Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 30th July: Watching carefully for signs of tomato blight.
It was surely tempting fate to mention the dreaded tomato blight in the newsletter last week, as the following day it was found in a group of tomato plants at Pent Farm. The tomatoes there are planted indoors as well as out, and in several locations. The affected plants were close together and in bush form, whereas the others are cordons with space around them. So far these are the only infected plants we have found, and they have been quickly removed, but we will keep a close eye on all the others.
It has to be said that the tomato plants at Enbrook Park are looking particularly splendid, and you can see from the picture below that they are taller than most of the gardeners and as they have plenty of trusses as well as outgrown their supports, we have started to pinch out the tops to prevent any more growth upwards. The suspicion is that some of our wildlife is sampling some of the lower fruits as we often find half chewed and unripe morsels scattered about the plot.
During the week we unsurprisingly had little watering to do except for new plantings of spring onions and purple sprouting and a few potted plants. More lettuces and endives got sown, and weeds cleared in the brassica beds. The butterfly bush or buddleia behind our tool box was truly living up to its name this week as it has been smothered in butterflies. Interestingly, all the butterflies were red admirals, and it was great just to stop working for a while to watch them enjoying the flowers.
The chokeberries or aronias got netted in anticipation of them being eaten by the wildlife as they did last year. They are rich in antioxidants and ‘essential nutrients that promote healthy growth of cells and protect tissues from damage’. They have a sharp, sour taste which may not be popular with everybody, however just a few added to cereal or porridge will be beneficial.
The pond has certainly improved due to the rainfall, and of course the duckweed has made an appearance once more which we are keeping in check by spending some time fishing it out with a net.
It has been a task this year to get hold of woodchips. We use wood chips to create paths on the plot and to mix with other materials to make our compost. Through a chance encounter, Alistair, our compost champion, met a tree surgeon willing to drop us a truckload of chips for a small charge. So happily we now have a great pile of the stuff and can stop scratching around trying to scrape up the last bits we had left!
What’s next?
- Lots of seeds need sowing this week!
- Cut back the hedge
- Bring up some of the wood chips to the composting area
- Prick out some of the new seedlings
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.