The ground is waterlogged at the moment so the weight of vehicles damages our grass lanes, and makes driving on the site unsafe. Thankfully, a dry spell of weather has been forecast for the coming weeks. We will let you know as soon as the surface is stable enough enough, so please look out for a further update.
In the meantime:
Thank you for your understanding!
EWAA Committee
The allotment shop reopens on Sunday 23rd February, 10:00-12:00. Fresh stock, including seed potatoes, will be available. If you have any questions, contact the shop here.
Potato stock for 2025:
The shop opens on Sunday mornings as follows:
Our neighbours at the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group (OUWG), who manage the Boundary Brook Nature Reserve, generously provide EWAA allotment members with a supply of peasticks each spring, in the form of hazel branches coppiced in the autumn.
This year’s supply is now available at the communal social/play area (midde lane). Please help yourself!
REMINDER: Do not forage/remove anything from the nature reserve itself.
You can read more about Boundary Brook Nature Reserve on this page.
One of our members has generously volunteered to collate an order of plants, which are not normally available from the allotment shop, sourcing them from the Organic Gardener website to arrive in time for planting out at the beginning of March.
If you would like to place an order for any the plants in this list please look at the stock on the link above under the heading “Organic Vegetables & Fruit”, and complete this form to place an order.
NB – you do not need to sign in to Google to do this, and you do not need a gmail account.
Order deadline: 16th February 2025
Payment In Advance: this one-off order is not being organised through the Shop, so once you have submitted the form you will receive an email explaining how to pay.
EWAA Committee
Osney Allotments have reported multiple break-ins to their sheds on both sites overnight at the weekend. Not much was taken, but quite a lot of damage was caused. We recommend you do not leave any valuable items on your plots, and ensure you keep our gates locked.
The Boundary Brook Nature Reserve lies to the south-west of the East Ward Allotments site, and there is a grass buffer zone that marks the division between the two sites. Both the Reserve and the buffer zone are managed by the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group (OUWG).
During January and February this year (2025) the OUWG will undertake two projects that affect the allotment site:
PLEASE NOTE: plot holders must respect the following rules, which apply on the Nature Reserve and also on the buffer zone that separates it from the EWAA:
You can read more about the development programme at the 2025 Nature Reserve on this page.
If plot holders have any comments or concerns regarding the Nature Reserve these should be sent to the EWAA Committee which liaises with the OUWG regularly.
At the AGM in October, some members expressed that they would be willing to donate additional funds to the EWAA on top of their rent, to help bolster our financial stability and build up our reserves. If you are in a position to do so, a donation would be gratefully received.
To make a voluntary donation, please use the same bank details as those you paid your rent to, but with the reference ‘Member donation‘.
The outgoing Treasurer stressed the need to build up our reserve account for costs such as repairs to the Shop building and fencing. In the past the Council has helped with grants, but this sort of financial support is unlikely in future.
For further information on the Association’s finances, please see the minutes of the 2024 AGM.
EWAA Committee
A small group of stalwart plot-holders met up last weekend to clear the litter in the Shop car park, and cut back the invading undergrowth. They also tackled the tangled mess of grass, weeds, and rubbish beside the Children’s Allotment fence, and cleared the overhanging bramble from the footpath between the two Cricket Road gates.
All members of our Association benefit from the time the volunteers gave to these site maintenance activities, so please join the Committee in sending them a warm vote of thanks!
EWAA Committee
Please note that the mains water supply to all the tanks on the allotment site will be switched off at some point this coming weekend, November 16th-17th, as there is a sharp drop in temperatures forecast for next week. This is to prevent burst pipes over the winter.
It will be turned on again in early spring, once the danger of a hard frost is past.
