Sandgate Community Garden

It has been a very busy week, coping with the weather, watering new plants as well as the thirsty usual.  Some of the gardeners had a glut of plums and greengages, which others were happy to make into Jam for sharing, thank you Theresa and Peter!

Many of the squash and courgette plant leaves had mildew which makes the plants look pretty bad, but is in fact nothing to worry about, and does not harm any of the fruits.  We spent some time cutting off the leaves affected as they do little for the plant.  After some rain, the winter squashes perked up no end as they were on the end of the list for watering as they still have some time to be growing until harvest.  The tomatoes are quite heavy with tomatoes now and the growing tips were removed so that they can concentrate on the fruit they already have to ripen before it is autumn, and not on growing any more.

We have some self-sown plants of ‘lambs ears’ and borage available if any of you would like some for your gardens.  We are often asked about the plants that attract the bees, and below is a picture of a cardoon which is now flowering and is extremely popular with the bees, where they become smothered in pollen.  The cardoon is very similar to the globe artichoke, but not so good to eat.  We have a globe artichoke planted this year, but as yet it is very tiny!

Talking of flowers, there are plenty on the runner beans and they are starting to arrive.  We have white and red flowered varieties.  We pulled up some of the carrots we were given, sown into modules and planted out a few weeks ago; they are a prime example of why it is not such a good idea to transplant them as you can see from the picture below they are very wonky!

This week we have sown coriander, spinach and mooli radish seeds.  It can still be a problem getting hold of certain seeds, but luckily the seed companies are gradually getting in fresh supplies, as the shop supplies dwindle, there are sometimes bargains to be had as they want to get rid of  this year’s stock.  We planted more chard, salad and beetroot.  The soy beans have not been up to much, but they have been dug up several times by visiting furry friends – they never stood a chance, as have several other plants on the edges of the beds where they are rescued and replanted if we catch them in time, or get frazzled in the sun if not!

The Hythe Hops organisers are starting to get busy as we are now closer to harvest.  We were sent a questionnaire to fill in, reporting back on if we have flowers or hops, colour of the hops and estimation of how many so that a prediction can be made as to the exact harvest date and how much is expected so that the breweries can be warned.  We sent in more photographs, and hope at some point to have a professional photograph taken of the volunteer gardeners and our hops for posterity!

What’s next ?

• More sowings of spinach, chard and radishes

• Keep picking and watering if necessary

• Weeding required in some areas

• Assess space for future plantings

• Start moving compost from the lower wall.

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Far too scorchio for us this week, it has been a struggle to hand water the plot, and to water it well enough.

The brassicas have been checked again and again for pesky caterpillars or eggs, which means crawling around on all fours peering at small plants, but very necessary.  The endives and lettuces got planted, as did Chinese cabbages and a few Romanesco, squeezed into the last available space.  The runner beans are now showing plenty of flower and with enough water and no more gale force winds, there could even be some beans!  We noticed lots and lots of ladybird larvae on the beans which was where the blackfly had been partying; thank goodness the cavalry have arrived in force as they should make short work of those unwanted guests.

Some of the sweet corn is starting to swell.  When it is ripe, it gives out a sweet smell which attracts wildlife (thinking in particular of our visiting badger) and so we have been rubbing Vics vapour rub around the base of each plant as an experiment to try to mask the sweetness.  If we come away with any ripe sweet corn, it would be a minor miracle.

The flowers are looking particularly beautiful these past few weeks and we have been picking sweet peas by the armful.  You have to be sure to pick every sweet pea or it will go to seed and stop flowering.  The picking also generates lots and lots of flowers to the point that by the next day, even more are there.  As the season goes on, the stems become shorter and shorter, so faced with hundreds of stumpy flowers we have decided to let them finish and use the much wanted space to grow something else.  It was great while it lasted, and they could for some time, but we are happy to move on with other things. 

The winter squashes are starting to swell, and it can often be difficult to identify which are summer squashes to be picked now, and which are to be left to grow on into the autumn.  Summer squashes are softer and more prolific – winter squashes may only have one or two fruits per plant depending on the variety, and can be stored and eaten months later.  These plants can regulate how many fruits they can cope with over the growing period, and eject any that cause extra stress.  We often have to wind the long trailing stems along the edge of pathways so they do not get stepped on as who knows where they are trying to get to!

What’s next?

• Let the sweet peas go to seed

• Water, water, water

• Pick, pick, pick

• More vapour rub on the sweet corn

• Keep checking for caterpillars

• What are the soy beans doing?  Have they been worth the effort?

• Assess what space if any may become available for planting up in the next few weeks.

• Start to move compost if it cools down.

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The problem with covering up the brassicas with mesh is that you become complacent and think to yourself that no harm will come to those plants nestled in there, until you take a look one day and discover that they were placed inside the covering with butterfly eggs already hiding on them, and not carefully checked so that all the leaves on several plants had disappeared, and the caterpillars are marching with speed towards the rest of the plants!  There was some serious peering at close hand to find the minibeasts and remove them before any more damage was done.  Another lesson learnt and marvel at how clever the caterpillars are to lie along the main vein of a leaf so as to be practically invisible.

Most of this week was about picking and watering, the recent rain had really helped, but never enough for very thirsty sweet peas, beans, salad leaves and courgettes that put on so much growth in just a few days.  Pak choi, chervil, dill and mustard salads got sown; the rainbow chard got planted.

As we are involved with the Hythe Hop scheme, growing four hop plants against the wall, we are sent regular information about how our plants should be doing and news about the expected harvest time.  It is anticipated that the hops will be ready for collecting in mid-September when all the hops in the scheme will be picked at the same time and sent off to be made into a local brew.  It seems our plants are on target as the flowers are now there, and the general growth of the plants is good as shown on the pictures below.

Bee news

One of our gardeners had a swarm of honey bees turn up in her garden this week, but luckily we have a couple of bee keepers in our garden community, and one of them was on hand to catch them.  Unfortunately they decided they were not going to hang around and had other ideas.  Apparently there is a saying ‘a swarm in July isn’t worth a fly’, and such swarms are to be avoided.

Fremantle Park and Golden Valley planters

The Fremantle park planters have now been planted up and signs erected.  Our hope is to help any interested locals to expand the growing area, and plant more in the way of edibles. 

The Golden Valley shop planters have now been weeded and tidied.  Some of the planters have been adopted by the shopkeepers, and they have had an input as to what they would like to grow there, to include an olive tree, various herbs, fruit trees, soft fruit bushes and vegetables.  We have had lots of encouragement and praise from visiting locals, pleased to see the changes being made, and we hope the planters will flourish and be admired. 

What’s next?

• One more check on the netted brassicas just in case!

• Keep picking and watering

• Plant out the endives and lettuces

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Now that restrictions are lifting and it is possible to go away or simply go back to work, it meant that the Wednesday morning session was quiet and many of our jobs on the list did not get done.  However, we made up for it Saturday, with beginner gardeners, and a steady trail of visitors either coming to look or to take vegetables or cut flowers home. 

In the week, the parks department of the Folkestone and Hythe Council very kindly brought us some compost from their yard which will be going to good use.  Some of the courgettes are sitting on a thin layer of compost, and a couple got pulled out by a visiting fox or badger, so some compost was spread around them to help them bed in better.  Our own compost bins got turned, and we now have a ton of simply the best compost waiting in the wings to be used on the garden over the winter.  With any luck we should have at least three ton bag size heaps of the stuff to go onto the beds later….. happy days! 

The Pink Fur Apple potatoes got harvested, and some kale plants immediately planted in their place, and of course covered in a mesh for protection.  We did not find time to block the spaces under the fence – maybe this week!  The priority is to make sure we keep up with the picking of the flowers, courgettes and beans in particular, or they will stop producing any more.  We were surprised to find we had some rather large cucumbers lurking in the foliage, they had been totally missed and we had no idea they were there and ready!  Quite often you have to search hard for ripe veg, as they are experts at camouflage.

Bee news

Chris has now got a second hive, and sent some amazing action pictures of bees in flight; one is shown below – beautiful.

Incredible Edible news

Some of the Incredible Edible team and the Community gardeners joined forces on Tuesday to begin work on tidying and clearing the brick planters in the Golden Valley shopping car park.  We are working with the Parish Council and the shop keepers to plant up the space with edibles and bee attracting plants that the shop keepers will be happy to perhaps help look after and make more personal to them.  Meanwhile, we commissioned three wooden planters to be made by Martin who lives locally, to position in Fremantle Park (he did an amazing job; got them done in no time and they are proper solid too!).  The Sandgate Society has kindly donated some funds to enable us to get them planted with herbs and vegetables for residents to help themselves to.  Thanks also go to Adrian and Gaye who funded two of the planters.  The Parish Council since taking over responsibility for the park have upgraded the children’s play area as well as made repairs and planted some trees.  They are keen for local people to get involved with using the park, and we hope that there could be an interest in starting up a small community garden there.  Please contact the Sandgate Parish Council if you are interested in becoming a friend of the Fremantle Park and would like to get involved.  There are to be more working parties over the next week or so and we will keep you updated with progress.

What’s next?

• Keep picking, but might only need to water some things after the rain on Saturday!

• Sow rocket, pak choi, coriander, dill, chervil and land cress.

• Cover the gaps under the fence

• Check the brassicas just in case they have been sabotaged by cabbage whites!

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Every session these days there is something to pick, this week was salad leaves, the first of the dwarf beans, beetroot, courgettes and summer squashes, along with the last of the spring onions.  The sweet peas are producing more and more flowers, as are the zinnias, and now a few dahlias.  We are always pleased to see any visitors on our Wednesday and Saturday morning sessions keen to take produce home with them, and have had reports of how flavoursome the vegetables are.   

The kale and purple sprouting got planted, two varieties of each, and immediately they were covered with a fine mesh to prevent the cabbage white butterflies from laying their eggs.  It is also important to make sure the plants are clean of eggs before they go under cover.  Any outside the mesh will have to be checked and cleaned every week as a caterpillar infestation can finish them off.  Cabbage whites can be seen dancing around the brassicas desperate to get at them.

Since reporting on the amount of blackfly last week, happily this week there is evidence of more and more predators such as ladybirds.  It makes sense for them to appear in numbers after infestations, to give them plenty of food to eat, and they certainly have some catching up to do.

With extra weed, the pond is starting to look more pond like!  It still leaves a lot to be desired, but if you take time to really peer into the water it is teeming with all kinds of creatures, including a spaniel that decided to squeeze under the fence and jump in one hot day…… we need to put some mesh along those gaps!

Bee news

Our bees in the garden are always looking very busy, and we are assured by Ray and Chris that all is well.  Ray has been busy collecting honey from another hive he has, and Chris has her own new hive close by.  Her bees are collecting pollen that is black in colour, and it will be interesting to find out what that may have come from on the pollen chart for July.

Incredible Edible news

The Incredible Edible team have been measuring up and planting large planters in Cheriton High Street.  Several shop keepers are keen to have their own edible displays.  The lettuces in the Sandgate High Street planter have been harvested and hopefully eaten.  They have been replaced with Palla Rossa Chicory and some edible viola flowers ….. they look great mixed in with a leaf salad.  We hope to have some news about things taking shape in the Golden Valley area of Sandgate soon.

What’s next?

• Keep picking, weeding and watering.

• Get some mesh in the fence gaps

• Check the Pink Fur Apple potatoes to see if they are ready…. If so, harvest and replace with more kale.

• Sow more chard, and maybe some Chinese cabbage

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An executive decision was made in the week to meet up and work on the garden on Tuesday  instead of Wednesday when it was super soggy.  We might be a great working team but we do not enjoy being wet, and so please bear that in mind if you were making a trip up to the garden on either our Wednesday or Saturday morning session, that we do not work in serious rain!  Saturday in particular was a very sociable morning with lots of people dropping in, and it was a real community garden with lots of banter and all round good fun in the sunshine!

We are busy trying to find room for the winter brassicas, the purple sprouting and kale.  The cabbage white butterflies are very evident this week flitting about looking for somewhere to lay their eggs but we hope to have put them off by immediately covering the new plantings with a close woven mesh, making sure there are no gaps for the butterflies to get in.  The pesky blighters can spot a fault in the netting with no problem and will be in there in no time at all laying the eggs of their brassica munching caterpillars.  We still have to raise some of the mesh cloches where plants are starting to push against the netting; a job for next week.

Another week of kindness as we had more weed and oxygenating plants brought up for the pond, and two donations from Sandgate neighbours happy to see the Incredible Edible plantings in the Sandgate alley way as written about last week.  The £15 given will go towards more compost and seeds to help towards keeping the project going, there are lots of ideas and more possible projects in the pipeline, and we will keep you posted as to further developments, it is all very exciting.

Blackfly is the issue this week… there certainly seem to be plenty of them and they are pestering our poor runner beans stressed already by the wind in the week, which of course attracts the blackfly.  However Theresa was on the case, and spent time brushing and washing them off with a dilute mix of washing up liquid.  With any luck, a couple of such treatments might do the trick and stop them from overwhelming the plants.  The first dwarf beans are looking perky and a few bean pods might even be ready to pick next week.

Below is a picture of the sunflowers outside the fence and along the wall.  The first two plants were snapped by the wind, the rest are incredibly still standing, and the first flower is starting to show colour.  With any luck they will grow taller than the wall and make a real show.

What’s next?

• Raise the cloches for the brassicas

• Keep cutting, picking and weeding

• Plant out the purple sprouting

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The Wednesday morning session was spent propping up leaning plants and cutting off wind burnt and shredded leaves, the condition of the garden was surprisingly better than was thought, although it seems we have more windy days to follow.  Saturday morning was a washout, rain is great and we really should not grumble but the timing was not good! 

This week we have weeded inside the cloches, planted beetroot, a random tomato plant, and the last few dwarf beans for this year.  The flowers got another cutting, and the wild flower area tidied; some of the potatoes got harvested, along with broad beans, spring onions, beetroot, salad, and courgettes.  The first salad sown in early March is nearly finished, and being overtaken by the second sowing of the year in early June; a third sowing will be made next week plus endives, both frizzy and escarole varieties.  This month there will be sowings of chard, kohlrabi, Florence fennel, more kale, and at the end of the month, some Chinese cabbage, lots to look forward to!

We are keeping a close eye on our hop plants, and have sent our photos of them to the Hythe Environmental group to deliver a verdict on how they are looking as first year plants.  It seems from their feedback that they are looking good and strong.  The next milestone is the appearance of the first ‘cones’ from the insignificant looking burrs or flowers…. Then we will be in business for picking the cones in September to be made into local beer.  Not long now.

The second incredible edible project was finished in Sandgate and planted up with runner beans, dwarf beans, chillies, strawberry plants, tomato plants, squashes and all manner of herbs.  The neighbours seemed pleased with the new look, and have volunteered to make some additions.  We are now turning our attention towards the possibility of yet another Edible space in Sandgate, more details to follow as and when there is progress.

What’s next?

• Raise the cloches as the brassicas inside get taller.

• Cut off the strawberry runners not required this year

• Keep cutting and picking

• Sowings of seeds as mentioned

• Cut back lower third of hop side shoots

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A week of far too much weather seems to have been the theme, going from one extreme to the other; however the rain was most welcome and saved us having to water at the end of the week, hooray!

A busy Wednesday morning, with many visitors to the garden, either having a look around, or coming to pick up some vegetables or flowers.  The sweet peas are starting to come quite fast now, and it is important to pick every one of them at each of our gardening sessions to encourage them to keep flowering and not to go to seed.  The zinnias also have started to bloom, as well as one or two dahlias. 

The Florence fennel has now finished, and the way made for beetroot, which will probably be planted next week.  We picked more broad beans, beetroot, salad leaves, a few potatoes, some courgettes, and a handful of blackcurrants, last of the mange tout, spring onions, and some baby parsnips thinned out from the parsnip bed to allow the others to grow bigger.  We can only expect a little fruit from the fruit bushes until they have matured a couple more years down the line, when we could be picking buckets!

The carrots sown just last week have already started to show, and we have had to cover them with mesh as the wildlife has started to kick the dirt around looking for something other than carrot seedlings.  We planted more lettuces, more dwarf French beans, more basil, and a couple more plants around the pond.  The compost bins got watered as they were becoming too dry, the tomatoes have had their side shoots removed, the cucumbers and climbing squashes tied in to their posts, and the hops have had their lower leaves removed to keep the plants clean.  Unbelievably, the second lot of asparagus planted ridiculously late at the beginning of June are now starting to show the tinniest bit of life thank goodness. 

We have an amazing group of volunteers at the garden, they are all enthusiastic and hardworking, happy to weed or water or tackle something in the garden they may never have done before.  Some of our gardeners had never sown seeds, and are now feeling confident enough to try sowing and growing even more in their own gardens.  Most people may be growing a few tomatoes and beans, but even if that is the only space you have available, there are things that can be grown before and after they have been dominant.  Below we have a picture of Chris’s enviable lemon tree (with lemons!), she has loads of tomatoes on the go too.  Rosie is growing all sorts of things to include, lots of herbs, chard, courgettes, squashes and cucumbers.  She is looking into where she can squeeze in even more – fantastic.

Lots of positive comments about the Incredible Edible planter in the High Street and it seems we now have volunteers to keep it watered and looked after – thank you so much.  Yet another Incredible Edible space is being developed in Sandgate.  It is currently being cleared and will be planted up with vegetables and perhaps a few companion flowers.  The site is somewhere in the back streets of Sandgate, so you will have to look quite hard to find it, however there will be some pictures when it is completed.  Already local passers-by have commented they are delighted to see the space being tidied and are interested in getting involved in looking after it …. Excellent, this is what Incredible Edible is all about.  It is hoped there will be more news about growing spaces in the area, and please get in touch if you would like to get involved as we would love to hear from you.

What’s next?

• Collect some of the potatoes

• Sow collected chive seeds in pots

• Still not weeded the salad cloche

• Still not thinned out all the carrots

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You will not be surprised to hear that we have run out of space in the garden again for everything we are trying to grow!  When the onions came out last week we planted up the ground with runner and dwarf beans, soy beans, lettuces, cucumbers and leeks.  We have no idea where the rest of the lettuces, kale, beetroot, purple sprouting and chicory will go as yet.  With any luck we can squeeze some into a couple of spaces, and will have to wait for the rest of the broad beans and beetroot to mature, but even so, space is precious!

The compost heaps got turned, and the mint finally got potted on, along with the horseradish; carrots have been sown where the pea shoots were, and most of the leeks sown in April have finally been put where the mange tout came out!  We put up a sign at the gate to say that we may have fresh vegetables available on the Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and we let some visitors have our first bunch of sweet peas, and our first globe courgette.  This week we have onions, spring onions, salad leaves, beetroot, Florence fennel, a few broad beans, and perhaps a few courgettes and sweet peas, so come and ask us when we are there, or text me (Leonie) on 078 401 38308 if you are partial to something we may be growing – we know some of you are asking about marrows, they will be a while yet.

As part of the Incredible Edible project, we planted up a container in the High Street just outside The Ship.  We hope you will enjoy helping yourself to the herbs and vegetables; we will be replanting and watering it from now on.  We are looking for more Incredible Edible spaces so if you live or work in the High Street, have the room, and would like us to create an Incredible Edible space for you, please get in touch to talk to us about it.

With all this sowing and growing, with a view to getting more of you into seasonal, fresh fruit and veg, we are in desperate need still for greenhouse space, and although we had a great response in the spring, by the late spring, a greenhouse we were using was being filled again by the owner, and so we are still looking for anywhere that preferably is not currently used, with easy access.  It could be the start of a beautiful relationship!

We hope that most of you have by now seen the lovely drone video of the garden taken by the Saga head gardener, Paul, and sent out by the Sandgate Society.  How fantastic to have another perspective, and for those of you unable to get up to the garden, a chance to see it.  Paul was up at silly o’clock to take that video, and catch the blackbirds having a dip in the pond.  Part of it is now on our Instagram page, but get in touch and it can be forwarded to you if you have not had the opportunity to see it.

This week we have another two pictures from two of our volunteer’s gardens, to show what they are growing this year.  Julie is growing all kinds of herbs and vegetables, as is Ann who has upgraded her veg plot to really go for it this year!  Great stuff!

Bee News

The excitement for this week is that Chris, one of our bee keepers, has just bought her own bee hive, and is looking forward to getting a new queen and a few bees to start it up.

What’s next?

• Weed the salad cloche

• Check on the early potatoes

• Thin the carrots and parsnips

• Check if the compost heaps need watering as they are quite dry.

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The onions have toppled over, a sign that they are ready to be lifted and dried, and once done, the ground was covered with the last of the saved compost and planted up with more beans and cucumbers.  We have put extra windbreaks along some of the beanpoles to give the beans as much chance as possible. 

We planted a few basil plants, kale, and Brussel sprouts, all kindly donated by the new mayor of Folkestone, Michelle Dorrell.  Michelle is a keen allotment holder it seems, and has joined the Incredible Edible movement which some of us are involved with locally.  She is yet to visit the community garden, and hope she can find the time to do so this summer.

Everything is starting to grow fast, the courgettes and the sweetpeas are almost in flower, and so it will not be long before we can expect to be picking more.  Most of the time we have enough for the volunteers to have a taste, and occasionally a visitor to the garden will ask if anything is available, and go away with something too.  With the onset of the summer glut, we hope to be able to get the vegetables to even more people – not forgetting we are also sharing with the wildlife (most of us have not seen a strawberry as yet!).  Before the virus overtook, we would take produce to the library or perhaps the Sandgate Society at the Fire Station; and so now we are thinking we could make it known that we may have some seasonal veg available at the gate, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from 10am until midday.   

Thank you so much to all the kind and friendly visitors we have that come up to the garden to lean over the fence and take a look at the changes, compare notes, or ask questions.  We really do appreciate all the positive comments we have had, and hope that more of you may find the time to do the same.  We are interested in promoting the growing of seasonal fruit and vegetables locally, as well as supporting wildlife.  Many of our volunteers are growing at home too, even if they only have space for a few pots, and below are a couple of photos from two of their gardens.  There was a request for the photographs to be listed for easier identification, so hopefully they should now make more sense!

What’s next?

• The mint has still not been potted up!

• Sow more beetroot and chicory

• Remove some of the finished pea shoots to make way for more lettuce plants

• Remove spinach as it is bolting.

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