Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 5th March: Good news from Thanet Earth.
Believe it or not we were actually short of rain for the month of February, with a mere 10.3mm of the wet stuff registered. It continues to be chilly so the seedlings are still not moving much. In the past we would have planted the radishes and the pea shoots by now, but they are still not quite ready, and with the threat of frosts to come this week, we have halted the seed sowing until it warms up a bit more. We have been busy pricking out the lettuce seedlings, as well as the early cabbages and cauliflowers as they really needed to be moved into larger pots before they got too many roots to be able to separate easily.
On Tuesday, some of us went to an event held by Low Carbon Kent at Brogdale Farm to find out about the possibility of being matched with a business or producer that has organic waste as a by-product which could be put to another use. We would have been interested in being matched with a cob nut farmer who has loads of nut husks to dispose of which we could have used to make paths or simply to compost, however the farm was in Tonbridge and therefore too far a journey. However the concept is a great one as we all know that one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure.
On Friday the garden at Enbrook Park had a visit from ‘The Black Gardener’ Danny Clarke, garden designer and television presenter who has worked on various garden shows for the BBC, ITV and Channel 5. He came with a film crew from Saga to talk about the garden, how it was started and the features within it. He was able to recognise that it was a ‘no dig’ garden from the mounds of compost on the beds and the wood chip paths. It was really interesting to hear about his career and the projects he is currently working on as well as his garden at the Chelsea Flower Show last year. The film is to be put together and it is hoped that we may be able to send out a link on its completion so that you can see it too.
That was enough excitement for one week!
Having got on the soap box last week to comment on the lack of tomatoes and cucumbers from abroad and suggesting it would be more environmentally beneficial to eat seasonal and local; it seems that if you really cannot do without tomatoes and cucumbers in winter, you can buy them from the visiting greengrocer at the Saturday morning market in the Folkestone West station car park. They come direct from Thanet Earth, Kent; and happily, the cucumbers are not wrapped in plastic. Of course the great news is they have not travelled far but the cost has come from having to heat and light those massive greenhouses.
What’s next?
- Supporting Touchbase Care by collecting compost
- Keep an eye on the temperatures this coming week
- Might have to transplant more seedlings
- Keep checking the netting as there are hungry pigeons around
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.