May is one of the busiest months on the allottment and there is a long list of vegetables to sow outside and bring on under glass.

My early potatoes suffered an early set-back at the start of May when there were some early frosts which nipped the early leaf growth as it was just peeping above the ground .I had thought about covering them over but assumed the risk of frost was over and this could wait a few days longer- how wrong could I be! Fortunately the potatoes have recovered and are now all happilly earthed up. 

FEDAGA and the City of Edinburgh Council is pleased to announce the 2012 Edinburgh in Bloom Allotments Competitions.
If you'd like to enter your own plot you will have to apply for an entry form. You can do this via the Council website: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/495/parks_gardens_and_open_spaces/766/e...
All affiliated sites are automatically included in the Best Site, Most Improved Site and Most Waste Aware Site competitions. These look at the allotment site as a whole.

Early Spring marks the start of the gardening season when days become longer, and in theory the weather should start to warm up.

URGENT CALL FOR GARDENERS...
SAGE (Sow and Grow Everywhere), an offshoot of the creative group NVA have met with Grosvenor Developments on the last site to be developed on Fountainbridge North and are keen to create a mobile allotment site there.
The idea is that soil and growing medium is put into one ton builders bags and everything is grown in them. In two or three years, when the developer wants to build, the bags are transported to another site.
See: http://sowandgroweverywhere.org

Vegetable Seeds Pot Sown In March The Allotted Month – March 2012  

The artist Pamela Grace has been visiting Inverleith allotments for more than two years to draw and paint there. She has also painted the allotments at Dean Gallery, as well as in other parts of Scotland. It is likely that allotment holders will really enjoy her work.
The exhibition is staged from 10 March to 7 May at the John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
On Thursday 29 March, at 3pm, there is an opportunity to meet the artist and view her watercolours and solar-plate etchings. The event is free but please RSVP to events@rbge.org.uk

Mid –winter remains cold and although the days gradually begin to lengthen much of your plot will remain dormant. This makes it a good time to plan ahead and decide on your crop rotation strategy for the Spring.
 
Make up a crop rotation plan for the year as it is important to rotate crops of the 4 different families (onions; beans; potatoes/roots; brassicas) to prevent diseases becoming established in the soil.
 

From 2nd February to 15th April at the John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Photographs of allotments in the Central Belt.
See Carlo's own website for more pictures... http://www.carlodalessandro.com/portfolio/home/album/allotment_project?p...

We have received a request from a student at Edinburgh University for help in conducting research into peat and alternative growing media. Her name is Amy Waterson:

I am an honours year ecological science student at the University of Edinburgh. I am currently undertaking a research project exploring the use of peat and alternative growing media in the UK horticultural industry. It is hoped my findings will support ongoing DEFRA investigation into sustainable alternatives to peat.

Learn about winter pruning of your fruit trees and bushes from an expert - George Anderson of the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society and 'Beechgrove' presenter.
To be held on Saturday 4 February 2012 10am-12pm at Bridgend allotment site on Old Dalkeith Road, south of Cameron Toll roundabout at the end of the old cottages, opposite the Inch Nursery, meeting on the RCHS demonstration allotment at the entrance.
This year George Anderson will be showing plotholders how to prune the fruit bushes on their own allotments.