At last the time has come to start sowing those seeds, but not all of them, just those that can tolerate cold weather and cope should there be a change in the current warm and sunny period.  We are talking about peas (for pea shoots), spring onions, radishes, lettuces, spinach, parsley, broad beans, broccoli, coriander and early cabbage.

We were contacted by a lovely lady by the name of Rosemary, keen to pass on her own locally collected flower and plant seeds.  Rosemary volunteers for the Romney Marsh community garden as well as the Hythe Environmental group, where she can be seen regularly at their seed swaps, with knowledge and support for anybody that needs it. Rosemary gave us several plants and collected seeds.  We are delighted to make yet another contact, and plan to go and visit Rosemary at her community garden in New Romney soon.  As we have learnt from our recent seed saving course, locally collected seed is more likely to thrive in the same area being used to the climate.

We know that volunteering has several benefits, from building community and your social network to developing emotional stability and helping mental wellbeing.  Over time we have met so many inspirational and encouraging people, and made many links with local organisations and individuals all striving to improve and support our society.  The reward as a volunteer is priceless, but the need is great and there is a vast amount of choice for anybody looking to offer their services. 

Below is a picture taken by one of our volunteers of a nearby post box, enhanced by an excellent knitter which made us all smile and wonder at the incredible hidden talents out there.

We are looking for keen gardeners to help us look after various sites around Sandgate, to plant, water, and weed, maybe even grow flowering plants to make our area look its best.  We were contacted to meet an amazing trio, valiantly working hard to clear and make good the overgrown grounds surrounding our very own St Paul’s churchyard on Sandgate Hill.  Unfortunately the grounds had become quite overgrown, and being adjacent to the main road, is in full sight, and looked unloved.  Natalie took up the challenge and volunteered with two other recruits to begin the clearance and nurturing of the rescued plants, however they are looking for more help.  They are a delightful group, very friendly and chatty, so perhaps if you are looking to volunteer somewhere, this could be for you!   Please contact Leonie on 07840138308 if you would like to help – your community needs you even if you can only spare an hour or two!

The Incredible Edible group in Cheriton had a sudden influx of volunteers when many of the Nepalese community got stuck in with weeding and tidying.  Possibly the best part of the session was the mugs of tea and copious amounts of homemade cake which seemed to go down well.  The Incredible Edibles hope to be able to support the Nepalese community with a planting area or areas in the grounds of their new community centre in Cheriton.

We got some important jobs done this week.  The children’s nursery at Saga were donated a beautiful specimen apple tree for their growing area last year, and it got a pruning, supervised by the interested children, to get it back into shape for the coming season.  They were delighted to show off their spring flowers and overwintered vegetables growing in the planters.  We are hoping to be able to support them better this year now that restrictions are easing.

The large pots of mint that overflowed last year got turned out, split into smaller sections and re-potted in fresh soil, as did a very congested arum lily.  More self-sown seedlings appear every week it seems and were either planted in a better spot or potted up for use elsewhere.

We did get to pick a few mustard leaves, some broccoli shoots and some kale leaves that had been netted and left to recover for some weeks after being practically shredded to bits by the pigeons.  They are currently eying up the purple sprouting and have managed to strip a few plants if any strong winds displace the protective netting.

What’s next?

• Get sowing

• Sort out those tayberry plants

• Keep an eye on the fleece and net covers if it is windy

• Some signs need replacing

The snowdrops are out in Enbrook Park, and Imbolc (Gaelic/pagan festival of spring) has already passed us by.  So very tempting this time of the year when the sun comes out, to go get the seeds and start sowing, but not before St Valentine’s Day!  There is just one more week to wait.

The rainfall for January was 49mm which seemed to have happened on the 8^th when it rained all day. After that we did not see any substantial rain and we have had to water the pots several times.  The plants taking shelter in the cold frames were removed this week as they can dry out too quickly once the sun starts to shine for any length of time, and the weather does not look too cold for the foreseeable future.

The pond edges got weeded, a few spare plants planted around the edges, and more time spent fishing leaves out of the water.  Another bird box was kindly donated and fixed to a nearby tree, and a wooden handmade planter, also donated, was picked up with thanks.  Time was well spent litter picking and tidying the little green outside the Fish and Chip shop in the High Street.  It is good to see that the bulbs planted back in the autumn are starting to come through. 

Although too early for sowing seeds it is certainly not too early to start off your potatoes.  Seed potatoes are available now for ‘chitting’ where the ‘eyes’ of the potato seeds are allowed to grow shoots before being planted at the end of March or early April.  Always tricky to recommend varieties as you need to consider what works best for you, as well as your growing conditions and personal taste.  All varieties have their own merits but the main thing is they are grown by us and nothing else will taste any better!  There is just no comparison with anything bought in a shop. 

Some of the netting was temporarily removed to mulch the base of the overwintering broccoli and kale to give them that extra boost now they are building up to their main cropping time in March and April, perhaps through to May.  It was surprising to find a caterpillar or two still grazing amongst the brassica leaves. It feels incredible for February but it seems not unusual as we have heard reports of other caterpillar finds in local gardens and in the UK south.

Since reporting last week that there were various growing projects being initiated in and around Folkestone, even more garden organisers have been getting in touch to highlight their plans which is really good news.  So much is starting to happen locally, and it is very encouraging that these projects are reaching out to make connections because as we already know, having links with other community groups has certainly helped us.  Swapping seeds, seedlings, plants, information, even just visiting different sites can inspire and give ideas.

There is a new project happening in Fremantle Park this week, as many have noticed that two concrete bases have been set into the grass close to the playground.  One of our gardener’s children thought with great excitement that they may be rocket launching pads, which sound like a brilliant idea; however, they are in fact bases for two picnic benches.  Let us hope that their disappointment of reality is short lived.

What’s next?

• Get the garden signs painted and up;

• Get those flower seedlings potted up;

• Sort out the tayberry plants;

• Start splitting up the many mint plants and repot.

There might not be much going on at the garden these days, but there certainly is plenty happening as regards planning and organising in the background, for the year ahead as well as beyond. 

This article was in the Guardian this week, stating that the ‘UK could grow up to 40% of its own fruit and vegetables by using urban green spaces’. 

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jan/24/uk-could-grow-up-fruit-and-vegetables-urban-green-spaces

Apparently only about 1% of urban green space is made up of allotments. The thought is that we should be using more of our gardens, parkland, playing fields and open grass spaces to grow more food.  Well, our Community Gardens, and the work of the Incredible Edibles is already using and growing in public spaces. However perhaps there are a few other issues which need to be addressed first. It seems quite shocking that currently much less than 40% of our fruit and vegetables come from the UK. 

Perhaps the main sticking points are that we expect to be able to buy certain foods all year round and out of season. We expect food to:

• look perfect and therefore probably sprayed with all sorts of chemicals;

• be cheap and plentiful

• include exotic fruits and veg from abroad we cannot possibly grow here;

And of course, some do not even eat any fruit and vegetables in the first place, or very few. 

An interesting article but a complex subject which will certainly not be changed unless there is a considerable threat to our food security and we are forced to.  The last time this happened was during the two World Wars.  Let us hope we never have to cross that bridge even in these interesting times. 

However if you are the kind of person who likes sharing ideas and inspiring change, then this event could be just up your street.  Hosted by thenextstep.org.uk  at the Eleto Café in Rendezvous Street, Folkestone, a chance to find out about local green initiatives:

‘whether you’re just curious about what you could do in your own life to become that one step greener, or you want to learn about something exciting and new, we want to offer a comfortable space for us all to share ideas and learn from one another in our community’.

This is a new initiative in Folkestone, and the second meeting was held this week where the discussion was around the possibility of a ‘Repair Shop’ in the locality, and aspects of recycling.  There were representatives from many walks of life, from businesses to councilors, to community groups, and interested individuals, young and old.  We are certainly looking forward to the next meeting which will be Wednesday 23^rd February 6-8pm.  The group can be found on Instagram and Facebook too.

Enough of the soapbox lecturing and advertising for now.  January is drawing to a close, we are fast approaching the time when we will be sowing the first of the seeds for the year, and we can look forward to longer, warmer days.  We have had several enquiries about new projects being planned, and if we can advise on starting Community Gardens or spaces.  We are always delighted to share what we have learnt along the way, the pitfalls as well as the good bits, and hope we can in some way help new groups to get going. 

Some jobs did get finished this week.  The last of the compost at the lower wall was bagged up, and the final little bit we have in the garden is all but gone.  Happily we do have plans to enable us to collect more compost to keep us in good stead for the rest of the year.  The large planter at Golden Valley did get mulched with a good layer of cardboard and compost, as did some of the growing space at Fremantle Park.  And our pond was cleared of leaf debris, a fabulous Romanesco cauliflower was found and picked, and there was much surprise in the clump of rhubarb which has appeared above the mulch layer already. 

What’s next?

• Bag up the last of the compost for Fremantle
• The pond edges still need weeding
• New signs need painting and putting up
• There are some flower seedlings which need potting up
• Do not forget to water the cold frames!