Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 8th September: The cabbage whites and are being driven mad by the smell of the brassicas.
The wet weather stayed with us this week so we put away the water pump and watering cans unless there was something to plant. Unfortunately, as is always the way, the slugs and snails have been encouraged by the wet to come out and make doilies of the Chinese cabbages and generally have a good go at anything else they can get hold of. Just to add to the mix, butterflies seem to have been brought out by the recent warm weather, or perhaps by the fact that time is getting on, and they need to reproduce quickly. However most of the butterflies are cabbage whites, and are being driven mad by the smell of the brassicas, fighting to get into the netting or just simply lay their eggs on any leaves pressed up against the close mesh. The butterfly bush behind the tool box is now at last alive with the white fluttering of their wings, with just the odd peacock making an appearance every now and then.
The fig tree has given us a few fruits this year, with more to come if we manage to beat the birds to them. At the Pent farm plot, the birds have stripped and eaten much of the sweet corn, but at Enbrook Park the issue is not birds but the badgers. It seems that perhaps the strong smelling ‘Vaporub’ we smeared on the stems did manage to mask the sweet smell of the corn, as we picked the few cobs, and very tasty they were too. However maybe we should have given the same treatment to the stems of the tomato plants as we do not seem to have any ripe fruits appearing there at all and something has certainly been paying attention to them and making a mess of the fruits.
The spinach and winter radish got planted as did more coriander, and the claytonia got pricked out into larger modules to grow on. The growth around the pond got a good cut back as did lots of the bindweed making an appearance in response to the wetter weather.
We had a visit from a representative from Taylor Wimpey with a photographer, keen to follow up having given us £300 to buy some compost and tools, and put together a press release on the subject. We spent the money just as soon as it landed in the bank account, but happily with this, and the funds we made at the Sea Festival, we will hopefully not need to worry for a little while about our finances
Now we are into September there is a slight autumnal feel in the air, we even have some sloes in the hedge. There will not be a newsletter next week, as some of us will be away for a few days, taking advantage of the last of the summer days before the autumn solstice is upon us.
What’s Next?
- Clear the summer broccoli and compost
- Clear the bindweed in the strawberry plants
- Perhaps plant out the French radish
- Check for space for more spring onions
This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.