MARCH

· Slopefield Allotment Association Annual General Meeting on Thursday 1 March at Airyhall Primary School cancelled due to poor weather conditions (Beast from the East!).

· Various colourfully painted garden benches set out around the community areas of the site for use by plotters and visitors.

· First Community Day of the season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday 25 March. Meet, greet, tea and cake event to start the new season.

· Re-arranged Slopefield Allotment Association Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 29 March at Airyhall Primary School.

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Filling raised beds with compost and leafmould, tidying the Strawberry bed, potting on Strawberry runners, planting Sweetcorn and Onions, planting potatoes in tubs using compost, soil, subsoil and leaves, straw and paper.

APRIL

· Repairs to boundary wall along entrance lane carried out by Robert Gordon’s College and Scottish Water.

· Water supply to Slopefield turned on.

· BBC Countryfile Spring Diaries Production Team film at Slopefield for a feature on the New Zealand Flatworm. Slopefield Allotment Association Chairwoman Sue Callan interviewed and various pieces filmed to camera around the site.

· Hutton Hut given a “freshen up” with a coat of paint inside and out.

· Second Community Day of the season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday April 28. Bottom wildflower borders weeded. (4 x 1.5 community hours).

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Planting Strawberries, Red Onions, Courgettes, Marrows and Pumpkins, Potatoes, Beans and Peas in pots, picking Rhubarb.

MAY

· Attendance at Allotments Representative Network Meeting – Wednesday 23 May.

· Community Polytunnel Automatic Watering System installed.

· Community Greenhouse adjacent to Plot 88 refurbished and opened to community to grow pot based plants on the staging.

· New car parking areas created at west end of site using bitumen plaining supplied by Aberdeen City Council.

· Ongoing visits by Aberdeen City Council Pest Control Officer to service rat bait traps set during April.

· Its Your Neighbourhood Theme launched: Year of Young People.

· Third Community Day of the season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday May 27. Pond area at Hutton Hut weeded. (2x 1.5 community hours).

· Slopefield Allotment features on an episode of BBC Countryfile Spring Diaries with Association Chairwoman Sue Callan interviewed about the prevalence of the New Zealand Flatworm on the site.

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Sowing Sunflowers, Radishes, Turnip, Beetroot and Peas, Planting Potatoes (again – after Crows pulled them up!), planting Corn, Wheat, Barley, Lettuce, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Annuals in Pots, Sunflowers and Broad Beans picking Rhubarb.

JUNE

· Fourth Community Day of the season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday June 24. Annuals planted in top and bottom borders and planters around site (8 x 1.5 community hours).

·  Westpark Primary School visit the site on Tuesday 26 June for their annual outing and take part in an Allotment Tour and sowing and planting activities

JULY

· First Community Evening of the Season at Slopefield Allotments on Wednesday 18 July. General tidy up around the site (5 x 1 community hours)

AUGUST

· Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom Judges visit Aberdeen including Slopefield Allotments

· Second Community Evening of the Season at Slopefield Allotments on Thursday 16 August. Bottom border weeded along with some painting and general maintenance tasks around the Hutton Hut. (6 x 1.5 Community Hours)

· Keep Scotland Beautiful “It’s Your Neighbourhood” Competition Assessors Visit.

· Six 250 Litre Water Bins delivered to the site to be used as Water Butts at the taps that have little or no water flow during busy periods of use.

· How to Compost Guide issued to all plotters at Slopefield. Previous issue with rats and what not to compost highlighted.

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Harvesting Marrows, Broad Beans, Sweetcorn, barley, Tomatoes, Cabbages. Beetroot, Rhubarb and Potatoes. Also cutting off and re-potting Strawberry Runners.

SEPTEMBER

· Airyhall Primary School – Open Day at School Plot:

· Slopefield Allotment Association awarded a Level 5 Outstanding Award in Keep Scotland Beautiful “It’s Your Neighbourhood” Competition.

· Fifth Community Day of the Season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday 30 September. Slabs laid at six of the site water taps to rest the new Water Butts on. (6 x 2 Community Hours).

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Harvesting Marrows, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Cabbages. Beetroot, Onions, Peas and Beans. Also cutting off and re-potting Strawberry Runners.

OCTOBER

· Slopefield Allotment Association’s Eddie collects Slopefield Allotment Association’s Award Certificate at the Annual It’s Your Neighbourhood Conference in Stirling on 31 October 2018.

· Sixth Community Day of the Season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday 28 October. Bottom flower beds tidied and cleared. Some full size plots divided and fenced off. (8 x 2 Community Hours).

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Harvesting Potatoes, Marrows, Courgettes, Beans, Rhubarb, Tomatoes, Sweetcorn and Cabbage.

NOVEMBER

· Attendance at Allotments Representative Network Meeting – 28 November 2018.

· Water supply to Slopefield switched off.

· Seventh Community Day of the Season at Slopefield Allotments on Sunday 11 November – The Annual Bonfire to dispose of wood and other plant waste. (10 x 2 Community Hours).

· Airyhall Primary School Visits – Children taking part in the following tasks: Harvesting Potatoes, planting Daffodils and Crocuses, taking and planting Blackcurrant cuttings. Sunflower heads taken back to the school to feed the birds and save the seeds for next year.

DECEMBER

· How to Compost Guide re-issued to all plotters at Slopefield.

· Delivery of fallen leaves by Aberdeen City Council for Allotment soil conditioning and improvement.

JANUARY

· Ongoing maintenance of site and tracks

FEBRUARY

· Mulching of bottom beds with decomposed woodchip and spreading of new woodchip on community plot.