Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 17th September: Green hop beers created by Docker brewery and Hopfuzz brewery are coming.

It has been an extraordinarily quiet week.  There are no seeds to sow for anything that needs to grow outside, and so we are just repotting a few seedlings to bring them on for when there is room to plant them, to include wallflowers for some early spring colour.  Much of the plot is full of flowers from the tall spikes of the amaranth, to dahlias, one random gladioli, French marigolds, nasturtiums, and of course all the courgette, squash and cucumber flowers. 

There is as usual, the watering of the seedlings to occupy our time, all the establishing plants and of course the celery and celeriac which always demand water, but yet again many things such as the parsnips and leeks will have to take their roots deep underground to find some moisture.  Of course there are always plenty of weeds to evict and lots of self-sown tomatoes in the wrong place at the wrong time.  With the daylight hours ever decreasing, many of the summer crops are starting to look tired and are slowing down – there is always something to tidy.  More of the wood chip paths have been re-laid, with more to follow next week.

On Sunday we picked our hops for the Hythe Hops Scheme, taking them to the collection station to be weighed, checked over and registered. We had 1kg of hops from our plants – our best amount yet and probably due to the wetter summer. Many of the hop growers had issues with blight which turned the hops brown, and meant they cannot be used.

The total hop harvest from the community growers was 125.2kg. Last year it was 130.5kg, so all things considered, not a bad haul. The green hop beers created by Docker brewery and Hopfuzz brewery are in the making. The rest of the hops having been dried and vacuum packed now waiting to be used to make various beers into next year. We are looking forward to hearing where and when they are available.

Last but not least, another mention for a great event happening Saturday 23^rd September at Oaklands Park Hythe and Oaklands cafe (See poster below).  There is a great seed and plant swap, apple pressing, and of course an opportunity to join in with the Disco Soup crew, helping to make an amazing array of dishes from gleaned and donated food – a great family afternoon not to be missed!

What’s Next?

• Finish off the wood chip paths

• Pick some of the endive

• Clear the duck weed from the pond

• Cut back hedge suckers

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 10th September: Scorchio.

This week the weather has been scorchio!  It has been far too hot to feel like doing anything much, but no matter what the seedlings, celery and celeriac still need watering.  We decided to work in the garden earlier than we normally do, and finish by 11am in order to be out of the midday sun.

The rest of the tomato plants with blight got removed and composted, and work was started on laying more wood chip paths.  The badgers have been active again this week in the garden, with evidence of disturbed earth and pathways, probably in the search for earthworms.  Sometimes, on arrival there is a need to rake over the paths to make them level again or risk falling into the holes.

Many of the garden plots are now covered in fine netting as the cabbage white butterflies are very active still and so desperate to get at the brassicas that we often find them trapped inside where they have somehow managed to squeeze in, and have to release them. However they need to be careful as the season is turning towards autumn and there is evidence of large garden spiders and their webs strategically placed to catch anything that comes along.  We observed a short fight between a wasp and a spider, but the wasp stood no chance, was wrapped up and carried off to the larder in a flash.

We were proud to notice that our little lemon tree has produced a tiny lemon, and that the banana tree had sprouted two new trees around its roots – brilliant.

On 23^rd September there will be another Disco Soup event, but this time in Hythe in conjunction with the Hythe Environmental Community Group plant, seed and produce swap and community apple pressing.  The venue is the Age UK centre in Stade Street from 2 – 5pm.  So check it out on social media and sign up for a ticket to a great free event for all of the family.

What’s next?

• Continue to put down the wood chips

• Pick the hops

• Continue to tidy up the plot

• Remove the wig-wams and tidy up around the back of the pond

• Continue to water the seedlings if the weather continues to be hot

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.