Tim Prater

It has continued to be very dry in the garden this week, and we have been working flat out to keep up with the watering, in particular new seedlings and the new strawberry plants!  The more established plants will reach further down under ground to find their water and are looking fine!  The tomato plants are looking naked as all the leaves have been stripped from them so that the tomatoes can ripen.  The butternut squashes and carrots have now all been harvested, and we are starting to see the earth again in preparation for a new phase of planting to come in the autumn.

The nursery children made their way to the garden this week, and spent some time grazing on tomatoes and salad leaves….. it was lovely to have them there, and we will be spending some time helping them in their garden, and they will be collecting their daily fruit peelings to bring to our compost heap!

Some of us made our way to the Climate Change march in Folkestone on Friday…. We are always aware of the influence of the weather on the garden, and weather extremes can mean that crops fail.  We are keen to understand and monitor how the garden is affected in the Sandgate microclimate…. This will be an ongoing process.  Talking of climate; just as we look forward to our first garden picnic to celebrate a successful first season, it seems the heavens are going to open and drench us with some long awaited rain!  How typical is that!!

What’s next?

• Monitor watering situation

• Keep picking

• Forgot to pot up the chilli plants!

• Keep collecting the leaves

• Dig over the newly exposed beds and remove any weeds

• Cut back new growth around the base of trees and any newly sprouted shrub roots in the wrong place!

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It’s all about the brassicas on the plot at the moment!  We have some very lush salad leaves, purple and green Pak Choi, towering purple sprouting, red veined chard, and juicy spinach: perfect for blitzing into a smoothie or pesto – or taking pride of place in a colourful salad or stir fry.  The Chinese cabbage is starting to draw itself up into a conical shape, ready to make a crispy heart in the centre, and we are looking forward to trying them.  The butternut squashes are getting a few more days collecting this late summer sunshine before we harvest them, and the salt and wind scorched fruit trees are sending out new green shoots, and are looking fresh again.

We have had a small amount of excess produce which we have been taking to the library on days when they have mother and baby groups etc.  We have also taken a few tomatoes and beans to the Old Fire Station on Saturday mornings when the Farmers Market is not running.  One lady came up to the garden on Wednesday morning to ask what we had ready and available, and it would be great if more people got used to the idea of coming along when we are working there to get some local and seasonal veg – most people have been very kind and supportive and donated a little money when they take something so that we can invest in more seeds and plants for next year.  One thing we will not have to buy next year is new strawberry plants as the few strawberry plants we had this year have sent out lots of ‘runners’ making new plants for us to gather and transplant into our newly dug strawberry bed!  So far we have collected 40 new plants, but we still have more to move…nature is just amazing!

Exciting week coming up as we have made new links with the nursery on site, and some of the children will be coming along to the garden on Wednesday to have a look and maybe try some of the salad leaves.  We hope to be able to help them with their raised beds and pots outside their classrooms and provide seeds and/or plants throughout the year.  Children are much more likely to try eating fresh fruit and vegetables if they have had an active part in growing them, so this is an important step in the garden’s development, to be able to be of help within the community – we hope to be able to do more as time goes on……

What’s next? 

• Watering

• Picking

• Collect the rest of the new strawberry plants and plant into new bed

• Check brassicas for cabbage white eggs and remove

• Check that purple sprouting are all staked securely

• Pot up chilli seedlings ready to take indoors over the winter.

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There is a different feel in the air now, and as the nights are starting to draw in, we are beginning to think of autumn and the changes to the plot….

We have harvested the big blue winter squashes this week, they can finish ripening in a sunny spot anywhere as they have finished growing, and we need to start clearing and reusing the space.  The butternut squashes have been exposed, and are next to be harvested.  There are plenty of tomatoes but we may soon have to consider bringing them indoors to finish off.  It has been very dry still, so watering has been a must, especially for the new seedlings of winter spinach and Chinese salads.  Leaves are starting to fall; another valuable resource we hope to be able to make good use of and start collecting.

The compost heap has been turned for the first time, and we were treated to the sight of a slow worm in the middle of it….. that was our dose of awe and wonder for the day…such an amazing thing to see.  It went off into the undergrowth and will hopefully make its way back to the warm compost again.  The picture below does not do it any justice.

What’s next

• Keep watering

• Keep picking

• Are the butternuts ready?

• Start planting up the strawberry bed with the plants we already have.

• Pick up and compost fallen leaves especially in the growing area.

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