Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 6th May: Bore Place, Bumblebees and Muddy Wellies.
The rainfall for April was 89.5mm, so it is hardly surprising we have been looking forward to signs of warmth and better days. A couple of good sunny days this week have suddenly revived most of the plants and we have had to start watering newly planted seedlings and potted plants.
On Tuesday a few of us had a meeting at Bore Place near Sevenoaks with the Kent Food Partnership. We were treated to a tour of their organic market garden, and although on a much larger scale, it was somewhat reassuring to know that the head gardener was experiencing exactly the same issues as we are; having to hold back planting many plants until the conditions are right. In forty years of gardening, he has never known such a cold and wet spring. Fortunately we do not have to make a living from selling food, and it reminds you that all growers are at the mercy of nature and weather which can affect them financially.
This week we have been busy sowing more leeks and the first of the beans. The pigeons took a liking to the courgette and squash seedlings, fortunately many were saved although we will need to sow a few more. New lettuce plants were put into spaces where they were missing in the lettuce bed, and the growing tips of the broad beans were pinched out to deter the blackfly which are just starting to appear. We shared the growing tips as they can be eaten as a salad leaf or steamed. The alley garden has been weeded as well as the orchard area in Sandgate Park.
On Thursday some of us joined the Sandgate Environmental Action Group on a bumblebee walk at Pent Farm in Postling. This gave us an opportunity to try catching bees to enable us to identify them before returning them back to where they were seen foraging. It was a lovely evening and we did manage to find some bumblebees although there seemed to be more honey bees in evidence. It was a delight to see that the house martins were busy searching for food, and the skylarks can be heard above the fields.
On Friday there was an invite from the community Garden ‘Muddy Wellies’ to see their orchard in full flower. It was indeed a spectacular sight. Just two years ago some of us helped to prune the overgrown cherry orchard which is now in great shape. If the blossom is anything to go by, they could be in for a bumper crop of cherries which they sell to raise funds for the garden.
What’s next?
- Still need to check the hops
- Prick out the Zinnia seedlings
- Sow a few more lettuces and courgettes/squash
- Sort out tomato plants
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.