Sandgate Community Garden

We had another message from our fleece supplier to say that there will be yet more delays to it being delivered and without a reason why – perhaps as with the situation with the shortage of seeds this year with so many people growing whilst in lockdown, there is now a national shortage of fleece! 

Who knows?

We have had some interesting weather this week and spent time having to put back covers over plants, and discovered that one of our trees had snapped and was hanging precariously over the broad beans and onions.  No time to do anything about it this weekend, we shall see what can be done on Monday!  It is clearly colder, but we still have asparagus shoots popping out above ground, and petunias in flower.  There is a picture below of a huge collection of snails found hibernating inside a plant tray.  When we started work last year, there were very few slugs and snails to be found but it is clear they are being attracted to the garden like the rest of the wildlife and it is important to keep the plants clean of old and rotting vegetation around their bases so as not to make them too welcome!

We are still trundling barrows of wood chips up the hill to the garden, and one of our barrows has developed a flat tyre, probably in protest.  It is a great way to keep warm though, all that shovelling and barrowing about.

It was thought that we had finished with planting for the year but were donated a few Artichoke roots.  We now have two types of artichoke, and they are completely different.  With the Globe Artichoke, the flower is the edible part, and with the Jerusalem Artichoke (just planted), the root or tuber is the edible bit.  If you do not like the tubers, the flowers are great for the bees, so it is worth having a go.

Docker brewery has now released two new brews made from the dried Hythe hops, which includes our hops from our plants.  There is a ‘Hythe Pale Ale’ and ‘Dark Matter’, names chosen by the community, and which feature pictures of growers on the cans.  Some of you may recognise the individual on the can picture below!   Docker say that the beers are ‘more delicious than we could have hoped’, and information on where to find the beer can be found on their Instagram or web site.  There was a rumour that the beer can be also be found in the Sandgate Village shop – how convenient.  The first Hythe hops brew was from Hop Fuzz, and was a green brew from fresh hops, so this new beer will be different.  10p from each can sold is being donated by Docker to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust – such a worthy cause.

What’s next?

• Is it worth mentioning the fleece?

• Sort out the wheelbarrow

• Sort out the tree and subsequent damage

• Keep bringing wood chips up to the garden

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The celeriac seems to have gone down very well with all the volunteers, and various soup recipes have been exchanged, just the comfort food for the cooler weather – we shall definitely be growing that again next year!  Not frosty or cold enough for the parsnips yet.  They sweeten up with a good dose of frost, even so, being tucked up deep in the earth it is always a surprise how they are until they get dug up, you never know how well they have grown or if they have suffered from canker.  We had a sneaky peek at the tops of a few of them but are saving them for Christmas – something to look forward to!  The slow grow coriander is also going down well and appreciated – such good flavour compared with the ‘soapy’ taste from the supermarket.  Mixed with carrots in a soup, or added to a curry or stir fry, it gives a certain amazingness!   

Talking of amazing, Chris, one of our gardeners, and partner Suzy, have been getting some lockdown exercise every day by barrowing six loads of wood chips each, all the way up to the garden and laid down on the paths.  It is all looking neat and tidy, and they are benefiting from the fresh air and workout too!  No lockdown bellies for those two!

It was only mentioned last week that it is never a good idea to directly sow peas as the rodents find them in no time and make a meal out of them.  It seems they found where they and the last broad bean sowings were growing inside their modules, up off the ground and seemingly in a safe place – but no!  They were found, dug up and eaten!  Rodents must be able to sniff them out at a distance.  If we can get them to a certain point of growth, then they have made it and can be planted out safely – it is just getting to that stage.

Some things we will go out of our way to feed.  We put up some bird feeders this week, and it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the local bird population to realise they are there.  The feeders did not need refilling on Saturday, but apparently a couple of birds were spotted having a look at them earlier on in the morning.  As time goes on, there is less for them to find in the garden and so we need to help them now. 

We had a request from the Parish Council to take on a couple of planters on the seafront which could do with a bit of TLC.  Inspired by last week’s seminar on Kent’s Plan Bee and what could be done to support insect life, we opted for some hardy flowering perennials, and some spring flowering bulbs.  The planters do not look like much at the moment, but will be added to and changed over the seasons to give as much flower that bees like as we can cram in there.  It is work in progress for now.  

What’s next?

• If there is any chance the fleece turns up, then we will be busy laying that down!

• More wood chips to bring up to the garden

• Will the bird feeders need a refill?

• Still more plots to put compost down Compost needs putting down on the plants up against the wall

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The last sowings of Broad beans have now been planted and are already starting to romp away, a little disconcerting for the end of November.  It is still not too late to sow or plant broad beans, or garlic if you fancy giving it a go.  The autumn peas were planted too.  Some of them will be for pea pods, the others for early pea shoots.  Never good to sow peas direct as they often attract rodents and get dug up and eaten before they get the chance to sprout.  We have not tried autumn peas before now so it will be interesting to see if it is worth the effort compared to spring sown peas.   We have noticed that the pigeons have turned their attention to the cabbages and purple sprouting, so plants had to be covered with netting once more.  We had hoped to get away with them uncovered.

One of the Oca or New Zealand yam plants was lifted to see if they are ready, but they still seem a little small, and will be left alone for a few more weeks to get bigger with any luck!  However the leeks and celeriac are ready and we should all be able to have just one or two, enough to make a soup or a welcome addition to a meal.  The winter purslane or claytonia is ready for picking, that is if you have the patience as it is quite tiny and very fiddly to collect.

Following a couple of birthdays, we had carrot muffins and beetroot brownies to share – so many excellent recipes out there, and always grateful to be eating cake on a cold morning to help make the work that much easier.

The assumption was that our new fleece covering would arrive this week, but it has now been delayed again, so our fingers are remaining crossed for the continuation of this milder weather for the time of year.

At very short notice we were offered a free delivery of wood chips from a tree surgeon working locally.  Rather than have to take the chips back to his yard, he was looking to find homes for a few deliveries.  Although wood chips are a waste product, a load can cost in the region of £100 by the time you consider the transport costs and time for a driver to load up and deliver.  We gratefully accepted a load, and have started to lay down more paths as well as add a layer to the current compost bin as it could do with some drier, ‘brown’ content as it is too ‘green’ or moist.  This should help to make the balance.

On Monday some of us attended the virtual summit – Kent’s Plan Bee, to find out about the plight of insects throughout the UK, and how Kent ‘s council is able to respond and help wildlife in the county by making a few changes to how the parkland and grass verges are managed.  We were surprised to learn that Kent has over 130 miles of bee and insect friendly planting along the coastline, which is linked to a network of wildlife zones throughout the county.  We also heard from a local farmer concerned about farming methods having such an impact on wildlife numbers and how he is putting in place some steps to change the way he farms.  Some of the plans are still at early stages, and it has made us think about things we can add to the garden to help out.  We already have wildlife areas, but one thing that did strike us was that it was important to have something in flower in the garden all year round.  We have more ideas to work on, and are going to work towards a ‘neighbourhood with the best buzz’ award.

What’s next?

• We still have strawberry compost bags to open

• We have beds waiting for a layer of compost mulch

• Continue to barrow wood chips up to the garden

• If the fleece arrives, start to put it over the plants

• Continue to keep the weeds down

• Collect last few leaves blowing about

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There are still some people who are yet to find us in Enbrook Park, and it can be quite lengthy to explain exactly where we are too!  However, not any more as we have appeared on the maps at the entrances of the park – so there is no excuse, we are on the map!

Again this week we have been very busy clearing beds and fallen leaves, putting down new compost and paths, and planting broad beans.  The fleece needed to protect the plants from wind and frost is yet to arrive in the post, so thank goodness for the continuing mild weather.  The sun is lower in the sky these days, when it can be seen; the days are shorter, and the plant growth is very much reduced and slower.  The addition of fleece further reduces the light by 15 to 30%, and worse with a covering of fallen leaves, it is all important to keep the plot tidy.  Such moist warm weather has been perfect for fungi, and we are noticing some of the most amazing fungal structures – they do no harm within the garden, and are thought to be of great benefit, so we leave them be wherever they choose to pop up.

A welcome bonus has been a few raspberries; they are still fruiting in November, and as young plants need time to mature for a worthy crop – all in good time.  They are autumn raspberry varieties, hence the late fruiting at a time when all other soft fruit finished some time ago.

The hops have lost all their leaves now and are just showing their climbing stems, so it has been time to cover the crown of the plants with a good layer of compost to protect the plant from winter weather and feed the roots for next year when new growth will appear in the spring.  We have now heard that Docker brewery are about to release the Hythe Pale Ale from the scheme hops, and a further brew has been started to make a Christmas stout, we are looking forward to trying it all.  We will let you all know where and when any of these beers can be bought.

Talking about buying local goods – some of us were pleased to buy the new Sandgate bags from the Sandgate Society, made of cloth, not plastic, for a bargain price of £3 with a competition winning picture of the beach on the front.  Beautifully wrapped they make a brilliant present and perfect for us to carry our tools and veg.  All the profits go towards local projects – an even better reason to make a purchase.

What’s next?

• Plant the peas in the prepared bed, and find another space for more

• Tidy up around the tool box

• Continue to pick up leaves and weed

• Spaces for posts to be put in

• How is the pond doing?  Continue to get out any rotting leaves

• Separate recycled compost from the grow bags and add to the compost pile

• If the fleece arrives, cover the new plantings

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Such a contrast to the weather in the last few newsletters, this week we have had some beautiful sunny and warm weather, encouraging more gardeners to get to the garden and make the most of it, especially as we are now in another lockdown.  However this one is very different to the first where we could only work on our own – this time we can follow community garden rules for food gardens, which explain in detail how we can work in the space.  We certainly feel glad that we can carry on as long as we are careful, and we know of the benefits the garden brings to mental and physical health.  How timely that we should receive yet another certificate from the RHS Britain in Bloom, in recognition of how important community gardens are, and how valuable our work is in such difficult times as we have experienced this year.  Always glad to receive a certificate and we shall have to consider where it could be displayed!

Just as we are being given such an accolade, we are then contacted by a Social Prescribing Service for West Kent.  We are being asked to be part of a support service to help people reduce social isolation and loneliness and improve health and wellbeing.  We will be very glad to register.

In the meantime, there is still much to be done.  The first of the fleece covers have been put down and more has been ordered, to protect any vegetables overwintering, to shelter from the wind and frost.  It takes a while to get to know your fleece and what should be avoided.  For this garden there is no point buying a lightweight fleece of less than 30g m2 as it will tear and be useless in no time at all.  It is also wise to make sure the fleece has good UV tolerance as the sunlight makes the fleece turn to dust and simply disintegrate in less than a season.  Who would have thought that fleece can create such a minefield of issues.

All the wooden boxes got their final coats of wood treatment for the year, and the compost area is nearing completion.  Two more packets of broad bean seeds have been sown as have the last of the autumn peas.  They have been quick to germinate and we will soon be planting them out once we have put down more compost on the beds.  The leaf compost bin is nearly full already but leaves fished out from the pond are not added until any wildlife has had the chance to escape back to the water.  

Now is a chance to look at the bare bones of the garden and review how the permanent plants are growing.  Last autumn we planted the smallest of twigs claiming to be gooseberry plants – they had been decimated by sawfly and looked very sorry for themselves, so we got them for pennies, a real bargain as they now resemble good sturdy plants and should be cropping next summer.

You really would have thought that the brassicas would have been given a break from caterpillars by now in November, but unfortunately they are still enjoying making holes in the leaves – even in the vegetation of the High Street planter!   Unbelievable!

What’s next?

• We need to consider a wild flower seed bomb for behind the compost area

• Continue to spread compost

• Continue to collect leaves from the ground and in the pond

• Put the fleece down if it has arrived in the post

• Clear some of the spent salad areas

• Clear some of the finished flowers and compost

• Put a thick layer of compost on the hops.

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As we are heading into November & with shorter and cooler days now our bees are safely beginning to cluster for warmth in their hives.  We have been seeing the last of the Ivy flowers and with temperatures now below 18 DegC the start of the winter formation ensues with a loose cluster of bees which gets tighter as the temps drop further. They behave like penguins in the Antarctic & switch positions to ensure that the outside layer of bees do not get too cold. 

Bees use their indirect flight muscles to generate heat in the depth of winter and so the reliance in available food stores to survive.  The average colony can consume over 20kG of honey stores during the winter and so Chris & I have been checking on the colonies and supplying syrup for the bees to convert into their winter larder.  Lifting the corner of the hive to gauge the weight is called hefting and to assess the available internal honey stores and the need to feed. If any more food is needed, then baker’s fondant or wetted sugar can be placed for the Dec/Jan period.

The beekeeper will not open the hives for routine inspections right around to March next year and so to preserve the heat within the hive. 

The brood in the colony will be decreasing as the queen reduces her egg-laying to the point whereby there will be no brood to be fed by the end of November.  The curve below is a useful reference to the volume of adult bees throughout the year in comparison to available brood which can be seen to drop off at the end of November leaving the winter workforce to live through the winter period until the next March, when the first of the new season bees will be hatched.

The hives are also prepared externally for potential green woodpecker attacks through the hive wall and with reduced entrances with mouse guards to avoid the temptation of mice looking for a winter home!  They must also be well anchored from the Channel gales that we are likely to endure.

The winter period is a time for the beekeeper to look ahead to training needs & the participation in several Zoom Beekeeping informative sessions, cleaning and also the preparation of equipment & hardware in readiness for the 2021 season & hopefully a happy & safe one at that.

With thanks & regards from Chris & Ray – The SAGA Beekeeping Team.

How very timely that we should receive news from Kent County Council about Kent’s Plan Bee with an invitation to the official launch online.  This is a virtual summit to discuss the council’s action plan for pollinators to reverse ‘serious declines in forage and habitat which harms them and us’.  Please take a look at the information on the poster shown below in the photographs, for information on how you can register for this important, free summit.

Not much movement from the bees in the garden this week, and not much from the gardeners either, thwarted by wind and rain.  According to a local rain gauge, we have had 230.4 mm of rain in October; apparently the average rainfall for this month is around 60mm.  We usually complain about the lack of water, but certainly not this month as it seems we have had more than our fair share!

What’s next?

• Tidy the space around the new composting area

• If it stops raining, finish wood treatment on compost bins

• Sow last of the broad beans and few last peas

• Continue to fish leaves out of the pond and leave on the side for wildlife to get back in pond!

• Continue to tidy space ready for the big compost spread.

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The clocks have gone back this Saturday.  Daylight hours are reducing fast as time goes on, but there is an abundance of free food out there if you are a forager, and apparently this year is a ‘mast year’ which is a superabundance that occurs every five to ten years.  The trees synchronise their most productive years, giving so much fruit and nuts that the animals can never eat them all, and there is the best chance for new saplings to establish themselves.   Apparently this is an evolutionary tactic that happens with some insects and animals too.  Nature is just amazing!  We are inundated by sycamore seeds again this autumn and are doing our best to pick up as many of them as we can with the leaves, or in the spring we will have a forest starting to grow.  We certainly had experience of that this year, and had to put the hoes to good use.  If any of the saplings get a hold, the roots go down very deep.

Exciting news of this week is that we have had a delivery of a couple of bottles of beer from the local Hythe brewery Hop Fuzz made with the hops from the Hythe Hops scheme, and so contains some of our own grown hops.  Both bottles were put into a lottery and were won by two of our gardeners, Julie and Rosie.  In the photograph below of the two bottles, you can read on the label that the brew is made with Hythe hops from ‘a team of interested people from the local community who together, want to grow hops and turn them into beer’.   Some of the proceeds also go towards supporting the local bumblebee conservation trust.   More brews from Hop Fuzz and Docker breweries will be happening before Christmas, and will be appearing in bottles and cans somewhere near you.

Docker brewery made another delivery of spent hops to our compost bins this week, and very glad we are to have them.  The smell coming from the bins was something wonderful for a change.  We are investing in another stacked wooden compost bin so that we can continue to make even more ‘black gold’, the most important bit of the garden that nourishes all the fruit and vegetables.

Rain was very much the feature of this week, which completely washed out our Wednesday meeting and half of Saturday too.  However we got broad beans and autumn peas sown, and the winter purslane got planted.  Winter purslane or claytonia is very rich in vitamin c and prefers to grow in the winter months.  We shall see if we like it enough to make it a regular feature.

What’s next?

• Finish the wood treatment on the new and old compost bins

• Sow a few more broad beans

• Are we going to net this pond?

• Order the fleece

• Dig up strawberry plants

• Move herbs to herb garden area

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Both the garlic and the elephant garlic got planted this week, and still time to plant more, as well as broad beans which could happen next week.  All the garlic had been saved from last year. 

The biggest job of the week was to turn out all of the compost bins, move and then repack them.  It is always a good opportunity to see if the compost is too dry or too wet, and to make adjustments.  Fallen leaves get collected every session, and it will take several months to fill the leaf mould compost bin.  We are thinking it would be a good idea to cover the pond surface with netting to catch falling leaves that will pollute the pond, but we have to think of the wildlife that use it and make it safe for them too.

The strawberry planters got planted up, and so we have many strawberry plants left, a few will go to some of the Incredible Edible projects in the area, and perhaps others will go to the Fremantle park project.  Nothing gets wasted, and even if things get delegated to the compost bin, it goes to make excellent compost. 

Below is a picture of one of the Fremantle Park planters being well looked after by locals.  Pleased to say, everything is currently looking lush and green there.

Now we have had plenty of rain, and beds are being cleared we can continue easily with the ‘big weed’ and work through the entire plot catching things before they have a chance to flower – again they get added to the compost bin.  Something is also making the most of the softer, pliable soil and trying to dig several holes up against the wall.  Perhaps they are trying to dig their way to the other side.  Always interesting to see and wonder at what the wildlife are up to, and the abandoned chewed up trainer left behind on the path leads you to imagine all sorts of things going on when we are not around!

What’s next?

• Sort out some netting for the pond

• Sow broad bean seeds

• Move the bench

• Re-arrange the herbs

• Start moving strawberry plants

• Order some fleece and another compost bin

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Surprisingly fine sunny weather for both of our gardening sessions this week, which meant we were able to start to get to grips with making our changes to the plot over the winter.  We are following the ‘rule of six’, and are taking it in turns to come along, with some taking a half shift so that somebody else can visit later.

The rain has filled up the pond in no time at all, and with the pond plants, is looking pretty good.  We cut back some of the sides so that not so much of the plastic liner is showing, always a very dodgy exercise, and one of us nearly ended up head first in it.

Before we can cover the plots with new compost, or replant we have been getting out the hoes and clearing weeds that have a habit of turning into a monster as soon as your back is turned.  We did not get time to plant the elephant garlic, but there is still time.  We are concentrating on sorting out our compost area to make it look neater, and creating an area for the herbs to be together instead of spread out around the plot, and the bench is to be moved.  The disappointment of not getting any strawberries, probably mostly due to the visiting foxes and badgers has led us to change tack and try another way of growing them.  We have moved the salad boxes and have used them to make two high strawberry boxes with the hope that unless the mammals are good at climbing we might actually get a crop next year.  We can but hope that this might do the trick.

We have been exchanging many recipes for tomatoes, both green and red, from soups to chutneys.  Pesto making is also popular, and we are looking forward to a promised recipe that uses nasturtiums.  One of our gardeners photographed a fabulous still life with some of the produce, many of us thought it was an old painting until we looked closer – the banana squash probably gave it away (pictured below).  We are hoping to persuade her to keep taking these pictures as the seasons go on, as they would be works of art in themselves.

What’s next?

• Plant up that elephant garlic, and perhaps the ordinary garlic now sprouted in the modules.

• Keep working on the compost and strawberry areas

• Does the Chinese cabbage netting need to be removed?

• More weeding along the fence line and wall areas.

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The Folkestone Docker Brewers, having made the ‘green’ brew from the Hythe scheme hops, thought to complete the hop cycle of life by bringing the spent hops back to the garden and putting them on one of our compost heaps.  When having aged appropriately, the compost will be applied back onto the garden, perhaps onto the hops themselves. 

This week we were able to work on the garden Wednesday morning, but Saturday was a complete wash out, with persistent rain, which although most welcome, put a halt to any proceedings!   We managed to get the sprouted onions (spring and bulb) planted.  The garlic, saved from the summer, was sown into modules, and will be planted up as soon as a space is ready and given a thick covering of compost.  The strong winds, apart from battering the raspberries, has turned our mini greenhouse over once again, although luckily the seedlings were quite far on, and could be easily rescued and put back into the modules with no harm done.  Not so lucky was our Folkestone Mayor who kindly grows some plants for the Incredible Edible projects, alongside her allotment plants.  Unfortunately her greenhouse was  tipped over, and the plants were sadly lost.  We certainly know how she feels.

Fortunately the Incredible Edible team has had good news this week, as a High Street Fund has been granted, for more planters to be planted up with edibles in Cheriton High Street.  Our Incredible Edible planter outside the ship in Sandgate has been cleared and planted up with some spinach and Onion seedlings.  Some kale may get planted at some point, but most of the kale has been ravaged by the cabbage white caterpillars, and they look too sorry to be on show. 

As a group we have been discussing the likes and dislikes of the year as regards what we have grown.  So far it has been conclusive that we need more green leaves such as spinach and chard, more dwarf and broad beans, courgettes, potatoes and cucumbers, more rhubarb, onions throughout the year, and about the same amount of beetroot.  The turnips and kohlrabi will be ditched, as will a high percentage of the endives.  The early crops of radish and pea shoots were greatly appreciated, and we need to be smarter with the space used by the tomatoes, strawberries and the squashes.   We would like to try sorrel and salsify again which failed for some reason this year.  Some areas of the garden are working well, and some need to be reorganised this winter – so we have plenty to work on.

Bee News

With the sudden change in the temperature and the weather, there is evidence of dead bees sprawled around the entrances to the hives.  It seems that the victims are the only male bees of the hives, the drones.  Well known for their ‘layabout’ lifestyle (their only purpose in life is to mate with queen bees), they are quickly ejected from the hive at this time of year when surplus to requirements and no longer useful – as a result they die.  A sad ending, however the girls of the hive now have to consider the survival of the basic colony in the hard months to come.  The beekeepers have been setting traps around the hive to attract wasps and hornets, well known for attacking and raiding hives, killing the bees.  So far so good, but with tales of enormous Asian hornets on their way to the UK, the keepers need to be vigilant.

What’s next?

• Hoe and weed any cleared spaces, cover with a thick layer of compost

• Rain has brought on the weeds, so plenty of weeding to do

• Plant the elephant garlic

• Begin to draw up plans of parts of the garden needing changes.

• Maybe start on the reformation of the pond now it is full again

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