At last the cold stuff has arrived at the very end of November, and you can begin to think that the festive season really is around the corner. Plenty more leaves have fallen from the trees although some are still in place, however a good blast of wind probably due to come along any time now will do the trick, and the leaf clearing will soon be over. We have managed to fill our leaf bin full to the brim, and have squashed leaves into every available gap to make space for more. We cleared some of the herbs that had bolted, although the flower heads, such as the Dill, are full of flavour and good to mix into salad leaves. We had a few last onion sets to plant in any spaces where nocturnal animal visitors or birds had pulled them up and given them a taste! Fortunately none of the raiders seem to like onions and either spit them out half chewed or simply drop them on the path.
We had a most welcome message from ‘Seed Craft’ during the week, offering us a box of garlic for which we were most grateful. Still time to plant onions and garlic if you have not done so already.
More compost got bagged up to use at the alleyway and Golden Valley.as part of the great annual compost mulch for all ‘no dig’ enthusiasts. This is the time to dress as many of the beds as possible with a layer of new compost, and there certainly is plenty to do there. Paul, the Grounds Manager of Enbrook Park, took great pity on us having to barrow the newly acquired compost uphill to the garden from where it had to be delivered, and using some machinery, got it up to the garden for us! Not sure quite how, but one day it was down the hill outside the garden, and the next day, up the hill and in the garden…..happy days, thank you Paul! Now we can mulch away to our hearts content! Saturday was to have been the day to make a start, but we had to dodge the heavy showers mixed with hail, and just about managed to get the broad bean beds covered with fleece in preparation for promised frosts.on Sunday and Monday.
The greatest news of the week is that the fruit and nut trees at Sandgate and Fremantle Parks got planted at last after the initial hiccup in arranging planting days which did not then happen. There were twenty five trees in total. Apples, pears, plums, cherry and cob nut trees. There were twenty four bought and paid for, but we found a cheeky interloper hidden amongst them and thought we had better plant it anyway. We are most grateful to all those who came along to do the hard work, and there is now a small orchard in each park which we will all be watching over and helping to take care of.
There are future plans to develop the areas under and around the trees, and we understand there will be official ceremonies to welcome the trees in June 2022, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and organised by the Sandgate Parish Council. Thank you Parish Council for thinking of providing fruit and nut trees, giving flower and fruit for wildlife and local fellow humans to enjoy for many years to come. We understand that it is possible to sponsor one of the trees for £100 by contacting the Sandgate Parish Clerk Gaye Thomas at clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk or by calling 01303 248563. The trees are semi-dwarfing varieties and will therefore not grow to be enormous!
What’s next?
- Start on that mulching at Enbrook
- Fill in any broad bean gaps
- Plant some pea shoot boxes for the cold frames
- Still more leaves to collect, the final push? Put fleece over the spinach and check on the brassica netting
Fremantle Park tree planting Fremantle Park new orchard Sandgate Park tree planting Sandgate Park new orchard
