Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 13th April: Plenty of spinach, the asparagus is delicious, and the radish good and crunchy.

The fact there has been no rain for so many weeks is really starting to cause problems.  The broad beans look great but are so short – they certainly should be much taller by now.  We have put off sowing the carrots and parsnips because they need to be sown directly into the ground, however the ground is now so dry that at Enbrook Park any water just runs off the surface and does not soak in.  The newly planted seedlings are struggling although we have been watering them outside of our usual gardening hours.  Again, we get the promise of rain in the future from the weather apps, but sadly it comes to nothing as the days go by and the temperatures rise.  Our fingers are crossed that a chance of rain next week does arrive.   (As if by magic, in-between writing this newsletter and sending it out – we had some rain!)

This week we sowed the tomatoes, nine different varieties, from cherry through to yellow plum, black, beefsteak and a tomato with few seeds just right for pasta sauce.  We sowed yet more English and French marigolds as well as lots of cosmos and more lettuces.  The lemon verbena had shown signs of life and got a good pruning along with the butterfly bush behind the tool box.   Many tasks have been pushed forward into next week as it takes so long to water and we run out of time and sometimes energy!

Last week it was noticed that the black fly had made an appearance in great numbers on the fast growing elder hedging.  This week it was noticed that the ladybirds had arrived in the area and had also seen the feast awaiting.  With any luck more of their friends will arrive and demolish the lot before they consider taking to the broad beans.  As regards that other well-known pest in the garden, the slug, the lack of rain has actually helped to keep them at bay for now.

We are still picking plenty of spinach, the asparagus is delicious, the radish good and crunchy and the spring onions coming to an end from the autumn plantings.

What’s next?

• Sow all the courgettes and squashes
• Plant out the peas
• Plant out the sweet peas and make a wigwam
• Take time to weed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 6th April: What’s the difference between calabrese and broccoli?

The total rainfall for March was a shocking 6.7 mm! For early spring that is a big concern. This is the time we are starting to fill the beds with very small seedlings, but the ground is dry and we will have to water as much as we can if they are to survive as there seems to be no rain on the horizon for many days to come. The sunshine and the warmth have been most welcome of course but the lack of rain is a big problem. We noticed that where the elder in the hedge had started to grow, parts were smothered already in blackfly which could be a sign of stress. With any luck the ladybirds, usually abundant in the garden may turn up in numbers and make short work of them.

The water pump needed so that we do not have to water by hand, was remembered this week. However, having spent most of the time stored away over the autumn and winter, it decided to play up and not work on the Wednesday. When threatened with a screwdriver to take it apart, miraculously sprang into action and started to work again, meaning that on Saturday the watering got done much faster. We are hoping it is just a case of having to wake up from a long slumber and that all will be well from now on.

We had so much on the list to do this week that unfortunately not all of it was completed. We concentrated on getting seedlings planted – potatoes, cabbages, calabrese, peas for pea shoots, and a few left over spinach plants. The question was asked about the difference between calabrese and broccoli, which had not been considered before. Apparently, the large heads of ‘broccoli’ you buy at the supermarket have been misnamed and should be called calabrese; whilst the small spears of broccoli, such as purple sprouting broccoli/tender stem broccoli are true broccoli. So there it is!

We did get to sow more seeds of spring onions and leeks. It was decided that the leeks for Pent farm could be sowed and grown as a multiple with up to four leeks per planting, however the leeks for Enbrook Park are to be grown as single leeks and using the old fashioned method of planting them deep, and this is mainly because Pent farm has clay soil and is a much wetter site compared with the Enbrook Park site.

In spite of the lack of rain there is still plenty of spinach and chard, spring onions, and this week we had the treat of the first spears of asparagus, a few sticks of rhubarb, and the first three radishes! Certainly not enough for a feast, but a taste

What’s Next?

• Still need to finish the bean supports
• Still need to tie in the hops
• Carry out some extra watering between sessions
• Lots of seeds to sow/ few spare potatoes to plant

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 30th March: Who would have thought that mice like nasturtium seeds?

It is certainly starting to get very busy at the community garden at Enbrook Park. The sun has been shining for much of the week, and the rain that was promised and already needed failed to do much at all. So it was that we had to take up the watering cans straight away during the Saturday morning session, and a note taken to try to remember to bring the water pump next week as it will make the task so much easier and quicker!!

With so much warmth and sunshine, needless to say, things are starting to grow pretty fast from the overwintering crops to the new seedlings both in the ground and in the greenhouse. The greenhouse seedlings have to be watered now every day whereas we used to get away with just every other day.

Who would have thought that mice like nasturtium seeds, as unfortunately they have tucked into a whole tray which was sown recently. The other bad news is that the weeds seem to be growing just as fast as the plants we do want to keep and so a task for next week will be to get out the hoes and make short work of them before they get a grip.

Spring onions, chives and beetroot seedlings got planted out into plots this week, and covered in netting just to allow them to take root as something wild is very busy digging holes all over the place, and if it took to a newly planted bed, the seedlings would stand no chance at all. The turnips and kohlrabi had to be pinched out as we had sown two seeds per cell and it seems all of them had taken. It is a shame to have to remove seedlings but these vegetables prefer to be on their own and would be fighting over the water, so it is best to take one of the seedlings out – luckily they are not wasted and can be put into a stir fry.

The daffodils are going over now, and an effort was made to dead head them this week so that the bulb can direct energy back to itself rather than to the seed head. Happily, the English marigolds are just starting to flower, and the cerinthe, as you can see from a picture below, are just starting to show some colour too. The last of the kale was taken out, and some cardoons were moved but unfortunately not the globe artichokes because they had grown too large already. Maybe next year.

Perhaps the best news was to hear that the fantastic hummingbird moth which we often comment on and living in one of our gardens in Sandgate, has been seen again. It seems pretty early as apparently it is a summer visitor to the UK.

What’s next?

• Lots of seeds still need to be sown
• Finish staking the broad beans
• Get some strings in for the hops too
• Weeds need to be hoed.

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 23rd March: The banana tree is making a comeback.

The temperatures improved this week and it was mostly dry with some sunshine which meant that we have begun watering again.  Fortunately there is not much to water but the pots certainly have needed it.

The daffodils are now past their best and the bluebells are starting to take over as well as the forget-me-nots.  We find that the bluebells seed all over the place and so they need removing in large quantities, however we do not feel guilty about it as they are the Spanish variety and not the English.  We leave them to flower in some places but not if they pop up in the beds and the paths.  Another companion plant we have been removing is the nasturtium.  It also appears in great numbers, self-seeding everywhere, but as it is not as invasive as the bluebells we have replanted them in other areas.

We were pleased to notice that the banana tree is making a comeback, has survived the winter, and is throwing out a brand new leaf.   Surprisingly, the overwintered broad beans are now starting to flower so we hope there will be some bees around to fertilise them as they are popular with the bees.  It is lovely to see the new growth starting to appear, and our fingers are crossed that the lemon verbena, a favourite herb, has survived the winter too but there are no signs of growth just yet. 

A tray of spinach got planted, and will eventually replace the spinach we have growing in the plots which have kept going throughout the winter.  At times they were practically eaten right down to the ground by the pigeons making the most of the netting being blown off by high winds; however they have bounced back and have been providing some decent pickings.  The last of the leeks were taken up, and the first bunches of chives cut. 

We sowed plenty of seeds – two trays of celeriac, more English marigolds, French marigolds, corn marigolds and snap dragons.  More calabrese seedlings got pricked out along with some greyhound cabbages to grow on back in the greenhouse.   We have some sweet peas which were repotted and sent back to the greenhouse as it is too early to put them outside just yet. 

What’s next?

• Check if the hops need stringing
• Still need to move the globe artichokes
• Weed the broad beans and get in some border posts
• Sow more lettuce

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.