Gardening

Well here we are, almost in the middle of the year, the longest day soon to arrive (and then they start getting shorter, but we’ll just ignore that bit for now!) It’s still a really busy time for gardeners. I find myself caught in a frenzy of sowing seeds, nurturing those which have germinated – this time of year tiny seedlings can cook quite quickly in a greenhouse - and juggling space between larger plants waiting to be planted out, and those such as aubergines and peppers which need to remain in my greenhouse.

On the allotment the beans started last month in paper tubes can be planted out, and pea and bean seeds sown direct into the ground now will provide a succession for picking. Sowing beetroot, carrots, turnips and salad crops every couple of weeks will help extend the harvesting period.

Members of the squash family – pumpkins, marrows, courgettes etc, can be sown direct into a prepared bed now. Placing a large jar over the top will speed up germination – as well as helping keep slugs and snails off.
Other jobs that I will be doing this month include transplanting out the tomatillos, grain and leaf amaranth into beds, and basil into my coldframes and polytunnel. This year I have Thai basil, Lemon basil, Purple Ruffles, and Mammouth basil, so we shall see what does best!
The other ‘job’ I’m looking forward to is picking strawberries! My strawberry bed got an overhaul this spring with all the couch grass finally removed, lots of rotted manure dug in, mulch mat down to prevent more weeds, and netting over the top, so I’m hoping for lots of lovely organic strawberries. Last year I discovered that a small rodent of some sort had been making little piles of unripe strawberries throughout the patch, which was frustrating, but I intend to be more vigilant this year.
I’ve also planted some new strawberry plants – Gariguette and Alice, which are an early and a late season cropper respectively. Gariguette is a French variety dating back to the 1930’s, with an excellent flavour, whilst Alice is a new variety with good disease resistance, and a heavy cropper with very good flavour. However I am supposed to pick of the flowers this year so the plants bulk up for the next – so I won’t know till next year whether they really are that good! I’m still picking rhubarb, and gooseberries will be ready by the end of the month.

Continuing with our series on community gardening projects, in this issue we are looking at Green Lane Herb Link, a small non-profit making organisation based 3 miles outside Totnes, near Staverton. They are a community herb garden, run on an organic/ sustainable basis, and aim to encourage people to learn about the plants around them.

Qualified herbalists run the group and provide somewhere where people can come and learn how to make their own medicines. Currently they are building a classroom and dispensary. On the site there is a polytunnel, orchard, pond for pond dipping and a wildflower meadow. There are tea-making and toilet facilities, and tools are provided. The site is very child friendly, with space for the children to play and guinea pigs, sheep and a horse to say hello to! The group is keen to encourage parents with young children, who may find it difficult to otherwise garden.
Since they began cultivating the site, various wild plants have appeared. Instead of regarding them all as weeds as many gardeners would, they have looked instead to find out their uses. Good King Henry, Chickweed, and Field Pennycress are all examples of wild plants that are edible. This knowledge of our native species is something many of our grandparents and great grandparents would have had, but is lost to most of us today.

The hope is that the site can be used as a resource, but that people will also apply this knowledge to their own plots to help sustain biodiversity. Herb seedlings are grown in the polytunnel for people to take to their own plots.

Volunteers are always welcome, with the main volunteer day being Thursday mornings. The group has recently registered with WWOOF, so are happy to take on long-term volunteers, with accommodation provided. Lifts from Totnes to the site can be arranged. 9th July – family herbal day
Contact Frances on 01803 866373, or Pam on 01803 732616 for further information, or to get involved.