Sandgate Community Garden

Work has slowed a little this week. The main plot at Enbrook is looking tidy and as good as mulched all over, but we are waiting on certain things to happen before we can make progress.  There is still a small pile of compost to be moved from the storage area below the lower wall within the park up to the garden. Some was barrowed up in the week, the rest can be done as and when.  Fortunately the brassica netting canopies are doing the job of keeping the pigeons at bay and allowing some growing space too.  Growing temperatures rarely get reached these days and so the overwintering crops remain at a standstill until we get to see some longer, warmer days.

One of the large brick planters at Golden Valley has been plagued with Mare’s tails, an invasive plant which can be deep rooted and quite difficult to get rid of.  We have some patches of it remaining at Enbrook Park, especially in the gooseberry patch. It likes to lurk beneath the spiny stems of the gooseberries where gardeners are reluctant to put their hands! 

We thought the best plan was to remove all the plants from the planter, then cover with a good thick layer of cardboard and compost.  This should help to weaken the growth as well as keep cutting back any new growth which keeps appearing in the gaps between the paving outside the planter.  Of course all the garden books tell you to spray with weed killer.  The planter can then be replanted later in the spring once the mulches have had a chance to smother any new growth.  However we suspect we will still be pulling it out throughout the year.

Fremantle Park

This area has had a bit of a tidy this week, the flowering border had been allowed to finish and shed seeds.  Seeds sown in this way can often manage to overwinter and appear ultra-early.  In fact it was noticed just last week there was a developing cosmos seedling growing in a crack between the pavement  and one of the large brick planters at Golden Valley, which must have come from the plants growing there last year.  It will be interesting to see if it can survive, and therefore manage to be in flower long before any sister plants.

On Saturday some of us went to learn all about seed saving with ‘Seed Sovereignty UK’ at the Locavore Community Garden, Martello Primary School, Folkestone.  Seed saving is a fascinating subject, and can also be quite complex, in the saving of the seed itself to the political and social effects worldwide.  Over the last century we have lost an enormous amount of vegetable varieties, so that now we only have a few varieties to choose from which serve all regions.

By being able to save our own seed, we can help to protect and restore seed diversity locally, particularly important at a time of climate crisis.  It is a daunting matter, but along with all the other local growing groups represented at the course, we can combine to share the task by starting with just one vegetable variety each, and gradually build on our expertise.  We will then, as a cooperative, share the seeds along with growing support. It is a long term project, but we understand the reasoning is a sound one in such interesting times.

What’s next?

• Barrow some more compost up to the garden
• Mulch the empty planter at Golden Valley
• Try to get out some of the leaves in the pond
• Weed around the pond

We have been appreciating the lovely warm sunshine this week for both of our gardening sessions. We’re not, however, so sure the bee keepers will be too happy as the bees in the hives were very active which must mean they will be using up their food reserves as there is so little to forage.

We have raised some of the brassica netting as they were trying to burst out.  The purple sprouting is set to be at full production by April so we need to keep a close eye on them.  Once the netting was off we took the opportunity to remove the lower leaves and mulch the bed beneath before replacing with a looser canopy to deter pesky pigeons!   We have certainly been steaming through the compost pile and are starting to run low already, however we have not had to be frugal with it this year which is a luxury.

We have taken up the swedes and most of the celeriac as they had not been as good as we had hoped and it is too late now to expect them to get any bigger!  Some examples from Fremantle Park from the same batch of seeds and grown at the same time were compared (see picture below), so it is clear that something else such as compost or moisture levels have been to blame.  Always a guessing game when growing plants, trial and error.

Having cleared a bit of space we were able to plant three more rhubarb roots.  We will not be able to harvest any of the stalks this year but they should be large enough in 2023 with any luck!  We also had a few small asparagus crowns which are a useful addition to one of our planted asparagus beds which was a little sparse in places last year.  We will have to remain patient with this crop as there is no collecting of the delicious shoots until next year, and then only a few of the spears can be taken until it has had a chance to become well established.

We took a trip out to Brook near Ashford, to visit Rebel farmer Ed at his market garden, specialising in edible flowers and microgreens.  It was fascinating, even at this time of year when not much is growing outside.  Ed’s microgreens are available all year round, growing in insulated and lit outbuildings.  Demand for his produce is great and he is running flat out in order to supply, and has plans to expand.  Like us, Ed likes to grow using organic, no dig principles, using just a yearly layer of new compost to maintain the health and vitality of the soil first, which will then sustain the plants growing in it.  No fertilisers, no chemicals, just simplicity itself.  We will be keeping contact with Ed to see how his business develops over time as he has lots of ideas in the pipeline. 

We have another trip planned for next Saturday 22^nd with Seed Sovereignty UK at the Locavore growing project at the Martello Primary school in Folkestone.  It being our gardening day on Saturday, there may not be any of our volunteers at Enbrook Park, but we will be back the following week as usual, hopefully full of lots of seed saving ideas.

What’s next?

• Review the compost situation

• Keep an eye to make sure the brassica netting is doing its job

• Order some more fleece

• Work to be done at Fremantle and Golden Valley

Wednesday’s gardening session was a delight in full, warm sunshine.  We planted a few random bulbs, pulled up the last of the finished French marigolds, mulched more beds, bagged up compost for other community garden sites, a spot of weeding and generally had a good time nattering and pottering about.  Saturday on the other hand was a wash out, dull, dingy and generally soggy so we gave it a miss.  Little point in trying to do things in the wet and cold, there can be no joy in that when there is always another day.  The rainfall for December was 95.8mm and was apparently so overcast and gloomy that it was commented upon in the national news.

Our seed stock is currently being reviewed, looking at what can be used this year and what we need to buy.  We know we are indeed fortunate to be able to buy the varieties we want, and continue to get to grips with what suits us.  However it needs to be remembered that seeds can be very random, with surprisingly little regulation, which means you are at the mercy of the seed supplier and how good they are at creating quality products.  Saving your own seeds is a good solution and is easily possible with some vegetables, but can be quite complex in others.  We are looking forward to 22^nd January when we will be finding out more from Seed Sovereignty UK.

This coming week we have been invited to visit Rebel Farmer Ed, at his market garden in Brook, just outside Ashford.  What an incredible treat this promises to be.  We met Rebel Farmer Ed at the Disco Soup event in Radnor Park way back in November.  He specialises in edible flowers and microgreens, supplying to various markets, cafes and restaurants.  We are very excited to be able to visit the garden and get an idea of what Ed does.  Although we’re already quite pleased with the quality of our salad leaves, considering they are grown outdoors, maybe after this trip we could be lifted up to another level in quality produce!

We continue to work in other community spaces around Sandgate.  This week the planters at Golden Valley got a good weeding and general overhaul. The plants are looking quite perky and healthy, some even flowering, with many bulbs starting to push through.  We’re confident that they will look very pretty this year and give a good show.  We would like to thank the mobility shop and the Golden Arrow pub for constantly offering us hot drinks and a warm up inside when we turn up to work.  This is always appreciated.

Open minded to new pockets of unloved and dismal looking public land in our locality, work started on a small strip that needed some loving attention in another part of Golden Valley.  So far it has been covered in thick cardboard and then compost on top in typical ‘no dig’ style, to weaken the grass and weeds beneath, plus enrich the soil.  With any luck planting can begin in the spring, and it will most likely be a garden for pollinators where flowers are dominant.

What’s next?

• Keep up the bed mulching work

• One of the planters at Golden Valley needs some work

• Order new seeds for this year

• Review the brassica netting as they need more space to spread

Happy New Year!

Looking back at this time last year, not surprising it was certainly colder, and we had just suffered the consequences of storm Bella and were in full lockdown mode.  It was good to be able to celebrate the end of this year with many of the volunteers in the garden, as the weather has continued to be so very mild.  The last of the mulled wine and mince pies went down a treat with Christmas cake and sausage rolls, whilst the last of the parsnips got pulled, enough for all to take home a few for Christmas dinner, and very delicious they were too.   

On the first day of January, it was just like a lovely spring day, warm and sunny.  There were a few displaced covers to put back over some of the brassicas, and it was clear that the pigeons had been making the most of us not being around and had stripped a few plants that found themselves out in the open.  Most surprising were the missing mustard salad leaves.  Who would have thought they would be appreciated by the wildlife too and in such quantity.  Perhaps they do not taste the same heat we do when eating them.  They are now re-covered in the hope they may sprout again with any luck. 

Compost bin number one finally got turned; a great workout for the first day back.  For several weeks before Christmas it was full to overflowing and had to be pressed into any spaces and even jumped up and down on.  Yet after the Christmas break it had sunk down nicely and when turned into the same sized bin number two, only just about filled it half way with room for more at a later date.  Turning the compost in the first bin is not a job for the feint hearted.  It can be full of tiny flies that billow out from the cover when lifted, and as you proceed with the turning into the next bin, usually has the most pungent aroma.  However the unpleasantness is short lived, and once turned, all is right again.  After this initial turn, the compost becomes odourless, and apart from being full of wriggling worms, really does look almost good enough to eat!  Turning the compost also reveals what did happen to the secateurs when they went missing, as well as the fact that a month of Sundays will never decompose foil or plastics mistakenly placed in compost bins!

Compost/soil is a most fascinating subject, and this link will take you to a BBC short video which explains all sorts of interesting facts:

This time of year is perfect for reflecting on the growing year just gone and planning for the next.  Yule, and the shortest day have gone, and before we know it, February will be upon us and we start seed sowing once more.  In preparation, and as a Christmas gift to ourselves, we have invested in some new long handled dibbers (pictured below) which will hopefully make planting out much easier than using the shorter and smaller versions.

Now is a good time to order new seeds; seeds are another little understood subject which deserves and needs to be investigated further.  On Saturday 22^nd January, there will not be many of us at the garden as some of us have booked to attend a short course or introduction to seeds and seed saving at the Locavore growing project at Martello Primary school in Folkestone, led by Seed Sovereignty UK.  We are looking forward to meeting up again with other local community groups committed to community-based food production , Incredible Edible, Feeding Folkestone, Kent Food Hub, and of course Locavore.  It will certainly be a very interesting and informative day.

What’s next?

• Still more mulching to be done

• Review the seed stock situation

• Sort out the retrieved secateurs from the compost bin

• The French marigolds have finally stopped flowering and need composting

• Tidy around the compost bins

This is our very last newsletter of 2021.  With Christmas falling at the weekend, our next edition will be on Sunday January 2^nd – so where did that year go? 

Looking back we have had an amazing growing year in the main garden at Enbrook, and started several other projects.  Going into spring 2022, the garden will be three years old, and it is clear as it matures that it begins to give more and more produce.  There is still work to be done to improve the soil, but it is getting easier to work with as time goes on so we look with excitement to see what this new year brings.  More projects, more collaborations, more links with other community groups and greater friendships. 

This week the job of mulching the plots has continued, as well as putting down more wood chip paths.  The soft fruit bushes got pruned, and where many of the gooseberry stems had trailed along the ground they had taken root, giving us several new plants which were potted up to mature and transfer to other places along with more self-sown flower seedlings discovered along the way.

Some of us joined up with the ‘Go Folkestone’ group as well as the Incredible Edibles to plant thirty trees at the Three Hills Sports Park in Cheriton Road on Thursday.  The great thing about getting to know other voluntary community groups is that when a job needs doing, then the invitation can go out for everybody to lend a hand and make short work of a large task.  Both these groups supported us with the orchard plantings in Sandgate and Fremantle parks recently, and so it was great to be able to return the favour. 

The weather has been unseasonably warm again, with no sign of frost, just cloud and sometimes drizzle.  There are still flowers in the garden, lettuce and broccoli to pick.  On Saturday we had a Christmas gathering for our volunteers, in a time when Covid numbers are starting to sky rocket again and many other Christmas events cancelled.  The fact we are working outside has its benefits, and as It was warm and dry enough we partook in mulled wine and mince pies and talked about what we hope to be getting up to during the holiday period, with luck.  We have been waiting since April when the seeds were sown, to lift some of the parsnips in time to serve for Christmas lunch.  Parsnips are made sweeter for being well frosted, but they looked pretty good as a crop with little or no signs of canker or root boring pests which can be an issue – they were certainly better looking than last year!  Wednesday 22^nd December will be our last gardening session for this year when we intend to get the mince pies and mulled wine out again as there are often different volunteers that day, and anyway…….why not?

All of us at the Sandgate Community Garden would like to wish you a very merry Christmas, and a healthy new year.

What’s next?

• Finish off the mince pies and mulled wine

• Carry on mulching

• Maybe start pruning some of the fruit trees

• The compost bin number one really will need turning and will be a good workout!

We have had some stormy weather this week which has meant checking on the netted and fleeced beds to make sure it is still all in place!  Most of the netting being more open meshed than the fleece was fine, but the fleece got pulled off and blown about several times so that it was black with dirt and looked most grubby.  Fortunately a few rain downpours soon cleaned them up and they are looking better already.

It was mostly about starting the annual compost and wood chip mulching this week; however there are things to be done before that can be attempted.  The deciduous trees are bare at last, and ahead of any compost or wood chips being laid the very last of the fallen leaves have been picked up and composted so now we can see the outlines of the beds and paths where they should be.  Several self-sown plants were potted up to be placed later in other spaces, and some were simply removed and composted if they were taking up too much space or smothering other plants.  Several plants and herbs were cut right back, and once satisfied the spaces were clear, then the laying down of mulches can begin, a good 4 – 6 cm depth if possible.  There is still much to be done.

Other tasks included trimming the hedge, planting some random onion seedlings, clearing around the back of the pond so that it remains accessible and watering the cold frame contents.  We still have things to pick, such as winter salad, a few radishes, kale, spinach and chard, but we are fast approaching the shortest day and combined with lower temperatures, any growth is now minimal and it takes much longer to replenish anything picked in the way of new leaves.  This is the time when the self-sufficient land owner or traditional farmer would be relying on anything stored from earlier in the year, and plenty of hardy winter vegetables.  The green outside the chip shop in Sandgate has had a tidy up and some bulbs planted, as have the two planters along the seafront and the Ship planter too.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things about living in Sandgate is that we have so many green spaces and trees in our parks with associated wildlife. There was an unusual sighting of what was believed to have been a great white egret in the trees near the brook at Enbrook Park this week.  Apparently this bird is a frequent visitor to the south east of England and more likely to be seen in winter and spring so keep a look out for that one.  Whilst working in the garden we frequently hear and see buzzards circling over the trees and there is often a great commotion as the sea gulls try to chase them off.  Counting our blessings that the only foraging we have to do to find our food is in the community garden or the supermarket, where there is little competition and certainly no fighting!

If the weather is fine we intend to celebrate the festive season and another amazing year in the garden at Enbrook with mulled wine and mince pies on our last Saturday and Wednesday before the 25^th December. 

What’s next?

• Continue to mulch the beds and paths

• Start to prune soft fruit bushes

• Maybe turn the compost heap if feeling strong

• Get organised for mince pies and mulled wine!

How extraordinarily lucky we were that the Sandgate Christmas lights switch on event did not get completely washed out by rain which had been promised.  A great community event, where so many people associated with the garden were present.  It was a reminder that the creation of the community garden has brought so many people together and it was a busy evening meeting more friends at practically every corner.   We paid for the lack of rain the following morning when it did make an appearance, but fortunately it stopped and the sun came out by 10 am and we spent a happy couple of hours getting on with our tasks.  The rainfall for November was just 31mm, which was not surprising as we had to water in many of our new plantings during the month when usually the rainfall would have done the job. 

With some drop in the temperatures this week, it was important to get some of the beds covered in fleece so that they have a better chance of surviving the winter.  This was the case for the broad bean beds in particular.  There was a final tray of spare broad bean seedlings and a few late pea shoots that got planted.  The broad beans were to replace any missing or failed beans in the beds.  A friend of the garden had lost all her beans to what was probably rodents, always good at finding such large seeds that can make a great meal for them – they can destroy an entire crop in no time at all, but at least we were able to supply a few spares for another try.  Same goes for the pea seedlings too, being just as vulnerable – ours got planted in some mushroom crates filled with compost and put into the cold frames, we shall have to keep our fingers crossed that they grow fast enough for the seeds to not be of interest to the rodents any more.  The changes in the season have also attracted pigeons to the garden and they have been stripping the brassicas so we have had to net them quickly to put them off.

The fluctuating temperatures are not helping the wildlife, and Chris, one of our bee keepers is concerned that the bees are still out and about trying to forage, but with nothing or not much to find, they will eat their way through their winter stores and starve.  Apparently during the colder weather the bees cluster together to keep themselves and the queen warm, but if it becomes too warm, then they will start eating.  Below is a picture taken on 4^th December of a red admiral butterfly taking advantage of the flowering mahonias in the park grounds.

More leaves got collected, and it looks as if we are nearly done with them for the year, the leaf compost bin is full to bursting and they will be left to get on with making compost. All these tasks and more have been written about in a further blog for ‘Explore Kent’.  Now that we are entering into the start of winter, our blog described all the many labours that are perfect for carrying out this time of year.  Unfortunately it seems it was more than there was space for on the website, and it got edited to a shorter version.  You can read the cropped account here at

https://explorekent.org/blog/2021/11/30/winter-gardening-tasks-and-jobs/

Last but not least, we nearly received a Christmas present from Waitrose!  We were contacted by our local branch in Hythe out of the blue to say that we were to be presented with a cheque as we had been nominated as a worthy cause.  In our excitement and baffled enthusiasm, the precise monetary size of this cheque got overlooked, and just as we were about to have it placed into our hot, grubby hands, it got returned to the shop office as it was not correctly written.  So near yet so far, the cheque has been returned to head office and we will not get to see the updated version this side of Christmas!  Oh well, something to look forward to in the New Year, and we can still speculate as to just how much a difference it will make to our funds…….

What’s next?

• Pot up any useful self sown seedlings

• Continue to mulch the beds

• Keep checking on the plants in the cold frames

• Continue to weed the flower garden near the bench and cut back the herbs

• Start work on laying wood chip paths

At last the cold stuff has arrived at the very end of November, and you can begin to think that the festive season really is around the corner.  Plenty more leaves have fallen from the trees although some are still in place, however a good blast of wind probably due to come along any time now will do the trick, and the leaf clearing will soon be over.  We have managed to fill our leaf bin full to the brim, and have squashed leaves into every available gap to make space for more.  We cleared some of the herbs that had bolted, although the flower heads, such as the Dill, are full of flavour and good to mix into salad leaves.  We had a few last onion sets to plant in any spaces where nocturnal animal visitors or birds had pulled them up and given them a taste!  Fortunately none of the raiders seem to like onions and either spit them out half chewed or simply drop them on the path. 

We had a most welcome message from ‘Seed Craft’ during the week, offering us a box of garlic for which we were most grateful.  Still time to plant onions and garlic if you have not done so already.

More compost got bagged up to use at the alleyway and Golden Valley.as part of the great annual compost mulch for all ‘no dig’ enthusiasts.  This is the time to dress as many of the beds as possible with a layer of new compost, and there certainly is plenty to do there. Paul, the Grounds Manager of Enbrook Park, took great pity on us having to barrow the newly acquired compost uphill to the garden from where it had to be delivered, and using some machinery, got it up to the garden for us!  Not sure quite how, but one day it was down the hill outside the garden, and the next day, up the hill and in the garden…..happy days, thank you Paul!  Now we can mulch away to our hearts content!  Saturday was to have been the day to make a start, but we had to dodge the heavy showers mixed with hail, and just about managed to get the broad bean beds covered with fleece in preparation for promised frosts.on Sunday and Monday.

The greatest news of the week is that the fruit and nut trees at Sandgate and Fremantle Parks got planted at last after the initial hiccup in arranging planting days which did not then happen.  There were twenty five trees in total.  Apples, pears, plums, cherry and cob nut trees.  There were twenty four bought and paid for, but we found a cheeky interloper hidden amongst them and thought we had better plant it anyway.  We are most grateful to all those who came along to do the hard work, and there is now a small orchard in each park which we will all be watching over and helping to take care of. 

There are future plans to develop the areas under and around the trees, and we understand there will be official ceremonies to welcome the trees in June 2022, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and organised by the Sandgate Parish Council.  Thank you Parish Council for thinking of providing fruit and nut trees, giving flower and fruit for wildlife and local fellow humans to enjoy for many years to come.  We understand that it is possible to sponsor one of the trees for £100 by contacting the Sandgate Parish Clerk Gaye Thomas at clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk or by calling 01303 248563.  The trees are semi-dwarfing varieties and will therefore not grow to be enormous!

What’s next?

• Start on that mulching at Enbrook

• Fill in any broad bean gaps

• Plant some pea shoot boxes for the cold frames

• Still more leaves to collect, the final push? Put fleece over the spinach and check on the brassica netting