Sandgate Community Garden

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 21st April: We must have pricked out more than three hundred marigold seedlings this week.

We were all feeling quite optimistic last week that the weather had taken a turn for the better and it was going to get warmer.  Unfortunately that did not last too long before we were back to showers and biting cold winds again, with no respite on the horizon for at least a week!

We have the luxury of sheltering our tender plants such as the tomatoes in a greenhouse on Pent Farm, however the growing pace has slowed down and some of them are showing signs of being too cold as there is no heating.  At times the temperature has gone down to four degrees during the night.  You can see from a picture below that the indigo tomatoes (a black variety) on the left, are showing their true colour, which they would not do ordinarily.  Our fingers are crossed that they can survive and perhaps pick up again soon.  It makes you realise how precarious it can be growing food at times because to lose all of our tomato stock at this stage would be not quite disastrous, because we do not have to rely on the food we grow, but a real shame.  There is nothing finer than home grown tomatoes picked fresh from the plant.

Another issue with greenhouse growing is that mice have an amazing ability to be able to get inside somehow, and find the more substantial seeds such as squashes and courgettes.  So it is that we shall have to sow more seeds found and eaten in this way.  There is always something that wants to eat whatever you are growing.  Remember this fact when buying fruit or vegetables from the supermarket how much in the way of chemicals have gone into producing that perfect product and the cost to wildlife and the soil.

We must have pricked out more than three hundred marigold seedlings this week for both Pent Farm and Enbrook.  Used as a companion plant, they add great colour to a site and can be as tough as old boots once they get going, able to flower until the first frosts.  There were also lots of zinnias and cosmos to tackle too and still plenty more that need potting on later next week.  One of the pictures below shows a nasturtium plant growing merrily away at the end of one of our compost bins.  The seed must have been composted but had the conditions to sprout and grow on probably because of all the rain.

What’s next?

• Still jobs carried over from last week such as lemon balm removal and repotting the pot plants.

• Prick out more seedlings

• Take out the last of the celeriac

• Put some compost on a couple of beds

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 14th April: All hands on deck and only time to chat if we were busy with a job as well. 

Things have picked up at a great pace this week with some lovely sunshine and warm days; we managed to get in two whole sessions at the garden.   Where we used to have plenty of time to chat and pack away early if all the tasks had been completed, this week it was all hands on deck and only time to chat if we were busy with a job as well. 

One of our gardeners had a sort out at home and brought some garden chairs up to the plot so that it was sheer luxury to sit in the sun on a proper chair sowing the courgette and squash plants.  More trays of radishes and spring onions got sown as well as more pots of leeks.  The calabrese, lettuces, spring onions, bulb fennel, and a few onions got planted. We were delighted to see that the potatoes are showing through the soil. The gooseberry bushes are in full flower as well as the honey berries.  The time sped by this week and there are still outstanding tasks which will have to be moved into next week.

On Thursday there was a visit from two of the Green Councillors, Rebecca Shoob and Polly Blakemore to our hot composter situated in the grounds of Folkestone College.  They were interested in finding out how the composter works.  We are always pleased to show off our great composter and are looking forward to the day when we have lots of compost to share with the wider community. 

What’s Next?

• Repot lots of the pot plants

• Take up much of the lemon balm overtaking the orchard area

• Sow more seeds

• Lots of flowers to prick out and pot on

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

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.

What’s Next?

• If the weather is good, start to sow the squashes

• Sow more spring onion seeds

• Sow more leeks

• Pot up and remove lots of lemon balm

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 24th March: Six Inches of Soil.

Happy Easter!

The clocks have changed and the Easter holiday season is upon us.  We have had less of the wet stuff this week and temperatures are gradually rising. That, combined with longer daylight hours, means the seedlings are starting to grow even faster.  This is of course a good thing – apart from the sycamore seedlings covering the plot which continue to plague us. 

We cut the very first asparagus spears which were really fat and juicy, unlike the pickings of the sprouting broccoli which are starting to lose some vigour, becoming smaller and more spindly with each harvest.  It will eventually get to the point where we cannot be bothered to pick the small offerings and decide to pull the plants up.  The Nero kale had started to flower and so they were removed and composted. The curly kale is showing no sign of flowering just yet. 

Wednesday was a particularly busy day with a ‘Green Impact Forum’ organised by the Kent Community Foundation.  It was a great opportunity to listen and contribute to discussions around green issues – to be able to catch up with acquaintances as well as meet new individuals and community groups. 

In the evening there was a showing of the much awaited documentary film ‘Six Inches of Soil’.  The film is about regenerative farming, following three new farmers over the year in 2022.  It was truly inspirational, and gives hope for a much needed overhaul of our farming and food systems.  The film is touring the country and the message will hopefully get to as many people as possible.  The film was paid for through ‘crowd funding’ and has been several years in the making from start to finish – it has been a long wait to eventually see it.

Talking of filmmaking, one of our gardeners, Theresa, has been awarded winner of the best environmental film at the Folkestone Film Festival for her story ‘I Am Tree’.  Theresa was so upset at the loss of several trees in Sandgate because of housing developments recently, that she felt inspired to write the script and get the film made.  The sky is the limit now as the film goes on to other film festivals and we eagerly wait to see how it fares.

It seems there is no end to our gardeners’ talents.  We were treated on Saturday to two different types of homemade sourdough freshly baked that very morning for us to trial.  Both loaves were absolutely delicious and won our votes!  We continue to swap recipes and share good food as the learning certainly does not stop with just the growing and sharing of the food we grow in the garden.

What’s Next?

• Keep attacking the sycamore seedlings

• Plant out some of the early cabbages

• Plant out the beetroot

• Check on the growth of the hops

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 24th March: Unleash the ladybirds.

We were lucky to be able to get along to our gardening sessions Wednesday and Saturday without being rained on although it seems to have rained for most of the other days.  On Saturday there was a biting wind so that sitting still for too long pricking out seedlings was not to be recommended.  However we did for a while so that the aubergines were potted up for the greenhouse at Pent Farm, and yet more tomatoes pricked out to go with those we did on Wednesday.

Wednesday felt warmer than Saturday, and it seems the ladybirds thought so too, enough to come out from their hibernation spaces which it seems are in all the nooks and crannies of the entire fence.  They were appearing in droves, sunning themselves on the fence, then flying off mostly into the garden.  We have never seen quite so many in one go.  We have seen plenty before but never as many as this.  It is a good job they are a friend of the garden or we would be in trouble for sure.

We have been rewarded with some sprouting broccoli, the bits that did not get eaten by the pigeons, and were somewhat bewildered to understand why what should be purple sprouting is actually white.  It is just another example of seed companies having free reign to mostly do as they like and you can never really be sure of what you are getting until you do the growing.  It tastes the same of course but it was not what we were expecting.

Talking of tasting – Leanne, one of our gardeners, has just completed a course to qualify in Nutrition in Culinary Practice.  Her final task was to create a five day menu, and needless to say she came top of the class with some of the most interesting recipes.  She brought along to the garden some pickled magnolia flowers, which it has to be said were delicious – who would have known unless you try these things.  As a group we are proud of her achievements and will be interested to see how her career develops as a result.

The potatoes got planted, although it was a case of having to remove yet more sycamore seedlings where they had previously been hoed just a few days before, to give space for the spuds.

Hard to believe it will be Easter this coming week, and the clocks will be going forward.  This year seems to be galloping by fast!

What’s next?

• Keep hoeing those sycamores

• Finish staking the broad beans

• Remove the last of the spring onions

• Label the potato bed

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 17th March: Spring seems to have snuck in through the back door.

Just about everyone is fed up with the weather locally, and so it has continued with cold winds, and frequent showers just to add to the already ridiculously high water table.  However spring really has arrived even if it seems to have sneaked in through the back door.  There are so many buds just about to burst and new things are popping up all over the place.  Unfortunately we are still under a tsunami of sycamore seeds and spending time hoeing as much as we can, however now that spring has arrived we are having to be ultra-careful in places because the first of the asparagus spears are poking through the ground and one of them got hoed before it was noticed.

On Saturday the sun did actually show itself and it was warm enough to want to take your coat off.  We planted the peas for pea shoots and some radishes, the very first plantings of the year.  They had to be covered with a good layer of fleece just to keep off the night chill and for some protection from the winds.  It was also the first time we had used water from the bowser to water in the plants, but on opening the lid to access the inner water cap to check the water level, several great fat bumble bees flew out, startled at being disturbed.  Last year it was full of ladybirds – interesting how the wildlife looks for shelter in the most unexpected places.

One of our tasks was to put a layer of wood chips onto the working compost heap which was when it was discovered that the wheelbarrow tyre had given up on life and was very much useless, so another tyre will have to be purchased.  It has to be said our wheelbarrows do get well used and we probably get through a couple of tyres every year.

The marigolds have been pricked out into trays and will go to the greenhouse at Pent farm to bask in some sunshine for a while.  It looks like it will not be too long before the tomatoes will need sorting out as six of our varieties have emerged already.

What’s Next?

• Wind supporting string around the base of the broad beans

• Prick out the tomatoes to grow on

• Fix the wheelbarrow

• Take out the sycamore seedlings by hand on asparagus beds

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 10th March: Spring flowers are in full bloom and the daffodils are out.

It feels like spring has been such a very long time coming, but with none of our gardening sessions cancelled due to bad weather this past week, we are beginning to think that spring may at last be just around the corner.  Apparently this winter has been the fourth wettest, and the second warmest since records began.  February was the warmest and wettest on record, 0.6 degrees centigrade warmer than 1990. 

Our spring flowers are in full bloom; the daffodils are out, the early pulmonaria is flowering beautifully, as are the first of the broad beans and all of a sudden the purple sprouting started to show their edible blooms in the very centre or crown of the plants.  We have been watching our purple sprouting broccoli for some months now, looking forward to this time when we can anticipate picking the very first flower heads, and so it seems have the local pigeons.  Having not long said that a few of the plants had been nibbled around the edges but that was all, it seems they have become bolder or is it more desperate, and have decided to really have a go and have stripped several plants of their leaves. 

The daffodils around the plot, either in the ground or in the pots or containers have greatly increased in number over the past couple of years, so much so that it might be a good idea to divide them and replant so that they will not be taking up too much room.  One of our major tasks this week was to start to get to grips with the sycamore seedlings and yet more of the wild garlic.  We set about doing just that but after an hour or so of weeding, you would be forgiven for having lost the will to live and find you are in need of tackling something else – we suspect it will take some time to clear them and so the job will remain on the ‘to do’ list for a while yet. 

The hops are just starting to emerge from their slumber and show themselves above ground.  We will soon have to divide them too as they are also becoming too large, and splitting them will hopefully rejuvenate them.  Also seen emerging has been a good number of ladybirds.  They are so brightly coloured that they are easy to spot on the fresh green leaves of the celeriac and the duller green of the sage. 

No missed sessions has meant that we are practically up to date with our seed sowing.  We have now sown the tomatoes and various varieties of lettuce as well as some aubergines, sweet peppers and chillies for the newly constructed wheelchair accessible greenhouse at Pent Farm.

Now is the time when we are reminded of where certain crops were growing last year as any rogue potatoes left uncollected in the plots have decided to show themselves by sprouting lots of new leaves above ground, and the same with the parsnips. It seems no matter how hard you try to collect the entire crop; some of the blighters still like to tease.

What’s Next?

• Probably need to transplant some seedlings

• Keep hoeing those sycamore seedlings

• Start staking the broad beans

• Keep checking the broccoli netting

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 3rd March: It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn.

Start building that ark!  It is no surprise that farmers are reporting the loss of crops sown in the autumn, and many fields are sitting under water.  Even if the rain stopped right now it will be some time before the water subsides, becomes unsaturated and machinery can get back onto the land.  Fortunately the small scale growers will not have to wait so long to access the land, but all the same, cropping will be affected for some time and going into summer.

The rainfall for February was a massive 198.4mm, the wettest February for sure.  In 2022 and 2023 the wettest month of the year was November for us here in Sandgate, but still they did not beat this February.  Apparently it was also the warmest February on record, so says the Met Office – not that it feels like it when it is cold and damp with a gale force wind bringing a minus chill factor, but apparently so!

Needless to say our Wednesday morning session was cancelled due to rain.  We are getting behind with all the seed sowing and because Saturday morning was showery with the wind blowing a hoolie, we decided to gather together at a kitchen table and sow seeds indoors and not risk them being blown away!  Supplemented with a delicious homemade freshly baked sourdough loaf made that morning by one of our talented gardeners, and plenty of hot drinks, we caught up with some chat much missed when sessions get cancelled.  It has to be said we have never had to cancel so many.  

We are ever optimistic that things can only get better, and our list of tasks remain the same as last week except of course that the reprieved sycamore seedlings will be even larger and more troublesome before we get to them with any luck, next week.  Onwards and upwards.

What’s next?

• More seed sowing

• Get hoeing the sycamore seedlings!

• Get some pond weed for the Pent Farm pond from the Enbrook pond

• Move some of the nasturtium seedlings

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 25th February: There has been far too much weather going on this week.

There has been far too much weather going on this week to be able to get on with tasks that need doing.  The rain has been the main feature and the session for Wednesday had to be cancelled. It is all too easy to be negative about so much rain and probably need to reflect on how much our Napier Barracks volunteers appreciate these rainy days because it makes the land so very green and lush.  We have been collecting rainwater from all the structures at Pent Farm over the winter and have now accumulated nearly 12,000 litres for the growing plot there.  Last year we had just 8,000 litres to get us through the driest months of the year which luckily was not too hot and dry.  Hopefully we might be able to manage this summer with what we have; time will tell.

The main activity was going to be seed sowing this week, but not having any shelter in the garden at Enbrook Park means that the slightest gust of wind can blow away a packet of seeds or if dropped they get lost amongst the wood chips.  Therefore it is beneficial to be patient and wait for the right conditions which luckily happened on Saturday morning.  Finally the sun made a brief appearance and quite a few of us sped up to the plot to get on with putting those seeds in their seed trays at last.  We sowed radishes, peas for pea shoots, cauliflowers, and two types of early cabbages, three lettuce varieties, spring onions and spinach. 

There were spring onions to pick, some kale, chard, winter lettuce, parsley and mustard leaves.  There was a good patch of mustard a few days ago until the pigeons found them and made short work of the leaves.  They have had a good go at getting some of the purple sprouting leaves poking out of the raised netting, but luckily they have not dared to go under the netting any further.

In just one short week, the sycamore seedlings which were just appearing and starting to unfurl have now turned into fully fledged upright pesky blighters which will need dealing with soon if we are not to be hosting an entire new sycamore forest any time soon.  Let us hope we will get the opportunity to sort them out this coming week, weather permitting although at the moment it is not looking brilliant on the weather app.  However, to counteract those seedlings we are not wishing to encourage, it was a joy to see many self-sown nasturtium seedlings popping up.  Perhaps if sycamore seedlings were edible we might feel a little more positive about them.

What’s next?

• More seed sowing

• Get hoeing the sycamore seedlings!

• Get some pond weed for the Pent Farm pond from the Enbrook pond

• Move some of the nasturtium seedlings

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.

Sandgate Community Garden Team Diary Entry for 18th February: The wild plum trees are out in blossom this week in the Sandgate Park.

The wild plum trees are out in blossom this week in the Sandgate Park.  Full of flower buds, you get to appreciate how precarious it is to be flowering this time of year and a small miracle that there are any plums on the trees at all in the summer.  The weather can be so windy, wet, and frosty giving little encouragement for any available pollinators to get out there and do the business of pollination.  We shall have to wait and see if there will be enough fruit worthy of picking in a few months’ time.

To be fair we have had a couple of sunny days during the week, but otherwise it has been pretty dismal and drizzly.  For our Wednesday morning session at Enbrook Park we were all geared up to start sowing the first seeds of the season, however it was raining again and the session was cancelled; Saturday did not fare much better either.  Luckily there is no rush to sow seeds and plenty of time to get going when the weather is more favourable as there is no joy to be had in sowing seeds in the rain or wind.

The weather cleared up enough for a few volunteers to come out from the Napier Barracks to help weed both inside and out of the brick borders at Enbrook Valley shops.  The bulbs are just starting to show flower buds and it was good to be able to clear much of the self-sown forget-me-nots which had sprouted up in many of the beds.  This is another plant that can overtake if given the chance and many were put into pots and taken to the kitchen garden at Pent Farm where there is a small wooded area.  Here they were replanted and can flower away to their hearts content with any luck.  Once we had finished weeding the borders a generous mulch of compost was added to the beds to help the plants along in the growing season to come. 

Back at Enbrook Park we are still in the process of putting down new woodchips on the smaller paths around the plot.  It was noted on closer inspection that there are already lots of sycamore seedlings starting to unfurl all over the place, so it would be an excellent idea to get out the hoes and stop them in their tracks before they start to put down some serious roots!

Our hot composter at Folkestone College is being fed every day with food waste and wood shavings.  Although it is cool outdoors, the inside of the composting tank is really starting to get up to temperature which has taken a few weeks.  The first compost to come out of the composter had not been able to get up to temperature and kill off the harmful pathogens, and so it had to be fed back into the machine to go through the system again.  After doing this for a couple more weeks, the tank is now really throwing out some heat and warmed up considerably enough to now be producing some decent compost.  Still not fully broken down, and needing more time to mature before it can be used, this compost is put into a maturation bay to break down even further.

We have had several enquiries from various organisations interested in how the hot composter works, and this week we had a visit from a representative of ‘Heart and Soil’ in Faversham.  We are really pleased to be able to share information on this form of recycling, and really hope that this method of composting cooked food can be replicated in many more areas.

What’s next?

• Get the hoes out for some serious sycamore seedling chasing

• Start sowing some seeds if the weather allows

• Collect some pond weed for the new pond at Pent Farm

This weeks update from the Sandgate Community Garden Diary.