Tim Prater

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 6th May: Bore Place, Bumblebees and Muddy Wellies.

The rainfall for April was 89.5mm, so it is hardly surprising we have been looking forward to signs of warmth and better days.  A couple of good sunny days this week have suddenly revived most of the plants and we have had to start watering newly planted seedlings and potted plants.

On Tuesday a few of us had a meeting at Bore Place near Sevenoaks with the Kent Food Partnership.  We were treated to a tour of their organic market garden, and although on a much larger scale, it was somewhat reassuring to know that the head gardener was experiencing exactly the same issues as we are; having to hold back planting many plants until the conditions are right.  In forty years of gardening, he has never known such a cold and wet spring.  Fortunately we do not have to make a living from selling food, and it reminds you that all growers are at the mercy of nature and weather which can affect them financially.

This week we have been busy sowing more leeks and the first of the beans.  The pigeons took a liking to the courgette and squash seedlings, fortunately many were saved although we will need to sow a few more.  New lettuce plants were put into spaces where they were missing in the lettuce bed, and the growing tips of the broad beans were pinched out to deter the blackfly which are just starting to appear.  We shared the growing tips as they can be eaten as a salad leaf or steamed.  The alley garden has been weeded as well as the orchard area in Sandgate Park. 

On Thursday some of us joined the Sandgate Environmental Action Group on a bumblebee walk at Pent Farm in Postling.  This gave us an opportunity to try catching bees to enable us to identify them before returning them back to where they were seen foraging.  It was a lovely evening and we did manage to find some bumblebees although there seemed to be more honey bees in evidence.  It was a delight to see that the house martins were busy searching for food, and the skylarks can be heard above the fields.

On Friday there was an invite from the community Garden ‘Muddy Wellies’ to see their orchard in full flower.  It was indeed a spectacular sight.  Just two years ago some of us helped to prune the overgrown cherry orchard which is now in great shape.  If the blossom is anything to go by, they could be in for a bumper crop of cherries which they sell to raise funds for the garden. 

What’s next?

• Still need to check the hops

• Prick out the Zinnia seedlings

• Sow a few more lettuces and courgettes/squash

• Sort out tomato plants

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 30th April: An enormous surge in slug and snail numbers hiding amongst the leaves and potted plants.

It is quite difficult to describe exactly what is going on with the weather this past week.  Oodles more rain, longer daylight hours of course, but a sharp cold wind; a surprising few hours of brilliant sunshine when you least expect it and certainly not appearing on the weather apps.  We are now coming into May when all the fleece covers would and should have been removed by now from some of the growing beds, but the cold wind makes for a reluctance to do so.  The wet conditions have created an enormous surge in slug and snail numbers hiding amongst the leaves and potted plants at Enbrook Park and we have had to search them out and relocate them to pastures new!  In drier conditions we would have planted out much more by now, but know that small plants would have perished in the mollusc onslaught and are giving them more of a chance of survival by allowing them to get much bigger before planting out.

However all the perennial plants are getting on with life due to the lengthening daylight hours and in spite of the weather; and we have been surprised to see the strawberry plants flowering as well as the chives and some of the globe artichokes.

As for our list of ‘to do jobs’ this week, we did manage to get most of them done.  The spinach bed was treated to some replacement plants probably to the delight of the lurking slugs, but having just said we are repotting many plants for later planting, there comes a point when we have simply run out of space to keep them and are prioritising other seedlings.  Some of the earlier purple sprouting plants have given up their last viable broccoli sprouting and been removed to make more space, but the chard bed is trying to recover from being attacked by the pigeons and so they were interplanted with the cauliflower plants so that they can be removed at a later date without being in competition.  More radish plugs were planted in the radish bed where mature radishes had been harvested and to maintain the momentum. 

On our list was the tackling of the weeds around the bases of the brick planters at the Golden Valley shops.  This is an epic task as the weeds have a habit of clinging fast between the tarmac and the paving slabs, but we were delighted to be joined by some volunteers from the Napier Barracks who made short work of the job, leaving enough time for us to move on to Fremantle Park and plant out a van full of mature herbs and seedlings waiting for homes.

On Saturday afternoon, several of the community gardeners and Incredible Edible team went along to the Folkestone and Hythe Sustainable Futures Forum at the Burlington Hotel where we were treated to inspirational talks and information regarding many of the great initiatives already happening in the locality.  It was awesome to soak in the creative energy of so many interesting and interested people and we have come away with many links to businesses and community groups we hope to be able to engage with and support in the future. 

What’s next?

• Sort out the hop strings at Fremantle park

• Check on the hops at Enbrook Park and cut out excess shoots

• May have to reseed the small carrot bed

• Repot the coriander plants

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 23rd April: Coming soon – tomatoes for EVERYONE.

We seem to be stuck in a weather pattern of perpetual winter/early spring; cold and wet with the odd smattering of sunshine to lull you into a false sense of security to sow more seeds and plant yet more plants before it turns cold and dismal again, and you are left wondering how anything would want to grow.  The early spring flowers of daffodils and primroses seem to have been blooming for so long in these cool conditions, and it seems incredible that we will very soon be in the month of May!

Luckily we did manage to get in two gardening sessions at Enbrook Park which was just as well as it was the week to start repotting over two hundred tomato plants.  It seems like a rather large amount of plants however by the time we have planted them out in various places and our gardeners have taken some to grow at home, there should probably be enough for anyone in Sandgate interested in growing some too.  Too early to plant them outside just yet, they should be available in two to three weeks with luck and will advertise their availability via our newsletter.

The courgette and squash seeds did get sown, as did the leeks, chard, beetroot and more flowering annuals.  The sea lavender got pricked out into larger modules, and the mange tout planted.  The asparagus has made it to its third year and so we can harvest a couple of spears each session and are taking it in turns to try them.

Last Sunday there was a most interesting afternoon spent with ‘The Wild Kitchen’ in Saltwood, finding out how gourmet meals are created using foraged foods to be found in our locality.  We were treated to nettle cake, acorn crackers, crispy seaweed, haw jelly, sea buckthorn jelly, cleavers tonic and violet vodka.  There is an abundance of food out there if you know what you are looking for of course, and as a community garden we decided to harvest the flowers from a group of Alexanders we have growing near the bee hives, as it seems the flowers can be cooked like broccoli florets or eaten raw.  The Romans introduced the plants to the UK, and it is similar in taste to celery.

Since last week, it has been announced that another Asian hornet has been discovered in Folkestone.  It seems the hornet has a penchant for honey bees in particular, having already decimated many a bee hive in France.  The Asian hornet is different to our own hornet, and there is a picture of one below with a brief description.  The public can help by downloading the Asian hornet watch app as it has photos of the hornet as well as other insects which are commonly confused with the Asian hornet.  Any sightings can be reported on the app. 

If you should fancy an afternoon with lots of people interested in sustainability with a story to tell that could address our key environmental and related social challenges – then come along to the Burlington Hotel next Saturday 29^th April for the Folkestone and Hythe Sustainable Futures Forum.  Free tickets are available on Eventbrite – hope to see you there!

What’s next?

• Sow more leeks

• Check available space for some cauliflower/broccoli plants

• Weed at Fremantle, Golden Valley

• Fill any spaces in the spinach bed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.