Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 27th March: Sowing and more sowing, tomatoes coming soon and reclassifying snails.
The days seem to be racing along, so much to do and little time to squeeze it all in. We did manage to catch up with ourselves this week and finished the list of jobs from the week before. We can tell that the keen gardeners out there are responding to the warm weather and getting tasks done in the garden. Many thanks to Enid, Peter and Isobel for the donations of terracotta and decorative pots for which we are grateful as we are working towards gathering plants for our plant sales later on in the year; larger pots are always useful for displays or some larger plants. Talking of plant sales, our usual tomato plant sale will be announced soon as we will have many spares for sure. This year we have at least ten varieties on the go, but you will need to be patient as we grow for planting outside, and plants will not be available for at least another four weeks.
The parsnips all got sown, and the last of the seed potatoes planted. More seeds sown in February are now ready to take their chances outside such as coriander, many varieties of lettuce, mange tout, spring onions, and spring cabbages. Celeriac got sown as did more coriander, and bulb fennel. The purple sprouting is looking fantastic, and in spite of being got at by pigeons along the way, they are producing some lovely broccoli spears as shown in the picture below. This is the first time we have tried this variety called ‘Claret’, and we will be sticking with it for sure when sowing again this year. Some of the kale got completely stripped by pigeons during the winter, but sheltered under some netting, has recovered just in time to give us some more leaves.
Some of us have been continuing work on a new patch of land in a back street of Sandgate. It got covered in card and compost some months ago and will soon be ready to be planted up. It is close to one of our gardeners house, and the neighbours have been commenting on how loved it looks already, and appreciate the few daffodils that have popped up there. It is always possible to transform a scruffy overgrown area with a little bit of love and attention, it just takes time and the will to make it happen.
Talking of transformations, Fremantle Park just gets better and better. The picnic benches have been in place for a while now, and much appreciated by families and visitors to the park. We have had several comments from locals that they really appreciate the space and how much more attractive it has become with all the recent plantings and care, so thank you to the Parish Council and the community gardeners, the park is a real asset to the area and seems to be very well used.
On Saturday afternoon, some of us went to visit a ‘no dig’ allotment at Newington, hosted by a good friend of ours, Erica. It was inspiring to see so many different growing styles going on at the allotment site, and of course, we had to partake in plenty of cake eating, washed down with tea made on site in a little shed with a tiny stove and kettle. The sun was shining and it was bliss. We hope to make more visits to different gardens later on in the year.
ITV Meridian got in touch this week and came to Sandgate Community Garden at Enbrook to film a short piece based on the fact that the RHS have decided that slugs and snails are no longer classified as pests in the garden. The article could well be shown sometime next week but who knows!
What’s next?
- Prick out all the tomato plants
- Lots more seeds to sow this week
- Start to clear the mustards
- Clear the old Romanesco bed
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.
