Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 7th January: A definite sense of déjà vu.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

There is definitely a sense of déjà vu looking back at the newsletter for this time last year.  Reassuringly we are doing the very same tasks within the garden, but it seems that the weather patterns are also the same.  High winds/storms, and oodles of rain.  The rainfall for December was 87.2 mm; last December it was 88.6 mm.  The month with the highest rainfall in 2023 was November with 183.6 mm, and in 2022 it was November again but with 194.8 mm. 

Just before Christmas, we pulled up our parsnip harvest which if we are honest, we never expected to see.  We sowed the parsnip seeds just after the announcement that Enbrook Park was to be sold and decided only to sow a few because our future was uncertain and December seemed very far away at the time.  The thing about parsnips is that you never are sure what the crop is like until you get them up and out of the ground – they could be full of canker or just underwhelming.  Fortunately we were pleasantly surprised that although the harvest was small, there were a few whoppers as you can see in the picture below. 

Not much was happening in the garden over the Christmas festivities, and visits were made by a valiant few to check that netting and fleece was in place and all was generally as it should be.  It seems that there has been and are many instances of a nasty cough/cold bug going around the population, definitely not covid this time, and for some of us, something we have not had experience of for some years, or since the start of the pandemic. 

Happily there was some unexpected sunshine during our Saturday morning session which was most welcome and it was good to see some flowering primroses and the tips of the emerging daffodils appearing all over the garden and first sign that spring is actually on its way.  Unfortunately for us, the toolbox lock refused to budge which meant we had no access to tools but were quite happy chatting and generally taking stock of what was happening within the plot.  One thing that did not escape our notice was several potato plants popping up in the beds where they were planted last year.  It seems that no matter how hard you search for them on harvesting, they still get missed and rise up to haunt you the following year and always where you do not want them – just typical!

What’s next?

• Sort out the compost area

• Cut some claytonia

• Cut back the goji berries

• Prune some of the fruit trees

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 17th December: We would all like to wish you a very happy Christmas.

We are fast approaching the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.  This gives plenty of hope to know that the days from then on will become longer as we make our way towards spring and the start of the growing season for the new year.  There have been some spectacular sunrises in Sandgate recently, mostly to warn us of bad weather to come – on Wednesday when we have one of our usual gardening sessions, there was no sign of rain on any weather apps, however it did rain significantly enough for us to abandon any thought of doing any work outside.  Happily Saturday was quite fair and we all commented on how good it was to get outside and get on with some worthwhile chores.

We are still occupied with clearing some beds and putting down more compost.  Some of the beds were treated to a sprinkling of bokashi bran and biochar just a week or so ago and this week we noticed that there is a white bloom that has appeared over the surface of the beds as they start to grow beneficial fungi and bacteria.  In general, with the cool temperatures and the shorter days, life in the garden has pretty much come to a standstill.  We were impressed to still be picking broccoli florets this week from plants that first cropped in mid to late summer.

Upon clearing the beds we came across a few hangers-on from the year such as the odd potato, a couple of turnips and a rather large winter radish.  Not much in the way of wildlife whilst we are in the garden except for our ever attentive and excited robin that you just catch in the corner of your eye as it flits about the plot looking to see what we have unearthed which might be edible for a robin.  We did find a fairly fat caterpillar amongst some of the broccoli leaves but put it back to fend for itself.

We have only been able to continue with our mulching of the beds because we had six volunteers come out from the Napier barracks to help wheelbarrow soaking wet and heavy compost all the way up the hill to the garden from where it has to be dropped off and stored.  With daylight fading fast, we just managed to fill the compost compound within the garden before most volunteers were worn out and ready to get back to the camp to dry out and warm up!

This will be our last newsletter of 2023, with our next edition being Sunday 7^th January 2024.  We would all like to wish you a very happy Christmas and look forward to relaying more garden news in the new year. 

What’s next?

• Clear the last of the beds and mulch with compost

• Sprinkle more bokashi and biochar

• Even up the hedge

• Clear some of the growth near the pond area

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.