Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 26th February: Seasonality, and the mole in our midst.
No, we do not have any tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries or bell peppers growing in the garden at the moment, and it seems the supermarkets do not have any either. The global market has told us that we can have any fruit or vegetable we want at any time of the year, and so we have come to expect that. When the far away countries that grow those things to be brought here suffer the effects of bad weather and the crops fail, the fact we cannot get such things creates some panic as happened this week across the country. We will and can grow such crops, but not until late summer will we be able to eat them, for a time of maybe between two and ten weeks if we are lucky; and what a treat that will be – something to look forward to. What a pity it is that many of us no longer know what is in season in the UK and are probably buying whatever is on the supermarket shelf little realising that these foods have travelled halfway across the globe to get there. What a cost to the planet, what a cost to our own UK food production and the loss of many untried seasonal and local dishes.
We have been sowing more seeds this week, and many have now germinated, and are being put outside to shiver in this winter sunshine under the protection of cold frames. The increased daylight hours are all important, the sunshine is a bonus, but the protection from the cold blasts of wind is what saves them. Probably the most frustrating conundrum is trying to find a suitable seed and general compost that is fit for purpose. It is almost impossible to recommend or stick with any one brand as the content varies all the time and basically you never know what you are going to get or even if it is any good – sometimes they can be so diabolical that nothing wants to thrive in them. It continues to be a constant problem and guessing game. However, so far, so good, and most of our seeds are growing.
Talking of compost – a couple of us went all the way to Horsham in West Sussex by invitation of the head gardener of a huge spa and hotel, boasting three restaurants, serving fruit and vegetables from the walled garden and extensive grounds. In the garden there is a ‘Tidy Planet Rocket aerobic composter’ which is capable of composting all food scraps, peelings and general food waste from the premises; producing a fine compost within a matter of two weeks which is later put back on the gardens to grow even more food. Our mission was to see this composting beast in the flesh as up to now we had only read about it, and wanted to speak to somebody who actually has and uses the thing. It was most interesting, the machine does do what it says it can do, and we had a great time seeing the kitchen garden and talking to the head gardener about all things to do with compost and vegetables – in particular the trials and tribulations of working with demanding chefs with little notion of the job of the gardeners, together with some of the amazing dishes they can produce that most of us will never see the like of at £90 and upwards per head!
The February meeting of the Sandgate Environmental Action group was held this week in the Old Fire Station. There was a talk from Nikki Gammans of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which was absolutely fascinating. There is nothing that Nikki cannot tell you about bumblebees, and we are hoping that the trust will come out to Pent Farm where some of us are volunteers, to record the bees in residence there.
Wildlife was something we were concerned with during the week when one of our volunteers spent some time removing more leaves from our pond. We always make sure the leaves are left at the side of the pond so that any creatures can crawl back into the water. We were pleased to see that there were many interesting creatures amongst the leaves, and helped some of them to get back to their home. One of them is pictured below.
The Sandgate Park in Military Road also has a new addition to the wildlife population – a mole; in fact it seems a rather massive mole as you can see from the picture below, the mole hills are rather spectacular in size and are in evidence around the newly planted trees as part of the ‘Queen’s Green Canopy’ and now making their way right across the park. Cheeky!
What’s next?
- Prick out the other half of the lettuces
- Put down some more wood chips
- Keep picking the kale sprouting flowers
- Weed around the asparagus beds
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.