Tim Prater

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 10th March: Spring flowers are in full bloom and the daffodils are out.

It feels like spring has been such a very long time coming, but with none of our gardening sessions cancelled due to bad weather this past week, we are beginning to think that spring may at last be just around the corner.  Apparently this winter has been the fourth wettest, and the second warmest since records began.  February was the warmest and wettest on record, 0.6 degrees centigrade warmer than 1990. 

Our spring flowers are in full bloom; the daffodils are out, the early pulmonaria is flowering beautifully, as are the first of the broad beans and all of a sudden the purple sprouting started to show their edible blooms in the very centre or crown of the plants.  We have been watching our purple sprouting broccoli for some months now, looking forward to this time when we can anticipate picking the very first flower heads, and so it seems have the local pigeons.  Having not long said that a few of the plants had been nibbled around the edges but that was all, it seems they have become bolder or is it more desperate, and have decided to really have a go and have stripped several plants of their leaves. 

The daffodils around the plot, either in the ground or in the pots or containers have greatly increased in number over the past couple of years, so much so that it might be a good idea to divide them and replant so that they will not be taking up too much room.  One of our major tasks this week was to start to get to grips with the sycamore seedlings and yet more of the wild garlic.  We set about doing just that but after an hour or so of weeding, you would be forgiven for having lost the will to live and find you are in need of tackling something else – we suspect it will take some time to clear them and so the job will remain on the ‘to do’ list for a while yet. 

The hops are just starting to emerge from their slumber and show themselves above ground.  We will soon have to divide them too as they are also becoming too large, and splitting them will hopefully rejuvenate them.  Also seen emerging has been a good number of ladybirds.  They are so brightly coloured that they are easy to spot on the fresh green leaves of the celeriac and the duller green of the sage. 

No missed sessions has meant that we are practically up to date with our seed sowing.  We have now sown the tomatoes and various varieties of lettuce as well as some aubergines, sweet peppers and chillies for the newly constructed wheelchair accessible greenhouse at Pent Farm.

Now is the time when we are reminded of where certain crops were growing last year as any rogue potatoes left uncollected in the plots have decided to show themselves by sprouting lots of new leaves above ground, and the same with the parsnips. It seems no matter how hard you try to collect the entire crop; some of the blighters still like to tease.

What’s Next?

• Probably need to transplant some seedlings

• Keep hoeing those sycamore seedlings

• Start staking the broad beans

• Keep checking the broccoli netting

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 3rd March: It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn.

Start building that ark!  It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn, and many fields are sitting under water.  Even if the rain stopped right now it will be some time before the water subsides, becomes unsaturated and machinery can get back onto the land.  Fortunately the small scale growers will not have to wait so long to access the land, but all the same, cropping will be affected for some time and going into summer.

The rainfall for February was a massive 198.4mm, the wettest February for sure.  In 2022 and 2023 the wettest month of the year was November for us here in Sandgate, but still they did not beat this February.  Apparently it was also the warmest February on record, so says the Met Office – not that it feels like it when it is cold and damp with a gale force wind bringing a minus chill factor, but apparently so!

Needless to say our Wednesday morning session was cancelled due to rain.  We are getting behind with all the seed sowing and because Saturday morning was showery with the wind blowing a hoolie, we decided to gather together at a kitchen table and sow seeds indoors and not risk them being blown away!  Supplemented with a delicious homemade freshly baked sourdough loaf made that morning by one of our talented gardeners, and plenty of hot drinks, we caught up with some chat much missed when sessions get cancelled.  It has to be said we have never had to cancel so many.  

We are ever optimistic that things can only get better, and our list of tasks remain the same as last week except of course that the reprieved sycamore seedlings will be even larger and more troublesome before we get to them with any luck, next week.  Onwards and upwards.

What’s next?

• More seed sowing

• Get hoeing the sycamore seedlings!

• Get some pond weed for the Pent Farm pond from the Enbrook pond

• Move some of the nasturtium seedlings

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.