Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 27th October: A fast downhill spiral towards the end of the year.

The clocks have gone back and now it begins to really feel that we are on a fast downhill spiral towards the end of the year and all that it brings.  The weather has continued as it has been for the past few weeks with lots of warm sunshine but less rain than we have had of late.

On Wednesday the overwintering onions got planted.  We sowed the seeds some weeks ago and they currently look just like young spring onions, but hopefully by next summer they will be fully grown brown onions.  Another tray of spring onions were planted as well as six more chive plants.

The brassicas were checked for caterpillars again, as last week they were smothered in them courtesy of the cabbage white butterflies, however it seems we did a good job of clearing them as only four were found this week.  Just as we were thinking we were winning the battle with the wildlife for once, we got a reminder that nature will always come out on top when it was noticed that the Chinese cabbages were absolutely smothered in sawfly caterpillars and being rapidly shredded.  We decided to cut our losses and scrap the lot because they were just too bad to try and rescue.  In the past we did manage to pick off the sawflies and rescue the crop but time is not now on our side.

The weeding and bed preparation continues – with the weather being mild, the old potato beds where a few small potatoes got left behind, started to sprout again and random potato plants are popping up.  It seems no matter how hard you try not to leave any behind, some always do and appear in the most awkward of places in the middle of another crop.

The shorter days and some cooler weather has started to turn the leaves to autumn colours and drop – so begins the task of collecting them all up and composting them, with of course as many sycamore seeds as we can find to save ourselves the trouble of having to pull up the growing seedlings next spring in their thousands!

The growth was cleared around the pond, and some pond weed removed as the water has been well and truly overtaken by lots of new growth.  Some of the pond weed will find new homes in our gardeners’ ponds or to Pent Farm, to the pond there.

On Saturday we worked together to make a human chain, bringing trugs full of wood chips from the lower wall at the bottom of the hill, up to the garden and down on the ground to replenish the paths.  A few more garden sessions and with any luck we should get all the paths done and the garden looking much smarter.

What’s next?

• Start sowing the broad beans
• Continue laying the wood chip paths
• Hoe under the hedge outside the garden
• Tidy the hedge again as it is still growing!

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 20th October: Collecting food and storing it for the long cold winter months ahead.

The weather was very much like it was last week with periods of beautiful warm sunshine and lots and lots of the wet stuff in-between.  It was even the same on Saturday as it was last week in that we had to cancel the morning garden session because of the rain, but there was wall to wall sunshine in the afternoon. 

There was a spectacular Hunter’s moon on Thursday, so called because it is ‘the time of year when historically hunters began collecting food and storing it for the long cold winter months ahead’.

On our Wednesday morning garden session we got cracking with clearing more of the strawberry plants trying to take over a vast area, and lots of mint which also needed cutting back.  It revealed our little lemon tree hugging the wall and bearing lots of beautiful pink and white flowers.  Having picked a lemon from the tree a few weeks ago we are keeping our fingers crossed that it might grow one or two more next year. 

The wall has many flowers growing in front of it, and down the other end there is currently a spectacular show of nasturtiums with lush green leaves and numerous flowers from pale yellow through to deep orange.  We sometimes forget that the nasturtium is very edible and makes a great addition to a salad.  Talking of salads, we planted one of our favourite winter salad leaves – Claytonia, or winter purslane.  It is well worth growing as it is extremely hardy, not much liked by slugs and snails, and keeps on producing edible leaves and flowers well into late spring. 

One of our gardeners confessed after the session that the claytonia had not been ‘watered in’ which helps new plants to get established quickly, however we need not have worried as by Wednesday evening the heavens opened along with a great show of thunder and lightning – it was fabulous to watch, and helped our new plants settle in at the same time.

What’s next?

• Plant some overwintering onions near the banana tree
• Keep checking for more caterpillars on the brassicas
• Continue to lay woodchip paths and put down compost
• Clear the area behind the pond

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 13th October: A spectacular show of colour.

There was no sitting about enjoying the sunshine this week, although there were plenty of opportunities, just not when it was our formal gardening sessions on a Wednesday and Saturday morning.  Unfortunately we had to cancel our session on Saturday because it just rained all morning even though the weather apps kept promising it would brighten up any time soon. 

The clear night skies gave the chance for many of us to see the Northern Lights again this week and there have been many photographs of the locality on social media bathed in a spectacular show of colour for the past couple of nights.  Some people pay a small fortune to travel northwards to catch the Northern Lights, and here they were in our own backyard!

We did manage to start the job of laying down more wood chip paths, and continued the work of clearing some of the finished summer crops such as the dwarf beans and summer squashes.  However we still have plenty of ground work to be getting on with and it will be keeping us busy for a few weeks yet.

The few strawberry plants we left under the soft fruit shrubs have had a great time spreading out and invading other parts of the plot, so their removal was started, although it will take some time to take out the lot. 

The purple sprouting broccoli has been slowly growing under the netting but we noticed that they were starting to look a bit chewed to say the least and on inspection it was clear the netting was protecting vast quantities of cabbage white caterpillars from being picked off by any predators, and so it was our job to lift the netting and remove as many as we could to be relocated to the sacrificial nasturtiums where they could continue to develop. 

The autumnal days have brought out the spiders in our houses and gardens as this is the mating season when the males in particular will go on the search for a mate before they die.  Female spiders, usually larger, can live longer, and the photo below is of a particularly huge garden specimen which has been hanging about making a massive new web every day suspended between a fence post and a fruit tree for about a week now.  As much as such a beautiful creature can be admired for the patterns both on her body and those she creates with her web, it would indeed be terrifying to be that much smaller and caught up in the sticky trap – what a way to go!

What’s next?

• Continue laying wood chip paths
• Put fresh compost in the top of the potted plants
• Put down fresh compost on the cleared beds
• Clear the rest of the strawberries

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 6th October: Admire the flowers, watch the bees and butterflies, and listen to the birds singing.

This week we have said hello to October and some fine sunny, warm weather.  The rainfall for September was 98.5mm, which is quite something for late summer and the start of autumn. 

The path to the bench was cleared so that it could be seen again, and the winter squash plants taken up and composted as were the bolted lettuces.  Wednesday was our busiest day when lots of volunteers came out to give a hand, however Saturday was quieter, and so beautifully warm and sunny that it has to be said we just sat and took time to admire the flowers, watch the bees and butterflies, and listen to the birds singing.  It was a piece of heaven for just that moment in time in that place.

True to form and bang on time, the Michaelmas daisies are in full flower (how do they do that with such regularity and perfect timing?)  The bees have certainly been enjoying their blooms as well as the red sedum situated around the pond.  There is always something in bloom throughout the year, and each season has its real gems. 

We took a good look at the fig tree, however it seems that the birds managed to beat us to most of the fruits; but it appears the fig has more it can give as apparently the leaves have many health benefits, has been used in the past to treat lots of ailments and makes a great fig leaf tea.  The other thing we discovered this week whilst admiring the large rose hips is that the outer flesh is edible and very soft and sweet it tasted too – who would have known?

We had an invite to the Nepalese community open farm day at Pent Farm.  It was a real pleasure to walk amongst the vegetable plots finding out about some traditional crops, and tasting delicious food grown on the farm and prepared in true Nepalese style.  It was a perfect end to the week.  The home brewed rice wine was flowing by the gallon, very similar to Japanese Sake, unfortunately had to be avoided or it was likely that the remainder of the day would have been lost in an alcoholic haze!

What’s Next

• Put down some wood chip paths where needed

• Still have radishes to plant

• Keep putting down more compost

• Take up the summer squash plants

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 29th September: Limboing squash eating cows alert.

The predictions for the weather this week were spot on – cooler, and plenty of rain giving localised showers.  Parts of the country are flooded, so we have come off lightly so far; however it has had an effect on the tasks.  We were rained off on our Wednesday session, and although it was just showery and windy, a decision had to be made to cancel or get wet, and with no shelter for us, we decided to cancel.  A quick check was made of the netting and plants, to ensure all was well until the next session.

One of our tasks was to collect the squashes just in case anything happened to them, although not sure quite what, and suspect it was a reaction to the fact that the other plot some of us work on at Pent Farm had a visit from the cows in the field next door.  Having ‘limboed’ under their electric fence they took a shine to the squash patch and proceeded to trample and eat the plants until the farmer spotted them – somewhat too late.  So we collected up the squashes at Enbrook Park, grateful that there is little we have to worry about as regards marauding animals really.

During the Saturday morning session, the weather was absolutely beautiful, starting off cold and crisp but warming up quickly with wall to wall sunshine.  However we were short of gardeners for various reasons, so the two of us that did turn up decided to simply pull up a chair in the sunshine and enjoy being in the garden and just chat.

The change in the season has meant that with the shorter days, the growth is slowing right down, and with most of our autumn and winter crops already planted, the pace can slow down too.  We have a few more French radish plugs to plant next week, but not much else will follow until we sow and plant the broad beans sometime in October/November.  With the urgency gone, taking time out to simply sit is a luxury we can afford – and very good it was too!

Most things seems to be growing reasonably well, however the leeks have hardly shifted at all these past few weeks and are still quite small, but the mustard plants are looking good as are the winter radishes and the purple sprouting now desperately trying to get out of their netting.

With all the tomatoes removed last week, there has been a great flurry of activity from some members being creative with the green fruits, making chutneys and sharing recipes for other dishes.  Unused green tomatoes have been left to ripen by themselves in various bowls and trays around our houses and shared out or made into all sorts of culinary delights.  The tomato season is now at an end and it will be many months before we get to sample them again fresh from the vine.

What’s Next?

We still have all the tasks from last week to complete:

• Clear the path to the bench
• Clear the squash plants and bolted lettuces away
• Put fresh compost down on the empty plots
• Plant out the French radish plugs

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 22nd September: We harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree

We are now officially into autumn and the weather pattern changed once again after our last newsletter, to dry, sunny and humid.  Perhaps it is summer having a final fling, as it seems the coming week will be giving plenty of rain and cooler temperatures.  It will certainly be a relief to see the rain again, as the plants we are currently establishing are suited better to less heat.  It will also be easier on us too as we have had to start watering again, having thought we could put away the water pump and hose pipe – however it was not to be.

There have been plenty of reports confirming that the butterfly population is very much depleted this year, and we agree with that although the cabbage white butterflies are certainly around on the plot, constantly flapping around the brassicas and trying to lay eggs through the mesh in the netting.  Happily they have plenty of alternative plants ready to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of the caterpillars, being the nasturtiums, of which there are oodles.

The spent broccoli plants got taken out and composted, and space was found to plant spring onions and more spinach which should carry over into winter and spring.  The coriander seedlings we planted just over a week ago have completely disappeared, leaving no trace, but as we make a habit of bringing on more plants than we have space for, luckily we had plenty of plants waiting in the wings for such an occasion and so we hope these may survive.

It was no surprise that we found the first signs of blight on the tomatoes.  We decided to cut our losses and immediately take them out, rescue what we could of the tomatoes, ripe or green, and compost the plants being a perfectly safe thing to do.  Many of the tomatoes have been lost to the blight, but the rest have been put into the greenhouse at Pent farm to hopefully ripen over time.  This same week blight appeared in the outdoor tomatoes at Pent Farm and so they have been removed too.   

After what we believe must be an entire year, we harvested our very first and precious lemon from the tiny lemon tree hugging the brick wall.  We had waited and watched whilst the single lemon had grown then turned from green to bright yellow over the summer months until at last it was picked.  Having passed it around the gardeners for a scratch and sniff to take in all the lemony wonderfulness, it has gone to make many a lemon and ginger tea – and they were very good too!  It is reassuring to note that the little tree has more flowers just appearing, and so with any luck we may be presented with another lemon next year.

What’s next?

• Clear out some of the older borage plants and squashes

• Put fresh compost down on cleared plots

• Clear a path to the bench in the garden

• Clear the lettuces going to seed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 8th September: The cabbage whites and are being driven mad by the smell of the brassicas.

The wet weather stayed with us this week so we put away the water pump and watering cans unless there was something to plant.  Unfortunately, as is always the way, the slugs and snails have been encouraged by the wet to come out and make doilies of the Chinese cabbages and generally have a good go at anything else they can get hold of. Just to add to the mix, butterflies seem to have been brought out by the recent warm weather, or perhaps by the fact that time is getting on, and they need to reproduce quickly.  However most of the butterflies are cabbage whites, and are being driven mad by the smell of the brassicas, fighting to get into the netting or just simply lay their eggs on any leaves pressed up against the close mesh.  The butterfly bush behind the tool box is now at last alive with the white fluttering of their wings, with just the odd peacock making an appearance every now and then.

The fig tree has given us a few fruits this year, with more to come if we manage to beat the birds to them.  At the Pent farm plot, the birds have stripped and eaten much of the sweet corn, but at Enbrook Park the issue is not birds but the badgers.  It seems that perhaps the strong smelling ‘Vaporub’ we smeared on the stems did manage to mask the sweet smell of the corn, as we picked the few cobs, and very tasty they were too.  However maybe we should have given the same treatment to the stems of the tomato plants as we do not seem to have any ripe fruits appearing there at all and something has certainly been paying attention to them and making a mess of the fruits.

The spinach and winter radish got planted as did more coriander, and the claytonia got pricked out into larger modules to grow on.  The growth around the pond got a good cut back as did lots of the bindweed making an appearance in response to the wetter weather. 

We had a visit from a representative from Taylor Wimpey with a photographer, keen to follow up having given us £300 to buy some compost and tools, and put together a press release on the subject.  We spent the money just as soon as it landed in the bank account, but happily with this, and the funds we made at the Sea Festival, we will hopefully not need to worry for a little while about our finances

Now we are into September there is a slight autumnal feel in the air, we even have some sloes in the hedge.  There will not be a newsletter next week, as some of us will be away for a few days, taking advantage of the last of the summer days before the autumn solstice is upon us.

What’s Next?

• Clear the summer broccoli and compost

• Clear the bindweed in the strawberry plants

• Perhaps plant out the French radish

• Check for space for more spring onions

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 1st September: Special thanks go to Rita and Erica for their many plant contributions.

The whole week was dry and very warm which made the watering of the plot the main task; however on Saturday we were treated to a localised downpour in the early hours which seemed to do the job for us.  With any luck we may get a few more such showers through the coming week as although rain is not forecast, the weather apps say there is a chance of rain all the same so we may just be fortunate.  The rainfall for August was 49.9mm.

The Sea Festival last Sunday was fabulous!  Yes it was windy enough to send the gazebos up into the air, and it rained a couple of times, but the rest of the day was fine and warm.  In effect we were so very lucky considering.  We raised an incredible £704.84 which is the most we have ever collected by far.  However it was the culmination of a year of collecting plants, sowing seeds and making cuttings to gather together the hundreds of plants we had on sale.  Very special thanks go to Rita and Erica for their many plant contributions, but it was a great team effort which made it the success it really was.  Everyone pitched in, rolled up their sleeves and got those plants passed on to their new owners with great panache.  It was a most satisfying day and a good time was had by all.  Many thanks if you came by and supported us.

We have been busy sowing some of the last of the autumn seeds, radishes, yet more spring onions, winter lettuce, all year round cauliflowers and spring cabbage to hopefully overwinter.  We smeared the stems of the sweetcorn with a strong smelling ‘vaporub’ designed to rub on your chest to clear your nose – we hope it will repel the badgers from going anywhere near them but time will tell.

We had just three cabbages which had ‘hearted up’ already from an earlier summer sowing and were harvested.  The borage which had finished flowering was cut back, and the Siberian kale given a tidy up.  We have already collected some of the tomatoes to dedicate to seed for next year, and have also foraged seed from the French marigolds around the plot too.  We are starting to build on the seeds we have grown and collected from our own plants, but you do have to know your stuff as some are easier to collect than others.

What’s Next?

• Clear some of the growth around the pond which has finished flowering

• Plant winter radish and possibly spinach

• Clear the bindweed

• Check on the lemon tree and the hops

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 25th August: The heavens opened and stayed open for most of the day.

It was just as well we had cancelled being at the garden for Saturday morning as the heavens opened and stayed open for most of the day.  It was torrential for much of the day, or just downright wet for the rest of the time, an amazing 22.5 mm in just one day.  How fortunate we were not to have to fit in trying to water the garden at some point during the weekend – it was all taken care of.  Just a bit of a shame about the timing as we had planned to use the time to organise all our plants for the Sea Festival.

We eventually managed to complete the task late afternoon when the rain began to subside, and gave us a chance to get outside.  This newsletter will go out on the morning of the sale.  For most of the growing year we have been planning this day, collecting plants, sowing seeds and taking cuttings.  Unbelievably, the weather for the actual day is wall to wall sunshine, although not too warm. 

However we will be watching the wind as it can be mighty blowy on the seafront at the best of times, and it looks like the wind will be a feature in the afternoon.  Our fingers are crossed along with anything else crossable that the day will go well and with any luck we will sell most of our plants.  Next week’s news will reveal all, however we hope to be seeing you all in person on this day to cheer us on and spend some money.

On the Wednesday session we cleared a bed ready for some winter radish, giving it a good layer of new compost.  Winter lettuce got sown, and plants tidied.  The squashes are really travelling far and wide, and either have to be turned around, or allowed to climb through other plants if it is safe for them to do so. 

More amaranth has self-sown this year and popped up amongst the sweetcorn, and it was a surprise to find that our pear tree has been quietly producing some pears.

What’s next?

• Consider protecting the sweetcorn from the badgers if not too late!

• Remove some of the borage

• Check on the Siberian kale

• Sow some spring cabbage

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 11th August: our hops are showing signs of ‘burring’.

The temperature has been going up, and apparently we are in for a warm weekend and early part of the coming week.  We have had to water as much as we can during our garden sessions, which make for less time to be able to do other things, and having to prioritise the tasks.  Happily most of our jobs got done, except for tidying the hedge which will be on the list again for next week.

We sowed spring onions, onions and spinach.  Luckily we did not have to sow any more wallflowers as one of our industrious gardeners, Rita, had collected many wallflower seeds from her garden, and had already nurtured lots of seedlings which we pricked out into individual pots and modules.

Whilst many of our gardeners have already been harvesting plenty of tomatoes from their own gardens, our plants within the community garden are mighty slow in producing ripe fruits.  The black tomatoes from our own saved seeds are looking particularly good and we will be collecting yet more seed this year, as well as some of the other varieties.

The butterfly bush behind our tool box is sadly lacking in the way of butterflies this year and we are hoping that this warmer weather might bring them out into the garden.  There was only one in evidence for the whole of the session on Saturday.

The Hythe Hops scheme has been asking for evidence of how far along our hop plants are so that they can work out the best harvesting dates for September.  At the moment our hops are showing signs of ‘burring’ or just starting to flower – this means that we are on track for the year.

On Saturday 24^th August we will not be at the garden for our usual session as we will be busy collecting together all of our plants we have been nurturing for our annual sale at the Sea Festival on Sunday 25^th along the seafront.  We really hope you will stop, say hello, and hopefully buy something, and/or guess the weight of our food hamper.  We are looking forward to seeing you there.

What’s Next?

• Tidy that hedge

• Sow mustards and radish

• Check the progress of the sweet corn

• Take up the last of the onions

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.