Adopt-a-Row Scheme

Carshalton Lavender

 

Adopt-a-Row Information Pack

 

 

Why we need your help!

The many rows of lavender on Stanley Road Allotments have been battling against persistent perennial weeds (mainly couch grass and bindweed) for many years and now need serious help.  We tried other options but concluded we must either spray every two years with a mild, permitted herbicide (glyphosate) or find enthusiastic and committed people to weed the rows thoroughly.  We hope the latter will prove effective for as much of the field as possible!

 

What’s in it for you?

-           improve your fitness

-           personal satisfaction of involvement in a local community project

-           an Adopt-a-Row certificate and your name assigned to a numbered row displayed at harvest weekend

-           social opportunity (or for quiet contemplative weeding if you prefer)

-           prize for the best weeded row awarded at Harvest Weekend

-           free bucket of lavender per row

 

What you need to do

-           pull out the grasses and perennial weeds from the base of each plant in your (numbered) row, taking out as much root as possible

-           start weeding in April and complete by the Harvest Weekend in mid-July

-           thoroughly weeding one row will probably take 2 people between 5-8 hours in total, depending on your speed and strength

 

What you need to bring

-           wear appropriate, comfortable clothing according to the weather – remember sunscreen and a hat when the weather is fair

-           gardening gloves and a kneeling pad, depending on your weeding style!

-           a hand fork to ease the soil around the weeds’ roots

-           water and a snack

-           lavender essential oil or medication to soothe/counteract bee or nettle stings

 

When can you weed?

-           on Saturday mornings between 9.30am and 12.30pm from March to mid-July.  Be sure to call ahead on 07948 174907 (Roger or Laurie) to confirm you will have access

-           or pay a £10 deposit to Sutton Council for an allotment key for free access

 

Where is the field?

On Stanley Road Allotments – entrance by South Carshalton Day Centre, Oaks Way, Carshalton  SM5 4NQ

 

Health & Safety

-           gloves will protect your hands from grasses, nettles and the occasional bramble

-           bees love the lavender too, when it is flowering. Stay calm.  If you do not annoy them, they should not annoy you.  If you are stung, lavender essential oil is great for soothing stings (including nettle rash) – just apply a small quantity neat (see www.carshaltonlavender.org for stockists of Carshalton Lavender Essential Oil)

-           the ground is uneven in places so wear sensible shoes, avoid running and watch your step

 

Who to contact

-           about working on the field: Roger Webb or Laurie Rudham on the Carshalton Lavender mobile, 07948 174907 – please leave a message.

-           about Carshalton Lavender in general: carshaltonlavender@yahoo.co.uk or call the mobile.

 

Rosemary Beetle

The rosemary beetle (Chrysolina americana) is an attractive 8mm long metallic green beetle with deep red stripes.  Native to southern Europe, it has recently become established in Britain, probably imported with plants.  It can decimate rosemary, lavender and thyme if left unchecked.

 

The grubs are greyish white with five darker longitudinal lines; fully grown larvae are 5-8mm long.  The 2mm long sausage-shaped eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves.  Both the adults and the larvae feed on the leaves and flowers of rosemary, lavender and thyme.

 

If you spot these beetles on the site, please destroy them and report your sighting by calling Carshalton Lavender’s mobile, 07948 174907, as soon as possible – thanks.

 

History of lavender in Carshalton

The environmental charity, BioRegional Development Group, established The Local Lavender Project on Stanley Road Allotments in 1996, with the London Borough of Sutton, Downview Prison and sponsorship from several sources.  Its aim was to restore the world-famous lavender industry of Carshalton and Mitcham.  Enthusiasts from Downview grew and planted cuttings on vacant Council allotments. 

 

The 3-acre field on the allotment site was planted with different varieties of lavender from cuttings collected from the gardens of local people who believed their lavender came from the original fields in the area.  Our plants, cultivated without pesticides and fertilisers from the start, probably come from 1870s stock that was planted after the earlier variety, Lavendula angustifolia, was wiped out by shab at about this time. 

 

The first ‘community’ harvest was in 2000.  Each summer over a weekend in mid-July, the public are invited to pick their own lavender.  The remainder of the crop is made into “Local Lavender” Essential Oil, sold through BioRegional and local shops.

 

Since 2003, a group of volunteers, ‘Carshalton Lavender’, has managed the 3-acre site and run the Harvest Weekend open days.  It costs around £3,000 to maintain the lavender field plus hundreds of hours of time from volunteers (particularly Roger Webb, Laurie Rudham and Pooran Desai). 

 

Income comes primarily from sales made during the annual lavender harvest as well as selling the distilled lavender oil throughout the year.  This income is now sufficient to cover the maintenance of the field and the Harvest Weekend’s organisation, so the project is self-supporting.

 

See www.carshaltonlavender.org for more information. 

 

 

Mayfield Lavender

Between 2003 and 2004, BioRegional planted 20 acres of fields adjacent to Oaks Farm, on the border of Carshalton Beeches in south London, with heritage varieties of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Folgate’ and ‘Maillette’ plus a hybrid, Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’).  BioRegional received generous sponsorship from a number of sources to expand the revival of UK grown lavender.

 

The project transformed under-used, fly-tipped land into an attractive lavender field, securing the long-term future of essential green space for the community.

 

BioRegional’s aim was to move this project to a self-supporting financial situation and Mayfield Lavender now manages the field on a commercial basis.

 

Mayfield Lavender harvests their lavender in July and sells the oil at local farmers’ markets and on the field itself.  See www.mayfieldlavender.com for details.