We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to browse the archives held by Saga the day before Christmas Eve, which tells the history of Enbrook Park.  Paul, the head gardener researched the subject some time ago for Roger De Haan, and very interesting and quite complex it is too!  The park has been under the threat of being built on for housing in the past, and as a Community, we are indeed fortunate to still have this green area, and for it to be open to the public.  We were of course particularly interested in anything referring to the Community Garden site, and a few relevant pictures have been attached.  The auction details from 1912 give a brief description of the old walled-in kitchen garden, it being ‘of a very productive nature’ with ‘espalier trees and bush and other fruit and its walls are also trained with fruit trees of various kinds’.  Prior to the walled garden being in existence, there was evidence on a map dated 1842 of allotments situated close to the stream and Sandgate Road.  So history is repeating itself, and the walled-in kitchen garden is coming back to life once again.

Delighted to say that on Saturday the bird boxes were at last put up, and we will be interested to see if anything chooses to nest there.  The advice is not to nail or screw the boxes to trees as this will damage the tree, so we have found some webbing straps and have tied them.  We will of course have to check they are not tied too tight, which can be done every year when the boxes are emptied or repaired.  It was great to be outdoors on Saturday if just for a while after all the festivities…… chippings got collected and laid on top of a cardboard base to make more paths….an ongoing process.

We have an amazing 198 followers on our Instagram page, which is quite incredible for such a new project.  How close we are to 200; so if you are not already following us, please consider making it a New Year’s resolution to do so and boost our numbers even more.

What’s next?

• No arrangements have been made to meet on New Year’s Day, but we will be there on Saturday 4^th January 2020 raring to go!

• Start lining the pond area with sand in preparation for the pond liner

• Remove and compost the deceased cosmos

• Keep making more paths

The Sandgate Community Gardeners wish you all a Happy New Year, and look forward to seeing you in 2020.

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The pond site is in the process of having straight sides cut into it to create a shelf for water plants to sit on once the liner has been laid.  The bottom of the pond has been trawled for any more sharp rubble and was starting to resemble the Somme.  The continuing rain is making progress more of a challenge and it is probably just as well that it starts to coincide with a holiday period!  We saw the Saga gardeners shredding a pile of hedge cuttings, and once finished, we moved in quickly to start putting the chippings down to make some paths.  Fresh wood chippings should not be used as mulch around plants as they can affect the soil pH and the soil nitrogen levels which means that plants can struggle to grow.  It needs to be composted first or used for making paths.

The bird boxes have been prepared, ready to be put up in the trees nearby the garden.  This will need to be done soon to allow the birds time to check them over and decide if they would like to move in and make a nest when the time comes.  Since our last newsletter, it now seems we have secured a good supply of cardboard for the ‘no dig’ plans.

Saturday was so wet we decided to meet up at the farmers market to indulge in mulled wine and mince pies, and there were even more mulled wine and mince pies to be had at the Fire Station with the Sandgate Society.  It was disappointing not to be at the garden, but it is all about the people involved, and community at the end of the day.   Some of us are, and will be on holiday now for a short while.  Our Theresa has been busy playing the part of Dolly, the love interest of Mike Nolan in the Tower Theatre production of Jack and the Beanstalk, and very good she is too…. Well done Theresa.

Discussions around live honey bees being sited at the garden continue to go well, and there seems to be a great deal of interest in the possibility already.  It would be a wonderful thing if a Sandgate bee community develops over this coming new year.  We wait and watch with interest.

What’s next?

No arrangements have been made to meet up on Christmas Day strangely enough; however one or two of us might feel like a bit of a workout on the Saturday, moving a few more wood chippings and some of those mince pies off the waistline! 

Merry Christmas to you from the Sandgate Community Gardeners.

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Continuing to be busy this week.  A couple of us were at the Sandgate Parish Council meeting to talk about, and promote the garden.  We hobnobbed to the best of our abilities, and think we have created enough of an impression to keep the garden in the minds of many of the movers and shakers of Sandgate!  We took a small hamper of winter salad, leeks, purple sprouting and Chinese cabbage.  Then since discovered that the leeks, growing in our very sandy, silty soil have captured that grittiness in their layers and need to be well washed or shredded to get rid of it.  Let us hope that the introduction of compost will help to stop that, and apologies if it was you that got to take the leeks home!  We learn something new every day…..

The broad beans got their string protection from the pigeons, which will double up as a support as they continue to grow taller.  The pond site got a rummage to find as much rubble as possible lurking there so as not to puncture the lining once it gets put in place.  We need to get this done next so that the pond can start to fill with rain water over the wetter months of the year, it would have been full by now if that had been lined just a couple of weeks ago!

The autumn raspberry plants arrived in the post and got planted on Saturday.  An autumn fruiting variety was chosen instead of summer fruiting, so as to extend the soft fruit season right into the end of October.  A small trench was lined with our own made compost for the new plants to nestle into, and it was awesome to be wrestling with what seemed like gigantic worms lurking in the compost bin.  Provide the environment and the wildlife just appears as if from nowhere! 

We continue to collect sturdy cardboard for the ‘no dig’ treatment of some of the weeds and paths and are amazed at how much plastic tape or metal staples need to be used to make a package, and how long it takes to remove it all before being used on the garden.

What’s next?

• Bird boxes?

• Cosmos has finally given up the ghost and can be removed and composted

• Get some sand to begin lining the pond area

• Work on pond area

• Mince pies and mulled wine on Saturday!

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The fencing is nearly finished, and the wind break mesh is in place, they give the new hedge the chance to take hold.

The donated bench hitched a ride to the garden, and is now in place, so we shall have to decide where we will be taking a break with a flask of coffee and a biscuit, or this month, a mulled wine and mince pie!  Thanks to Paul for arranging the transport.

We would prefer to use the ‘no dig’ method in the garden, for a variety of reasons, and this week we have started to use a cardboard mulch to cover the ground, topped with whatever we can find to start the process of enriching the soil and getting rid of any unwanted growth.  By the time the spring comes around, these newly mulched areas should be workable and ready for planting.  Regular visits to collect well-rotted horse manure which spread on the ground, will also have time to be drawn down into the soil by worms, and weathered.

Discussions are being had with a very local and experienced bee keeper, and all going to plan, there should be some announcements in the near future about bee hives having a home in the garden….exciting times indeed!

What’s next?

• Paint the bird boxes

• Continue to put down paths and mulch the hedge

• Protect the broad beans with stick and string supports.

• Maybe start clearing the pond site of any rubble.

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