Sandgate Community Garden

Bit of a wash out this week with the rain, however I hate to say we do still need it as dig down a bit, and it is still dry!

Some people have noticed that there is a mysterious line drawn beyond the plot, and yes, it is true, we are to expand further out into the grass!  We are very excited at the prospect, and are looking forward to filling this space too!  Thanks to Paul the Head gardener and Saga for their continued support and encouragement. 

We put out a message to the community for some items we need, we are still looking for offcuts of blue water pipe to use in the making of cloches, but we now have more compost bins and a leaf rake!  The message being please consider us before throwing garden resources out as we are good at recycling…… we could do with a wheelbarrow!

We are now the proud owners of a comprehensive compost making system, with leaf mulch on the go, and a three tiered way of producing the best compost going.  Happy days!  By moving or turning the compost on a regular basis, it incorporates air, mixing the contents, builds the heat needed to break it down and stops it becoming a nasty smelly and soggy mess with dry bits!  The final product will look like fruit cake, almost looks good enough to eat!

One of the great things about growing your own food is you have the choice to use chemicals in the form of pesticides and herbicides or not: to use natural methods have been our choice, and you have to take the rough with the smooth.  Our Chinese cabbages have been invaded by hordes of caterpillars, and at first we were intrigued that these looked quite unusual and interesting until we further realised they were sawfly larvae…. Ah well….too many to pick off as you can see from the photograph, and an important message learnt.. the need for vigilance, and to accept that growing organically benefits us and the wildlife! 

The nursery children helped us to plant some elephant garlic this week.  Elephant garlic is not actually a garlic as we know it, much milder, it belongs to the leek family, and is very tasty!

Finally, congratulations go this week to some of our members for the best squash soups (We might have to start a recipe page soon!), and to Chris for amazing us all by producing a home grown pineapple.  That takes some beating!

What’s next?

• Empty those herb boxes!  We need to paint the boxes but the weather might decide otherwise!

• Finish setting up the compost bins

• Anyone got access to animal manure?  Horse, cow even alpaca!! Makes a great plant liquid feed!

• Keep collecting those leaves – even in your own gardens!!

• Planning – the next phase – expansion and planting for the next season.

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This week we have waved goodbye to the tomato plants, harvested all the green tomatoes, and are ripening them on window ledges.

At last the little chilli plants sown from seed have been potted up and taken indoors, they will be replanted next year, after the risk of frost has passed.

The nursery children came along on Wednesday bringing all their fruit peelings for our compost heap, swapping it for a few vines of tomatoes to ripen in their classroom.  We spent some time rummaging around in the heaps to see what there was in there, and identifying all the wildlife!  We had help collecting more leaves, and have finished the leaf mulch bin and now have a mission to fill it up!

On Saturday afternoon we took some potted up cuttings and collected seeds to barter at the Hythe seed and plant swap!  We came away with a variety of different seeds and plants we can use in the garden and not a single penny had to change hands!  It is such a good idea, and the Hythe Environmental group were also pressing apples in the square from donated apples….. the resulting juice was quite delicious!  As you can imagine, we need lots of seeds for next year, however luckily we were able to get 96 packets of seeds at a garden centre seed sale for 50p a packet!  They should keep us going for a while!

What’s next?

• Collect leaves, leaves, and more leaves!

• We need to sort out two more compost heaps

• Keep tidying, weeding and turning over the ground as it is emptied

• Start to empty the herb boxes – save any plants that can be saved

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Watering was certainly not an issue this week, there was plenty of rain for a change….. it managed to hold off for our celebratory picnic for which we were grateful!  Many of the ingredients for the food came from the plot, it tasted so good!

The strawberry bed has been planted up at last, and the new plants have time to set some roots before the weather gets too cold.

Below are two pictures of Amaranth that have appeared totally unexpected in the flower area.  Amaranth is a superfood, used as a grain or made into oil; in fact the entire plant is edible and has medicinal benefits.  It is often used as a bedding plant because it is so colourful and comes in many different forms.  However, check out the colours of the rainbow chard…just stunning!

What’s next?

• Continue to clear and tidy the plot

• Ooops! Still not potted up those chillies or cut back tree base growth!

• Start putting in support posts

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It has continued to be very dry in the garden this week, and we have been working flat out to keep up with the watering, in particular new seedlings and the new strawberry plants!  The more established plants will reach further down under ground to find their water and are looking fine!  The tomato plants are looking naked as all the leaves have been stripped from them so that the tomatoes can ripen.  The butternut squashes and carrots have now all been harvested, and we are starting to see the earth again in preparation for a new phase of planting to come in the autumn.

The nursery children made their way to the garden this week, and spent some time grazing on tomatoes and salad leaves….. it was lovely to have them there, and we will be spending some time helping them in their garden, and they will be collecting their daily fruit peelings to bring to our compost heap!

Some of us made our way to the Climate Change march in Folkestone on Friday…. We are always aware of the influence of the weather on the garden, and weather extremes can mean that crops fail.  We are keen to understand and monitor how the garden is affected in the Sandgate microclimate…. This will be an ongoing process.  Talking of climate; just as we look forward to our first garden picnic to celebrate a successful first season, it seems the heavens are going to open and drench us with some long awaited rain!  How typical is that!!

What’s next?

• Monitor watering situation

• Keep picking

• Forgot to pot up the chilli plants!

• Keep collecting the leaves

• Dig over the newly exposed beds and remove any weeds

• Cut back new growth around the base of trees and any newly sprouted shrub roots in the wrong place!

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It’s all about the brassicas on the plot at the moment!  We have some very lush salad leaves, purple and green Pak Choi, towering purple sprouting, red veined chard, and juicy spinach: perfect for blitzing into a smoothie or pesto – or taking pride of place in a colourful salad or stir fry.  The Chinese cabbage is starting to draw itself up into a conical shape, ready to make a crispy heart in the centre, and we are looking forward to trying them.  The butternut squashes are getting a few more days collecting this late summer sunshine before we harvest them, and the salt and wind scorched fruit trees are sending out new green shoots, and are looking fresh again.

We have had a small amount of excess produce which we have been taking to the library on days when they have mother and baby groups etc.  We have also taken a few tomatoes and beans to the Old Fire Station on Saturday mornings when the Farmers Market is not running.  One lady came up to the garden on Wednesday morning to ask what we had ready and available, and it would be great if more people got used to the idea of coming along when we are working there to get some local and seasonal veg – most people have been very kind and supportive and donated a little money when they take something so that we can invest in more seeds and plants for next year.  One thing we will not have to buy next year is new strawberry plants as the few strawberry plants we had this year have sent out lots of ‘runners’ making new plants for us to gather and transplant into our newly dug strawberry bed!  So far we have collected 40 new plants, but we still have more to move…nature is just amazing!

Exciting week coming up as we have made new links with the nursery on site, and some of the children will be coming along to the garden on Wednesday to have a look and maybe try some of the salad leaves.  We hope to be able to help them with their raised beds and pots outside their classrooms and provide seeds and/or plants throughout the year.  Children are much more likely to try eating fresh fruit and vegetables if they have had an active part in growing them, so this is an important step in the garden’s development, to be able to be of help within the community – we hope to be able to do more as time goes on……

What’s next? 

• Watering

• Picking

• Collect the rest of the new strawberry plants and plant into new bed

• Check brassicas for cabbage white eggs and remove

• Check that purple sprouting are all staked securely

• Pot up chilli seedlings ready to take indoors over the winter.

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There is a different feel in the air now, and as the nights are starting to draw in, we are beginning to think of autumn and the changes to the plot….

We have harvested the big blue winter squashes this week, they can finish ripening in a sunny spot anywhere as they have finished growing, and we need to start clearing and reusing the space.  The butternut squashes have been exposed, and are next to be harvested.  There are plenty of tomatoes but we may soon have to consider bringing them indoors to finish off.  It has been very dry still, so watering has been a must, especially for the new seedlings of winter spinach and Chinese salads.  Leaves are starting to fall; another valuable resource we hope to be able to make good use of and start collecting.

The compost heap has been turned for the first time, and we were treated to the sight of a slow worm in the middle of it….. that was our dose of awe and wonder for the day…such an amazing thing to see.  It went off into the undergrowth and will hopefully make its way back to the warm compost again.  The picture below does not do it any justice.

What’s next

• Keep watering

• Keep picking

• Are the butternuts ready?

• Start planting up the strawberry bed with the plants we already have.

• Pick up and compost fallen leaves especially in the growing area.

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We had an incredible day at the Sandgate Sea and Food Festival last Sunday!  So much support from everyone there, and many generous donations!  We collected an amazing £102, and the vegetables we brought from the garden disappeared from the stall at speed.  Attached are some photos from the day, and we are sporting our T shirts we bought ourselves to advertise what we were representing….we almost looked professional!!  It was good to see so many people there we now know through working at the garden, and it is clear that the word is getting round that things are happening in that part of the park!

This week we have watered, weeded, set out the new beds in the newly dug area, finished painting the bug hotel, and most important…….. kept picking all things ripe and ready.  This week it is all about tomatoes, and we have them in all shapes and colours, we even have some that have horns … seriously! (Check out the pictures on our Instagram page!).  Now we are getting into September, we are making the last of the seed sowings of Japanese and Chinese vegetables, fast to grow, and with protection, can carry on over the winter.  However the pace is not going to slip just because summer is passing us by, we still have so much more to do. 

A reminder that our picnic will be at the garden on Sunday 22^nd September – a celebration of a fantastic start to the project this summer, and looking forward to much more to come.

What’s next?

• Keep watering

• Keep picking

• Cut back squash leaves and tomato leaves to expose the fruits to the sun for ripening

• We might need to turn the compost heap this week?

• Check how many strawberry plants we have from the runners and plant in new bed if rooted

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Sending out our weekly newsletter Saturday evening instead of Sunday morning this time, as we will be up early setting up our stall at the Sandgate Sea and Food Festival on Sunday morning!  We had a great time collecting things from the garden to bring to the Festival to show.  It was time well spent with new garden companions, now friends, and treasure hunting for lost beans, tomatoes and courgettes in the undergrowth!

The sun and the flower patch brought out a number of butterflies and bees, and it was quite idyllic.  It is no wonder that gardening is known to be great therapy, and that is even before tasting something picked fresh, warm, and sun ripened…..absolutely no comparison with shop bought.  Some of us will be at the Festival to talk about achievements so far and great plans for the future, so come along and say hello!

Attached is a letter from The Sandgate Society thanking us all for the raffle prize hamper we put together for the Garden Party, we are more than pleased that we could do that, so well done all the diggers and donators, your hard work is not going unnoticed!

Talking of donations, we had a more than generous donation of £20 from a local follower and well-wisher; this will go straight into our seed fund, as we will soon have to take stock of our growing intentions for next year! 

Although we have lots of lovely courgettes, we have had four separate requests for a supply of marrows which is not something you see these days in the supermarkets.  So, marrow seeds are on the list, and if you have any requests……..just let us know and we will do our best to oblige!

What’s next?

• Keep watering!

• Keep picking

• Finish treating the bug hotel

• Set out the new beds

• Keep weeding

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If we had been asked at the very start of this project in mid-May, to produce a hamper of food from the garden in just three months, we might have considered it an impossible task, but we did…. For a raffle prize at the Sandgate garden party last Sunday!  A proud moment!

Spoke too soon about the sunflowers all still being upright after the blast of wind that came through, one of them did fall, however, nothing is wasted; the leaves were stripped and added to the compost heap, the stem and flower left to dry out.  The seeds in the flower head will feed the birds, and the hollow stem used in the future construction of a bug hotel.  Everything gets recycled.  The ultimate in recycling has to be making compost from organic materials.  Otherwise known as ‘black gold’, garden made compost is the best thing you can add to a garden, and the kitchen at the Saga Pavilion is helping by giving us their vegetable waste.  The more compost we can make, the better the health of the garden.

Chris Turnbull from the Hythe Hops Scheme came to visit the garden on Saturday to discuss our taking part in this community project next spring.  It will involve growing some hops, picking them, and combining them with all the other community grown hops to make a very local brew!  Looking forward to sampling that!

Come and see us at the Sandgate Sea and Food Festival next weekend – we will be there on the Sunday, so stop and say hello!  

What’s next?

• Keep picking

• Remove any yellow lower leaves from the kale and purple sprouting

• Start removing any leaves from the squashes that are dying back

• Plant up savoy cabbages in spaces at top of the bean plot

• Check on seedlings in last two beds and see if they need thinning/replanting in spaces.

• Start to mark out beds in newly dug area

• Put wood preserver on bug hotel structure

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I know you were wondering… yes, the garden is still standing, and at last look, even the sunflowers, after the hooley of a storm that came through yesterday.  We had to abandon all hope of trying to do much at all, except stand upright. 

Featuring this week are some lovely carrots and beetroot which seem to have doubled in size in just a week!  The Florence fennel is starting to swell.  A passing dog was so phased by one of the blue squashes poking out of the undergrowth, that it started barking and snarling at it, and had to be moved on by its owner!   

Thank you Sandgate Parish Council for a donation of £100.  How very lucky we are to have friends in high places, with support also from The Sandgate Society, and of course Saga…….we are where we are!  The next big buy will be the asparagus crowns, and wooden posts to make various structures, and such donations make it all possible.

What’s next?

• Check on any storm damage

• Tie in tomatoes and brassicas

• Thin out some of the lettuces, and particularly the lambs lettuce (some of this lettuce can be relocated to new spaces)

• Dead head cosmos and rose

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