The shop is open 10.30-12 noon on each Sunday 1st February – 31st October, and on request when a committee member is on-site. It sells a variety of common horticultural items to members and non-members at cost-price, which is usually considerably cheaper than garden centre prices. Click here for the recent price list. If you can think of additional items you’d like us to stock, let a committee member know.
A first aid box is in the shop.
Power tools can be obtained from the Container. All members are allowed to use any kit for maintaining their own plot or communal areas, provided they have undergone an initial training on the safe use of the machine with a committee member. See the guides page for training materials. Please return equipment in a clean condition, and notify a committee member of any issues or breakdowns. Petrol is provided free-of-charge. All petrol-powered kit uses unleaded petrol. Please don’t take the equipment off-site.
We have a range of tools including both petrol and electric lawnmowers and strimmers, a rotavator, a tiller, and a generator.
We have several large compost pens close to the railway line. One of these is open for new compostible materials, and is clearly marked. The other pens are either rotting down, or open for you to take compost back to your own plot. Please do take compost – if we don’t use what we make, then we’ll run out of space. And it’s very good for your plot too. Don’t put the following on the heap: stones, wood, plastic, pernicious weeds (eg bindweed, horsetail), infected plant material (eg blight-attacked tomatoes and potatoes), woody material (fruit canes, shrub prunings), cooked food.
Thanks to a grant from Hertford Town Council and another from EHDC as part of their commitment to helping us create an easy access plot, we have a fabulous gender-neutral composting toilet facility with solar powered light, fan and emergency alert cord. Please rinse the urinal with a jug full of water after use. If you notice any problems or supplies are running low please let any committee member know.
The members’ shelter is unlocked, but please keep the door firmly closed. It’s a cosy place to shelter in a rain shower. There are copies of gardening publications, recent committee meeting minutes and a pictorial history of the development of North Road Allotments to keep you entertained and informed while the shower passes. Seed Scheme catalogues are placed here in autumn. Please don’t dump stuff you don’t want in here.
The communal tool sheds are often very useful for new plot-holders who are yet to acquire a set of tools. Use any tools in here that you need to tend your plot, but please return them afterwards and in a clean condition. Please ensure the door is closed after you’ve finished. Donations of tools are welcome. A first aid box is available in each tool shed.
The water troughs are situated next to plots 2, 11, 25, 33, 42, 56, 63 and 64. They contain mains water, but it isn’t suitable for drinking. If you spot any water troughs leaking or under-filling, please tell a committee member. They are normally turned off November-March. Communal watering cans are placed by each trough. Please return them after use and keep them full, to avoid them blowing away. Please collect rain water from shed roofs and greenhouses etc. The plants prefer it, it’s closer to your plot and better for the environment.
Put your green or brown prunings in the appropriate area. They will be shredded periodically and put on the compost heap or the shredder operator’s plot. If you put lots of stuff in please help shred it, once you’re trained on the use of the shredder, by coming to work mornings or on Sunday mornings. It’s an enjoyable activity, and you’ll end up with a huge heap of mulch or readily-compostable plant-derived organic matter that is really good for your plot. Suitable items here include raspberry canes, sunflower stalks, sweetcorn stems, cabbage stalks, blackcurrant prunings, brambles, bamboo canes, christmas trees and branches up to about 1.5 inch in diameter.
There is a huge communal polytunnel on plot 46. Feel free to use it to store overwintering plants or seedlings in the spring. Please don’t dump stuff you don’t want here. Please label your plants with your plot number and treat the space and other people’s plants with respect.
Wheelbarrows are provided for members’ use. Please don’t keep them on your plot for long periods, and return them in a decent condition to the wheelbarrow store when you’ve finished with them. If the tyre has gone flat, stick a note on it or let a committee member know and it can be re-inflated or replaced (or re-inflate it yourself).
Wood and woody material that can’t be shredded (eg broken pallet boards, roots, thick branches) can go here and it will be burnt periodically. Also put diseased plant material here. If you want to burn the stuff yourself, please follow the rules on bonfires as described by Hertford Town Council.
Never buy a plant pot again. We have hundreds of plant pots in a wooden trough against the fence by the orchard. Help yourself, and donate pots that you don’t want. But please don’t use it as a dumping ground for non-compostables. Only put intact pots and trays here that you’d use yourself but don’t need.
Bees are kept on site, behind the shop and out of everyone’s way. Do not approach the beehives. In the rare event of a bee sting, the advice from NHS is here. There is a first aid box in the shop and in the communal tool shed. Please also tell a committee member. Occasionally bees swarm, so if you see a swarm, go into a shed and or greenhouse and wait for them to go past. If they collect on your plot, do not approach them, but contact Matt Mountford or a committee member.
NRPG makes use of a number of seed schemes, whereby members can obtain significant discounts on standard seed prices. Members will be advised by email in the Autumn of the details of the relevant schemes in operation, and how to place orders.
We have a picnic area, known as ‘the Orchard’, with several picnic benches, benches and fruit trees near the shop. Our annual barbecue and Annual General Meeting are held here. It’s a pleasant, sunny spot if you fancy a change of scene from your plot.
There are a number of shelves to the left of the container for members to donate any surplus plants or produce, so please help yourself to anything that your fellow plotholders have put there. Unclaimed produce will be donated to the local food bank.
Also, any unwanted items of equipment or materials which you think others might make use of should be left here, so again, help yourself. But we would ask that if you have donated something which has not been taken after two weeks, please take it back and dispose of it yourself.
Allotments can be dangerous places, with uneven, slippery surfaces, sharp objects (including knives and blades), powered equipment, chemicals and so-on. Fortunately, accidents are very rare indeed. The most likely injuries are cuts, grazes, scratches, stings and burns. There is a first aid box in the communal tool shed and one in the shop. If you hurt yourself, please use whatever you need to patch yourself up and tell a committee member when you can so the box can be replenished. Several members will soon be trained in simple first aid and will be able to help if they’re on site. We have an accident book in the shed, if you want to make a record of your accident. In dire emergencies, and if you’re alone on site, the householders neighbouring the site or car drivers passing by on North Road will probably help.
If you can’t manage a regular plot and would like a space on our easy access plot, please get in touch. We have several large trugs, each about a square meter in area that can be used to grow a good variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers. They’re approximately hip height and therefore easy to maintain, with accessibility from all sides. There is a large polytunnel with level access and a wide, easy access door. Dedicated car parking is adjacent and access is level and wheelchair accessible. NRPG is very grateful to both Hertford Town Council and East Herts District Council (EHDC) for their generous grants to enable us to build this wonderful facility.
As we are affiliated to the Royal Horticultural Society, we now have a card which allows up to two people half price entry to any of their gardens, including Wisley in Surrey and Hyde Hall in Essex. If you would like to borrow the card for the day, please speak to Gary or email him at garyianjames@gmail.com. (Please note that the card does not apply to Flower Shows or special events.)