1 June 2022 After six months of training, Mark has completed his part of the “Tour de Cas”.

April 2022 A loyal reader has pointed out that there hasn’t been a lot of “Latest News” recently.  The reason for this is that frankly there hasn’t been a huge amount of news in the very small world of Red Kite, despite the never-ending explosion of news out in the real world over the last five and a half years.

That said there is a bit of news now, which is that we are retiring from active gardening for other people.  The allotments and our (no longer new, but still developing) garden are plenty for to keep us busy and the past couple of years has brought home the importance of spending time with friends and family while we can.

Mark will be using the first bit of his retirement to train for a charity cycle ride.  An old school friend of his (Glyn) was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus about this time last year. Fortunately an early diagnosis, chemo and some radical surgery led to an excellent recovery and a desire on his part to take on an “I’m not dead yet” physical challenge and raise some money for good causes. For reasons linked to rugby league and too much red wine with his brother he settled on a bike ride from Castleford (W. Yorks) to Toulouse (yes the one in the south of France). For no good reason other than that they’ve been mates for a long time Mark offered to join him for the UK side (only about 280 miles out of the 900+ total). Rather than heroically saying that he’d face the challenge alone he said “that’d be great”.

Mark tentatively wheeled the bike out of the garage on Boxing Day and collapsed home sweaty and breathless half an hour later having clocked up a mighty seven miles. He stuck at it and the fitness has gone up, weight has gone down and he can now manage 40+ mile runs and was able to clock up over 200 miles in a week, with a couple of months training still in hand.

Anyone who would like to support Glyn’s efforts, can find out more on a just giving page.

5 September 2016 – Exam results Lynn has had confirmation that she has passed her second batch of RHS exams (the ‘Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance’) and the practical course.  She breezed through the exams with marks in excess of 70% in all four , so she also now holds the RHS Level 2 Diploma with commendation.

25 April 2016 – Exam results  Lynn has passed her Royal Horticultural Society ‘Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development’.  She achieved commendations all four papers, putting Mark’s earlier efforts into the shade.

2 September 2015 Having now joined the company as a full employee at the end of August, Lynn has now started the RHS Level 2 Diploma and is doing both the theory and practical certificates in parallel.  She will be fully qualified by next summer and her presence will provide us with more scope to take on new work. us with more scope to take on new work.

20 August 2015 Last year we wrote about preparing the allotment for judging.  Partly this was a nod to competitive instincts, but the judging window also provided a stimulus for general tidying up.  Despite the fact that we were very happy with the way that the plot looked, the judges didn’t necessarily agree and we weren’t mentioned in dispatches.  This year we didn’t think that we had been able to keep the plot quite as tidy as last year (more work on the books and a bout of sciatica for Mark in the early summer) but today a letter arrived informing us that we were joint winners of the best plot this year. 

7 September 2013 Mark has now received confirmation that he passed his Royal Horticultural Society practical course.  As he re-sat the paper that he’d passed (but without commendation) last spring and secured a commendation, the full house means that he has achieved the RHS Level 2 Diploma with commendation.

14 February 2013 Mark has completed a Royal Horticultural Society practical course, meaning that once the coursework is verified, he will have achieved the RHS Level 2 Diploma.  Doing this course has sparked greater interest in ornamental gardening and we will be offering more general garden support this year.  As well as the existing offering to help with the growth of edible crops, we will be able to supply general garden maintenance, re-planting and refreshing of existing beds, borders etc. and help to propagate your favourite plants.  We are not yet offering complete re-designs of your garden, but know people who do.

6 September 2012 Exam Results Mark has passed his Royal Horticultural Society ‘Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance’.  He achieved commendations (awarded for scoring more than 70%) in all four papers, which included ‘production of outdoor vegetables and fruit’ and the use of ‘protected environments’ (greenhouses etc).

26 June 2012 Exams Mark sat his final RHS exams today.  Results in September.

3 June 2012 Another weather-affected plant sale We don’t seem to be that lucky with the weather at plant sales as this photo at a jubilee party shows.

We probably won’t hold any more plant sales this year, but will let you know here about any for next year.

20 May 2012 Car boot sale We had our first bash ar selling plants today at the Taplow Car Boot Sale.  There was some interest, but it was a horribly cold day, which did not encourage impulse buying.  We may go back again and will post advance notice here if we do.

29 April 2012 Exam results Mark has passed his Royal Horticultural Society ‘Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development.  He achieved commendations (awarded for scoring more than 70%) in three out of four papers, only missing a full house by 4%).

He is now revising for June’s four papers that make up the ‘Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance’.

10 April 2012 Spring Offer – Ready-Made Plots for the Patio If you don’t want to take on a full plot yet, why not try our new ready-made container based vegetable plot.  Ideal for a patio, the “pocket plot” consists of a number of containers suitable for different plants and the choice is yours.  Do you fancy new potatoes, salad leaves, herbs tomatoes, beans and beetroot for colourful flavour-packed salads or baby cabbage and carrots for home-made coleslaw.  Aubergines and courgettes for mediterranean flavours or chillis for a bit of spice.

The deal is £85 gets you four containers planted up with your choice of vegetables.  We will deliver the containers and make sure that everything is set up properly in late April/early May, once the risks of late frosts are pretty much gone. 

30 January 2012 New Hourly Rate Service for the New Year. Not everyone needs a full design and set up service, you may have an existing plot that is a bit overgrown or weary and simply need some help to spruce it up or keep on top of maintenance.  At £15 per hour we can provide that bit of extra help to get you growing in 2012.  As with all our work, we’d agree with you in advance what is to be done and when so that you know exactly what you’re paying for.

12 December 2011 Our first advert has been placed.  Even though this is not a time of year when many people are likely to be thinking about gardening it is a great time to prepare for next year.  The advert is in the January edition of The Cookham Connection.

16 August 2011 We have won the best newcomer prize for our allotment plot.