Author: alpington-yelverton-admin

Are you interested in improving your local environment?

We are looking to put together a group of volunteers to tackle various environmental projects in Alpington and Yelverton over the coming months.

The first project is tidying up the margins of Yelverton Pond now that the digging out of the mud and reeds and rushes that were choking the Pond has been completed and the Pond is dry. 

We would like to complete this work over the next few weeks before the weather becomes wet, so if you could spare a few hours to help please contact us.  It would also be useful if you could bring your own equipment such as gardening gloves, loppers, pruning saws, hedge trimmers or strimmers.

We would aim to work in small groups to ensure an adequate distance is kept.

We also have a project to undertake at the “Millennium Wood” in the Garrick Field in November, coppicing some hazel trees and cutting down dead trees.  Again we would like to bring together a group of volunteers to tackle this project.

If you would like to get involved please contact Sue on 491185 or Louise on 492599.

On behalf of Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council

As Autumn approaches, September can be a time of relative peace for gardeners. The pace slows slightly from the sense of urgency which dominated the Spring and Summer months. There is actually a little bit less to do this month as we enjoy the last of the Summer days in the garden.

Seed collecting

If you wish to, collect seeds from summer-flowering plants, storing them in labelled paper envelopes or small paper bags. 

Water features

If you have a water feature or pond, cover it with netting to prevent leaves collecting and clogging the water in Autumn. 

Lawns

Mow when the grass is dry enough and apply a general lawn feed which will green up your grass if needed. If you have dead patches or thatch in your lawn this can be scarified or raked out and you can spike the lawn with a garden fork to let more air to the roots of the grass. Regular mowing will also help collect the early Autumnal leaf fall.

Harvesting

Continue to enjoy the rewards of your hard work, pick your vegetables and late-fruiting raspberries and blackberries. Dig up any remaining potatoes, otherwise they will be destroyed by slugs. 

Bulb Planting

While the soil is damp and warm, now is the time to plant up your spring bulbs (except tulips, which should be planted in November). 

Roses

Continue to dead-head as flowers fade and tie in new shoots on climbers.

Tidying up

Fallen leaves are an important organic resource, so try not to put them all in your brown bin. You can put them in black bin bags or create a separate pile next to the compost heap to make leaf mould ready which is perfect for soil conditioning next October. 

The Village Pond Restoration Project was kicked off in October 2017 when long-standing resident of Yelverton, the late Ted Cullum, applied for a grant from the Community Benefit Fund.

Ted was concerned that within a few years, if no action was taken, the Village Pond would become nothing more than “a soggy depression, devoid of water and covered in reeds, rushes, saplings and scrub”. Ted illustrated his application with watercolour sketches he had made of the Pond showing how it used to appear.

The Parish Council agreed that the Pond was an important amenity for the Villages, and took on the restoration project.

The intent is to restore the Pond to health and beauty by cutting back trees and scrub that have become overgrown, thus increasing light to the pond surface and cutting down on leaf litter accumulating below the surface.

In addition the bulk of the reeds and rushes will be removed, and the sludgy mud that has built up dug out to the original Pond bottom.

Following advice from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the Project was broken down into stages, dealing with the two halves of the pond in consecutive years during Autumn and Winter to reduce the impact on wildlife.

• Stage 1 October 2018 – the trees forming the field hedge line on the half of the Pond bordering Slade Lane were cut back to hedge height, saplings and reeds encroaching the banks were cleared, the willow tree pollarded and the ash tree removed as it was diseased. In addition, volunteers repainted the bollards and rails on the road edge.
• Stage 2 October 2019 – the trees bordering the other half of the Pond were cut back to just below hedge height. Dead and diseased trees were also removed. Some of the cut wood was placed on the banks to provide refuges for bugs.
• Stage 3 – the digging out of the sludge from the Pond is scheduled for September 2020. In addition the overgrown bull rushes will be removed. The Parish Council have a contractor appointed to carry out this work and the owners of Hill House have kindly agreed to allow this mud to be spread on the neighbouring field.
• Stage 4 – tidying up and stabilising the banks. Options to improve accessibility for visitors and sanctuary areas for the wildfowl are being considered.

Going forward we will regularly review the condition of the pond so that it does not get too overgrown with bull rushes and other vegetation in the future.

Would you like to help?

We’d like a team to plan, develop and look after the planting biodiversity around the pond, as we would like it to become a natural and attractive asset for the community to enjoy. If you are interested in volunteering please let a member of the Parish Council know. Contact us through the website, or email clerk.alpington@gmail.com

Aug/Sep edition of Eleven Says, the Newspaper of the Bramerton Group of Churches covering 11 Parishes.

August is the first month of harvesting your hard work. It is also the time to begin tidying up your garden as the early-summer-growing plants finish flowering. 

Harvesting

If you have grown vegetables, you may already be picking your sweetcorn, tomatoes, peas, beans, courgettes and other greenhouse crops.

As pumpkins and butternut squashes come on, you can put straw or old tiles under the ripening vegetables to stop them rotting on the soil surface.

Pick sweet peas regularly to encourage new flowers to form.

Supporting

Tie in or support tall late-summer perennials to stop them leaning or falling over.

Pruning back

Lavender and rosemary will have finished flowering by now, so lightly trim them by cutting off the new soft growth, but try not to cut into the older brown wood.  Trim off excess foliage from strawberries once they’ve finished fruiting.

Prune back shrubs that have finished flowering. Cut back established Wisterias, trimming new long growth back to between 4 and 7prs of leaves and pinching out the tips of very young shoots.

Continue trimming fast growing hedges to keep them in check.

Watering

Water all pots, baskets and flower beds well in dry spells, ideally from collected rain water or with used bathwater. Dark coloured patio pots will out more quickly, so may need watering twice a day in very hot weather.

Mowing

Mow the lawn weekly but raise the blades if the weather is hot and dry to prevent the grass turning brown.

Relaxing!

Although there are always things to do in your garden, remember to find time to relax and enjoy it whenever you can.

The Potato Pod at the Wheel of Fortune

5.00pm – 8.30pm

The Potato Pod serves freshly cooked jacket potatoes loaded with delicious toppings, they also serve a Nacho box & Sweet pepper wraps

Eat in or take away. Social distancing rules apply

Click for the Potato Pod’s Facebook post with menu

From plan coordinators Louise Taylor and Sue Stacey:

Since the middle of March Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council has been coordinating a band of local residents who had volunteered to help in the villages in the case of an emergency situation. The situation was, as everyone is now aware, the Corona virus pandemic.

The volunteers were allocated an area to cover and made introductions to residents through a card dropped through letter boxes, letting them know how we could help. This resulted in anyone who was shielding or vulnerable and wanted some support having shopping or prescriptions collected and delivered to them.

From the feedback Sue and I have received I’m aware how much this support was appreciated.

Following government advice around people shielding we have brought this activity under the emergency plan to a close. If there is anyone who still feels they need support please call either myself or Sue, contact details below.

One of the most pleasing things through this difficult time was the way the community has come together and we hope that this will continue.

A suggestion has been made that a small team of volunteers, independent of the parish council, will continue to offer support but how this would be taken forward has to be decided.

Sue and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who offered to help and we hope
that we will all be able to meet together to celebrate our achievements.

Louise Taylor, coordinator, 01508 492599
Sue Stacey, deputy coordinator, 01508 491185

The Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council will be opening the play area by the Village Hall on Saturday 1st August 2020, but to enable us to keep it open we have to ensure that it is being used sensibly.

Parents/carers should ensure that children are maintaining good personal hygiene and understanding social distancing.

The following information will be put up on signs around the play area:

Photos of the new play area

Please help us to let everyone know, by sharing this post with other residents!

Poringland library is due to reopen on Monday 3rd August, with measures in place to keep everyone safe.

Also the fleet of mobile libraries are being adapted to allow the safe return of rural mobile library services, which is due to take place in mid-August.

Full details on the Norfolk County Council libraries page.