Category: community gardening

A Wander Around the Allotments in January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 18, 2012
10 Comments on A Wander Around the Allotments in January

As I decided to create a blog at the beginning of each month illustrating what is going on in our garden, so I have also decided to publish a blog in the middle of each month to show what is happening on our allotment site.

So today we braved the cold and went for a wander. The weather although cold, at five below, was bright sunshine in a clear blue sky. the air felt freezing as it entered my lungs but the sight of the lotties cheered me. As we stepped from the car a kestrel was hunting low between the sheds in search of the abundant field voles. A day never goes by without seeing at least one kestrel quartering the site. A buzzard soared overhead in the thermals created by the warmer air above the cultivated plots.

First job was to fill the bird feeders at the two feeding stations. They were busy with blue tits, coal tits and great tits feeding from the hanging feeders and blackbirds, dunnocks and robins beneath picking up the feed dropped by the clumsy birds above them. All the while we could hear the call of nuthatches in the site’s mature oak and sycamore trees.

Frost sits on the bare ground and helps the gardeners by breaking it down and improving the texture in readiness for a final preparatory rake over. The fine tilth can then be home to seeds.

The plots themselves look very sad at this time of the year, drooping brassicas, frosted leeks and steaming muck heaps and compost bins, the warmest spots of all. The scarecrows have fallen in the recent strong winds, their clothes wet and bedraggled and their structures weakened. Frost emphasises leaf structures, settling deepest along the veins.

The strongly veined wrinkled leaves of the Savoy Cabbages withstand the cold wrapped into tight balls.

Kale defies the cold and stands upright and proud even with ice droplets and frost splattered on their tightly curled leaves.

Sunlight makes the old runner bean pods translucent as they hang on the dead remnants of last year’s plants.

On our own plot the rows of Mooli, Broad Beans and Leeks look delicate in the frozen soil but will sit until spring arrives when they will have growth spurts and give us early crops.

Plastic bottles on canes support last year’s netting and still protect any overwintering crops from hungry Wood Pigeons.

Blackbirds move low across the lotties settling onto any sun-warmed soil and dig for grubs, but this one sat looking sad.

We took a leisurely walk around the “Interest Trail” which took us through or close to most of the community gardens – the orchards, wildlife borders, seasonal gardens and meadows. Near the car park the first green bursts of new life have appeared, the leaves and catkins forming on the birches. The young catkins stand bolt upright at this stage but will soften in colour and structure when they dangle down in the spring.

The purple catkins of the alder sit on the branches with the darker cones.

In the Autumn Garden seed heads of Asters remain long after the flowers of autumn, like tiny dandelion “clocks”.

In the first orchard th frost still lingered strongly on the logpile especially on this old chunk of bark.

When we reached the Spring Garden we were struck by the contrasting leaf texture, shapes and structures.

At the back of this garden the silver tassels of the Garrya hung in profusion and the new buds of the Amelanchier promised early flowers and foliage.

Further round the trail we arrived at the “Winter Garden” where the low rays of the sun sent long shadow lines of the fence right across the border between the coloured stems of the Betulas and the Dogwoods. It also illuminated this peeling bark, giving it the impression of slithers of orange brittle toffee.

The blue spruce looked bluer than ever with the whiteness of the frost laying on its needles.

Our Winter Garden has so much of interest that I shall publish a blog just featuring it within the next few days, so for now we shall move on to the second orchard where the golden fruits of Malus “Evereste” have escaped the attentions of the winter visiting thrushes but I suspect they will soon be discovered and devoured. The insect stack in the orchard is there to attract beneficial insects who provide our very wildlife-friendly pesticide. The stack should give them some shelter to help them survive the winter cold and wet.

As we wandered back towards the car park we passed through the wildflowers meadows long since cut to the ground, but showing promise for next summer in its tiny seedlings. One lone flower braved the cold – a pale blue cornflower. Leaving the lotties we noticed promises of flowers from the bulbs in the car park border and in the half-barrels in the gateway.

Tags allotments, community gardening, cornus, foliage, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, insects, meadows, organic gardening, ornamental trees, trees, wildlife, winter, winter gardens

allotments community gardening fruit and veg garden photography gardening grow your own meadows

Lottie Leaves

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 8, 2011

What a crazy day to be on the lottie with gale force icy cold winds howling across and freezing fingers, toes and cheeks. But when the sun burst through the clouds – very short but bright bursts – it acted as a spotlight that featured wonderful coloured leaves. Salad leaves provide the real stars of the show like these ruby leaved radicchio. They enjoy being in the spotlight, being the centre of attraction, glowing with pride.

The brassica family are not to be outdone with their contribution coming from kales. The final shot is of a bunch of chard leaves that I plucked for the chickens. The light shows the glossiness and rich red-purple colouring of the leaves and stems.

The wonderful thing about these dark colourful leaves especially those with red and purple featured in their make-up is that in addition to being good to look and tasty to eat they are also better for us than their green-leaved relatives.

After putting away our tools and closing up our shed we took a few moments to wander around the site and see what was happening. we found surprise bonus flashes of colour. Flowers blooming out of seasons calendula and violas in the Winter Garden and a catanache the last bloom in the wildflower meadow.

In the small orchard the yellow of the crab apple, Malus “Evereste”, glowed like beacons hanging on defying the sharp cold and strong winds. In the turf spiral maze clumps of fungi take advantage of the protection form the turves They emerge from the bark chips we use as the walkway through the maze. They begin their life a colouful yellow but as they age their edges turn chocolate brown and they look like burnt buns until they begin to go over and dry. Then their caps split and let yellow cracks appear giving them the appearance of flowers.

Tags allotments, chard, fungi, grow your own, kales, radicchio

allotments community gardening fruit and veg garden photography gardening grow your own

Day on the Lottie

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 5, 2011

We spent today on the lottie catching up on a few jobs and taking advantage of some sun and warmth, a December treat. We popped up for half an hour to plant 3 rose bushes owed to us from our big delivery of David Austin roses last year. So we added three Wenlock roses to our site’s community Summer Garden. The half hour became an afternoon as we planted whips of native trees and shrubs in the native hedge and “Edible Hedge”, rowan, elder, dogwood, wild cherry, cherry plum etc.

Then we turned our attention to our own lottie where the blackberry and tayberry were crying out for attention. The blackberry had put on masses of growth last year so I set to pruning out the brambles that had fruited this year and thinned out some of the new growth. Luckily it is a thornless variety. Once tied back in it all looked much more tidy and we looked at it willing it to be productive for us next year. The tayberry, although not thornless, is still a young bramble so took less work.

Meanwhile as I tackled the brambles, Jude the undergardener hoed between the rows of overwintering crops. This is the most efficient way of keeping an allotment plot looking tidy as well as killing any tiny seedlings even those yet to emerge from the soil.

The fresh growth of garlic, onions and shallots spear the soil and its compost topping with bright green freshness, a real treat in the winter cold. The broad beans planted in early autumn and the mooli sown in late summer add a welcome lushness of growth.

Broad bean plants patiently waiting out winter.

Moolii, the radish with white icicle roots for winter enjoyment.

Ground left bare through the winter would be thrashed by winter rains and its goodness leached out so we cover such patches with green manure such as winter tares. This year when we sowed it in early autumn the weather was so dry that germination was delayed and growth of the seedlings has been so slow that they are still small. We are hoping they will catch up if the weather allows. The Phacelia in the photo below however germinated well and has grown on healthily. It was self-sown from a patch of wildflowers sown as a bug bank.

So as we are now officially in winter and temperatures are dropping to nearer seasonal norms, the plot is looking good. Next year’s seeds are ordered as are the seed potatoes so we are well ahead of ourselves. The photo below looks through the newly pruned tayberry at the rows of leeks, mooli and broad beans.

Tags allotments, fruit pruning, green manures, pruning fruit, wildlife hedge

allotments autumn community gardening gardening grow your own meadows

November Working Party

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 23, 2011

The final working party of the year at the lottie site at the weekend. The hardy members worked hard under dull November skies stopping frequently for coffee and laughter. We cleared our list of jobs to be done so went home exhausted, aching but satisfied.

The first job was to weed the Summer Garden, collect up the fallen leaves, give the roses a good dose of good old-fashioned cow muck and finish off by mulching the surface with woodchip to protect the bed from the winter cold and rain. One of the Charles Darwin rose bushes was still in flower so gave a glimpse of yellow and a burst of scent as we worked.

We then treated the three Buddleja Beds and the sensory garden to a weed and mulch. So now all the beds on the site have been weeded and have a protective duvet of woodchip on them.

We then split up with Geoff giving the small meadow a haircut and weed. We were amazed by how many seedling of wildflowers decorated its surface. this job would normally be done much earlier in the year but this meadow has only just finished flowering. The rest of us planted bulbs in one of our orchards including Camassia and crocus, and took hardwood cuttings of coloured stemmed dogwoods and willows.

Tags allotments, autumn, community gardening, meadows

allotments community gardening garden wildlife natural pest control

Wildlife Banks on the Lottie

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 19, 2011

On our allotment site at Bowbrook Allotment Community we try to keep all green waste on site, either by composting or re-using it in new situations. In earlier blogs I showed how we have made an array of insect shelters but the idea of creating wildlife banks to re-use turf is on a much larger scale.

When new beds are created in our Green Spaces around the lotties we have piles of turf left over. Some of this we stacked to make loam piles but we came up with the idea of making raised areas full of wildlife habitats and shelters. The photo above shows Jude, Geoff and Pete part way through the construction. Turves have already been layered alterating grass side up and grass side down, in our chosen shark’s fin shape, a design decided upon to reflect the shape of some of our mini-meadows. The first habitat is in place, the dry-stone wall.

The final layer of turf was laid grass side upwards and we planted insect-attracting plants in it, such as oxe-eye daisies and geranium phaeum. In the following autumn we planted small tulips and muscari and in spring we augmented this with bulbs “in the green”, snowdrops, wild daffodils, crocus and scillas. Some of these flowering bulbs provide a life line for early flying bees.

The buttercups soon burst out of the turf and added their yellow cheerfulness. The photo above shows another wildlife habitat – logs with holes of various sizes drilled in them – which we hope will attract solitary bees and provide shelter over winter for their eggs and larvae.

We have now constructed two such wildlife banks within our Green Spaces and keep adding odd plants as they are donated by members. Yesterday we planted some geraniums for example. The photo below shows one of the bumble bee nesting sites we have added. During the summer one of these was nested in by Field Mice and as bumble bees love nesting in old mouse holes we see this as a positive thing, giving us hope of bee residents moving in next year.

The final photo shows our second wildlife bank just after completion.

Tags allotments, community gardening, garden wildlife, wildlife shelters

allotments autumn community gardening gardening ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs

Autumnal Splendour of our Winter Garden

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 1, 2011

At our lottie site, Bowbrook Allotment Community (www.bowbrookallotments.co.uk) we have created gardens of the four seasons. The Winter Garden has surprised us with its exciting colours and textures during the autumn. Today we weeded this bed and mulched it with woodchip which as well as giving a tidy finish, should protect the surface from heavy rain, stop goodness leaching from the soil and keep down any late germinating weeds. The sun was out most of the time while we worked and shone through the grasses and dogwoods. Although I designed this as the Winter Bed it is showing itself off well in the autumn.

The woodchip was a long way off across the site so John, our lottie chairman, devised a double decker wheelbarrow carrying system. Good job there was no health and safety officer watching!

The miscanthus look amazing for most of the year and now in November their foliage is colouring up and the seed heads are aglow. They sway in the gentlest of breezes.

The dogwoods have been planted for their coloured stems which will be lit by the low rays of the winter sun, stems of red, green, yellow and black. In the autumn we enjoy the reds and golds of their foliage just before they fall. The white berries are a real bonus – little white dolls’ eyeballs.

As we worked we were entertained by small flocks of goldfinches, linnets and greenfinches which passed overhead with their high pitched calls breaking the silence. In stark contrast and much less enjoyable were the cronking of a pair of raven and the calls of a huge flock of gulls screeching away as they wheeled around like wild white kites against a blue sky trying to escape their strings.

Tags autumn, cornus, dogwoods, gardening, grasses

allotments community gardening fruit and veg garden wildlife gardening grow your own meadows natural pest control

October Working Party

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 22, 2011

Today we held our October working party at Bowbrook Allotment Community. We took advantage of a bonus day of sunshine and warmth. Lots of hard work and lots of laughter – a typical lottie working party day.

Soon the smell of cut hay permeated the lotties as we cut the meadow under the orchard trees. It was a warm herby smell as well as nostalgic. A true sense of the feel good factor.

Above, Dee and Wendy rake up the mown hay in the orchard and below Pete and Jude tidy the long grass from around the logpile. The logpile is there to attract beneficial insects as part of our organic, natural approach to pest control. We welcome ladybirds and their larvae, beetles and lacewing larvae as pest controllers and bees as pollinators.

Before cutting the grass I spotted this group of seedheads – alliums and knapweed. They had shed their seeds ready for next year but I felt I had to record this particularly beautiful and delicate clump in a photo before we cut them down.

Bulbs donated by plotholders were planted around the entrance and the car park, with daffodils going in the car park border and muscari in the gateway borders. The Spring Garden was extended and the Winter Garden path was topped up with chipped wood donated by a local tree surgeon. The final task was to trim the long grass and wildflower stems growing on the wildlife banks.

Tags fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden wildlife, organic gardening

allotments community gardening meadows Uncategorized

Mini Flower Meadow

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 27, 2011

This year we created a new meadow from scratch on the Bowbrook Allotment Community green spaces. The area was cleared of turf which we used on our loam pile and dug over removing as many roots of pernicious weeds as possible as we went along. We then rotavated the area and left it to let weed seedlings appear. As they did so we hoed them off.

We sowed with a mixture called “Pictorial Mix” which included annuals, biennials and perennials which were mostly British natives but we added other wildflowers were included to extend the season and add extra colour. The result can be seen below, but it did keep us on tenterhooks as the seeds germinated very slowly in the dry weather we have experienced here in Shropshire all year.

We have been so pleased with the result! It is the most photographed border on the site. Now in late September it is still showing some flower.

Tags allotments, community gardening, wildflower meadows

allotments community gardening garden wildlife meadows

Lottie Meadows

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 24, 2011

One of the most popular features of our green spaces at Bowbrook allotments is the meadow development. We have simply left some grass to grow long and cut paths through them to give the opportunity to wander, appreciating the sounds of grasshoppers, bees, hoverflies and the multitude of other insects, enjoying the sight of butterflies hovering over the grasses and the birds feeding on the insects and seeds and on occasion our resident kestrels hovering overhead and hunting the voles. Before the allotments were established the site was pastureland so the wildflowers that have appeared within our long grass areas are few in number, but we aim to improve this over the next few years by planting plugs of wildflowers.

Other areas have been planted up with wildflower seed mixes with varying degrees of success and this will be the subject of my next blog from my green bench.

Tags allotments, meadows, wildfloers

allotments community gardening fruit and veg grow your own meadows

Lottie Working Party

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 7, 2011

At the weekend we took part in a working party at the allotment. These are held regularly aiming to maintain the shared green spaces around the site. The main task for this day was to give the meadows and long grass areas their annual haircut. The photo below shows members strimming the turf spiral maze and mowing the long grass under the fruit trees in one of the community orchards.

Once the orchard has been treated to its annual trim it looks so flat and dull. The tall grasses always sway gently in the slightest breeze and attract insects and butterflies. Cutting these grasses down really emphasise that summer is coming to an end.

We hope next year to be able to plant plugs of wildflowers into the grass of the meadows and orchards. We have already planted bulbs in the meadows, daffodils into the one and alliums, muscari and crocus into the other. The photo below shows one of our orchards in early summer when the purple globes flowers of the alliums look stunning with the dainty yellow flowers of the meadow buttercups. This picnic is particularly popular with plotters when they take their coffee-breaks or wish to sit and quietly read a book.