We were delighted to start our community garden project last Friday with help from Arbor Green children and parents in King George V Park. Our new community space, the raised beds, just before you enter the tunnel from the park, were crying to be dug up.
Children and parents did not hesitate to get stuck in, using their hands and hand-held shovels to dig out potatoes and the nasturtiums that had engulfed the bed. It was lovely to see the children eating the nasturtium flowers and saving their seeds to plant within their gardens whilst taking potatoes home to cook up later.
We had a surplus of garlic from the nursery garden and decided to dedicate an entire raised bed to growing garlic. With the raised bed prepared, children and parents began planting garlic cloves in rows, taking care to plant them the right way up, with the flat basal plate facing downwards and the pointed end upwards. Each garlic clove planted will hopefully produce a garlic bulb to be enjoyed next year.
The original nasturtiums were then placed back over the bed like a fleece. As they are nitrogen fixers, they will not only help fertiliser the soil but hold in moisture and hopefully prevent birds from pulling up the newly planted cloves.
Thank you to all the children and parents who could join us on Friday. We hope to see you all soon at one of our upcoming community garden events.
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