Pilfering from car park

If you ever use the gate in the “woodchip” car park you will know that the builders who are working at 66 Cricket Road are also using the space to access the construction project. We need to remind EWAA members that, apart from the woodchip, any materials stored in the car park belong to the builders, so please DO NOT help yourself to bricks, pallets, tools, or any other useful-looking objects you spot there.
Thank you!

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EWAA Committee

Protect and improve your soil this winter

Have you considered planting a green manure now to improve the quality of the soil on your plot?

To learn more about how to use Green Manures there’s a helpful summary from Bob Flowerdew in the Banstead episode of Gardeners’ Question Time, recorded on18th November 2022. It starts at 14.30 mins.

Both Grazing Rye and Winter Tares (vetch) are in stock at the EWAA allotment shop, which will be open from 11-12 each Sunday morning until the end of November.

Autumn stock on sale from Sunday 15th October

There are fresh supplies in the EWAA Shop which opens on Sundays between 11:00-12:00.

  • Alliums – top quality autumn-planting varieties of banana shallot, yellow onion, red onion, garlic
  • Broad beans & peas – Aquadulce, Sutton Dwarf, Douce Provence, Meteor. Sow now for spring harvest!
  • Rokolene – thick netting to keep the pigeons off your brassicas
  • Fleece – protection from frosts
  • Peat-free compost – various choices

Card payments only, we cannot handle cash.
Please bring your own bags.

Longor ‘banana’ shallots

Survey Results & Revised Rules

The Committee would like to thank everyone who responded to the EWAA online survey, which was sent out at the end of August. It was the first time that feedback had been gathered in this way, and the results have definitely given us a better understanding of members’ views and concerns.

Response to the survey

  • 251 emails were sent out to all members who have a mailbox (two people do not)
  • 91 members responded
  • 160 members did not respond
  • 36% of the members contacted expressed their opinion

Analysis of the response to each of the six question is on display in the EWAA Shop, which is open on Sunday mornings from 11 to 12.

A big thank-you goes to the seven people who volunteered some of their time to help the Committee manage this large site. We will be in touch with you shortly!

Revised Rules

The recent AGM approved a number of revisions to the EWAA Rules and Cultivation Requirements, so please be sure to read these.
NB – washing produce, tools, boots, etc. in the water tanks spreads disease and is not permitted.

EWAA Committee

This might interest you…

…the EWAA allotments could feature on a local mural.

A couple of local residents, who have transformed the pedestrian alley between Howard St and Boundary Brook into “Flower Lane”, are now fundraising to pay for a wall mural by artist Lisa Curtis. The East Ward Allotments will be featured in the mural as a nod to the history of the land Boundary Brook is built on.

Community Alleyway Art Project has launched a crowdfunding page to raise the funds, so to find out more visit the JustGiving site, where you can also donate and share if you wish.

Please put the AGM on September 24th in your diary…

…the EWAA needs more participation from its members!

Here are three good reasons to volunteer some of your time to actively contribute to the running of the East Ward Allotment Association:

  1. You will make friends and gain a sense of community with people who are all united by a shared love of gardening.
  2. You will help ensure that this little corner of Oxford is green and productive for the maximum number of people and is a community resource for the future.
  3. You will have the satisfaction of knowing that without you, the association would cease to exist: no plots let, no keys provided, no meetings called, no expertise shared. 

We are a community group that can only function if all members participate in running the site. This is democracy in action! Please make a start by attending the AGM and finding out about the challenges we face and the possible solutions.

At the AGM you will:

  • Vote for next year’s committee members, officers, and trustees. If you know someone who is interested in joining the committee, please nominate him/her by sending an email to to contact@ewaa.org.uk by Thursday 21st September. To find out more refer to EWAA Roles Explained.
  • Learn about the current lease negotiations with Oxford City Council.
  • Vote on the proposed new constitution and site rules so that up-to-date governance documents are in place ready for the new 21-year lease.
  • You will vote on the proposal for a rent rise to take the price of a full-sized (10 pole) plot to £40/year. This is still below national average for the cost of an allotment, but we need to increase rent because the Council is going to put our rent up by 25% under the new lease and also make us responsible for maintaining boundary fences which were previously a Council responsibility.  Added to this, water and electricity bills have risen.

All these issues will be discussed more thoroughly at the AGM, so please come and contribute to the decision-making.

EWAA Committee

AGM: draft documents for consideration

If you are coming to the EWAA Annual General Meeting on Sunday 24th and would like to propose any alternative or additional wording to either of the two draft documents, New Constitution or Revised Rules & Cultivation Requirements which we will be voting on, you need to send the text of your proposed amendment to chair@ewaa.org.uk by the end of the day this coming Thursday, 21st September.

For more information refer to the message: AGM Agenda & Survey Results

EWAA Committee

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