Happy New Year!
Looking back at this time last year, not surprising it was certainly colder, and we had just suffered the consequences of storm Bella and were in full lockdown mode. It was good to be able to celebrate the end of this year with many of the volunteers in the garden, as the weather has continued to be so very mild. The last of the mulled wine and mince pies went down a treat with Christmas cake and sausage rolls, whilst the last of the parsnips got pulled, enough for all to take home a few for Christmas dinner, and very delicious they were too.
On the first day of January, it was just like a lovely spring day, warm and sunny. There were a few displaced covers to put back over some of the brassicas, and it was clear that the pigeons had been making the most of us not being around and had stripped a few plants that found themselves out in the open. Most surprising were the missing mustard salad leaves. Who would have thought they would be appreciated by the wildlife too and in such quantity. Perhaps they do not taste the same heat we do when eating them. They are now re-covered in the hope they may sprout again with any luck.
Compost bin number one finally got turned; a great workout for the first day back. For several weeks before Christmas it was full to overflowing and had to be pressed into any spaces and even jumped up and down on. Yet after the Christmas break it had sunk down nicely and when turned into the same sized bin number two, only just about filled it half way with room for more at a later date. Turning the compost in the first bin is not a job for the feint hearted. It can be full of tiny flies that billow out from the cover when lifted, and as you proceed with the turning into the next bin, usually has the most pungent aroma. However the unpleasantness is short lived, and once turned, all is right again. After this initial turn, the compost becomes odourless, and apart from being full of wriggling worms, really does look almost good enough to eat! Turning the compost also reveals what did happen to the secateurs when they went missing, as well as the fact that a month of Sundays will never decompose foil or plastics mistakenly placed in compost bins!
Compost/soil is a most fascinating subject, and this link will take you to a BBC short video which explains all sorts of interesting facts:
For example there are more micro-organisms in one teaspoon of soil than people on the planet earth, our UK soil is a mere 15,000 years old, and the video explains in simple terms the trade between plants and fungi within the soil. Such a complex topic we still understand so little about, and yet is what ‘no dig’ gardening is all about – relying on the health and vitality of the soil to grow crops.
This time of year is perfect for reflecting on the growing year just gone and planning for the next. Yule, and the shortest day have gone, and before we know it, February will be upon us and we start seed sowing once more. In preparation, and as a Christmas gift to ourselves, we have invested in some new long handled dibbers (pictured below) which will hopefully make planting out much easier than using the shorter and smaller versions.
Now is a good time to order new seeds; seeds are another little understood subject which deserves and needs to be investigated further. On Saturday 22nd January, there will not be many of us at the garden as some of us have booked to attend a short course or introduction to seeds and seed saving at the Locavore growing project at Martello Primary school in Folkestone, led by Seed Sovereignty UK. We are looking forward to meeting up again with other local community groups committed to community-based food production , Incredible Edible, Feeding Folkestone, Kent Food Hub, and of course Locavore. It will certainly be a very interesting and informative day.
What’s next?
- Still more mulching to be done
- Review the seed stock situation
- Sort out the retrieved secateurs from the compost bin
- The French marigolds have finally stopped flowering and need composting
- Tidy around the compost bins
