Surprisingly fine sunny weather for both of our gardening sessions this week, which meant we were able to start to get to grips with making our changes to the plot over the winter.  We are following the ‘rule of six’, and are taking it in turns to come along, with some taking a half shift so that somebody else can visit later.

The rain has filled up the pond in no time at all, and with the pond plants, is looking pretty good.  We cut back some of the sides so that not so much of the plastic liner is showing, always a very dodgy exercise, and one of us nearly ended up head first in it.

Before we can cover the plots with new compost, or replant we have been getting out the hoes and clearing weeds that have a habit of turning into a monster as soon as your back is turned.  We did not get time to plant the elephant garlic, but there is still time.  We are concentrating on sorting out our compost area to make it look neater, and creating an area for the herbs to be together instead of spread out around the plot, and the bench is to be moved.  The disappointment of not getting any strawberries, probably mostly due to the visiting foxes and badgers has led us to change tack and try another way of growing them.  We have moved the salad boxes and have used them to make two high strawberry boxes with the hope that unless the mammals are good at climbing we might actually get a crop next year.  We can but hope that this might do the trick.

We have been exchanging many recipes for tomatoes, both green and red, from soups to chutneys.  Pesto making is also popular, and we are looking forward to a promised recipe that uses nasturtiums.  One of our gardeners photographed a fabulous still life with some of the produce, many of us thought it was an old painting until we looked closer – the banana squash probably gave it away (pictured below).  We are hoping to persuade her to keep taking these pictures as the seasons go on, as they would be works of art in themselves.

What’s next?

• Plant up that elephant garlic, and perhaps the ordinary garlic now sprouted in the modules.

• Keep working on the compost and strawberry areas

• Does the Chinese cabbage netting need to be removed?

• More weeding along the fence line and wall areas.

The Folkestone Docker Brewers, having made the ‘green’ brew from the Hythe scheme hops, thought to complete the hop cycle of life by bringing the spent hops back to the garden and putting them on one of our compost heaps.  When having aged appropriately, the compost will be applied back onto the garden, perhaps onto the hops themselves. 

This week we were able to work on the garden Wednesday morning, but Saturday was a complete wash out, with persistent rain, which although most welcome, put a halt to any proceedings!   We managed to get the sprouted onions (spring and bulb) planted.  The garlic, saved from the summer, was sown into modules, and will be planted up as soon as a space is ready and given a thick covering of compost.  The strong winds, apart from battering the raspberries, has turned our mini greenhouse over once again, although luckily the seedlings were quite far on, and could be easily rescued and put back into the modules with no harm done.  Not so lucky was our Folkestone Mayor who kindly grows some plants for the Incredible Edible projects, alongside her allotment plants.  Unfortunately her greenhouse was  tipped over, and the plants were sadly lost.  We certainly know how she feels.

Fortunately the Incredible Edible team has had good news this week, as a High Street Fund has been granted, for more planters to be planted up with edibles in Cheriton High Street.  Our Incredible Edible planter outside the ship in Sandgate has been cleared and planted up with some spinach and Onion seedlings.  Some kale may get planted at some point, but most of the kale has been ravaged by the cabbage white caterpillars, and they look too sorry to be on show. 

As a group we have been discussing the likes and dislikes of the year as regards what we have grown.  So far it has been conclusive that we need more green leaves such as spinach and chard, more dwarf and broad beans, courgettes, potatoes and cucumbers, more rhubarb, onions throughout the year, and about the same amount of beetroot.  The turnips and kohlrabi will be ditched, as will a high percentage of the endives.  The early crops of radish and pea shoots were greatly appreciated, and we need to be smarter with the space used by the tomatoes, strawberries and the squashes.   We would like to try sorrel and salsify again which failed for some reason this year.  Some areas of the garden are working well, and some need to be reorganised this winter – so we have plenty to work on.

Bee News

With the sudden change in the temperature and the weather, there is evidence of dead bees sprawled around the entrances to the hives.  It seems that the victims are the only male bees of the hives, the drones.  Well known for their ‘layabout’ lifestyle (their only purpose in life is to mate with queen bees), they are quickly ejected from the hive at this time of year when surplus to requirements and no longer useful – as a result they die.  A sad ending, however the girls of the hive now have to consider the survival of the basic colony in the hard months to come.  The beekeepers have been setting traps around the hive to attract wasps and hornets, well known for attacking and raiding hives, killing the bees.  So far so good, but with tales of enormous Asian hornets on their way to the UK, the keepers need to be vigilant.

What’s next?

• Hoe and weed any cleared spaces, cover with a thick layer of compost

• Rain has brought on the weeds, so plenty of weeding to do

• Plant the elephant garlic

• Begin to draw up plans of parts of the garden needing changes.

• Maybe start on the reformation of the pond now it is full again