment, but a lot of them are general and it’s ...
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Bulletin – Coronavirus

Advice is arriving thick and fast, changing daily even hourly, about how we cope with the coronavirus pandemic. So how ...
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Lime Tree Rd Clear-up

In between the storms and floods, the big clear-up at our second biggest site has begun, with a few plotholders ...
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Fairholme Rd Site Clear-Up

Plotholders at one of the two small sites run by Ward End Gardeners Association have been in over-drive this week ...
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National Allotment Society Meeting

This is being held at 2pm on Saturday 15th February 2020 at St. Giles' Church Hall, Vicarage Lane, Ash Green, ...
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Recipes

Pumpkin treats

Pumpkin treat - savoury Pumpkin Scones This recipe makes scones with a difference – savoury, no sugar and with the ...
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Chick Pea Soup with Chard

About this recipe:  Chard is such a brilliant vegetable, easy to grow and it just keeps going through the winter ...
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Beetroot – Superfood

Beetroot If your only experience of beetroot is in salads with vinegar, then a beetroot glut on your allotment is ...
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Pancake day special

Here's a pancake day special supper you can cook up from allotment ingredients, as recommended by Vanessa, who used to ...
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Beetroot Soups

Borscht (Beetroot soup) Not every year is a good year for beetroot, but when it grows well, you’re going to ...
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Parsnip Soups

There are two main ways to make a soup featuring parsnips.  The quickest and most straight-forward generally involves frying onion, ...
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