Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 5th May: Gingerly Green – the polytunnel.

The rainfall for April was a respectable 65mm, definitely not as much as we have had in the past few months, but a good amount all the same.  We managed to dodge the rain for our two gardening sessions on Wednesday and Saturday, in fact those two days were positively spring-like, being warm and sunny.

The sprouting broccoli and the kale have all been removed and composted this week, as did some of the winter lettuce and some patches of nettles.  We love nettles and they have a place in a wildlife garden but not when they encroach on the beds and where we are directly working, so some of it had to go.  We sowed more lettuce seeds and calabrese to follow on from earlier sowings and have started to pull out some of the finished Spanish bluebells before they go to seed all over the place. 

We were most grateful to receive lots of flower seedlings from one of our friends of the garden Erica.  Erica has a beautiful ‘no dig’ allotment at Newington and every now and then we swap spare plants although it is probably fair to say that we end up with more from Erica than she possibly receives!  Some of the plants neither of us had any use for were passed on to ‘Gingerly Green’ during the week.  Gingerly Green has started a beautiful flower cutting market garden just outside of Densole on the Canterbury Road.  There is a polytunnel for growing indoors and many flower beds created outside which will be in full bloom during the summer and autumn months.  Gingerly Green is holding a plant sale next week to raise money for the Shed, the Folkestone Youth Project.  We took along some strawberry plants, pots of mint, lamium and lamb’s ears to boost the sale.

A couple of us went along to the Future Food Forum at the University of Kent in Canterbury on Friday.  It was a chance to meet local food producers, and to hear talks about the current state of the food industry from the issues of eating so many processed foods through to how food is presented to pull on our emotional intelligence.  It was very interesting – we are already aware of the issues created by our current food system but it was good to hear about how some of the smaller local companies are striving to support communities and to produce good nutritious food and what the cost of all that is to the consumer and the producer.  Again the big message was that change has to come from the bottom upwards and to form collaborations locally.  We are certainly doing that!

What’s Next?

• Start to sow the French dwarf, borlotti and runner beans

• Repot the squashes

• Sow more spring onions

• Keep weeding and do not forget to dead head some of the flowers

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 28th April: The wet and cold has been perfect for the slug and snail population.

How can it be possible that we will be in the month of May in a few days?  It managed to get even colder during the nights this past week, and it was not until the weekend that temperatures have improved a little but brought rain again. It will be good to be warmer, but it is the sunshine we really need to get the plants growing.  The wet and cold has been perfect for the slug and snail population, making short work of most of the calabrese, peas and cabbages.  Luckily we had a few spare plants, and having a network of other growers means that we can swap seedlings and hopefully help each other out if things fail.

Talking of friends, the ‘Friends of Napier barracks’ helped us out this week by bringing some volunteers to Fremantle Park to help start to clear the small orchard there.  It has been so very wet at the park this winter that it is still impossible to cut the grass there and our growing areas are also saturated making it difficult to do much there.  However the plants and especially the weeds are taking over.  We have our work cut out to make it presentable, but we have made a start.

We pricked out yet more seedlings this week so that the two greenhouses at Pent farm are full to bursting!  More courgettes and squashes got sown to replace those eaten by a rogue mouse, and we even decided to sow some sweetcorn, thinking that we might well give it a try again this year despite the badgers.  It was feared that some of the seeds not eaten by rodents might have rotted in their pots before they had a chance to sprout but we were pleased to see just this past couple of days that many have indeed survived and are just starting to appear.

Most of the rhubarb has been growing well, but a couple of them have started to produce flowers already which is not a good thing when it comes to the production of rhubarb stalks, and so they were quickly removed before they got any bigger.  Most of the flowers we are of course delighted to see within the garden however it seems we are inundated by bluebells this year, many of which we shall have to remove just as soon as they are finished.  Happily they are not English bluebells but of the Spanish variety.  Nice to see them but they are taking up precious space.  Other flowers in full bloom this week are the calendulas, honeywort or cerinthe, and borage.  The lovely bright green of the oregano leaves makes for a good display too, and we are amazed at how fast the hops are starting to romp their way up the strings and supports.

What’s next?

• There are still beds to clear and compost to put down

• There is lots of lemon balm to remove

• Last push to get out all the sycamore seedlings

• Might be time to take out the purple sprouting

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 21st April: We must have pricked out more than three hundred marigold seedlings this week.

We were all feeling quite optimistic last week that the weather had taken a turn for the better and it was going to get warmer.  Unfortunately that did not last too long before we were back to showers and biting cold winds again, with no respite on the horizon for at least a week!

We have the luxury of sheltering our tender plants such as the tomatoes in a greenhouse on Pent Farm, however the growing pace has slowed down and some of them are showing signs of being too cold as there is no heating.  At times the temperature has gone down to four degrees during the night.  You can see from a picture below that the indigo tomatoes (a black variety) on the left, are showing their true colour, which they would not do ordinarily.  Our fingers are crossed that they can survive and perhaps pick up again soon.  It makes you realise how precarious it can be growing food at times because to lose all of our tomato stock at this stage would be not quite disastrous, because we do not have to rely on the food we grow, but a real shame.  There is nothing finer than home grown tomatoes picked fresh from the plant.

Another issue with greenhouse growing is that mice have an amazing ability to be able to get inside somehow, and find the more substantial seeds such as squashes and courgettes.  So it is that we shall have to sow more seeds found and eaten in this way.  There is always something that wants to eat whatever you are growing.  Remember this fact when buying fruit or vegetables from the supermarket how much in the way of chemicals have gone into producing that perfect product and the cost to wildlife and the soil.

We must have pricked out more than three hundred marigold seedlings this week for both Pent Farm and Enbrook.  Used as a companion plant, they add great colour to a site and can be as tough as old boots once they get going, able to flower until the first frosts.  There were also lots of zinnias and cosmos to tackle too and still plenty more that need potting on later next week.  One of the pictures below shows a nasturtium plant growing merrily away at the end of one of our compost bins.  The seed must have been composted but had the conditions to sprout and grow on probably because of all the rain.

What’s next?

• Still jobs carried over from last week such as lemon balm removal and repotting the pot plants.

• Prick out more seedlings

• Take out the last of the celeriac

• Put some compost on a couple of beds

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 14th April: All hands on deck and only time to chat if we were busy with a job as well. 

Things have picked up at a great pace this week with some lovely sunshine and warm days; we managed to get in two whole sessions at the garden.   Where we used to have plenty of time to chat and pack away early if all the tasks had been completed, this week it was all hands on deck and only time to chat if we were busy with a job as well. 

One of our gardeners had a sort out at home and brought some garden chairs up to the plot so that it was sheer luxury to sit in the sun on a proper chair sowing the courgette and squash plants.  More trays of radishes and spring onions got sown as well as more pots of leeks.  The calabrese, lettuces, spring onions, bulb fennel, and a few onions got planted. We were delighted to see that the potatoes are showing through the soil. The gooseberry bushes are in full flower as well as the honey berries.  The time sped by this week and there are still outstanding tasks which will have to be moved into next week.

On Thursday there was a visit from two of the Green Councillors, Rebecca Shoob and Polly Blakemore to our hot composter situated in the grounds of Folkestone College.  They were interested in finding out how the composter works.  We are always pleased to show off our great composter and are looking forward to the day when we have lots of compost to share with the wider community. 

What’s Next?

• Repot lots of the pot plants

• Take up much of the lemon balm overtaking the orchard area

• Sow more seeds

• Lots of flowers to prick out and pot on

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 7th April: The rainfall for March was another massive number, 148mm.

It continues to be wet and windy with a few sunny periods.  We dodged the rain on Wednesday morning to plant out the early cabbages, beetroot, spring onions, and kohlrabi.  Saturday saw the planting of the coriander plants and the sowing of many zinnias.  The carrots and parsnips got sown in situ, being the only seeds we put directly into the ground unless you count potatoes as a seed!  With the amount of rain showers we have been getting, at least we are saved the job of having to water all the new plants in.  Some of the new plants got a covering of fleece to keep out the wind and give some protection from pigeons. 

Not surprisingly there is a massive amount of slugs and snails on the plot, hiding in all the nooks and crannies; however it seems we must have a thrush on site as there is a place strewn with many broken snail shells, so it is pleasing to know that nature is trying to help us out at times.

We had a small patch of celery which did very little last autumn and so we left it there as a cover crop, but it seems to have suddenly woken up and got growing again after a long winter slumber, and so before it goes to seed we cut it out and rescued what there was to eat.  It is surprising how some things have come through the winter and are proving to be still alive; even the lemon verbena has just begun to sprout new shoots.  The hops are really starting to climb, and so we have to pinch out many of the surplus shoots.  Instead of composting them, they will be steamed and eaten as apparently they are similar to asparagus which will be a bonus if true!

Apart from all the planting and sowing of seeds we are STILL tackling the millions of sycamore seeds.  Below is a photo taken of one sycamore seedling sprouting out of the wall at the brook end of the park, which only goes to prove quite how resilient they truly are.  The battle continues.

What’s Next?

• If the weather is good, start to sow the squashes

• Sow more spring onion seeds

• Sow more leeks

• Pot up and remove lots of lemon balm

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 24th March: Six Inches of Soil.

Happy Easter!

The clocks have changed and the Easter holiday season is upon us.  We have had less of the wet stuff this week and temperatures are gradually rising. That, combined with longer daylight hours, means the seedlings are starting to grow even faster.  This is of course a good thing – apart from the sycamore seedlings covering the plot which continue to plague us. 

We cut the very first asparagus spears which were really fat and juicy, unlike the pickings of the sprouting broccoli which are starting to lose some vigour, becoming smaller and more spindly with each harvest.  It will eventually get to the point where we cannot be bothered to pick the small offerings and decide to pull the plants up.  The Nero kale had started to flower and so they were removed and composted. The curly kale is showing no sign of flowering just yet. 

Wednesday was a particularly busy day with a ‘Green Impact Forum’ organised by the Kent Community Foundation.  It was a great opportunity to listen and contribute to discussions around green issues – to be able to catch up with acquaintances as well as meet new individuals and community groups. 

In the evening there was a showing of the much awaited documentary film ‘Six Inches of Soil’.  The film is about regenerative farming, following three new farmers over the year in 2022.  It was truly inspirational, and gives hope for a much needed overhaul of our farming and food systems.  The film is touring the country and the message will hopefully get to as many people as possible.  The film was paid for through ‘crowd funding’ and has been several years in the making from start to finish – it has been a long wait to eventually see it.

Talking of filmmaking, one of our gardeners, Theresa, has been awarded winner of the best environmental film at the Folkestone Film Festival for her story ‘I Am Tree’.  Theresa was so upset at the loss of several trees in Sandgate because of housing developments recently, that she felt inspired to write the script and get the film made.  The sky is the limit now as the film goes on to other film festivals and we eagerly wait to see how it fares.

It seems there is no end to our gardeners’ talents.  We were treated on Saturday to two different types of homemade sourdough freshly baked that very morning for us to trial.  Both loaves were absolutely delicious and won our votes!  We continue to swap recipes and share good food as the learning certainly does not stop with just the growing and sharing of the food we grow in the garden.

What’s Next?

• Keep attacking the sycamore seedlings

• Plant out some of the early cabbages

• Plant out the beetroot

• Check on the growth of the hops

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 24th March: Unleash the ladybirds.

We were lucky to be able to get along to our gardening sessions Wednesday and Saturday without being rained on although it seems to have rained for most of the other days.  On Saturday there was a biting wind so that sitting still for too long pricking out seedlings was not to be recommended.  However we did for a while so that the aubergines were potted up for the greenhouse at Pent Farm, and yet more tomatoes pricked out to go with those we did on Wednesday.

Wednesday felt warmer than Saturday, and it seems the ladybirds thought so too, enough to come out from their hibernation spaces which it seems are in all the nooks and crannies of the entire fence.  They were appearing in droves, sunning themselves on the fence, then flying off mostly into the garden.  We have never seen quite so many in one go.  We have seen plenty before but never as many as this.  It is a good job they are a friend of the garden or we would be in trouble for sure.

We have been rewarded with some sprouting broccoli, the bits that did not get eaten by the pigeons, and were somewhat bewildered to understand why what should be purple sprouting is actually white.  It is just another example of seed companies having free reign to mostly do as they like and you can never really be sure of what you are getting until you do the growing.  It tastes the same of course but it was not what we were expecting.

Talking of tasting – Leanne, one of our gardeners, has just completed a course to qualify in Nutrition in Culinary Practice.  Her final task was to create a five day menu, and needless to say she came top of the class with some of the most interesting recipes.  She brought along to the garden some pickled magnolia flowers, which it has to be said were delicious – who would have known unless you try these things.  As a group we are proud of her achievements and will be interested to see how her career develops as a result.

The potatoes got planted, although it was a case of having to remove yet more sycamore seedlings where they had previously been hoed just a few days before, to give space for the spuds.

Hard to believe it will be Easter this coming week, and the clocks will be going forward.  This year seems to be galloping by fast!

What’s next?

• Keep hoeing those sycamores

• Finish staking the broad beans

• Remove the last of the spring onions

• Label the potato bed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 17th March: Spring seems to have snuck in through the back door.

Just about everyone is fed up with the weather locally, and so it has continued with cold winds, and frequent showers just to add to the already ridiculously high water table.  However spring really has arrived even if it seems to have sneaked in through the back door.  There are so many buds just about to burst and new things are popping up all over the place.  Unfortunately we are still under a tsunami of sycamore seeds and spending time hoeing as much as we can, however now that spring has arrived we are having to be ultra-careful in places because the first of the asparagus spears are poking through the ground and one of them got hoed before it was noticed.

On Saturday the sun did actually show itself and it was warm enough to want to take your coat off.  We planted the peas for pea shoots and some radishes, the very first plantings of the year.  They had to be covered with a good layer of fleece just to keep off the night chill and for some protection from the winds.  It was also the first time we had used water from the bowser to water in the plants, but on opening the lid to access the inner water cap to check the water level, several great fat bumble bees flew out, startled at being disturbed.  Last year it was full of ladybirds – interesting how the wildlife looks for shelter in the most unexpected places.

One of our tasks was to put a layer of wood chips onto the working compost heap which was when it was discovered that the wheelbarrow tyre had given up on life and was very much useless, so another tyre will have to be purchased.  It has to be said our wheelbarrows do get well used and we probably get through a couple of tyres every year.

The marigolds have been pricked out into trays and will go to the greenhouse at Pent farm to bask in some sunshine for a while.  It looks like it will not be too long before the tomatoes will need sorting out as six of our varieties have emerged already.

What’s Next?

• Wind supporting string around the base of the broad beans

• Prick out the tomatoes to grow on

• Fix the wheelbarrow

• Take out the sycamore seedlings by hand on asparagus beds

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 10th March: Spring flowers are in full bloom and the daffodils are out.

It feels like spring has been such a very long time coming, but with none of our gardening sessions cancelled due to bad weather this past week, we are beginning to think that spring may at last be just around the corner.  Apparently this winter has been the fourth wettest, and the second warmest since records began.  February was the warmest and wettest on record, 0.6 degrees centigrade warmer than 1990. 

Our spring flowers are in full bloom; the daffodils are out, the early pulmonaria is flowering beautifully, as are the first of the broad beans and all of a sudden the purple sprouting started to show their edible blooms in the very centre or crown of the plants.  We have been watching our purple sprouting broccoli for some months now, looking forward to this time when we can anticipate picking the very first flower heads, and so it seems have the local pigeons.  Having not long said that a few of the plants had been nibbled around the edges but that was all, it seems they have become bolder or is it more desperate, and have decided to really have a go and have stripped several plants of their leaves. 

The daffodils around the plot, either in the ground or in the pots or containers have greatly increased in number over the past couple of years, so much so that it might be a good idea to divide them and replant so that they will not be taking up too much room.  One of our major tasks this week was to start to get to grips with the sycamore seedlings and yet more of the wild garlic.  We set about doing just that but after an hour or so of weeding, you would be forgiven for having lost the will to live and find you are in need of tackling something else – we suspect it will take some time to clear them and so the job will remain on the ‘to do’ list for a while yet. 

The hops are just starting to emerge from their slumber and show themselves above ground.  We will soon have to divide them too as they are also becoming too large, and splitting them will hopefully rejuvenate them.  Also seen emerging has been a good number of ladybirds.  They are so brightly coloured that they are easy to spot on the fresh green leaves of the celeriac and the duller green of the sage. 

No missed sessions has meant that we are practically up to date with our seed sowing.  We have now sown the tomatoes and various varieties of lettuce as well as some aubergines, sweet peppers and chillies for the newly constructed wheelchair accessible greenhouse at Pent Farm.

Now is the time when we are reminded of where certain crops were growing last year as any rogue potatoes left uncollected in the plots have decided to show themselves by sprouting lots of new leaves above ground, and the same with the parsnips. It seems no matter how hard you try to collect the entire crop; some of the blighters still like to tease.

What’s Next?

• Probably need to transplant some seedlings

• Keep hoeing those sycamore seedlings

• Start staking the broad beans

• Keep checking the broccoli netting

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 3rd March: It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn.

Start building that ark!  It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn, and many fields are sitting under water.  Even if the rain stopped right now it will be some time before the water subsides, becomes unsaturated and machinery can get back onto the land.  Fortunately the small scale growers will not have to wait so long to access the land, but all the same, cropping will be affected for some time and going into summer.

The rainfall for February was a massive 198.4mm, the wettest February for sure.  In 2022 and 2023 the wettest month of the year was November for us here in Sandgate, but still they did not beat this February.  Apparently it was also the warmest February on record, so says the Met Office – not that it feels like it when it is cold and damp with a gale force wind bringing a minus chill factor, but apparently so!

Needless to say our Wednesday morning session was cancelled due to rain.  We are getting behind with all the seed sowing and because Saturday morning was showery with the wind blowing a hoolie, we decided to gather together at a kitchen table and sow seeds indoors and not risk them being blown away!  Supplemented with a delicious homemade freshly baked sourdough loaf made that morning by one of our talented gardeners, and plenty of hot drinks, we caught up with some chat much missed when sessions get cancelled.  It has to be said we have never had to cancel so many.  

We are ever optimistic that things can only get better, and our list of tasks remain the same as last week except of course that the reprieved sycamore seedlings will be even larger and more troublesome before we get to them with any luck, next week.  Onwards and upwards.

What’s next?

• More seed sowing

• Get hoeing the sycamore seedlings!

• Get some pond weed for the Pent Farm pond from the Enbrook pond

• Move some of the nasturtium seedlings

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.