Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 8th October: We would certainly recommend eating vegetables from the Garden if you can.
It continues to be dry again and many things such as celeriac, leeks, radishes, and salad leaves are trying hard to swell or put on growth but have to make do with their rations of water. The rainfall for all of September was a mere 28.8 mm and there has been nothing so far in October. There seems a small chance that we may see some rain towards the end of next week but we shall see.
This week we took down the cucumber structure, always sad when a crop has finished and you know it will be many months until you get to taste that particular crop once more from the garden.
We had the honour this week of providing a few salads for the Sandgate Society’s wine tasting event at the John Dory. We sent a few tomatoes, spring onions, salad leaves, cucumber and radishes. You can tell from the photos of the event and the subsequent reporting, that a great time was had by all, and we received a lovely mention:
‘Accompanying the cheese & meat platters was a salad garnish provided by our Sandgate Community Garden – and goodness, the taste of the leaves, tomatoes, radishes (that big?) and herbs reminded us of how food USED to taste – and still can. We would certainly recommend eating vegetables from the Garden if you can.‘
As a group we have often commented on the great flavour of the fruit and vegetables grown in the garden. We put it down to slow grow, real soil, organic methods and no digging. So many of our fruit and vegetables these days are grown hydroponically, under cover, and bombarded with chemicals of one kind of another. Whereas ours gets hit by all weathers, and we have to share with most of the wildlife which like them too – we just have to get used to a few holes. However we know it is the soil which really makes the difference, and we strive to make great compost.
Since embarking on our latest compost making adventures, we have come across a new addition – Bokashi bran. The Bokashi method is used for composting all organic waste. It was developed in Japan and used in Asia to ferment food prior to composting. The process uses lactobacillus bacteria to predigest waste matter, which eliminates odours and decreases composting time. As you walk through the garden, you might be mistaken in thinking that you were within a brewery as the Bokashi bran is being added to all our compost piles, and onto the beds. The smell is quite delicious, if you like that sort of thing of course! The last ingredient we are looking to source for our compost is biochar – so if you are reading this and you know of someone who makes the stuff, then we would be delighted to hear from you.
During the week we were joined by some of the men from Napier Barracks to help us clear some of the growth at Fremantle Park. Things have certainly been growing in leaps and bounds and it was a matter of trying to cut our way through the jungle, however we made a good start and will be returning once more this coming week to tackle it again.
On Friday a couple of us went to Canterbury University to attend the Kent Food Partnership and University of Kent Right to Food Summit. The event was ‘to plan how we can create a sustainable food system in Kent that provides healthy and affordable food for all’. This is a massive project as you can well imagine, however we are proud to be included within this partnership and be able to contribute to the conversations.
What’s next?
- Finish adding the Bokashi
- Make sure the last of the celery is out
- Keep watering
- More seedlings to pot up
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.