Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 4th June: The hand of little bananas and Disco Soup.
Just as we got to the weekend, the first in June, it started to warm up, and the winds have dropped for some parts of the day. The ground is now very dry as although there has not been much in the way of sunshine, the strong winds have had a drying effect. The banana tree was just about to produce a flower pod, but the winds snapped the main stem simply because the weight of the large flower made it top heavy. We looked inside the broken flower to discover the ‘hand’ of little bananas – such a shame they never got to develop. There was only 15.3mm of rain in May, which must have happened at the beginning of May as there has been none for weeks.
We have been busy planting the celery and celeriac, as well as some leeks and a few winter squashes. More winter squashes got planted on as well as the asparagus seedlings, but the cucumber seedlings are still a little too small to be potted on. Two types of winter kale got pricked out and moved into modules to be left to grow on for a few more weeks.
We have started to pick some of the broad beans, however it is clear they have suffered, probably due to the windy, cold weather and a lack of pollinators, as many of the pods only contain about two or three beans.
Some of our time has been spent checking the gooseberry plants for the dreaded sawfly which can strip a bush of its leaves in a matter of days if they are not removed. They do not harm the development of the fruit, and often recover, but all the same having no leaves must stress the plants.
The tomatoes are starting to respond to being out of their restricting pots and in the ground. They have put on quite a bit of new growth, mostly in the way of side shoots, which means we now start the constant chore of pinching the shoots out so that they cannot develop and the tomato plants continue to grow up instead of out.
Our big news for the week is that we are starting work on completely rebuilding and reconsidering our composting methods and system, since studying the teachings on how to make compost that is full of life and the healthiest it can be for our plants. It will take some time to get up and running, but it is exciting to know that it will make a difference to the gardens. We will keep you posted on how we get on, and the changes we have made. We are most grateful to AW Rail, based in Folkestone, for giving us plenty of wood from their yard, as they are keen to make sure that any materials which they cannot use are offered to community groups and charities rather than sent to be scrapped or possibly sent to landfill.
On 24th June, some of us will be taking part in the second Disco Soup event in Folkestone. See the poster below if you are interested in joining in with this community day transforming surplus food into a feast!
What’s next?
- Sow Bellis Daisy seeds
- Sow spring onions and purple sprouting
- Collect more materials for the composting systems
- Keep checking the tomatoes for side shoots
- Check for any potatoes showing through the soil
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.