Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 29th September: Limboing squash eating cows alert.

The predictions for the weather this week were spot on – cooler, and plenty of rain giving localised showers.  Parts of the country are flooded, so we have come off lightly so far; however it has had an effect on the tasks.  We were rained off on our Wednesday session, and although it was just showery and windy, a decision had to be made to cancel or get wet, and with no shelter for us, we decided to cancel.  A quick check was made of the netting and plants, to ensure all was well until the next session.

One of our tasks was to collect the squashes just in case anything happened to them, although not sure quite what, and suspect it was a reaction to the fact that the other plot some of us work on at Pent Farm had a visit from the cows in the field next door.  Having ‘limboed’ under their electric fence they took a shine to the squash patch and proceeded to trample and eat the plants until the farmer spotted them – somewhat too late.  So we collected up the squashes at Enbrook Park, grateful that there is little we have to worry about as regards marauding animals really.

During the Saturday morning session, the weather was absolutely beautiful, starting off cold and crisp but warming up quickly with wall to wall sunshine.  However we were short of gardeners for various reasons, so the two of us that did turn up decided to simply pull up a chair in the sunshine and enjoy being in the garden and just chat.

The change in the season has meant that with the shorter days, the growth is slowing right down, and with most of our autumn and winter crops already planted, the pace can slow down too.  We have a few more French radish plugs to plant next week, but not much else will follow until we sow and plant the broad beans sometime in October/November.  With the urgency gone, taking time out to simply sit is a luxury we can afford – and very good it was too!

Most things seems to be growing reasonably well, however the leeks have hardly shifted at all these past few weeks and are still quite small, but the mustard plants are looking good as are the winter radishes and the purple sprouting now desperately trying to get out of their netting.

With all the tomatoes removed last week, there has been a great flurry of activity from some members being creative with the green fruits, making chutneys and sharing recipes for other dishes.  Unused green tomatoes have been left to ripen by themselves in various bowls and trays around our houses and shared out or made into all sorts of culinary delights.  The tomato season is now at an end and it will be many months before we get to sample them again fresh from the vine.

What’s Next?

We still have all the tasks from last week to complete:

• Clear the path to the bench
• Clear the squash plants and bolted lettuces away
• Put fresh compost down on the empty plots
• Plant out the French radish plugs

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 22nd September: We harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree

We are now officially into autumn and the weather pattern changed once again after our last newsletter, to dry, sunny and humid.  Perhaps it is summer having a final fling, as it seems the coming week will be giving plenty of rain and cooler temperatures.  It will certainly be a relief to see the rain again, as the plants we are currently establishing are suited better to less heat.  It will also be easier on us too as we have had to start watering again, having thought we could put away the water pump and hose pipe – however it was not to be.

There have been plenty of reports confirming that the butterfly population is very much depleted this year, and we agree with that although the cabbage white butterflies are certainly around on the plot, constantly flapping around the brassicas and trying to lay eggs through the mesh in the netting.  Happily they have plenty of alternative plants ready to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the caterpillars, being the nasturtiums, of which there are oodles.

The spent broccoli plants got taken out and composted, and space was found to plant spring onions and more spinach which should carry over into winter and spring.  The coriander seedlings we planted just over a week ago have completely disappeared, leaving no trace, but as we make a habit of bringing on more plants than we have space for, luckily we had plenty of plants waiting in the wings for such an occasion and so we hope these may survive.

It was no surprise that we found the first signs of blight on the tomatoes.  We decided to cut our losses and immediately take them out, rescue what we could of the tomatoes, ripe or green, and compost the plants being a perfectly safe thing to do.  Many of the tomatoes have been lost to the blight, but the rest have been put into the greenhouse at Pent farm to hopefully ripen over time.  This same week blight appeared in the outdoor tomatoes at Pent Farm and so they have been removed too.   

After what we believe must be an entire year, we harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree hugging the brick wall.  We had waited and watched whilst the single lemon had grown then turned from green to bright yellow over the summer months until at last it was picked.  Having passed it around the gardeners for a scratch and sniff to take in all the lemony wonderfulness, it has gone to make many a lemon and ginger tea – and they were very good too!  It is reassuring to note that the little tree has more flowers just appearing, and so with any luck we may be presented with another lemon next year.

What’s next?

• Clear out some of the older borage plants and squashes

• Put fresh compost down on cleared plots

• Clear a path to the bench in the garden

• Clear the lettuces going to seed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.