Tim Prater

There might not be much going on at the garden these days, but there certainly is plenty happening as regards planning and organising in the background, for the year ahead as well as beyond. 

This article was in the Guardian this week, stating that the ‘UK could grow up to 40% of its own fruit and vegetables by using urban green spaces’. 

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/jan/24/uk-could-grow-up-fruit-and-vegetables-urban-green-spaces

Apparently only about 1% of urban green space is made up of allotments. The thought is that we should be using more of our gardens, parkland, playing fields and open grass spaces to grow more food.  Well, our Community Gardens, and the work of the Incredible Edibles is already using and growing in public spaces. However perhaps there are a few other issues which need to be addressed first. It seems quite shocking that currently much less than 40% of our fruit and vegetables come from the UK. 

Perhaps the main sticking points are that we expect to be able to buy certain foods all year round and out of season. We expect food to:

• look perfect and therefore probably sprayed with all sorts of chemicals;

• be cheap and plentiful

• include exotic fruits and veg from abroad we cannot possibly grow here;

And of course, some do not even eat any fruit and vegetables in the first place, or very few. 

An interesting article but a complex subject which will certainly not be changed unless there is a considerable threat to our food security and we are forced to.  The last time this happened was during the two World Wars.  Let us hope we never have to cross that bridge even in these interesting times. 

However if you are the kind of person who likes sharing ideas and inspiring change, then this event could be just up your street.  Hosted by thenextstep.org.uk  at the Eleto Café in Rendezvous Street, Folkestone, a chance to find out about local green initiatives:

‘whether you’re just curious about what you could do in your own life to become that one step greener, or you want to learn about something exciting and new, we want to offer a comfortable space for us all to share ideas and learn from one another in our community’.

This is a new initiative in Folkestone, and the second meeting was held this week where the discussion was around the possibility of a ‘Repair Shop’ in the locality, and aspects of recycling.  There were representatives from many walks of life, from businesses to councilors, to community groups, and interested individuals, young and old.  We are certainly looking forward to the next meeting which will be Wednesday 23^rd February 6-8pm.  The group can be found on Instagram and Facebook too.

Enough of the soapbox lecturing and advertising for now.  January is drawing to a close, we are fast approaching the time when we will be sowing the first of the seeds for the year, and we can look forward to longer, warmer days.  We have had several enquiries about new projects being planned, and if we can advise on starting Community Gardens or spaces.  We are always delighted to share what we have learnt along the way, the pitfalls as well as the good bits, and hope we can in some way help new groups to get going. 

Some jobs did get finished this week.  The last of the compost at the lower wall was bagged up, and the final little bit we have in the garden is all but gone.  Happily we do have plans to enable us to collect more compost to keep us in good stead for the rest of the year.  The large planter at Golden Valley did get mulched with a good layer of cardboard and compost, as did some of the growing space at Fremantle Park.  And our pond was cleared of leaf debris, a fabulous Romanesco cauliflower was found and picked, and there was much surprise in the clump of rhubarb which has appeared above the mulch layer already. 

What’s next?

• Bag up the last of the compost for Fremantle
• The pond edges still need weeding
• New signs need painting and putting up
• There are some flower seedlings which need potting up
• Do not forget to water the cold frames!

Work has slowed a little this week. The main plot at Enbrook is looking tidy and as good as mulched all over, but we are waiting on certain things to happen before we can make progress.  There is still a small pile of compost to be moved from the storage area below the lower wall within the park up to the garden. Some was barrowed up in the week, the rest can be done as and when.  Fortunately the brassica netting canopies are doing the job of keeping the pigeons at bay and allowing some growing space too.  Growing temperatures rarely get reached these days and so the overwintering crops remain at a standstill until we get to see some longer, warmer days.

One of the large brick planters at Golden Valley has been plagued with Mare’s tails, an invasive plant which can be deep rooted and quite difficult to get rid of.  We have some patches of it remaining at Enbrook Park, especially in the gooseberry patch. It likes to lurk beneath the spiny stems of the gooseberries where gardeners are reluctant to put their hands! 

We thought the best plan was to remove all the plants from the planter, then cover with a good thick layer of cardboard and compost.  This should help to weaken the growth as well as keep cutting back any new growth which keeps appearing in the gaps between the paving outside the planter.  Of course all the garden books tell you to spray with weed killer.  The planter can then be replanted later in the spring once the mulches have had a chance to smother any new growth.  However we suspect we will still be pulling it out throughout the year.

Fremantle Park

This area has had a bit of a tidy this week, the flowering border had been allowed to finish and shed seeds.  Seeds sown in this way can often manage to overwinter and appear ultra-early.  In fact it was noticed just last week there was a developing cosmos seedling growing in a crack between the pavement  and one of the large brick planters at Golden Valley, which must have come from the plants growing there last year.  It will be interesting to see if it can survive, and therefore manage to be in flower long before any sister plants.

On Saturday some of us went to learn all about seed saving with ‘Seed Sovereignty UK’ at the Locavore Community Garden, Martello Primary School, Folkestone.  Seed saving is a fascinating subject, and can also be quite complex, in the saving of the seed itself to the political and social effects worldwide.  Over the last century we have lost an enormous amount of vegetable varieties, so that now we only have a few varieties to choose from which serve all regions.

By being able to save our own seed, we can help to protect and restore seed diversity locally, particularly important at a time of climate crisis.  It is a daunting matter, but along with all the other local growing groups represented at the course, we can combine to share the task by starting with just one vegetable variety each, and gradually build on our expertise.  We will then, as a cooperative, share the seeds along with growing support. It is a long term project, but we understand the reasoning is a sound one in such interesting times.

What’s next?

• Barrow some more compost up to the garden
• Mulch the empty planter at Golden Valley
• Try to get out some of the leaves in the pond
• Weed around the pond

We have been appreciating the lovely warm sunshine this week for both of our gardening sessions. We’re not, however, so sure the bee keepers will be too happy as the bees in the hives were very active which must mean they will be using up their food reserves as there is so little to forage.

We have raised some of the brassica netting as they were trying to burst out.  The purple sprouting is set to be at full production by April so we need to keep a close eye on them.  Once the netting was off we took the opportunity to remove the lower leaves and mulch the bed beneath before replacing with a looser canopy to deter pesky pigeons!   We have certainly been steaming through the compost pile and are starting to run low already, however we have not had to be frugal with it this year which is a luxury.

We have taken up the swedes and most of the celeriac as they had not been as good as we had hoped and it is too late now to expect them to get any bigger!  Some examples from Fremantle Park from the same batch of seeds and grown at the same time were compared (see picture below), so it is clear that something else such as compost or moisture levels have been to blame.  Always a guessing game when growing plants, trial and error.

Having cleared a bit of space we were able to plant three more rhubarb roots.  We will not be able to harvest any of the stalks this year but they should be large enough in 2023 with any luck!  We also had a few small asparagus crowns which are a useful addition to one of our planted asparagus beds which was a little sparse in places last year.  We will have to remain patient with this crop as there is no collecting of the delicious shoots until next year, and then only a few of the spears can be taken until it has had a chance to become well established.

We took a trip out to Brook near Ashford, to visit Rebel farmer Ed at his market garden, specialising in edible flowers and microgreens.  It was fascinating, even at this time of year when not much is growing outside.  Ed’s microgreens are available all year round, growing in insulated and lit outbuildings.  Demand for his produce is great and he is running flat out in order to supply, and has plans to expand.  Like us, Ed likes to grow using organic, no dig principles, using just a yearly layer of new compost to maintain the health and vitality of the soil first, which will then sustain the plants growing in it.  No fertilisers, no chemicals, just simplicity itself.  We will be keeping contact with Ed to see how his business develops over time as he has lots of ideas in the pipeline. 

We have another trip planned for next Saturday 22^nd with Seed Sovereignty UK at the Locavore growing project at the Martello Primary school in Folkestone.  It being our gardening day on Saturday, there may not be any of our volunteers at Enbrook Park, but we will be back the following week as usual, hopefully full of lots of seed saving ideas.

What’s next?

• Review the compost situation

• Keep an eye to make sure the brassica netting is doing its job

• Order some more fleece

• Work to be done at Fremantle and Golden Valley