Tim Prater

How extraordinarily lucky we were that the Sandgate Christmas lights switch on event did not get completely washed out by rain which had been promised.  A great community event, where so many people associated with the garden were present.  It was a reminder that the creation of the community garden has brought so many people together and it was a busy evening meeting more friends at practically every corner.   We paid for the lack of rain the following morning when it did make an appearance, but fortunately it stopped and the sun came out by 10 am and we spent a happy couple of hours getting on with our tasks.  The rainfall for November was just 31mm, which was not surprising as we had to water in many of our new plantings during the month when usually the rainfall would have done the job. 

With some drop in the temperatures this week, it was important to get some of the beds covered in fleece so that they have a better chance of surviving the winter.  This was the case for the broad bean beds in particular.  There was a final tray of spare broad bean seedlings and a few late pea shoots that got planted.  The broad beans were to replace any missing or failed beans in the beds.  A friend of the garden had lost all her beans to what was probably rodents, always good at finding such large seeds that can make a great meal for them – they can destroy an entire crop in no time at all, but at least we were able to supply a few spares for another try.  Same goes for the pea seedlings too, being just as vulnerable – ours got planted in some mushroom crates filled with compost and put into the cold frames, we shall have to keep our fingers crossed that they grow fast enough for the seeds to not be of interest to the rodents any more.  The changes in the season have also attracted pigeons to the garden and they have been stripping the brassicas so we have had to net them quickly to put them off.

The fluctuating temperatures are not helping the wildlife, and Chris, one of our bee keepers is concerned that the bees are still out and about trying to forage, but with nothing or not much to find, they will eat their way through their winter stores and starve.  Apparently during the colder weather the bees cluster together to keep themselves and the queen warm, but if it becomes too warm, then they will start eating.  Below is a picture taken on 4^th December of a red admiral butterfly taking advantage of the flowering mahonias in the park grounds.

More leaves got collected, and it looks as if we are nearly done with them for the year, the leaf compost bin is full to bursting and they will be left to get on with making compost. All these tasks and more have been written about in a further blog for ‘Explore Kent’.  Now that we are entering into the start of winter, our blog described all the many labours that are perfect for carrying out this time of year.  Unfortunately it seems it was more than there was space for on the website, and it got edited to a shorter version.  You can read the cropped account here at

https://explorekent.org/blog/2021/11/30/winter-gardening-tasks-and-jobs/

Last but not least, we nearly received a Christmas present from Waitrose!  We were contacted by our local branch in Hythe out of the blue to say that we were to be presented with a cheque as we had been nominated as a worthy cause.  In our excitement and baffled enthusiasm, the precise monetary size of this cheque got overlooked, and just as we were about to have it placed into our hot, grubby hands, it got returned to the shop office as it was not correctly written.  So near yet so far, the cheque has been returned to head office and we will not get to see the updated version this side of Christmas!  Oh well, something to look forward to in the New Year, and we can still speculate as to just how much a difference it will make to our funds…….

What’s next?

• Pot up any useful self sown seedlings

• Continue to mulch the beds

• Keep checking on the plants in the cold frames

• Continue to weed the flower garden near the bench and cut back the herbs

• Start work on laying wood chip paths

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At last the cold stuff has arrived at the very end of November, and you can begin to think that the festive season really is around the corner.  Plenty more leaves have fallen from the trees although some are still in place, however a good blast of wind probably due to come along any time now will do the trick, and the leaf clearing will soon be over.  We have managed to fill our leaf bin full to the brim, and have squashed leaves into every available gap to make space for more.  We cleared some of the herbs that had bolted, although the flower heads, such as the Dill, are full of flavour and good to mix into salad leaves.  We had a few last onion sets to plant in any spaces where nocturnal animal visitors or birds had pulled them up and given them a taste!  Fortunately none of the raiders seem to like onions and either spit them out half chewed or simply drop them on the path. 

We had a most welcome message from ‘Seed Craft’ during the week, offering us a box of garlic for which we were most grateful.  Still time to plant onions and garlic if you have not done so already.

More compost got bagged up to use at the alleyway and Golden Valley.as part of the great annual compost mulch for all ‘no dig’ enthusiasts.  This is the time to dress as many of the beds as possible with a layer of new compost, and there certainly is plenty to do there. Paul, the Grounds Manager of Enbrook Park, took great pity on us having to barrow the newly acquired compost uphill to the garden from where it had to be delivered, and using some machinery, got it up to the garden for us!  Not sure quite how, but one day it was down the hill outside the garden, and the next day, up the hill and in the garden…..happy days, thank you Paul!  Now we can mulch away to our hearts content!  Saturday was to have been the day to make a start, but we had to dodge the heavy showers mixed with hail, and just about managed to get the broad bean beds covered with fleece in preparation for promised frosts.on Sunday and Monday.

The greatest news of the week is that the fruit and nut trees at Sandgate and Fremantle Parks got planted at last after the initial hiccup in arranging planting days which did not then happen.  There were twenty five trees in total.  Apples, pears, plums, cherry and cob nut trees.  There were twenty four bought and paid for, but we found a cheeky interloper hidden amongst them and thought we had better plant it anyway.  We are most grateful to all those who came along to do the hard work, and there is now a small orchard in each park which we will all be watching over and helping to take care of. 

There are future plans to develop the areas under and around the trees, and we understand there will be official ceremonies to welcome the trees in June 2022, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and organised by the Sandgate Parish Council.  Thank you Parish Council for thinking of providing fruit and nut trees, giving flower and fruit for wildlife and local fellow humans to enjoy for many years to come.  We understand that it is possible to sponsor one of the trees for £100 by contacting the Sandgate Parish Clerk Gaye Thomas at clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk or by calling 01303 248563.  The trees are semi-dwarfing varieties and will therefore not grow to be enormous!

What’s next?

• Start on that mulching at Enbrook

• Fill in any broad bean gaps

• Plant some pea shoot boxes for the cold frames

• Still more leaves to collect, the final push? Put fleece over the spinach and check on the brassica netting

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It continues to be mild, and the garden is still confused.  There are many things that would have been cleared or finished by now in the depths of November with Christmas being advertised as just around the corner; but the cosmos, nasturtium.and marigolds are still in flower, being visited by many bumble bees.  We have been pulling leeks and black radishes, and there are still salad leaves, kaibroc and plenty of chard and spinach if you do not mind the holes!

The mustards we planted in boxes in the cold frames are proving most tasty but can only harvest a couple of leaves from each plant per week as the short daylight hours restrict the growth rate, and it takes time for them to replenish themselves.  The autumn leaves continue to fall and we have quite a full leaf compost bin already,  Unfortunately whilst fishing fallen leaves from the pond, our net got broken having been well used, so we will need to invest in another before all the leaves have eventually fallen to try and keep the pond clear. 

Although there are no new seeds to sow or seedlings to plant for a while, there are plenty of tasks needing to be done to maintain the structure of the plot, and since our amazing gift of green waste compost, we will soon begin on the mulching of many of the beds and permanent plantings.  We bagged up some of the new compost,  several bags were used to mulch the alleyway between Chichester Road and Meadowbrook, and the rest is to be taken to Sandgate Park and Fremantle Park for the great fruit tree planting on Sunday 21^st. 

Later we will start to replenish the paths at Enbrook with our store of woodchips too.  The paths are just as important as the beds as many of the plants send their roots into the paths where they can still find moisture and space to grow.  The quieter months are a time to think about getting organised for next year, and our fabulous tool box got a proper sprucing and sort out.  It now looks so good we are a little afraid to use it and risk making a mess.  Other jobs included cutting down the finished hops, weeding and keeping all the brassica plants free from yellowing and trailing leaves which encourage slugs and snails to hide amongst them.

On Saturday the ‘Disco Soup’ event in Radnor Park happened.  Morrisons donated large crates of root vegetables and leeks – ideal soup making ingredients for such an occasion.  The Hythe gleaners brought potatoes, squashes and apples, then with plenty of herbs, plus lots of pairs of willing hands, some amazing tasty soups, stews, crumbles and jars of pickles were created all with a party atmosphere helped along by the DJ adding the disco sounds.  It was a fabulous day, good food and great company, what more could you want?

What’s next?

• Get those trees planted in the parks and start process of creating mulched bases

• Keep clearing and composting the fallen leaves

• Clear the bolted herbs

• Bag up more compost

• Few more onions to plant?

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