This week we have planted some brassicas (varieties of the cauliflower family that are all different shapes, sizes and even colours!), more broad beans, and some sweet peas, a dwarf variety that should make small bushy plants.  The great thing about all these early plantings is that they do not mind the cold and wet weather so much, and are happy to grow in cooler temperatures.  They will also mature in early summer when the ground can then be cleared and another crop planted.  Unfortunately, along with the new shoots come the slugs and snails looking for some tender pickings, and we have lost some seedlings that never made it out of the greenhouse!  Never mind, new sowings have been made, and they will soon catch up with the earlier sown plants. 

On Saturday we made a trip over to Hythe to collect our hop plants from the Hythe Hops Scheme along with other eager growers.  As well as collecting the dormant plants, there was a seed and plant swap.  Such a great way of swapping any seeds/plants you might not need.  We were on the lookout for seeds and plants that would provide a treat for the bees.  On Wednesday we had noticed that some bumble bees were out and about in the weak sunshine and were busy foraging, luckily we have a few flowering plants such as borage and violas in full bloom.  Early flowering plants are so important for the bee population on days when they emerge and are so low on energy.  There will be plenty of flowers for them to feast on later, but there is not so much to choose from right now.

We are sowing and growing as many things as we have room for and more, for the Incredible Edible project, and the nursery children.  If you are a grower and have some spare plants or seeds, please consider us – we may even be able to do some plant bartering.  We hope at some stage to be able to have a selection of plants that can help us to raise funds through donations….. So, if you will be looking for tomato plants, or maybe a few spinach or bean plants, keep an eye on our Instagram page or newsletter for what is available.  We will also be putting up some notices at the garden to let you know what we may have, what is in season, and about any spare veg plants.

What’s next?

• Sowing seeds

• Planting plants

• If there is time, make a start on planting up around the edge of the pond.

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Such is the generosity and kindness of our community that the call for greenhouse space was answered, and we now have temporary homes for our seedlings to get going.  Lee came up trumps with a small portable greenhouse for us to borrow, not even out of the box; and Kath has room in a greenhouse on top of her shed, just perfect, and we are very grateful.

This week we succeeded in sowing more seeds, planting out the radishes, and lots of hoeing and weeding as the site was starting to develop a green tinge of tiny weedy seedlings, and it is important to run a hoe or rake over the ground now before they have the chance to grow any bigger and therefore make the job of getting rid of them that much harder.

We are excited to announce that we are to be joining the Incredible Edible movement, combining forces with Cheriton and Broadmead in various projects around the area.  If you have never heard of Incredible Edible before, here is the address to the inspirational TED talk by Pam Warhurst, a founder member of the movement which has now gone worldwide. 

https://www.incredibleedible.org.uk/our-story/

The idea is to plant up any available space with fruit and vegetables or trees for anybody to help themselves to.  It is free food, encouraging people to eat fresh, local and seasonal, and to cook from scratch.  If you get the chance to check out the TED talk you will be amazed how such a simple idea made an impact that was life changing for many of the people involved, and helped to create a strong community. 

There have been talks with the station manager and the railway Community Officer at Folkestone West this week, with a view to planting up the station platforms with edibles for commuters to admire and pick, with encouragement to water anything that looks like it could do with a drink.   Sandgate will start with its own Incredible Edible planter in the High Street, and more areas will get the same treatment as time goes on.  Sandgate Community Garden is featured in the March edition of Go Folkestone, and some of us will be helping to plant in Radnor Park on the weekend of 21^st and 22^nd March.  Everybody is welcome to come along and help too, but contact info@gofolkestone.org.uk so that you can be kept informed of any changes to plans.

You may recall that we had joined the Hythe Hops scheme, and have bought four hops and membership for a year.  We got the information that the plants are ready for collection next Saturday, and so we will take time out from our Saturday morning gardening session to collect them, and bring them back for planting along the wall where we hope they will be happy.

What’s next?

• Planting out any veg plants that are mature enough to cope outside

• Sow even more seeds

• Keep hoeing

• Collect and plant hops

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