Tim Prater

Tales from friends and relations of torrential rain and terrific thunderstorms in other parts led us all to think that our hand watering days would be over and we would be able to spend that time doing something else that needed tackling.  However so far, despite looking promising, it was not to be, and the usual Sandgate rain dodge happened all over again.  There is still the hope that by the time you are reading this newsletter, our prayers will have been answered, however it seems we should be careful what we wish for as some of the rain has been of epic proportions!

This year we are trying harder to have more in the way of leafy vegetables, lettuces, chard, kale, and spinach, we are getting there but it is always a juggle to make sure we have finished a crop in time to plant the next thing which will already be a few weeks old and desperate to get out of the modules they have been sown and grown in.  The second sowings of lettuce and chard are being picked every week, along with courgettes, spring onions, and more recently, plenty of sweet peas.  The dwarf beans are now in flower, as are the autumn raspberries which will soon be fruiting hopefully well into late autumn.  The second tray of beetroot got planted as did a first of new chard plants.  The dill, chervil and two varieties of coriander got sown. 

The cabbage white butterflies have started to arrive in force, attracted by the smell of the brassica plants covered in a fine mesh netting, they constantly dance with frustration, and unable to find a way in to lay their eggs, have to go elsewhere, unless of course they manage to find an opening.  All the brassica seedlings waiting to be planted and yet tiny in their growing modules have already been visited, and any hatching caterpillar will make short work of them so we need to be vigilant.  This year we have a master plan to use organic bacteria against the caterpillars, a highly selective biological insecticide, gives them a stomach ache and they drop off the plants after just a day or two of happy munching.  Totally ineffective against people, pets, birds, and pollinators, this bacteria known as Bacillus thuringiensis is easy to use when made into a spray.   We always ensure we have plants and flowers to encourage as much wildlife as possible, and we do have alternatives for the caterpillars to go to, but the misery of caterpillar infested brassicas is something that all veg growers know about.  The horror of finding boiled or steamed victims in the saucepan in spite of diligent searching is very unpleasant indeed.  The alternative is to use a spray that affects all insects which to us is unacceptable, and try as you might to keep the plants clean of eggs and constantly covered in fine netting is still never good enough.  We are keen to see for ourselves if this will be the answer we have been waiting for, and will let you know.

Morrisons the supermarket, are still happy to be supporting us, and have recently provided some herbs shared with the Incredible Edibles, and for us, a pack of most unusual seed packets of wild flowers.  It never quite ceases to amaze the ways and means thought of to entice us humans into growing things when perhaps we may have tired of more conventional means provided by a mere packet of wild flower seeds.  Pictured below, you simply poke the card tabs, pointed end down into the soil up to the marker, and apparently ‘hey presto’ the collection of seeds stuck there are good to grow.  Unbelievable, and what more can be said about the time and energy that went into producing those – however if it floats your boat then crack on and try it!  With time and any luck the final effect might look as good as the fine display currently in flower outside St. Paul’s Church near the path of the front entrance, and pictured below.  Absolutely delightful and a real picture to see so have a look if you are going that way, or even if you are not, give your eyes and brain a treat.

What’s next?

• Finish clipping the perimeter hedge plants

• Plant chard tray number two

• Plant Chinese cabbages and Kaibroc if ready

• Keep watering new and speedily growing plants including celery

• Continue to side shoot the tomatoes

• Maybe start on that bed inside the top gate

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July is important for the sowing of new seeds.  Many of the beds have been cleared of one crop, and another has been planted in its place.  Some of the beds will have three plantings this year, and a few may even see four before the year is out.  The days are shortening and every growing day in July is about equivalent to two in August, and a week in October.   The third lettuce sowing of the year was done just this week and they are now ready to be pricked out into individual pots or cells for growing on.  The second lettuce sowings are just starting to give us a few leaves, about four each plant for now, and the next picking a week later until they really get going and will then be picked twice a week for a few weeks until the next plants take over.  That at least is the theory, and timing is critical.  On Wednesday Chinese cabbage and Kaibroc got sown, by Friday they had grown their first two seed leaves which was pretty impressive.  The Kaibroc was moved into a tray of cells to grow on; it is a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale and produces many tender side shoots for harvesting after the main head.  The next seeds to be sown will be Florence fennel, and in a few days’ time the second batch of coriander, dill and chervil.

The very prickly job of picking all the gooseberries got completed, providing many delicious tales of mostly gooseberry crumbles, some of which got mixed with a stick or two of rhubarb – just fabulous.  It is hard to find gooseberries in the shops these days as they are so labour intensive, and ours disappeared in no time at all, as did the few blackcurrants that managed to survive the winds, and seemed to have ripened overnight.    The crowded carrots and parsnips got pulled in some spaces to allow the remaining roots to grow on, and they were just big enough to make something out of them.  The Charlotte potato variety, a second early, got lifted on Saturday and then just as quickly as they came up, disappeared and taken to several households in Sandgate – we only had room for a few plants but they were appreciated. 

Many of the plants in all the community areas will be enjoying the heat and sunshine we have been experiencing, and they will be trying to catch up with where they should be.  It has been noticed that the celeriac, not ready to be harvested until October/November is trying to go to seed and developing a flower head!  This is most unusual, and apparently is caused by a period of cold days which leads them to believe they have been through winter and so start to flower when it warms up!  It is also unusual to see so many fungi in high summer.  Both Enbrook Park and Fremantle Park are sporting several ‘fairy rings’ in the grass, the one below was photographed at Fremantle.  Fairy rings are linked with folklore and often viewed with great suspicion; they can grow up to ten meters in diameter apparently.

The Incredible Edible team will be supporting the grand re-opening of the Community Network in Cheriton High Street on Saturday 24^th July from 12pm until 4pm.  So if you are interested in volunteering or just joining in with the activities that day, then come along!  The Incredible Edible garden at All Souls outside the hall is now planted up with all sorts of flowers, vegetables and herbs, however pictures rarely do justice to the subject at hand and always best to come and see it all yourself!

What’s next?

• Keep watering the new plantings and check the Enviromesh is in place.

• Plant out the second beetroot tray

• Sow coriander, dill and chervil

• Start work if possible on the bed inside top gate

• Finish tidying and clearing daisy area

• Tackle some bind weed and mares tails

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For some time now, every week, the Sandgate Parish Council has archived our newsletter and all the pictures.  It has proved to be very useful being able to look back at what we were doing and compare notes with where we are this year.  Here is the link:

Sandgate Community Garden

Entries for the 5^th and 12^th July 2020 were uncanny!  We were rescuing wind scorched and battered plants as well as sploshing about in plenty of rain, and that is the story of this week too!  The winds that came through the start of the week caused havoc and Saturday morning session was a complete washout with just three of us daring to venture up there.  Surprisingly, the two planters along the seafront although needing to be tidied, still had flowers and parts intact which can be rescued.

This year has been much cooler and wetter – the rainfall for June was 107mm and we have not had to water for some time.  One very big difference is that last year we were observing many cabbage white butterflies flitting about the brassicas, and although they are not a gardeners favourite insect for obvious reasons, there has only been one observed in the garden this year, and that is not good.  The brassica seedlings do have a few bright green caterpillars which are from something else, and we have made sure there are plenty of nasturtiums around for all caterpillars to take advantage of. 

The kale, Romanesco and purple sprouting went immediately in the spaces where the broad beans were.  Even more lettuces got planted, chicory, endive and carrots thinned out to make extra growing space, chard and kaibroc sown.  We will only sow lettuce four times in the year and this week we shall make sowing number three to provide salad leaves for the autumn.  We have a gap of leaves between sowing one and two which has been a lesson on trying harder for that not to happen another time. 

The soft fruit this year has generally done much better for being that year older.  Although the currant bushes got wind battered, they do have some fruit which must be netted if we are to get any.  The gooseberries have given more this year, and there is still some to pick between the showers.  Although the rhubarb is not a fruit, our two original plants have grown well.  The three new roots of rhubarb are also looking good but will not be touched this year to give them a chance to get established.  The autumn raspberries have managed to stand up well to wind and are looking very green and lush with some of them just starting to flower.  In front of them are the goji berries which were sporting an entire colony of climbing snails.  Not too sure why they had taken to climbing precariously over six feet to get where they were, however they have since been relocated to pastures new.

What’s next?

• Still need to take down the sugar snap pea plants and support

• Tie in the sweet pea new growth

• Keep checking for tomato side shoots and remove

• Sow the autumn lettuces

• Take out the finished daisies and compost

• Finish picking the gooseberries and net the currants

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