Growing in Capel St. Mary
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Pick frost-tender crops, clear ground, and start winter digging — incorporating well-rotted manure, composted garden waste, or mushroom compost.
Sow broad beans, lettuce under cloches, and peas under fleece.
Plant garlic cloves.
Apply slug pellets selectively.
Cut back yellowing asparagus foliage to 2”.
Feed compost heaps with sulphate of ammonia.
Apply a Winter Tree Wash to control over-wintering insect pests.
Remove summer-fruited raspberry canes and tie in new shoots.
Order and plant trees and bushes, dusting roots with bone meal.
Empty and wash down with Jeyes Fluid.
Line with 1.5m-wide bubble plastic for insulation.
Bring in frost-tender plants.
Check for and spray whitefly; apply slug pellets as needed.
Wash all pots and trays in Jeyes.
Try sowing carrots, spring onions, radish, and lettuce in large pots — transplant lettuce when large enough.
Polytunnel holders: please clear all summer crops by Christmas.
Plant spring-flowering bulbs (in pots or outdoors as space allows).
Plant wallflowers, sweet williams, carnations, pinks, pansies, polyanthus, and heathers.
Sow sweet peas.
Mulch borders with chipped bark and divide perennials.
Re-seed worn areas.
Aerate and scarify using a wire rake.
Apply an autumn feed.
Mow with blades set at medium height.
Members wishing to order seeds via our dedicated scheme should do so by 14th November.
Orders can be placed online or via paper copy.
Contact Phil Hickley for more information.
A big thank you to everyone who joined us!
If you missed it, there’s always plenty to do — contact Site Manager Martin Leech to help with ongoing jobs.
‘The Hut’ reopens for the new season on Saturday 7th February 2026.
During winter, it will open once a month between 10am and 12 noon:
November: 8th
December: 13th
January: 10th
Outside these dates, members can contact Dennis for items — preferably using the click and collect service.
We supply a selection of bird feeds to help you encourage wild birds into your gardens this winter.
See the full list of prize winners, best-kept allotments, record-breaking vegetables, prize draw results, and event photos on our website:
www.capelallotments.co.uk
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th September 2026
A Garden Scene
My Favourite Pet
A Vintage Vehicle
Colourful Bloom(s)
Patterns
Photo size: min. 150 × 100mm (6" × 4"), max. 190 × 130mm (7.5" × 5").
Must be mounted and taken within the last 12 months.
Hand Knitted Item of Clothing (Free Choice)
Knitted Accessory (Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Shawl, Handbag, etc.)
Crocheted Accessory (Hat, Scarf, Gloves, Shawl, Handbag, etc.)
Decorated Gift Box (Max 20cm × 20cm × 20cm)
Cross Stitch Card of a Potting Shed (Max 250mm × 150mm)
Cross Stitch or Tapestry Item (Kit or Freestyle)
Any Other Craft Item (Hard Material)
Any Other Craft Item (Soft Material)
Happy Gardening from the Capel Allotments Association!
For updates and news, visit www.capelallotments.co.uk
Our allotments site is one of the best in Suffolk — if not the best! You should all be proud of how our site looks and how we all contribute to keeping it that way. Thank you for your commitment to our community.
Thank you to everyone who turned out on 19th October for the work-in. Around 28 people took part, working hard and completing lots of important jobs.
A special thank-you goes to Di Leach, Angie Armitage, and Rose Leech for providing the refreshments.
This year has been a challenge for allotment gardeners. The heat and very dry conditions produced some unusual results — some good, some not so good.
I hope this hasn’t discouraged your enthusiasm. Sometimes there are factors beyond our control that affect how we manage our plots, and these aren’t always weather-related.
If your circumstances have changed and you feel you can’t make the same commitment to your plot in 2026, please inform the site manager or membership secretary. We may be able to help or ensure your plot finds a new tenant who can continue your good work.
If you know someone who would like a plot, please encourage them to apply. There is only a short waiting list, and they could have their own plot by next year.
A few padlocks have had their codes changed due to losses from certain buildings — for example, the tool shed adjacent to the Plotter’s Retreat and the woodstore.
If you’re having difficulty opening a padlock, please get in touch with me.
A new tool shed next to the toilet will soon be commissioned, using the same code as the main gate. Access to the original tool shed and the woodstore will remain restricted.
All other padlocks remain on the usual code, though we may be due for a full change soon. The general committee will discuss this and inform all tenants before any changes are made.
We have received ten new red wheelbarrows with solid tyres. These will be made available once the association logo has been painted on them.
Meanwhile, nine old wheelbarrows have been taken out of service because they’re beyond repair. They’re stored in the wide poly-tunnel — please do not remove them from there.
The small yellow battery mower is currently away for repair.
Over the next few months, all mowers will be removed from site for servicing.
Many of you are already part of our tenant’s WhatsApp group — a great way to share quick updates, thank-yous, requests for help, and surplus plants. The group works well, and message traffic is light.
If you’d like to join, please send me a message at 07711 439705, including your name and plot number.
We’d love to have you on board!
Martin Leech
Site Manager
07711 439705
