We have over fifty tomato plants needing homes, so if you have not got yours yet, come up to the garden on Wednesday 22nd or Saturday 25th from 10 am until noon to collect some. A small donation would be most appreciated, and help towards our running costs.
Thank goodness for some rain, it will make a world of difference; Sandgate often seems to miss any promised rain compared to other parts of Kent, so it was most welcome. Temperatures have not dropped too far and some fleece covers have stayed off, and because of lack of greenhouse space, many plants now have to cope outside to make space for the courgettes, squashes and cucumbers!
This week, there were more sowings of carrots and parsnips between other established plants so that they will be ready to take pride of place once the first crop has gone. Some cauliflower plants got planted, but weeds got a good tackling too in the fight to keep space and soil goodness just for the fruit and veg being grown. The posts did get wired, until we ran out of parts and the drill broke!
The first strawberry flowers have appeared, and so the strawberry bed has been mulched with straw to keep the anticipated fruit clean. They will have to be netted to keep pests at bay. Talking of flowers, the wild/flower area around the banana tree is looking particularly good, and a picture has been included below. Last autumn a lovely lady came up to the garden armed with a few anemones which she planted. This lady works in Nepal for much of the year, and comes back to Sandgate every now and then, so we hope she sees the picture of how her flowers are now looking – absolutely beautiful.
Bee news
Bee keepers Ray and Chris are pleased with bee progress at the garden so far and the site has been registered officially on the government database for notifications of any diseases identified locally. Astonishingly there are 115 registered apiaries within a 10km radius of our site! Wow!
What’s next?
- Annoyingly late, the asparagus plants may turn up this week and need planting
- Salad to plant and sow
- Might have a first picking of salad and salad spinach leaves
- Pot on sown squashes, courgettes and cucumbers.
- Keep watering and weeding.
Straw on strawberry beds 
115 apiaries locally Wildflower area 
Tomato plants Anemone
