Tim Prater

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 13th October: A spectacular show of colour.

There was no sitting about enjoying the sunshine this week, although there were plenty of opportunities, just not when it was our formal gardening sessions on a Wednesday and Saturday morning.  Unfortunately we had to cancel our session on Saturday because it just rained all morning even though the weather apps kept promising it would brighten up any time soon. 

The clear night skies gave the chance for many of us to see the Northern Lights again this week and there have been many photographs of the locality on social media bathed in a spectacular show of colour for the past couple of nights.  Some people pay a small fortune to travel northwards to catch the Northern Lights, and here they were in our own backyard!

We did manage to start the job of laying down more wood chip paths, and continued the work of clearing some of the finished summer crops such as the dwarf beans and summer squashes.  However we still have plenty of ground work to be getting on with and it will be keeping us busy for a few weeks yet.

The few strawberry plants we left under the soft fruit shrubs have had a great time spreading out and invading other parts of the plot, so their removal was started, although it will take some time to take out the lot. 

The purple sprouting broccoli has been slowly growing under the netting but we noticed that they were starting to look a bit chewed to say the least and on inspection it was clear the netting was protecting vast quantities of cabbage white caterpillars from being picked off by any predators, and so it was our job to lift the netting and remove as many as we could to be relocated to the sacrificial nasturtiums where they could continue to develop. 

The autumnal days have brought out the spiders in our houses and gardens as this is the mating season when the males in particular will go on the search for a mate before they die.  Female spiders, usually larger, can live longer, and the photo below is of a particularly huge garden specimen which has been hanging about making a massive new web every day suspended between a fence post and a fruit tree for about a week now.  As much as such a beautiful creature can be admired for the patterns both on her body and those she creates with her web, it would indeed be terrifying to be that much smaller and caught up in the sticky trap – what a way to go!

What’s next?

• Continue laying wood chip paths
• Put fresh compost in the top of the potted plants
• Put down fresh compost on the cleared beds
• Clear the rest of the strawberries

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 6th October: Admire the flowers, watch the bees and butterflies, and listen to the birds singing.

This week we have said hello to October and some fine sunny, warm weather.  The rainfall for September was 98.5mm, which is quite something for late summer and the start of autumn. 

The path to the bench was cleared so that it could be seen again, and the winter squash plants taken up and composted as were the bolted lettuces.  Wednesday was our busiest day when lots of volunteers came out to give a hand, however Saturday was quieter, and so beautifully warm and sunny that it has to be said we just sat and took time to admire the flowers, watch the bees and butterflies, and listen to the birds singing.  It was a piece of heaven for just that moment in time in that place.

True to form and bang on time, the Michaelmas daisies are in full flower (how do they do that with such regularity and perfect timing?)  The bees have certainly been enjoying their blooms as well as the red sedum situated around the pond.  There is always something in bloom throughout the year, and each season has its real gems. 

We took a good look at the fig tree, however it seems that the birds managed to beat us to most of the fruits; but it appears the fig has more it can give as apparently the leaves have many health benefits, has been used in the past to treat lots of ailments and makes a great fig leaf tea.  The other thing we discovered this week whilst admiring the large rose hips is that the outer flesh is edible and very soft and sweet it tasted too – who would have known?

We had an invite to the Nepalese community open farm day at Pent Farm.  It was a real pleasure to walk amongst the vegetable plots finding out about some traditional crops, and tasting delicious food grown on the farm and prepared in true Nepalese style.  It was a perfect end to the week.  The home brewed rice wine was flowing by the gallon, very similar to Japanese Sake, unfortunately had to be avoided or it was likely that the remainder of the day would have been lost in an alcoholic haze!

What’s Next

• Put down some wood chip paths where needed

• Still have radishes to plant

• Keep putting down more compost

• Take up the summer squash plants

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

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.