July/August 2018 - Thank you Smita!

Water! More needed! We are hoping that the pond is not quite as dry as it looks and that there is a damp refuge in the bottom where many of our pond creatures will have been able to survive. We have water butts to collect rain and these overflow into the pond. After rain last week there is a very small puddle in the bottom of the pond and the water butts are replenished. We are focussing on more rainwater harvesting; we have replaced the overflow with an old washing machine hose, acquired two new water butts and have bought some connectors to make a bigger water butt chain. It’s quite amazing how much water can be harvested from the roof of one shed and a bottle greenhouse.

The children have manged to find a little produce each week, including some delicious black tomatoes and attractive courgettes.

On the first Saturday in August we had a ‘Thank you Smita’ party as she and Krish are hoping to move north before long to be closer to family. Smita was a founder of the community garden in the village and has given her time, amazing knowledge and enthusiasm to establish the children’s garden club as a village centre of community excellence. It was lovely to see some of our past gardeners again. We wish Smita and Krish all the best for their new adventures and will sorely miss them.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be focussing on our entries for the Sherfield English Garden Show and hope to come away with some prize certificates. We hope to have seen lots of you there too.

Thank you very much to Gilbert’s Nursery for their support and children’s refreshments each week.

Best wishes, Ursula and the Children’s Garden Community Team

May 2018 - An enthusiastic start

The Community Garden sprang back into action in April this year. This was a little later than usual but the ‘Beasts from the East’ had at least finally departed by then. Pots of daffodils, planted last year as Mother’s Day gifts, were in full bloom at the first meeting and were promptly, but belatedly, sent home with their creators.

The club has been invigorated by some new young members, who are keen to grow as much as possible, and with this new injection of enthusiasm we’ve quickly caught up any lost time. Most of the beds are now weeded and planted. The small plots are sub-divided into squares and planted with a variety of vegetables, which are germinating and growing quickly in the ‘bursts’ of warm weather. Finger’s crossed, we seem to have avoided the hard late frost, that disfigured much new Spring growth last year. The fruit trees are grateful for this and arose from their cold, winter’s rest to produce much blossom, now transforming into a promising crop of apples, pears, cherries and plums.

Next on the list is a poly-tunnel spring clean, in preparation for the transplanting of warmth-loving vegetables. The scarecrow also needs a repair to its right hand, and a plan is being formulated to construct a family of scare-crow helpers!

Thanks, as always, to Gilbert’s Nursery and Tearooms for their continued support and supplying us with drinks and cake to keep us going.

Winter 2017 Celebrations and so to bed . . . .

We were lucky to have a dry day for our end of season party on the 4th November.

Thanks to Roger Harris the children had a ready supply of clay, tools (including garlic presses to make hair for ghoulies and ghosties), coloured slips and the promise to fire the finished creations. Villagers who take part in the Fun Day will remember Roger dressed up as the 17th Century Potter demonstrating his craft. We needed both the plastic bottle greenhouse and the shed for eager children getting their hands dirty.

In the polytunnel we had spread a white sheet over the table to be decorated with a multitude of colourful pictures. And then to the feast. With contributions from parents, volunteers and the tearooms there was little room to spare and we might need another table next year!

Phoebe, our oldest girl surprised us with her own creation of a chocolate cake, suitably decorated for Halloween. We now look forward to the next season. In the meantime we must still cut down the autumn raspberry canes, keep an eye on the pond, winter prune the fruit trees and look out for the bulbs planted up for next year's Mothering Sunday. May we wish every reader a Happy New Year. Smita Kulkarni