Would you like to be involved in the Sandgate Community Garden? New volunteers are always welcome, and the crops grown are shared by and with the community of gardeners. This is a volunteer project in the Enbrook Park grounds of Saga.
The Community Garden team are also involved in other projects around Sandgate and Folkestone, including “Incredible Edible” planters by the Golden Valley shops, in Fremantle Road Park, along the High Street and Esplanade.
You can follow all the seasons and keep updated with what is happening. Get involved in the community and learn new skills. There is now a new wildlife pond and are pleased to have 2 bee hives on site. Gardening sessions are run twice a week. Get in touch to find out more.
Follow the progress on Instagram and like or get in touch on Facebook.
Updates written by Leonie Wootton.
A very productive week as usual, with both labour, and our rewarding produce! We did all of the jobs on our ‘to do’ list and more, to include laying some shredded wood pathways around some of the boxes, and welcoming the donation of a compost bin from Helen, which is being filled with vegetable peelings, plant material and turf taken by straightening the grass edges. On the menu this week is all that was mentioned last week, plus welcome, somewhat ...
Get more garden newsThe trouble with pallets is that some of them look rather useful for other projects, and get re-assigned! So parts of the compost project are still ‘work in progress’….however, the area has been tidied up and is ready and waiting! We also tidied an area for our BOX STORE! A donation from Theresa and Peter’s garden … We had great fun walking the box across the road to the Saga entrance, and into the garden, but we now have a ...
Get more garden newsWe managed to ration the water this week with some help from a long awaited downpour Friday night, thanks, we suspect, to Chris perfecting the rain dance. It obviously did the trick! On the menu this week are courgettes, mangetout, spinach, and salad, with the arrival of tomatoes, and a few raspberries! The beans are flowering at last; we have red and lilac flowering varieties, so it will not be long before we will be treated to some beans! The ...
Get more garden newsThe plot is looking a real picture, quite literally, as the before and after Instagram posting shows. What an incredible difference a few weeks makes! In the fight to keep most of the crops for human consumption, and not the wildlife, we are checking for eggs laid on the brassicas, and any green or blackfly. No need to feel guilty about moving them on as we have planted sacrificial offerings such as nasturtiums and calendulas for them to feast on! ...
Get more garden newsIt has been a warm week, and we have been working hard to water all those thirsty plants, and they have rewarded us with more salad, some courgettes and pak choi . The leeks, kale and purple sprouting got planted, and now here is where the fun begins! As soon as the very warm weather arrived, and the kale and purple sprouting got to a decent size, the first of the cabbage white butterflies started to make an appearance, to ...
Get more garden newsThe garden is just starting to fill out, with leaves getting bigger and lusher. Beans are climbing the poles, and the beetroot, tomatoes, and Tokyo turnips starting to swell. The first of the radishes have arrived and taste so delicious that I am thinking we should have sown even more because they are disappearing pretty fast! This week we have been filling three of the raised boxes, sowing more rows of carrots and beetroot, spring onions, and spinach. We have ...
Get more garden newsWell, Wednesday might have been a washout, but Saturday certainly was not! Brilliant sunshine! The fig tree got properly planted in a bigger pot, the next two raised beds got placed in situ and partially filled with the old grass turf, more ground got dug over and weeded, the two last raised beds got another coat of preservative, lettuces and tomatoes were planted, and more salad seeds sown! Many thanks this week to Geoff, one of the Saga gardeners, for ...
Get more garden newsWhat a difference that rain has made! The carrot seeds have sprouted and things are starting to romp away! We managed to source some bean canes from the Park compost heap, and to demolish a large chunk of courgette cake. Welcome to Sue and Andrew who joined us this week – Thanks Sue for the butternut squash plants, broad bean seeds, and French beans, much appreciated….we also had an anonymous courgette donation, all have been planted, but the broad bean ...
Get more garden newsCertainly no need to worry about the watering this week! Some very welcome downpours will help things to establish, and fortunately most things remained planted during the gale force winds! The biggest dilemma of the week was what to do with our first courgette! All things considered, the answer was to make a courgette cake to share with the workers on Saturday. We are now looking forward to thinking about more things that the garden will be giving us, from ...
Get more garden newsThe greatest news of the week is that we now have water on site! Paul, the head gardener of Saga, found us a tank, cleaned it, and installed it in the garden for us. This will make life so much easier, and means we can now really get down to planting up the garden, and sowing seeds. However, these things will not water themselves, and we will need to work on a rota for the warmer weather! From now on, ...
Get more garden newsThere continues to be more interest in the new community garden, and locals have noticed that things are happening, and approve of the project and the changes we have made so far! We have continued to dig the area to the right of the fruit trees, making planting strips and paths as we go. The grass edges are gradually being straightened to make for a neater edge! The tomatoes have been staked. The fruit and herb area have been weeded ...
Get more garden newsWhat a fantastic, productive morning! I met up with six people at 10am at the horse trough as arranged; some came to stay and work, some came to just introduce themselves and take a look at the site. We continued to clear the piece of ground to the right of the fruit trees of small roots and stones, and started to define growing areas or strips, and pathways between, by raising the soil into mounds (see photos attached). I had ...
Get more garden newsSince the announcement of the possibility of the start of the Community Garden in the Saga grounds at Enbrook Park, fifteen people have expressed an interest in taking part in the project. I was asked by Kay McLoughlin of Academy radio to come in for an interview last Wednesday 15th, to promote it further, and to invite any volunteers along to see the site. On Wednesday afternoon and evening I met up with some people, and on Sunday morning at ...
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