apaa

See below for reports and photos from both our recent Giving Back Days, 25 October and 8 November.

ALEXANDRA PALACE ALLOTMENTS NEWSLETTER –
NOVEMBER 2025

Dear Plot Holders,
It’s been a lively and rewarding few weeks at the allotments, full of teamwork, creativity, and good cheer! Here’s a quick round-up of what’s been happening.

Shop News
We had a huge delivery of gardening goods recently, and the shop looks fantastic! A big thank-you to everyone who helped unload and organise everything, it made such a difference. Garlic sold fast (with no limits this time!), and the beautiful APAA 2026 Calendar, designed by Sally Geeve, proved very popular.
Café & Community
The Café was a great success, with a steady stream of happy visitors enjoying homemade winter vegetable soup, pizza and salad, apple crumble, and plenty of delicious cakes. Thank you to all the wonderful cooks and helpers, for creating such a welcoming atmosphere.
Giving Back Day
Our recent Giving Back Day was another great success. A big thank-you to everyone who joined in, so much was achieved, and the community spirit really shone through.
Artists’ Exhibitions at The Shed
Plans are well underway for The Shed Artists’ Exhibitions, held on 15th November and 13th December. Plot holders are invited to display their artworks, crafts, lamps, or sculptures. To take part, please contact Pat Wallace at tentosix@proton.me. A small donation from any sales will support The Shed, a lovely way to celebrate creativity and community as we head into the festive season.
From the Plot
Recent recipe highlights included blackcurrant jam, garden-fresh juice, Salad Niçoise, Persian Jewelled Rice, and strawberry ice cream, all made with homegrown produce. Thank you to everyone who shared their recipes and photos! Thank you all for your hard work, kindness, and creativity, whether gardening, cooking,
painting, or lending a hand. The allotments continue to thrive because of you.

Giving Back Work Party Saturday 8th November

We had wonderful teamwork two weeks ago to start restoring the top path. In the meantime, Sophie and several helpers have continued to clear vegetation that had grown over the path. It was good to see that the large clumps of the invasive Carex pendula have been cleared by this small team. This is a UK native plant also known as Pendulous Sedge. It likes wet and clay soils, and its tough roots mean it can be a problem on our site. Work continued with Giving Back Day on 8th November. There is still a bit more to do.

Hello everyone,

A big thank you to all who joined our Giving Back Day on Saturday 25th October!

It was fantastic to see such dedication and community spirit, especially from new volunteers.

Our next Giving Back Day is on Saturday, 8th November 2025, meeting at 10am. Coffee and home-made biscuits and cake will be available. Please save the date, we’ll need more volunteers to help finish clearing the top path so repairs can begin.

Thanks again for all your hard work! See below for report back and photos from the previous day.

Sophie

REPORT BACK ON

GIVING BACK DAY! SAT 25 OCT

What was done...

3 great teams...

Team 1 cut and shovelled back plants and soil from the very old tarmac of our top path. About 75 metres were done. Future sessions will continue this work.

Team 2 worked in the cafe garden to prepare the long bed there for winter and next spring.

Team 3 brought a big spread of cakes, biscuits and savouries, and served tea and coffee to helpers.

The original notice...

GIVING BACK DAY!

SAT 25 OCT 10AM

Come and give back to our allotment community by helping out with a few odd jobs, meeting fellow plot holders, enjoying refreshments, and sharing gardening tips. It’s always a lovely day to connect, have fun, and make our site look its best!

Date: Saturday 25th October 2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Meet at: Car Park

Please bring along:

Tools e.g. spade, shears, loppers
Gardening gloves
Strimmer (if you have one)

Let’s make it another fun and productive day together!

Any questions to sophie # apaa.org.uk (replace # by @ - this is to stop automated email harvesting for spam)