Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 17 March 2024

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.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 10 March 2024

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.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 3 March 2024

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.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 25 February 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 25th February: There has been far too much weather going on this week.

There has been far too much weather going on this week to be able to get on with tasks that need doing.  The rain has been the main feature and the session for Wednesday had to be cancelled. It is all too easy to be negative about so much rain and probably need to reflect on how much our Napier Barracks volunteers appreciate these rainy days because it makes the land so very green and lush.  We have been collecting rainwater from all the structures at Pent Farm over the winter and have now accumulated nearly 12,000 litres for the growing plot there.  Last year we had just 8,000 litres to get us through the driest months of the year which luckily was not too hot and dry.  Hopefully we might be able to manage this summer with what we have; time will tell.

The main activity was going to be seed sowing this week, but not having any shelter in the garden at Enbrook Park means that the slightest gust of wind can blow away a packet of seeds or if dropped they get lost amongst the wood chips.  Therefore it is beneficial to be patient and wait for the right conditions which luckily happened on Saturday morning.  Finally the sun made a brief appearance and quite a few of us sped up to the plot to get on with putting those seeds in their seed trays at last.  We sowed radishes, peas for pea shoots, cauliflowers, and two types of early cabbages, three lettuce varieties, spring onions and spinach. 

There were spring onions to pick, some kale, chard, winter lettuce, parsley and mustard leaves.  There was a good patch of mustard a few days ago until the pigeons found them and made short work of the leaves.  They have had a good go at getting some of the purple sprouting leaves poking out of the raised netting, but luckily they have not dared to go under the netting any further.

In just one short week, the sycamore seedlings which were just appearing and starting to unfurl have now turned into fully fledged upright pesky blighters which will need dealing with soon if we are not to be hosting an entire new sycamore forest any time soon.  Let us hope we will get the opportunity to sort them out this coming week, weather permitting although at the moment it is not looking brilliant on the weather app.  However, to counteract those seedlings we are not wishing to encourage, it was a joy to see many self-sown nasturtium seedlings popping up.  Perhaps if sycamore seedlings were edible we might feel a little more positive about them.

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.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 18 February 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 18th February: The wild plum trees are out in blossom this week in the Sandgate Park.

The wild plum trees are out in blossom this week in the Sandgate Park.  Full of flower buds, you get to appreciate how precarious it is to be flowering this time of year and a small miracle that there are any plums on the trees at all in the summer.  The weather can be so windy, wet, and frosty giving little encouragement for any available pollinators to get out there and do the business of pollination.  We shall have to wait and see if there will be enough fruit worthy of picking in a few months’ time.

To be fair we have had a couple of sunny days during the week, but otherwise it has been pretty dismal and drizzly.  For our Wednesday morning session at Enbrook Park we were all geared up to start sowing the first seeds of the season, however it was raining again and the session was cancelled; Saturday did not fare much better either.  Luckily there is no rush to sow seeds and plenty of time to get going when the weather is more favourable as there is no joy to be had in sowing seeds in the rain or wind.

The weather cleared up enough for a few volunteers to come out from the Napier Barracks to help weed both inside and out of the brick borders at Enbrook Valley shops.  The bulbs are just starting to show flower buds and it was good to be able to clear much of the self-sown forget-me-nots which had sprouted up in many of the beds.  This is another plant that can overtake if given the chance and many were put into pots and taken to the kitchen garden at Pent Farm where there is a small wooded area.  Here they were replanted and can flower away to their hearts content with any luck.  Once we had finished weeding the borders a generous mulch of compost was added to the beds to help the plants along in the growing season to come. 

Back at Enbrook Park we are still in the process of putting down new woodchips on the smaller paths around the plot.  It was noted on closer inspection that there are already lots of sycamore seedlings starting to unfurl all over the place, so it would be an excellent idea to get out the hoes and stop them in their tracks before they start to put down some serious roots!

Our hot composter at Folkestone College is being fed every day with food waste and wood shavings.  Although it is cool outdoors, the inside of the composting tank is really starting to get up to temperature which has taken a few weeks.  The first compost to come out of the composter had not been able to get up to temperature and kill off the harmful pathogens, and so it had to be fed back into the machine to go through the system again.  After doing this for a couple more weeks, the tank is now really throwing out some heat and warmed up considerably enough to now be producing some decent compost.  Still not fully broken down, and needing more time to mature before it can be used, this compost is put into a maturation bay to break down even further.

We have had several enquiries from various organisations interested in how the hot composter works, and this week we had a visit from a representative of ‘Heart and Soil’ in Faversham.  We are really pleased to be able to share information on this form of recycling, and really hope that this method of composting cooked food can be replicated in many more areas.

What’s next?

  • Get the hoes out for some serious sycamore seedling chasing
  • Start sowing some seeds if the weather allows
  • Collect some pond weed for the new pond at Pent Farm

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 4 February 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 4th February: Taming the wild garlic and thinning the strawberries.

It has remained dry going into February, and a little milder although with a wind chill it is sometimes difficult to believe that.  The rainfall for January was a mere 45.9 mm, the driest month since last June.  It has given a chance for some of the waterlogged areas to dry out a little.  Not much around in the way of sunlight, but the daylight hours are increasing and it is still light at around 4.45pm.

The park is certainly showing signs of waking up, some of the daffodils have emerged and are flowering (none in the community garden in flower as yet, but still pushing through the ground with the bluebells), and there are some fabulous displays of snowdrops to be seen.  They really cheer you up and make you appreciate the season is at last turning towards spring.  Yet we know not to get too excited as things can dramatically change in a matter of days.

We got to grips with several of our tasks this week.  The mint which escaped from the base of a large pot and into the ground some time ago has been romping away in the compost to the point that it got itself noticed and got a good thinning to make sure it did not have the chance to take over.  Several pieces were planted in pots as part of our stock of spare plants.  The wild garlic has continued to appear in lots of places around the plot, and it has taken some time to tame it and get it back to where we are happy for it to be, but there is yet more to remove!  A happy hour or two was spent removing wayward strawberry plants crowding out the gooseberry and blackcurrant bushes which mean that there is now good access to the shrubs so that they can be pruned.  

The last of the leeks were lifted, and compost put down as mulch on the empty bed.  We are now getting close to being ready for the first seed sowing of the year, not this week, but next – always close to St. Valentine’s Day, although if the weather turns cold again then it will be delayed, so our fingers are crossed that we get an early start.

We have got our seed potatoes already and have them indoors so that their shoots can develop, known as ‘chitting’.  As usual, we have gone for early varieties, and they will not be planted until March.  Now that many of the beds are empty we can plan where all the first seedlings will be planted in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately there will not be a newsletter next week, however we will be back the following week hopefully with news of how we got on with the first sowings – of course that is if the weather is on our side!

What’s next?

  • Still need to cut back the dead nettle and the feverfew
  • Finish the strawberry job
  • Remove more of the wild garlic
  • Start work on the gooseberries

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 28 January 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 28th January: A real community event and a pleasure to share food which would otherwise have gone to waste.

We have been lucky enough to have some pleasant sunny days when we have been working in the garden this week.   Cold with some heavy frosts, so we are still limiting how long we have been staying.   Two beds of broccoli from the summer were twisted out, stripped and composted.  They have worked extremely hard and have given us so many florets, but they were now exhausted and it was time to take them up.  A good layer of compost was put down on the beds where they were, to replenish the soil. 

One of our composting nets was turned out into a maturation bay; it will be some time until we can make more compost in our circular nets as there is not enough fresh new growth this time in the year.  The ‘runners’ from the hedge were cut out, a bay tree pruned, and the dead growth in the rosemary plants were cut out – more tidying and preparing for the busy season to come.

We were fortunate enough to have a group of volunteers from the Napier barracks come out. They barrowed lots of wood chips from the bottom of the hill up to the garden. They were then laid to make a new main path going right down the centre of the garden.  We still have more paths to put down, but we have made a good start.

It was a real pleasure to drive out to the largest greenhouse complex in the UK, Thanet Earth on Wednesday.  With strict security, it is a mile from the entrance to the reception desk, driving past the most incredible glass houses containing huge tomato and bell pepper plants still producing fruits in the middle of January.  We rang to ask if Thanet Earth might have some spare produce for the Disco Soup event on Saturday, and they kindly obliged by donating two boxes of tomatoes and two of bell peppers. 

On Thursday there was a visit from the Hythe Environmental group field gleaners, bringing two crates of potatoes, a crate of broccoli and a crate of cauliflowers freshly gleaned from the farms that very day.  With all this amazing produce, some donated sourdough bread from Docker bakery, plus some salvaged bits and pieces from a couple of local supermarkets, the participants of the Disco Soup event helped to put together a delicious feast of soups, salads, and tasty roasted vegetables.  It was a real community event, and a pleasure to share food amongst so many people which would otherwise have gone to waste.  All the vegetable peelings were saved too and will be going to our hot composter at Folkestone College sometime this week, nothing has gone to waste, and a good time was had by all.  We are now going to be looking forward to the next Disco Soup event either in April or May.

What’s next?

  • Take up some of the mint starting to emerge
  • Cut back the dead nettle and take out some feverfew
  • Put down compost where the leeks were
  • Remove old leaves from the purple sprouting broccoli plants

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 21 January 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 21st January: Cold weather, awards and the return of Disco Soup.

The weather this week continues to challenge our perseverance as to how long we can manage to work in the garden before all sense of feeling in the fingers and toes disappear!  We kept the sessions to just one hour which is fine if you are being active enough.  In spite of the cold the rhubarb is starting to make an appearance which seems incredible considering much of the ground is frozen solid and we had to refrain from doing anything with some of the potted plants as they were frozen into the pots.

Despite the frosts, there were plenty of holes around the plot in evidence this week, some were dug from above ground, probably in the search for juicy worms below, but some have been dug from below ground – just small, deep gaping holes to who knows where, but interesting all the same.  It makes you ponder, thinking of the recent flooding in the UK, of the plight of the creatures living underground, and how they can possibly survive.  Luckily our garden is not prone to flooding.

The new stacking crates got labelled so that we can easily find the small tools, (such a luxury) and the rest of our time was spent weeding and cutting back dead growth or shrubs.  We had a large patch of allium triquetrum, better known as the three cornered garlic or leek.  It is quite prolific in Sandgate, and spreads like mad if given the opportunity.  It was decided to take out this large patch as we have more elsewhere anyway and it makes a great pesto, so most of it got eaten.  However be warned that this plant is not native to us and considered invasive and therefore it is an offence to introduce this plant to the wild.

We had a delivery of woodchip, and so one of our tasks for next week is to put a good layer of them on the main paths as they are breaking down fast from their last dressing of chips!  That should certainly keep us warm, although the signs are that it should be warmer outside anyway.

We have been awarded a certificate by Councillor Dr Stephen Scoffham, (cabinet member for climate, environment and biodiversity) for our community composting project at Folkestone College.  Early days, but the food composting project is underway and we are composting anything from vegetable peelings to hot dogs, fish heads and potato chips.  The cold weather does affect the composting unsurprisingly, but it will be in full swing once the air temperature and the composter temperature start to rise.

Last but not least, we are supporting the next ‘Disco Soup’ event being held next Saturday at Radnor Park Bowls Club, Radnor Park, Folkestone, from 11am to 3pm.  A great free family event all about using waste food to make a community feast, you can dance, cook and eat whilst local DJ Andy Tempest gets the party going.  Check out social media for details on how to book a free ticket.

What’s next? 

  • Get those wood chips down on the paths
  • Have the pots defrosted?
  • Empty the compost net
  • Still got hedge runners to remove

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 14 January 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 14th January: It was all about compost this week.

We have another month until we can start off the first of the seeds for the year, so most of our time is spent clearing, tidying and preparing for the growing year ahead.  It remains very cold, not so much rain and happily a little sunshine.  Some of the men from the Napier barracks came out to help us by moving yet more compost from the lower end of the park up to the garden and into our compost compound there, as well as dropping several wheelbarrow loads onto some of the beds in need of covering mulch.  At the same time a compost pile we have been adding to within the garden was turned causing a flurry of excitement by our resident robin.  The robin could be heard singing at the top of his lungs throughout the whole time we were there but was not so easy to spot and even harder to photograph.  It flit into the various compost piles whenever our gaze was averted and no doubt managed to find some good pickings from the compost wildlife.

It was time to tidy the tool box too.  Some stacking crates had been found destined for the bins but were rescued and put to good use keeping all our smaller items such as balls of string scissors, secateurs and hand trowels together, where they can now hopefully be found easily.  Woe betides any gardener who messes up the good work there for a while at least!

On Thursday there was a kombucha tasting evening at Docker Bar Sandgate.  There were some amazing flavours to sample from elderberry to fig leaf to ginger and turmeric as well as Hythe Hops, perhaps from our very own hops from 2023.

We had a visit from two ladies in the process of starting their own community garden in East Folkestone for patients with dementia.  We are always very happy to give any advice we can on starting up a garden and will be following their progress with interest.

What’s next?

  • Get a delivery of wood chips
  • Some of the main paths need a new wood chip mulch
  • Tidy the banana tree
  • Label the stacking crates

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 7 January 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 7th January: A definite sense of déjà vu.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

There is definitely a sense of déjà vu looking back at the newsletter for this time last year.  Reassuringly we are doing the very same tasks within the garden, but it seems that the weather patterns are also the same.  High winds/storms, and oodles of rain.  The rainfall for December was 87.2 mm; last December it was 88.6 mm.  The month with the highest rainfall in 2023 was November with 183.6 mm, and in 2022 it was November again but with 194.8 mm. 

Just before Christmas, we pulled up our parsnip harvest which if we are honest, we never expected to see.  We sowed the parsnip seeds just after the announcement that Enbrook Park was to be sold and decided only to sow a few because our future was uncertain and December seemed very far away at the time.  The thing about parsnips is that you never are sure what the crop is like until you get them up and out of the ground – they could be full of canker or just underwhelming.  Fortunately we were pleasantly surprised that although the harvest was small, there were a few whoppers as you can see in the picture below. 

Not much was happening in the garden over the Christmas festivities, and visits were made by a valiant few to check that netting and fleece was in place and all was generally as it should be.  It seems that there has been and are many instances of a nasty cough/cold bug going around the population, definitely not covid this time, and for some of us, something we have not had experience of for some years, or since the start of the pandemic. 

Happily there was some unexpected sunshine during our Saturday morning session which was most welcome and it was good to see some flowering primroses and the tips of the emerging daffodils appearing all over the garden and first sign that spring is actually on its way.  Unfortunately for us, the toolbox lock refused to budge which meant we had no access to tools but were quite happy chatting and generally taking stock of what was happening within the plot.  One thing that did not escape our notice was several potato plants popping up in the beds where they were planted last year.  It seems that no matter how hard you search for them on harvesting, they still get missed and rise up to haunt you the following year and always where you do not want them – just typical!

What’s next?

  • Sort out the compost area
  • Cut back the goji berries
  • Prune some of the fruit trees

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden