Sandgate Community Garden: Update 7 April 2024

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 7th April: The rainfall for March was another massive number, 148mm.

It continues to be wet and windy with a few sunny periods. We dodged the rain on Wednesday morning to plant out the early cabbages, beetroot, spring onions, and kohlrabi. Saturday saw the planting of the coriander plants and the sowing of many zinnias. The carrots and parsnips got sown in situ, being the only seeds we put directly into the ground unless you count potatoes as a seed! With the amount of rain showers we have been getting, at least we are saved the job of having to water all the new plants in. Some of the new plants got a covering of fleece to keep out the wind and give some protection from pigeons.

Not surprisingly there is a massive amount of slugs and snails on the plot, hiding in all the nooks and crannies; however it seems we must have a thrush on site as there is a place strewn with many broken snail shells, so it is pleasing to know that nature is trying to help us out at times.

We had a small patch of celery which did very little last autumn and so we left it there as a cover crop, but it seems to have suddenly woken up and got growing again after a long winter slumber, and so before it goes to seed we cut it out and rescued what there was to eat. It is surprising how some things have come through the winter and are proving to be still alive; even the lemon verbena has just begun to sprout new shoots. The hops are really starting to climb, and so we have to pinch out many of the surplus shoots. Instead of composting them, they will be steamed and eaten as apparently they are similar to asparagus which will be a bonus if true!

Apart from all the planting and sowing of seeds we are STILL tackling the millions of sycamore seeds. Below is a photo taken of one sycamore seedling sprouting out of the wall at the brook end of the park, which only goes to prove quite how resilient they truly are. The battle continues.

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