More Cracking Good Food Sessions at the Lost Plot

Thanks to generous funding from Southway Housing, we're running three more cooking sessions - two down at The Lost Plot on Saturdays 16 July and 13 August and one at Buckthorn House on 30 July. Times are 4.00 - 6.30pm.

The lovely Sarah will be chef at the two sessions down at the allotment and the other chef will be announced shortly.

These sessions are FREE for residents of the Hough End and Arrowfield Estates, so if you're interested, get your name down early by sending Sarah a text on 07930 898935.

Don't forget, we're meeting every Sunday from 1pm onwards and sometimes weekday evenings too, so if you're interested in joining Chorlton's original community allotment contact Clare (07595 873221) Rachel 07739 409449) or Josh (07789 9122055).

Lost Plot Allotment - Pizza paradise

That's two weeks on the trot now we've managed to fire up the clay oven and have had tasty snacks to tempt us while the pizza queens get cooking.
Site is looking really good as everything bursts into life.
Particularly pleased with how well the salads are doing the polytunnel. We just need a few more tomatoes to germinate and we're laughing.
Two newbies down this weekend, so if anyone else would like to join us please do.
We meet every Sunday from 1pm down at Southern Allotments. Can't promise pizza every week, but you never know...
More information on The Lost Plot, Chorlton's original community allotment from clare.walker@afsl.org.uk or phone 08595 873221.

BIG GREEN FESTIVAL

Looking forward to finding new members to share our lovely allotment at the Big Green Festival in Chorlton this Saturday, April 16th.

The Lost Plot have a stall, so don't be shy, come along and say hello. If you've been thinking about having an allotment but don't know where to start or worry it'll be too much to take on, then becoming a member of the Lost Plot could be just the solution you're looking for.

We meet every Sunday at 1pm, we all pitch in together and all the produce we grow is shared.

We've got a pond, some lovely reclaimed sheds, a polytunnel and a great communal area. Our unique selling point might just be our clay oven, built on site with our own hands (and feet, for those of you who remember treading the clay and hay!!) and which will be put to good use baking pizzas at one of our summer events.

Phone Clare 07595 873221 or Rachel 07739409449 or email clare.walker@afsl.org.uk for more info. Look forward to seeing you soon!

Allotmentalists call time - but only for the CIF Fund

Well it's the end of the line for our Carbon Innovation Fund grant, courtesy of Manchester City Council. It's enabled us to do loads of things over the past year; we've had over 500 people down at the Lost Plot or at our Cooking Sessions with Cracking Good Food; we had three major events on site; we ran 28 workshops and had 38 work sessions (we would've had 39 but snow scuppered one!); we worked with over 24 third sector organisations ranging from Offshoots and Tameside, Oldham and Glossop Kitchen Garden to Women Refugees and Asylum Seekers to Action For Sustainable Living and the Kindling Trust.
We're still hoping to be able to run events and sessions down on site and next Saturday we'll have a presence at Chorlton's Big Green Festival, so come along and say hello. Don't forget, we're always looking for new volunteers. We all work together on the allotment, it's great fun and all the produce is shared. We meet every Sunday from 1pm so if you're interested get in touch clare.walker@afsl.org.uk or 07595 873221.

Cracking Good Food Sessions with The Lost Plot

First of three sessions started on Tuesday 22 Feb and we had a full house. Our chef Sarah introduced us to the delights of Jamaican Patties and after much chopping, stirring and making of pastry, we all got to taste some delicious snacks.

We were honoured with a visit from our local councillors Bernie and Norman and local MP John Leech.

"Everthing was interesting" said Monique and Harris "like chopping up things and making pastry"

Don't forget we've got another session on Tuesday 8 March. We'll be making stews. Sessions are free to anyone living on the Hough End and Arrowfield estates. If you'd like to take part text Sarah on 07930 898 935 or clare on 07595 873 221 or email clare.walker@afsl.org.uk

Sundays at the Lost Plot

Sunday 13 Feb

Not a very nice day for an outing to the allotment, but before we got drenched we managed to tidy up, sort out the shed, do some weeding and start turning over the soil in the Polytunnel.

Half the raspberry patch has been weeded and mulched, the other half can be tackled this weekend along with moving the blackcurrants and sorting the cage out.

We meet from 1pm onwards and new volunteers are always welcome!

We've got an Introduction to Local Growing workshop coming up in conjunction with Hulme Garden Centre so watch this space...

MORE FREE COOKING SESSIONS

CRACKING GOOD FOOD SESSIONS WITH THE LOST PLOT

Tuesdays 6.30 - 8.30pm
Buckthorn House, Nell Lane Chorlton

22nd February: Patties; 8th March: Stews; 22nd March: Burgers
Veg and non-Veg options

Cooking sessions are Free to residents of the Arrowfield and Hough End estates.

To guarantee a place be sure to book in advance either:

Email | clare@afsl.org.uk
Phone | 07595 873221
Text (Sarah) | 07930 898935
All are welcome, but places are limited

February 2011

Looking forward to another month down the allotment. Welcome to Kelly who's recently joined us - we're getting very international.

This week we'll be moving black currants, preparing ground in the poly tunnel, mulching and digging over. There's still road clearing to be done and the pond to be sorted, so plenty of jobs for everyone.
Anyone wanting to join us, just come along to the Lost Plot on Sunday from 1pm or give me a call on 07595 873 221. New Volunteers always welcome!

Annual General Meeting

Annual General Meeting

This year's AGM will take place on Thursday 3 March 2011. We're actively looking for new volunteers to get involved with the Lost Plot, so if you're interested come along to the meeting and find out more. Get in touch with Clare at afsl.clare@gmail.com

Women Refugee & Asylum Seeker Introduction to Allotment Gardening Course

Despite the freezing weather on Saturday, we managed to complete our 4 week course. Certificates were issued and there were smiles all round!

Due to illness we combined a couple of the sessions and Ann Marie and co will return to The Lost Plot in the Spring to help plant vegetables and take part in any further workshops.

We may be able to offer a similar course to other interested parties, so contact Clare, The Lost Plot's Community Education Coordinator for further information afsl.clare@gmail.com or phone her on 07595 873221.

5th Birthday Bonfire Bash

Over 100 people turned up to our 5th Birthday celebrations. Thanks to those who came in the afternoon to help clear the road and sort out the brassicas.

The clay oven baked potatoes were a great success and the soup and home-made cakes were well received by all.

Although a few people were expecting rather more from the firework display, we were really pleased with our new fire/social area and everyone enjoyed the sparklers.

The guess the weight of the pumpkin was won by Jay and we're waiting for reports about how the pumpkin recipes went down at home.

BONFIRE BIRTHDAY BASH AT THE LOST PLOT

To celebrate a successful year of growing and five whole years in the community, we're holding a Bonfire Birthday party on Sunday 7th November from 2pm.


We'd like to welcome friends old and new to our Birthday celebrations. You can take a tour of the plot, meet the volunteers and perhaps get involved in some digging, weeding and general volunteer tasks.



We'll light the bonfire at around 5pm and we'll be offering food prepared in our very own clay oven. There'll also be a hearty range of soups, baked potatoes and seasonal food made from this year’s harvest on offer.



And, to cap it all, we'll be having a few fireworks as soon as the sun has set.



So if you're interested in allotment gardening or just want to see how Chorlton's original community allotment is getting on and would like to join in the celebrations on 7th November please contact Clare Walker on 07595 873221 or clare.walker@afsl.org.uk.

Sunday 27th June : Buds & Buds Summer Event

Despite the football there was a grand turnout at the Summer Event to celebrate The Year of Biodiversity.

Everyone enjoyed the sweltering heat with lemonade and a vegetarian barbecue executed with the usual Lost Plot style - cooked in a reclaimed sink barbecue for that recycled authenticity! All those who glugged down lemonade used their cups to plant wild flowers for their own gardens to attract those all important bees and butterflies. Meanwhile the kids got to have there face painted with different insects in an array of colours and enjoyed the wildlife pond that's teaming with bugs now it's more established. There were plenty of water boatman, newts and a dragonfly even made a brief visit to check out all the fuss!

Tours of the allotment seemed to get some great feedback especially from those people who had attended the spring event and were now seeing all the volunteers hard work pay off.



It was an all round brilliant day, finished off with Sarah's amazing strawberry cream cake. Wow!

May 25th - Nell Lane Wild Food Hunt with Jesper Launder

On Tuesday 25th May 2010, local herbalist and wild food expert Jesper Launder led a group of volunteers from The Lost Plot Allomtent Project & local residents of Nell Lane estate on a forage around Chortlon Water Park and the River Mersey. The group learned to identify a range of edible foods as well as the odd medicinal herb and then a feast was prepared within the park from all the foods forgaed.

Jesper, a qualified medicinal herbalist and food forager for over five years, was full of enthusiasm and relentless knowledge about the uses of plants. He was keen and patient with the group and his love of his subject encouraged the paticpants to trial leaves, herbs and roots such as the pungent and fiery horseraddish found directly on the River Mersey. There were a few odd stares from passers by when a few particpants took on the challenge to pick a nettle by hand, roll and eat the stinging leaf. It was an invigorating experience, if not a little nerve racking! Overall it seemed to be the children were most excited during the hunt. They were willing to give anything a go.

The feast included assorted tepura -using a light batter to coat rapseed flowers (which taste like brocoli) and cumphrey leaves - and St. Geroges mushrooms which were actually foraged earlier in the day from Chorlton Ees.

Check us out in the online 'Now Then' Magazine

It's a short and sweetly article about 'Food Waste'...but none the less a good opportunity to get the sustainability message out there folks.

http://nowthenmanchester.blogspot.com/2010/05/food-waste.html