Children’s Barlotto Bean Growing Competition

How do I enter the competition?

30 Barlotto bean plants were  handed out to children at the Friends of the Earth's Green Fayre on Saturday 14th May held at Chinnor Village Hall.

There are 2 categories in the competition: Category 1: the tallest bean plant and Category 2 the longest bean. To enter the competition, a photograph of the longest bean (photographed measured against a rule) and/or the tallest plant (photographed measured against a rule or by some other measure) should be sent, together with the child's name, contact details and age to greeningchinnor@gmail.com by 27th August 2016. 

Important – to Mums and Dads

The results will be announced in our September newsletter. If your child is included in the photograph(s) that are sent in, please state when you send the photos to Greening Chinnor that you are happy for the picture to be included in our newsletter. You can sign up to our newsletter at www.greeningchinnor.blogspot.co.uk

Growing your Barlotto Climbing Bean

What is a Barlotto Bean? A barlotto bean is very much like a runner bean and can be grown (and eaten) in exactly the same way. They are even better than runner beans as if not picked, and left on the plant, they will turn a very pretty spotted red and black and can be left to dry.

How do you grow them? They can be planted in a large pot, grow bag or in the ground. They grow up to about 2 metres tall and if the growing tip (bud at the end) is picked off they will give lots more side shoots and more beans.

Make sure they are watered well particularly, to start with. Protect from frost (do not plant out in the garden for another couple of weeks without protection) and protect from slugs and snails.

They will need something to climb up – a couple of 6 foot bamboo canes are perfect. Make sure they are securely fixed. The plant will wind around the pole all by itself.

What if you want to grow some more? You can buy them in the shops (or get them from the Chinnor allotment shop on Sunday morning a lot cheaper).

Guided Walk

Yes we can walk and talk!
On Sunday 8^th May we led a well-attended walk organised by the Chiltern Society on a circular route from Emmington and going via Henton. It was a delightful outing and extremely interesting to talk to people who joined us from other parts of the Chilterns and were able to give a visitor’s perspective on our home ground.

The weather was kind and everybody agreed that this was one of the least hilly Chiltern walks that they had enjoyed.

This was our first foray in opening up our parish to organised walks and we were encouraged enough to offer organising a similar ramble next spring.

Extra Garden Waste Collections

Good news for green fingers

If you’re an Oxfordshire County Council garden waste customer, you can leave double out for collection in the week beginning 16 May in Vale and 23 May for South on your usual collection day.

You can put your extra garden bits and pieces in an open box or bag by your brown bin. No industrial bags, please – the crews won’t collect these.

Waste tours
More dates have been confirmed for a food tour at Agrivert and a visit to the Ardley Energy Recovery Facility where all the black bin waste goes.

Dates are:

Food – Thursday 23 June 10:30 am – 11:30 am Agrivert AD Plant, Crowmarsh, OX10 6SQ

ERF – Monday 4 July 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Ardley energy Recovery Facility, Middleton Stoney Road, Ardley, OX27 7PH

If you would like to attend one or both of these tours please contact Alexandra Pyle, Waste Recycling Officer on 01235 540566 or email Alexandra.Pyle@southandvale.gov.uk and she will book you a place. If anyone you know would also be interested in these tours please feel free to pass on the details.

Seed & Plant Swap - This Saturday

Following on from last year's successful Seed & Plant Swap, we are pleased to let you know we will be having a stall at the FoE Green Fayre on Saturday 14th May at the Village Hall, Church Lane, Chinnor, Oxon, OX39 4PQ (view map) from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Do you have packets of seeds you don’t want, half a packet left over or sown too much? This is where you can exchange seeds and plants, Bring your excess seeds and seedlings to our swap stall and swap with someone else. Herbs, vegetables, flowers, anything goes. Please label any plants and seeds clearly. It doesn't matter if you don't have anything to swap, everyone is welcome to take a plant (maximum of 3, whilst stocks last). Alan has been busy growing some of the seeds that were left over from last year as part of this year’s Swap.

We are pleased to say that we have received 30 packets of wild flower seeds from The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew as part of the 'Grow Wild' campaign they are running to inspire people across the UK to come together to transform local spaces by sowing, growing and enjoying native wild flowers.

As last year, there will be a children's competition and giving away free plants to the first 30 children. This year we're giving away beans and come the end of August we will want to see who has grown the tallest and who has grown the longest bean. We will also be having a children's draw for DIY Bee houses.

This is a chance for newbies to have a go at growing some vegetables or flowers, or for 'older' hands to exchange seeds and plants that you have too many of, or just to pick up a plant for free to have a go at “GROW YOUR OWN”.

This year we will also have a plant pot swap as well and will accept all pots that are in good order. Please ensure that all plant brought for swapping are clearly labeled. So bring along seeds, plants or pots to swap or just take a plant to try.

Public Meeting - Growth at all Costs?

You are invited to a Public Meeting in the Upper Chamber at Thame Town Hall on Wednesday 11^th May, 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm.

The growth strategy for Oxfordshire proposes 100,000 new houses by 2031, equivalent to two new cities the size of Oxford; plus 85,000 new jobs, and at least 200,000 more people, roughly a 30% increase in our population.

Many local groups are fighting hard against inappropriate development in their particular community. Yet the current economic strategy for the county, produced without any public consultation, sets out such aggressive growth figures that more and more battles are likely to be coming our way.

Need Not Greed Oxon is a campaign dedicated to protecting Oxfordshire’s rural environment run by a coalition of local organisations and individuals. CPRE Oxfordshire is providing the Secretariat for the coalition. 

Need not Greed Oxon has been invited by Thame Town Parish to give a presentation on the campaign, its origins and objectives, and their work around the OxLEP public consultation on the Strategic Economic Plan.

Speakers include Helen Marshall, Director, CPRE Oxfordshire, John Gordon, South Oxfordshire Sustainability (SOS) and Professor Richard Harding, Chairman, CPRE Wallingford District.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

The group is campaigning against a “growth at all costs” policy that they believe has led to a county plan that envisages building at virtually double any previous rate, and threatens to overwhelm the county's infrastructure, services, landscape and communities. 

Need not Greed wants local people to have a voice in the debate on the future of Oxfordshire and to comment on the Strategic Economic Plan produced by Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The group invites everyone to attend the presentation to find out more. You can also find out further information about the campaign by visiting the Need not Greed website.

If you cannot make this meeting, there is an opportunity to see it at Wallingford Town Hall on Tuesday 17th May at 7:30 pm.