Tim Prater

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 16th March: Sow yet more seeds with the promise of better weather.

This week has seen the return of plummeting temperatures, below average for this time of year.  Just as the newly sown seeds were starting to romp away, basking in the glorious warm sunshine of last week, they have now slowed down and have hardly put on any growth at all.  

However we have braved the cold and continued to prick out yet more cabbages and sow yet more seeds with the promise of better weather this coming week.  

The kale had decided to rise up in an attempt to flower and so we took them all out to harvest the leaves and compost what was left.  The rhubarb seems to be appreciative of the cow manure mulch and is looking sturdy with lots of green leaves appearing.  

Time was well spent retrieving some of the wood chip paths where either the mole or the birds had disturbed them; throwing the chips into the compost beds and making them untidy.  You can see from the picture below that we are now ready to fill those beds as soon as the plants are ready.  We have kept an eye on the hops which were dug out and split a couple of weeks ago, keeping them watered and checking on any signs of new growth.  

We had heard from two friends of the garden, Eddie and Rita, on holiday in the mountainous region of Taiwan being taught how to pick tea by a minority indigenous tribe there.  Apparently the whole area is strictly organic, and no chemical sprays are allowed.  What an amazing experience that must have been and look forward to hearing more about it.  

What’s next?

• Prick out more calabrese 
• Sow some of the more hardy companion plants 
• Transfer some of the nasturtiums in the asparagus beds
• Transfer globe artichoke 

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 9th March: Perfect weather to be sitting and sowing yet more seeds.

The weather has been so fabulously sunny and warm this week, it has been a pleasure simply to sit in the garden and enjoy it!   Walking through the park to the garden you can hear the birds are enjoying the feel of spring too.  The snowdrops were spectacular this year, and now they are giving way to the daffodils and primroses.

Perfect weather to be sitting and sowing yet more seeds.  The greenhouse is already starting to look quite crowded, yet more calabrese, onions, spring onions, spinach and radishes were sown along with some celery.  The cabbages and calabrese sown in mid February were large enough to be transplanted into larger plant trays giving them more space to grow on in the greenhouse.

The first planting of the year, the radishes took place on Saturday, and we know that from now on it will be busy keeping up with the sowing timetable and the watering of the seed trays before they dry out in the sunshine. 

We have been donated our first plants for our two summer plant sales already.  We have decided not to put all of our trust into raising funds just at the Sandgate Sea Festival 2025, but to double our chances and take part in the Sandgate Safari to be held in June.  The task has begun to make sure we have plenty to offer for both dates.

We have some produce we can share left over from planting last summer/autumn.  We have kale, claytonia (winter lettuce), mustard, sorrel and some leeks.  The leeks were planted sometime in June last year after an April sowing, and unfortunately never managed to make a great size.  We have put it down to the fact that we have to be careful with our watering, and suspect they could have done with more during the summer months.  Never mind, they have a great flavour.

What’s next?

• Sow more lettuce
• If no rain, water the hops again
• Probably more brassicas to prick out
• Take out the kale once picked

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 2nd March: HELLO!  WE ARE BACK!

In actual fact we have not been away from the community gardens but have been forced on occasions to miss gardening sessions due to the cold or the wet.  Quite often we would meet up for just an hour or so before fingers and toes go numb and we abandon the tasks and head for home to defrost or dry out.

The rainfall for January was 83.6 mm and for February 55.3 mm.  It has seemed so grey and dull these past months but with the longer daylight hours we have recently seen the return of the sun and a few warmer days.  In fact the daffodils and the wallflowers are now in bloom and the garden is starting to look brighter for them.   

There has been plenty to do over the winter months.  We got in some loads of wood chips and put them down on our paths to make sure we never have to get our boots muddy.  Unfortunately, after several stormy days, the netting on the purple sprouting broccoli came loose and the plants got broken or eaten by the pigeons.  Luckily the pigeons do not bother with broad beans, and these survived the winter and are currently starting to grow their second and third shoots.  At the Pent farm garden, it was a different story – the purple sprouting broccoli survived but the broad beans did not simply because the beans were dug up and eaten by rodents.

In the ground at Enbrook Park we have overwintered parsley, coriander, sorrel, chard, spinach, mustards, kale, leeks and spring onions.  The other beds are prepped with a fresh layer of compost and ready for planting when the new young plants are ready.  We got some bags full of cow manure onto the rhubarb bed, and fresh compost over the asparagus beds.

As soon as we got to Valentines day the seed sowing started and the potatoes bought for chitting to be planted out in late March or early April.  So far we have sown radishes, spring onions, lettuce, spring cabbage, calabrese, beetroot, spinach, kohl rabi, turnips, peas, parsley, coriander and a few broad beans as replacements.  From now on it will be all about keeping up with the seed sowing, watering and care, then transplanting the seedlings into the ground as soon as possible.  Already the radishes are trying to climb out of their seed tray and will need planting out this coming week.

We have been fortunate to have support from volunteers at Napier barracks.  They have shifted many wheelbarrows of wood chips, turned a compost heap or two, and just this week helped to dig out the hops along the brick wall, dig in some cow manure and replanted a few chosen hop roots.  Their new shoots are already in evidence, and it will not be long before they are climbing and winding their way up their supports.

What’s next? 

• Plant out the radishes and cover with fleece
• Sow more calabrese
• Split the oregano plants
• Tether the tayberry to the wires

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.