Posted: May 13, 2011

Sunday is the Five Parks walk. It starts in Brockwell Park from 10am and finishes in Ruskin Park and is a lovely opportunity to see the area. The community garden is the checkpoint, so walkers will be coming through. We’ll be running a cake stall to raise money for seeds, tools, and a greenhouse. So far we’ve got cakes, cookies, and homemade elderflower cordial and lemonade. If you’re inspired please bring cookies or cakes to sell, or just bring some pocket money!

Posted: May 11, 2011

We had a good turn out and had a productive day. Laying the
foundations for the new shed is nearly finished, thanks for all the
hard work and advice from Giles. This means we shall be able to lift
the shed and fix in place next dig day.

Lots of digging work was done, moving top soil for the bee hives Roger
has built, to be installed. And breaking with tradition we dug our
first circular bed. To be sieved next week.

We also dug out a couple of beds to be sieved next week when we shall
be able to plant out the radish, beetroot, squash and dwarf sugar peas
seedlings. We moved the herbs to their new bed and planted sorrel. And
did lots of weeding and trimming round the beds.

Thanks to Therese for keeping everyone going with her the delicious
chocolate chip cookies.

Posted: May 8, 2011

If the weather continues to be as dry as it is, it will be more and more important to conserve water, and to make the best use of the water we use. If you’re washing salad or cooking pasta, consider using the used water to water your garden. Take short showers, rather than baths. Doug from Friends of Ruskin Park saves the water that runs while he’s waiting for hot water by keeping bottles next to the tap.

Here’s an article that talks a bit more about the science of it Look after your garden during a dry spell

Even during the wettest weather it is a good idea to conserve water, as purifying water takes energy and emits greenhouse gases.

Posted: May 5, 2011

This Sunday we’ll be finishing the base for the shed and then installing it! Also lots of weeding, watering, and planting.

The Five Parks walk is the following Sunday, May 15. Ruskin Park is the last park on the walk and we’ll be the checkpoint. We’ll be running a cake stall to raise money for seeds, tools, and a greenhouse. If you’re inspired please bring cookies or cakes to sell, or just bring some pocket money! The dig day will be 12-3 that day, opening early to greet the first walkers.

Posted: May 2, 2011

May day. The garden is looking lush and abundant from all the sunshine and the regular watering rota, thanks everyone. This means the new seeds of kale, purple sprouting broccoli, calabrese, lettuce and turnips we planted 2 weeks ago have all sprouted through. We dug, sieved and planted carrot and tomato seedlings from the poly tunnel and re-staked the sugar snap peas as they are full with young peas.

Big news – The new flat-pack shed was unpacked and constructed thanks to Neil and Jared who put in extra hours over the Bank holiday. All that’s needed now is some tightening of bolts, then it’s ready to be lifted over and fixed in place. So we now have a new tool shed which means the tools will be happy and dry.

Thanks to Kate for the great carrot fairycakes. We harvested delicious chard, spinach and salad leaves for everyone to take home.

Posted: April 27, 2011

The shed is here! We need to finish taking out the pampas grass, and then put it together.
So please come along Friday 3-6pm and/or Sunday 1-3pm.
I’m sure there will be lots of weeding and watering and planting as well.

Posted: April 23, 2011

It was a joy to be back in the garden. Everything is growing well. There are tiny fruit on the gooseberries, the kale seedlings are coming up, and we have volunteer Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes; some of the tubers must have been left in the ground last year.

We had a glorious summery day. We weeded, watered, planted the maincrop potatoes and peas, earthed up the other potatoes, sprayed soapy water on the broad beans to discourage the black fly, planted out the tomato and lettuce seedlings in the beds, made a start on the raspberry staking, made a start on removing the pampas grass, and cleared the rocket and purple sprouting broccoli. Everyone went home with purple sprouting broccoli, rocket, mixed salad, chard, beet greens, and spring onions.

The waterers are doing a great job, all the plants look happy. Some principles of watering:

• to encourage a plant to have deep roots, it’s better to water deeper and less frequently, rather than often and shallowly.
• water the roots, rather than the leaves. This is particularly important on sunny days when water on the leaves can make the sun burn them (actually it’s better to water at the beginning or end of the day when the water is less likely to evaporate before it sinks into the ground).
• it’s more important to water seeds and seedlings than established plants, which are more able to get moisture from their roots. make sure to use the rosette on the watering can as it’s gentler.

We are leaving the mini greenhouse open now; it is too warm during the day to have it closed. We’ve netted over it to protect it from the birds.

Next dig day: Sunday May 1st, 1-3pm.

Posted: April 21, 2011

Hope you’re all enjoying the gorgeous weather!

Next dig day is Saturday, 11am – 1pm. We have potatoes and seeds to plant, the pampas grass to remove, and hopefully raspberry staking to do. We’re taking out the pampas grass because our fab donated tool shed arrives next week, yippee!

Posted: April 17, 2011

today was a lovely sunny day, cosmo and I (meloni) oversaw the dig day.

we sieved the soil and sowed purple sprouting broccoli, turnip,
calabrese, kale and crisphead lettuce. we cleared rocket and purple
sprouting broccoli and pak choi to make space for the pumpkin,
marigolds and sweetcorn and marrow, squash, courgettes, parsnips and
chard. And happy gardeners went home with a harvest of rocket, pak
choi, purple sprouting broccoli and salad leaves.

Posted: April 3, 2011

We had yet another lovely day in the garden. It is such a pleasure to see spring in full force – the crab apple trees are blossoming, the daffodils are trumpeting yellow, and all the fruit canes are sprouting. The seeds we put in in the dark days of winter – broad beans and peas – have grown into foot-tall plants!

We planted the second early potatoes today. We chose Kestrel, the same variety as last year, as it was so delicious. We also planted some lettuce amongst the broad beans. We took the bricks down from the cold frames, and moved some of the broad beans and peas into the legumes bed. It’s great to see Kate’s planting plan being put into action. We did a bit more netting and weeding and trimmed the grass around the beds.

We had a bumper crop of purple sprouting broccoli and some yummy tender chard and rocket.

Posted:

The Spring Edition of the Friends of Ruskin Park Newsletter is now available Spring Newsletter 2011

Posted: April 1, 2011

Spring is truly here. The veg are growing energetically, as are the weeds. We planted some potatoes and some seeds in the warm sun last Sunday, but mostly we weeded! Mastoor demonstrated how to propagate comfrey from cuttings. The rocket, pak choi and purple sprouting broccoli have started to recover under their new netting. Meloni and Kate brought in their tomato seedlings, which are looking great and have nestled into the cloche.

We’ve got more potatoes to plant Sunday, and some seeds, and I’m sure there will be more weeding to do.

Fantastic news – we have received the anonymous donation of a shed. It should arrive in the next week or so and will give our tools, seeds, and other equipment a dry, secure home.

Construction on the beehive will begin soon. The lovely and talented Roger will build it in pine treated with linseed oil and beeswax. The money we raised at the cake sale will pay for the timber. Seb’s successful Capital Bee bid will pay for training and kit.

The St. Saviour ‘s year ones came for their return visit this week and we talked about what seeds need to grow and they admired how much the peas have grown.

We’ve set up a watering rota so the seedlings don’t dry out. Thanks to our waterers!

Good news, the parks department has renewed our license to grow veg in the park for another year.

Posted:

Farmer’s Market: this Sat, 10-2 at the little park in Camberwell Green

Invisible Food Walk: this Sat, 2nd April, 11.45 – 3 pm Local food walk and activities exploring wild plants. This month the focus is on spring tonic herbs and there is a special singing treat. Loughborough Community Centre

http://lambethbandofsolidarity.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/invisible-food-monthly-walk-april-2nd-2011/

Cottington Community Garden Grand Greenhouse Opening – Kennington, Sat, 2nd April, 12 – 4pm, Opal Street, Off Kennington Lane, Official opening of they greenhouse. Unveiling of ‘2 new Royal Scarecrows’. Free workshop from The Master Gardeners from Garden Organic. They want volunteers, call 07912883970.

http://projectdirt.com/events/cottington-community-garden-2?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Seed Swap, Seed Planting and Garden Equipment exchange (including broken tools for repair by Wandsworth Prison) + the Food Coop ordering session at Transition Town Brixton ‘Our Space’ Event: Monday, 4th April, 6 – 9 pm. Loughborough Community Centre, 105 Angell Road, (corner of Barrington Street) SW9 7PD.  Pledge to get those seeds planted one way or another! Look to see if packets expire this year and, if so, plant them, swap them, or give them away!

Posted:

The latest courses from Capital Growth. Ruskin Park Community Garden is a Capital Growth space so the offer is available to us!

Special deal for The Regents Park courses in April and May, All Capital Growth spaces get two places for £15!**

Courses coming up in April (this weekend) at the Regents Park – a few places left!:

Planning a vegetable garden using permaculture
Saturday April 2nd 10.30am-1pm
Practical and theoretical session on how to design and think about your food growing space using permaculture principles. This course, led by Hedvig Murray from Get Growing.
Level: beginners/intermediate

Seed sowing and transplanting
Saturday April 2nd, 2pm-4.30pm
OR Wednesday April 6th, 5pm-7.30pm
Learn some practical tips on how to sow seeds and propagate seedlings, and how to take cuttings. It is being taught by Tom Moggach from City Leaf.
Level: beginner/intermediate

Courses in May:

Food gardens and wildlife
Saturday May 14th, 10.30am-1pm
OR Wednesday May 18th, 5.30pm-8pm
Practical tips from trainers from the London Wildlife Trust, on how best to care for and encourage wildlife into your garden which will benefit your food growing space.
level: beginner/intermediate

**You can book two people on one course, or you can book on two different courses for £15. Please note these are for the Regents Park courses April and May only. To find out more and to book onto a course at Regents Park please email: training@capitalgrowth.org
If you are booking for this £15 deal please mention this email.

To see all the Capital Growth food growing courses across the four sites in London, see our CG training calendar March-June 2011 for March-June 2011.

Posted: March 26, 2011

There’s plenty of planting to do on Sunday – early potatoes and seeds. If we can get the timber together the raspberries need staking as well. And probably some weeding. Mastoor will be demonstrating how to take cuttings to propagate the comfrey.

Posted: March 20, 2011

Today was a lovely warmish day and we got lots done.

We put together the cloche for seedlings. Please bring your seedlings to the garden next time you come.

We planted lots of seeds and put them in the cloche.
We planted 20 jerusalem artichokes and two rhubarb tubers to replace the ones eaten by the squirrels.

We put up lots of netting. It turns out that the netting we had was preventing the birds from eating the rocket and purple sprouting broccoli. In the two weeks the netting has been down, the birds have stripped the plants. So we put it back up again today, with some very impressive architectural design.

We planted the rest of the raspberry canes Roger brought.

On Sunday Mastoor will demonstrate how to take cuttings to propagate the comfrey.

Hope to see you all Thursday night at the Prince Regent Herne Hill Green Drinks – come to the pub and grow some grub!

Posted: March 17, 2011

There’s lots of planting to do on Sunday – jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, and plenty of seeds. And we need to put together our new polytunnel – it will house our seedlings until we can get a greenhouse. Please bring loo and kitchen roll tubes, we’ll use them for planting seeds.

We’ll be getting some free tools refurbished by the inmates at Wandsworth prison. This is via the Tools Shed programme .

Upcoming dig days:
Sunday 20th Mar 1-3pm
Sunday 27th Mar 1-3pm
Sunday 3rd April 1-3pm
Saturday 9th April 11-1pm
Sunday 17th April 1-3pm
Saturday 23rd April 11-1pm
Sunday 1st May 1-3pm
Sunday 8th May 1-3pm
Sunday 15th May 1-3pm

Posted:

Support the park by joining Friends of Ruskin Park!

The membership form is downloadable here:
2011 membership form 2011

Posted: March 10, 2011

We will be starting our weekly dig days next week rather than this week, so no dig day this weekend. If you’re itching to get those fingers dirty then you could go along to the Dulwich Veg Garden workday 10:30am-12:30pm Sunday. Contact at dulwichveggarden@gmail.com Work days are shown on Project Dirt at www.projectdirt.com/group/DulwichDVG, or Twitter at www.twitter.com/DulwichDVG.

A date for your diary: Herne Hill Green Drinks is hosting a intro to growing veg workshop:
“Next Herne Hill Green Drinks:
Growing Vegetables: an introduction
March 24th, 7:30pm
upstairs at the Prince Regent
We are very lucky to have Maria Devereaux from the brilliant Master Gardener programme who will give a brief hands-on talk about how to grow veg. We will make plant pots from newspaper and plant up seeds to take home.” More info on http://www.hernehillcan.org.

Thanks to Ram for giving us a big bag of Jerusalem artichoke tubers.

Posted:

Dobbie’s Garden Centre has a blog, and they’ve written a post called “Urban gardening blogs we love”, which includes Ruskin Park Community Garden. The full article is here:
http://www.dobbies.co.uk/blog/urban-gardening-blogs

Posted:

The year 1 class from St. Saviour’s class is learning about growing, so they came to the community garden on Tuesday to see what we’re growing. They will come back in 4 weeks to see how things have changed.

Posted: March 8, 2011

Have a look at the veg we’re going to grow http://www.ruskinparkcommunitygarden.org/other-things-of-interest/spring-summer-planting-plans
It includes a diagram of which beds the veg will go in, when the seeds will get planted, and a four year crop rotation plan.

Each dig day we’ll have a look to see what needs planting, and where.

Big thanks to the lovely Kate for her hard work!

Posted: March 7, 2011

Dear Capital Growth spaces – South London!

We are pleased to announce food-growing and wildlife gardening courses in South London, in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust. They will hold a series of talks and workshops and will take place at the Centre or Wildlife Gardening in Peckham. This is a well established attractive site which has both a demonstration wildlife garden, with mini habitats, a wild flower nursery, raised vegetable beds and bee hives.

Please note, that the first talk is this Thursday 10th March!

These are discounted at half price for Capital Growth spaces, see below..

How to book
Booking is essential as sessions fill up fast! Please email chammond@wildlondon.org.uk or call 0207 252 9186 to find out if there are spaces and to reserve a place.

Fees
Fees must be paid in advance. Details on how to make a payment will be send by email

* One and a half hour TALKS – £10 for individuals / £5 for Capital Growth members
* Three hour WORKSHOPS – £20 for individuals / £10 for Capital Growth members

Sessions available from March to September 2011 are:

Principles in wildlife gardening (TALK)
Thursday March 10th, 6.30 – 8pm
An introduction on encouraging wildlife in your garden or growing space

Introduction to wildlife friendly food growing (TALK)
Thursday March 31st, 6.30 – 8pm
How you can grow food and bring in birds, butterflies and bees

Wildlife gardening (WORKSHOP)
Sunday April 10th 10.30am-1.30am
An introduction on how to encourage wildlife in your garden or growing space

Growing in containers (TALK)
Thursday April 14th, 6.30 – 8pm
Which crops and herbs work in limited spaces and ideas about what you can use to grow in

Wildlife friendly food growing (WORKSHOP)
Sunday April 17th 10.30am-1.30pm
An introduction on how to grow fruit and veg whilst helping wildlife

Insects – friends and foe (TALK)
Thursday May 26th, 6.30 – 8pm
Find out more about attracting beneficial insects (bees, hoverflies etc) and the organic control of pests

Compost and caring for your soil (WORKSHOP)
Sunday June 12th 10.30am-1.30pm
A focus on how best to make compost from your garden and the basics of keeping your soil healthy

Growing food through the year (TALK)
Thursday June 23rd, 6.30 – 8pm
Its time to act to keep your spaces producing in the winter months. Find out about best crops and how to nurture them.

Products from herbs and perennials (WORKSHOP)
Sunday July 17th 10.30am-1.30pm
Some of the best plants for wildlife are your herbs and perennials. You will learn what you can make out of these useful plants.

Gardener’s questions and answers (Q&A/TALK)
Thursday July 21st, 6.30 – 8pm
A panel session to solve your queries about growing food in a wildlife friendly way. Bring along questions and ask the experts!

Seed collection and propagation (WORKSHOP)
Sunday August 14th 10.30am-1.30pm
The tips and techniques you need for increasing the plants for your wildlife area, also applies to your fruit and veg.

Preparing your garden for autum and winter (TALK)
Thursday September 1st, 6.30 – 8pm
Get tips about what you need to do now in order to keep growing through the winter and how to help wildlife through those tricky months.

Creating spaces for wildlife (WORKSHOP)
Sunday September 18th 10.30am-1.30pm
What your food growing space needs to attract wildlife with practical tips on brid boxes and mini beast hotels

Posted: March 6, 2011

It was a brilliant day at the garden. Spring is definitely in the air and we had a lot of familiar faces and several new ones. The veg are definitely growing faster in the warmer weather.

We got lots done. We moved the broad beans out of the raised beds and into the ground, and moved some of the pak choi to the ammunition boxes. We took all of the netting down as we don’t need it – some of it was to protect seedlings from pigeons and some of it was to protect brassicas from pests. We took the windows off the cold frames and built twig teepees for the peas. We planted brussels sprouts and salad. We planted raspberry canes (donated by roger). We dug in the vetch. And we mended the small chalkboard signs and used them to label the veg. Then we saw some blackbirds starting to eat the brussels sprout seeds so we put netting over them.

We harvested purple sprouting broccoli, rocket, and the last of the brussels sprouts.
The new compost is now covered with very tasteful beige berber carpet scraps, courtesy of Lordship Lane Carpets. Keeping it warm will help it cook faster.

We will move to weekly digs, mostly likely Saturdays 11-1, alternating with Sundays 1-3 (will post info about next weekend asap).

Now recruiting: the South London Master programme – volunteer network supporting people and communities grow fruit and vegetables in their gardens and on local communal land
Do you have a passion for growing fruit and veg? Can you inspire others to have a go and develop their skills?
Master Gardeners share their food growing knowledge to help others grow their own. Each one has different gardening experience, from a couple of years to many decades.
Foundation training for Master Gardeners is on Sat/Sun 9th and 10th April.
Click here for the South London Master Gardener website
Click here for more information on becoming a Master Gardener

Foundation training for Master Gardeners is on
Sat/Sun 9th and 10th April (spaces filling fast)
Sat/Sun 10th and 11th September.

If you are interested please contact me for the application form.
Contact: Fiona Law flaw@garden.organic.co.uk, 07584 343847. don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like more information

Background to the programme
The Master Gardener Programme is a 3 year pilot, now 18 months in. It has four projects around England: Warwickshire, Norfolk, Islington and South London. A new project has just started in Lincolnshire, principally supported by the local primary health care trust. The aim is to roll out the programme nationally, supported by local finance. LB Lambeth, through Sue, contributes to South London Master Gardeners. The programme is managed by Garden Organic, the national charity for organic gardening. Garden Organic is the working name for the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA) which has been promoting organic gardening for over 50 years.

Posted: March 4, 2011

Dig day Sunday 1-3pm. There are seeds to plant and the vetch needs digging in. It looks to be cold and cloudy, but no rain.

Great news – our application to for Capital Growth Bee funding has been approved. The grant will provide kit and training for our beekeepers.

Climate week starts March 21. More info on http://www.climateweek.com/

Posted: February 21, 2011

It was a cold murky day at the garden yesterday, with a few hearty stalwarts. The garden is looking very well tended, so there wasn’t much to do. We spent some time talking about the wildlife garden plan, then we harvested some brussels sprouts, purple sprouting broccoli, rocket, and herbs and did some tidying. Thanks to Cosmo for yummy flapjacks.

Next dig day: Sunday, March 6, 1-3pm

One of the elements of the wildlife area will be a bug hotel made from palettes. We’ll need straw and thick bamboo canes to stuff between the layers. We’ll also be looking out for things like old watering cans/ garden ornaments (obviously nothing gaudy or unnatural) but anything that might allow for bug hiding places or shelters. If you have anything that you’re getting rid of please think of us!

Spring is definitely on the way. The snow drops and crocuses in the park are looking stunning.

The seedlings are doing their thing – here are some tomatoes that were planted up last dig day. I still think germination is amazing.

We have just had two tons of compost delivered (free!) from www.elcrp-recycling.com. They collect food waste from businesses and schools in East London and give it to groups like us. Black gold!

Dulwich Vegetable Garden is interested in putting together a cycle tour of local community gardens with us. Anyone interested in helping to organise this?

Two local green drinks this week:

Green Drinks Dulwich: come along to the Mag at 211 Lordship Lane, SE22 on Wednesday 23 February from 8pm to discuss food and growing initiatives, and anything else green. We have reserved the ground floor space by the sofas and the fireplace. Look out for the posters.

Herne Hill Green Drinks Talk:
ZEDfactory housing in Andover Low carbon, energy and cost efficient housing scheme
The next Herne Hill Green Drinks features architect Gita Deb talking about her work on the Zedfactory eco development in Andover, and how green building techniques can apply in older houses. Feb 24 upstairs at the Prince Regent. Grab a drink and a chat at 7:30, talk starts at 8pm. More info on http://www.hernehillcan.org

ZEDfactory housing Talk
Herne Hill Green Drinks
24 February, 7.30 for 8pm
Upstairs at the
Prince Regent Pub, 69 Dulwich Road, Herne Hill, London SE24 0NJ

The ZEDfactory housing project in Andover builds on the experiences made in the Bedzed project in South London. One of the key aspects of the project was to keep the costs low and develop an
affordable housing scheme.

Gita Deb will present the project and the key elements of the scheme such as:
• The use of renewable technology such as solar thermal and wind turbines
• The construction materials
• The underlying principles of sustainable construction
• How heat and cold storage can be a achieved and how it is used
• The use of bio fuels
• Design for longevity
• How the building can be upgraded when technology changes of becomes more affordable
• How the costs for sustainable developments can be lowered

Although Artist’s Way Is a new development, a lot of the principles applied in the project can be
transferred to existing housing stock. Gita will give an overview of these principles and how they can be applied in an urban area like Herne Hill.

Gita Deb
Gita has a variety of experience both in the UK and overseas of large and small projects. She has worked extensively on sustainability projects working in the past with Bill Dunster Architects ZEDfactory as a project architect for Artists Way Andover (Published ‘Building Magazine BedZED’s Baby) here in the UK and tropical sustainability architect Jimmy Lim in Malaysia. Gita has also worked on a sustainable temple and city of Mayapur, West Bengal, India by Mayapur Developments as well as the concert hall interior support areas of Petronas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia whilst working for DNA Consultants. Gita earlier spent time during her studies researching the slums of Calcutta, India and the shantytowns of Dhaka, Bangladesh both of which areas and people are affected severely by climate change amongst other issues.

Gita has more recently been working as a team leader and Senior Architect for architects Denton Corker Marshall on the Plot No 1 Athletes Village (London Olympic site 2012) where she was responsible for sustainability and affordable housing on the project. Gita has volunteered for a period with the disaster and development charity Article 25 where she was a Senior Architect on the Gola Forest Housing Project, Sierra Leone.

Posted: February 14, 2011

Next dig day: Sunday 1-3pm

Great news! The funding bid by the Maudsley was successful. The money will go towards plants for the wildlife area; patients who are integrating back into society will help plant up the area.

The last dig day we planted seedlings in recycled containers and people took them home to look after until they’re read to plant. Thanks to Kate for organising the last dig day and Meloni for the photos!

“Sunday went really well, lots of people turned up
We planted 3 varieties of tomatoes (7 seeds of each) & endive in containers & people took them hope to keep them warm.
did some weeding
Kate & Cosmo cleaned the windows of the cloches to give them a nice view
also transplanted some of the pak choi from the hospital bed as it was really struggling for space & moved them to under the cloches at the end of the garden with the other Pak Choi as there was loads of room
the edging for the final bed was fitted & its now looking great
also did some watering”

Taking care of seedlings:
Once the seeds have been sown, they need to be kept in a moist (but not wet), warm environment. A heated or mist propagator are ideal for this purpose, although seeds can also be successfully grown on a warm windowsill. Avoid saturating the compost, as this will reduce the amount of oxygen available to the plants roots and may encourage diseases or rot.

When the shoots start to appear, remove the propagator lid. Although you will need to keep the seedlings in bright light, they will need to be protected from draughts and shaded from harsh sunlight. Keep the compost moist to ensure that the roots do not dry out.

If you put the seed container into another dish of water, you can water from the bottom – fill the dish with water and let it soak up into the container. This prevents the seed/seedling from being disturbed by a stream of water, and encourages it to send roots down to the water.

Posted: January 24, 2011

Before:

After:

It took massive musclepower and a lot of perspiration, but we triumphed in the end. One of the pampas grasses is gone, and we have room for the greenhouse we are raising money towards. It really was a very impressive effort, so I hope the diggers put their feet up later.

We also weeded all the beds, watered the veg settled into their cozy coldframes, refilled the water butts, raked up leaves, and generally tidied.

The plan is to start planting up tomato seeds next dig day (Sunday Feb 6). I’ll bring some recycled containers and planting compost. People will take the seeds home to look after until we have a greenhouse or it’s warm enough to plant them out.

The beekeepers have attended a natural beekeeping course and we’re meeting with the park rangers and a local beekeeper to talk about next steps.

Hope to see you all Thursday at the A Farm for the Future screening at Herne Hill Green Drinks 7:30 upstairs at the Prince Regent Pub.

Posted: January 21, 2011

Dear Gardeners,

Dig day Sunday – we’ll take out one of the pampas grasses to make room for the greenhouse. Please wear long sleeves and bring gloves and a pick axe if you have one.

Herne Hill Green Drinks is screening A Farm for the Future next week, with a talk about food and farming issues afterwards. Thursday 7:30 Jan 27th, upstairs at the Prince Regent Pub, across from Brockwell Park Lido on Dulwich Road. I’ve attached a flyer for the film screening, please forward as appropriate. Info on http://www.hernehillcan.org.

Solar Bulk Buying: Herne Hill CAN is collecting names of interested people and working towards an informational meeting. There’s a page on http://www.hernehillforum.org.uk/content/save-solar

Posted: January 9, 2011

It was a glorious sunny day and lots of people came out to enjoy it. We unloaded the 200 bricks donated by my lovely builder, Julian, and built coldframes with them. The peas look very happy in their new abode.

The ground wasn’t too muddy or frozen, so we dug the 8th veg bed.

We harvested most of the brussels sprouts, the last of the carrots, and some purple sprouting broccoli.

Kate talked through the spring planting plan. She has organised the beds into a four year rotation with some companion planting. We’re going to use heritage seeds and save seeds for next year. The tomato seeds will be the first thing we need to plant up – in February. They need to germinate indoors, so we’ll have a planting session and people can take home several pots to look after until it’s time to plant them up.

Big thanks to Kate for all her hard work!

Ben and Annalisa are going to hold a crafternoon fundraiser for our greenhouse (thanks!!!). It will be at the end of February so we can get it up in time to use it for spring seeds.  Here are photos from a previous crafternoon, they look amazing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/43184275@N04/sets/72157624954016430/.

Next dig day (Jan 23) we’ll have to take out one of the pampas grasses to make room for the greenhouse. Wear long sleeves and bring gloves!

We had a steering committee meeting this week.  We agreed to open our own bank account (Herne Hill Forum has kindly been the conduit for our money); in order to do so we needed to appoint officers. I’m the chair, Jean is the treasurer, and Kate is the secretary.  We have provided a list of plants to the Maudsley for the wildlife garden; they are going to apply for funding and work on the project with us.

Posted: January 4, 2011

Happy New Year!

Here’s to a 2011 where carbon reduction goes mainstream and less triumphs over more – less consumption of fuel, water, natural resources, and stuff in general, fewer flights and car journeys, and less waste.

Dig day Sunday 1-3pm. We will talk through the spring planting plan, so please bring your thoughts and ideas. If the ground is soft enough we can dig the last veg bed. And we will hopefully have the bricks to build the cold frames.

Posted: December 13, 2010

Sunday was permaculture day and we had a constructive, if cold, discussion. Toby, Cosmo and I talked about permaculture is and how it applies to agriculture. There’s a great intro to permaculture here http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/permaculture/ and some notes on how permaculture applies to agriculture http://www.ruskinparkcommunitygarden.org/other-things-of-interest/notes-from-permaculture-day.

We then talked about what’s involved in a wildlife area. There are four components to a wildlife habitat: provide food for wildlife, supply water for wildlife, create cover for wildlife, and give wildlife a place to raise their young (according to http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx?CFID=29690110&CFTOKEN=bff2ea95f59fe6d2-D6D542F4-5056-A868-A093400609BA633B).

We talked about creating a bug hotel from old palettes, creating a small pond, planting a hedge to protect the area from the path and provide food (hazel, elder), planting a live willow fence around the area, planting wildflowers,  getting some logs for bugs to live in, creating  a seat around the tree, and creating a herb spiral near the gate. We will use native plants. Cosmo is going to make a start on a plan and Roger, Farah and Meloni are going to help. I’m going to create a page on the website where people can comment on the plan. The park ranger has offered to get us some logs, thanks!

We have names for two more beds – Chandler after a gardener who inspired Cosmo and Semra which is where Farah’s dad is from.

The seedlings in the wheelchair-height containers are all looking good. The seedlings in the ground are a mixed bunch.  The chard has recovered from the frost and the onions look to be winning the war against the squirrels. The brussels sprouts are a bit grim – small and covered in aphids. They are notoriously hard to grow organically, hopefully we’ll still get a decent crop. Aside from the cavolo nero we haven’t had huge success with brassicas.

Next dig day – January 9. There won’t be much digging to do so we’ll talk through the spring planting plan. Kate has a draft plan but wants everyone’s input so please come with your thoughts.

Posted: December 11, 2010

Sunday is permaculture day at the garden – we’ll talk through what permaculture is, how it applies to agriculture, and then make a start on a design for the wildlife area. It will be a bit warmer than it has been, and no rain/snow forecast, but do dress warmly and maybe bring a flask of something hot. It would be good to get an idea of numbers (for handouts and cookies) so if you plan to come please let me know.

Herne Hill Climate Action Network (CAN) has persuaded Sainsbury’s Local to give out Herne Hill reusable shopping bags! They’re at the tills starting with yesterday’s evening commute. The bags contain a leaflet explaining why plastic bags are bad for the environment. More info on http://www.hernehillcan.org/

Herne Hill CAN is also organizing bulk buying of solar panels as a result of the solar talk at the last green drinks. There’s more info on http://www.hernehillcan.org/other-interest/solar-in-the-home-community-buying . By buying together we can get a discount. Please let me know if you’re interested.

A timely local event: Saturday: Brixton Zero Waste Christmas - Brixton Library (Brixton/Oval), 12.00 midday to 4.00pm. This listing is from Project Dirt’s weekly newsletter of what’s on. Project Dirt is a central web repository for environmental activities/activism in London, www.projectdirt.com – worth signing up to!

CoolItSchools (http://www.coolitschools.com/) a non profit based in Herne Hill that works with schools on climate change issues has just opened Cool it Shopping (a not for profit so all the income goes to help eco start ups, school projects and conservation ) http://redbeehive.coolitshopping.com/products. They are selling bee hotels for super pollinating solitary bees so your garden will increase it’s abundance,  they work brilliantly, HRH has one!  Put one on your Christmas list?

Posted: November 28, 2010

It was a sunny, cold day at the garden. We took apart palettes and used the slats to fill the holes in the compost bin. We shifted the big pile of topsoil to the far corner of the garden and then laid out one more big veg bed in that space. We forked over the soil where the topsoil was. The ground is frozen so it will probably be a while before we can lift the turf on the other half of the bed.

Next dig day (Dec 12) we’ll talk about permaculture. Three of us have taken permaculture courses, so we’ll explain a bit about permaculture principles and then we can all discuss how they could apply to the garden. Permaculture is a design methodology, so we can try designing the wildlife area.

We raised £50 towards the greenhouse at the Carnegie Library Winter Fair. Thanks to Carole for help running the stall. Jane Wright is the lucky winner of 18 hours of gardening labour, and very pleased she is. Ben and Annalisa have a great idea for a fundraiser in January, hopefully we can raise the balance towards a greenhouse.

Doug from Friends of Ruskin Park is donating a used tool store, big thanks!

Posted: November 27, 2010

Dig day tomorrow 1-3pm. We’ll be working on the compost area – Cosmo is bringing tools and materials to tidy it up and insulate the compost so it cooks faster. The ground will be too frozen to dig another bed but we may make a start on the taking out the pampas grass. Please bring heavy gloves if you have them.

Today we’ll be running a stall at the Carnegie Library Winter Fair, 11-3pm at the Library. We had intended to sell pots of herbs to raise money for a greenhouse, but the herbs are looking a bit pathetic (not enough light). So we’re selling raffle tickets. The prize: six lovely garden volunteers will come to your house and do three hours of work – digging a bed, planting a veg patch, weeding, clearing… Come on down and buy a ticket, and do some early Christmas shopping:

“The Friends of Carnegie Library invite you to the Library Winter fair. During the day the Library will welcome characters from Dickens in costume and include stalls, raffles, puzzles, decorate the Christmas tree and much more. Refreshments will include homemade cakes and a special early welcome will be given to Father Christmas on a flying visit.”

Our Lambeth ward purse funding application (for a greenhouse) was turned down, most likely because we received funding last year.We’ll look for other grant opportunities, as we need a tool store as well.

Voting closes on December 1st for Lambeth funding for community projects http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/CouncilDemocracy/Consultations/YourChoice.htm. It would really revitalise Ruskin Park to have a café. And I’m going to put in a shameless plug for the Brixton Reuse Centre (£100K) as a great way to enable people to reduce their carbon footprint by reusing rather than buying new stuff.

Posted: November 19, 2010

The next dig day will be November 28. We’ll focus on the compost area, make a start on digging out one of the pampas grasses, and dig another bed if the ground isn’t too wet.
The steering committee met this week to discuss the budget. We are applying for Lambeth community funding for a greenhouse and a tool store.
We have added a wish list to the website, in the lower right corner of the home page – if there’s anything on the list you want to donate please get in touch.

Posted: November 14, 2010

We had an impressive turnout of stalwarts in the cold rain today. I’ve taken a picture to prove it. We took out the beans and planted vetch in the rest of that bed. We made a teepee on the broad beans in the wheelchair height container and planted parsley, rocket and tatsoi. And we tidied up a bit – fixing netting, raking leaves, and taking the yellowed leaves off the brassicas. There wasn’t a huge amount to do so we finished up early.  All the seedlings are looking good. We should have a reasonable Brussels sprouts harvest soon, as well as some rocket and pak choi and some beetroot and chard from earlier in the year.

An animal dug up one of the rhubarb crowns. Not sure if it was a squirrel or a fox. Jean has a rhubarb she needs to divide so we’ll get a replacement from her.

We will now start having dig days every other Sunday, as there just there isn’t that much to do. We’ll go back to every Sunday when things pick up again, probably early spring.

Next dig day: November 28, 1-3pm!

Posted: November 8, 2010

The fruit is in! In all:

Blackcurrant – 2 Ben Lomond
Gooseberry – 2 Invicta , 2 Pax
Rhubarb – 1 Champagne, 2 Victoria
White currant – 1 White Versaille
Red currant 1 Ben Lomond , 1 Jonkheer van Tets
Raspberry – 5 Glen Clova, 5 Leo, 5 Glen Ample, 5 Autumn Bliss, 5 Polka (a mix of early, mid, and late fruiting varieties)

Big thanks to Carole and Jake, who laid out the beds and researched the varieties. We had lots of energetic diggers so we finished by 3:30. We got really lucky with the weather – the ground was moist but not soggy and it was dry and sunny except for a brief showery spell with a spectacular rainbow.

As well as planting all the fruit canes, we planted some garlic, raked some leaves for the compost pile, and put some netting on the broad beans. Kate updated the planting plant to reflect what’s in the ground. All the seedlings are coming on well, aside from the broadbeans which are getting munched, probably by birds. Roger’s teepees on the wheelchair-height beds are working brilliantly, keeping the veg slightly warmer as well as preventing the plants from getting eaten. We had a huge harvest of Jerusalem artichokes, over a kilo each to take home. We also had a bit of purple sprouting broccoli.

If you haven’t cooked Jerusalem artichokes before, here are a couple ideas. Jean recommends roasting them with salad potatoes; throw in some sage and lemon half way through roasting. I usually make soup – fry some onions then add the sliced artichokes and stock and cook for 20 min, then puree and add cream and seasoning. If you want to get really fancy a drip of truffle oil is a fantastic addition.

We’ll need to build supports for the raspberries in the spring. We may also want to plant comfrey around the roots as a companion plant. It feeds the soil and keeps the weeds down.

Next week we’ll plant up a few more beds. We may move to dig days every other Sunday because there’s not much to do this time of year.

Reminders: please bring your 2 liter plastic bottles to the garden and remember to vote for funding for local projects (e.g. the Ruskin Park café). Also the Carnegie Library Winter Fair is November 27, please let me know if you can help on our stall.

There are a number of excellent upcoming events:

Brixton Community Draught Busters
Thursday 11  Nov, 6-8pm, (drop-in), TTB Community Shop, 6 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8PR FREE
also
Saturday 13 Nov, 11-2pm, on Railton Road near Herne Hill Station, (phone 07892 792944 for booking) FREE
Saturday 27 Nov, 11-2pm, SW12, on Midmoor Road, (phone 07892 792944 for booking) FREE
Learn, hands-on, how to install draught busting material. Draught proofing is a cheap and easy DIY measure which will save you money, reduce your carbon footprint and improve the comfort of your home. If you are interested in arranging a similar workshop in your own community please email Sibylle.

The Big Lambeth Clothes Swap!
23^rd November 2010 19.00
Venue: Upstairs at the Ritzy, Brixton Oval, Coldharbour Lane, London

v      Swap to your heart’s content in the fantastic surroundings of Brixton’s Ritzy Cinema
v      Drop off items at 7pm, party begins at 7.30pm!
v      Please bring up to five items (clothes, shoes, bags, accessories) that are clean, in good condition and that you are proud to hand on
v      Delivered by the London Borough of Lambeth in partnership with the textile charity TRAID, and Recycle for London. TRAID will take away un-swished items for charity reuse
v      Full bar open

For more information please email cbourke2@lambeth.gov.uk

Solar Energy for the Home at Herne Hill Green Drinks – Thursday November 25^th

Solar power – facts, advantages and incentives

Matt Mann of Southern Solar will present the latest development and opportunities of solar technologies in the domestic applications.
Thursday 25 November, 7:30pm for 8pm start
Upstairs at the Prince Regent Pub, 69 Dulwich Road
The talk will be cover the key areas of the use of solar power in a domestic environment:
- What is solar electricity?
- How does it connect to existing services?
- What are the savings?
- How are they installed
- What is the Feed in Tariff and how does it work? Are there other financial incentives?
- How do solar technologies relate to other renewable technologies?
In the second part of the event Martin Hoenle of M.HAUS will give an overview of financial incentives and grants available for
- other renewable technologies
- insulation
- energy efficiency measures
- micro generation
We will also outline the criteria you have to fulfill to be eligible for financial support. For more information please see www.hernehillcan.org

Posted: November 3, 2010

Please come on Sunday if you can! There are loads of canes to plant, and a few veg beds we can plant as well. It looks to be sunny and cold. We will start at 1 and most likely work until dark. Also, please bring gloves if you can.

Meloni led the dig last Sunday. She said: “we had a productive day at the garden with a few seasoned gardeners we trimmed the beds, dug over the fruit beds in preparation for the fruit trees and dug out the beans which have finished harvesting ready for planting more winter seeds next week.”

The Shakespeare Road Zero Waste veg garden is going to build a greenhouse from recycled drinks bottles and they need 900 of them. If you have any 2 liter bottles, please bring them to the community garden.

I went on an introductory permaculture course this weekend. Permaculture is a design methodology rather than a set of gardening techniques (to my surprise). The idea is to create systems that are self-sustaining and maximize efficiency while respecting and working with nature. There are certain gardening techniques that fit well within permaculture, e.g. no dig gardening and forest gardening. One Sunday I will spend some time talking about what I learned and what we might apply to the garden. The course was organised by BioRegional (www.bioregional.com) who were involved in building BedZed. The first day of the course was there so I got to tour the development, very inspiring. It was led by Graham from www.spiralseed.co.uk; he was an excellent teacher.

We have a chance to get some funding for a community cafe in Ruskin Park, how lovely would that be! You can vote, please see below.

VOTE FOR A COMMUNITY CAFE IN RUSKIN PARK:

Hello Everyone.

I want to bring your attention to a great opportunity to have a café and community centre in Ruskin Park.

We need you to support votes for this project.

Lambeth council’s campaign “Your borough, your budget, your choice” gives Lambeth residents and local groups the opportunity to vote for particular projects and decide how to allocate its budget.

Lambeth residents can vote – so if you live in Lambeth make sure you vote for this project. If you use Ruskin Park but live outside the borough please encourage all those you know who live in Lambeth to vote for the development of a café and community centre in Ruskin Park

Ruskin Park is one of Lambeth’s most popular parks with sports and recreation activities available year round. However, Ruskin Park has always lacked a community focal point where visitors can stop for a coffee and something to eat, offices for park staff and volunteers, and a low-cost space for training, events and meetings. 

The stable block is a historic building in the centre of Ruskin Park, modified over time for use as a parks depot. It needs to be brought back into the daily life of this attractive park and given a use that meets the needs of park users and the wider community including the staff, patients and visitors to King’s College and Maudsley Hospitals, which are both a short walk from the stable block. 



The plans include:

· a modern, fully equipped café, to be run as a local community enterprise;

· male and female (or unisex) toilets with baby changing facilities;

· space that can be hired for various exhibitions, meetings, training or events, including school visits, art exhibitions or parties;

· a centre for the park manager, contractors and/or authorised agencies for administration and meetings;

· ‘community rooms’ which can be leased out or used by stakeholders or groups, generating income to improve the use and environment of the park.

Vote to have a cafe and community centre in Ruskin Park before 30th November @ www.lambeth.gov.uk/surveys/fin/yourchoice2010.htm

Posted: October 24, 2010

We had a lovely day in the glorious fall sunshine. There was plenty to do – clearing the squash, sugar snap peas and courgettes, weeding, and planting onions, garlic, green manure (vetch), peas, rocket, and broad beans. The black birds are snooping for snacks so Roger built impressive teepees over the wheelchair beds to protect the new seedlings.
Kate put sticks around the onion bulbs to stop the squirrels from digging up the bulbs and squashing the stems; it looks a bit funny but hopefully it will work. We harvested beans, kale, beetroot, a turnip, and the rest of the squash.
The bees people had a meeting this afternoon with Bob Jackman, a local beekeeper, to understand where we could site a hive and what steps need to be taken to get ready to keep bees. Trainee beekeepers need a year of practical experience before having their own hive, so the group will be going on courses, attending lectures, and reading a lot.
I gave a short talk at a meeting of the Friends of Streatham Common this week about how and why we started the community garden, and how it runs. They are hoping to get permission to grow veg in part of the common so wanted to understand our experience.
I am hoping the fruit canes arrive so we can plant them next weekend.

Posted: October 22, 2010

Hope to see you Sunday at the garden. It is set to be sunny and chilly. We’ll weed, and possibly clear some beds and do some planting.

Posted: October 19, 2010

From Cosmo:
Well that sun didn’t stop shining all dig and it certainly spurred on everyone to get an awful lot done. We cleared out all the tomato plants and saved the green toms for some chutney making and turned the soil ready for planting. Some old squash vines were cleared and the soil weeded and turned with some vetch planted in it’s place. Also the mendelssohn bed was cleared of the old chard and soil was turned then some pak choi was planted and window covers were put over. The bed where the potatoes were has been turned and kate has planted some new treats and this area has been covered with windows. Finally everything had a good water and alot of weeding was done.

Posted: October 15, 2010

Sunday looks to be sunny. Cosmo will be organising the dig day. We’ll plant broad beans, green manure (vetch) and possibly some other things.
We have two new bed names: the fruit beds are named for Auntie Betty Patterson, after Carole’s family friend, and Mendelssohn, who wrote well-known ‘Spring Song’ when visiting relatives of his wife, the Benneckes, in Camberwell. The latter was suggested by Lara and Di, the park rangers, and Alison from the Friends of Ruskin Park.
Clara, Robert, and I had a promising meeting with the Maudsley and have several possibilities for accommodating the patients.

Posted: October 10, 2010

Jean organised the dig day and I ran the cake stall. The weather is too mild to start the fall planting so they did a lot of tidying up with plenty of visitors to the garden – cleared front demonstration bed to plant green manure, planted some quick germinating herbs in 4th raised tub, re-fixed edging that had lifted during the summer is 2 beds, weeded the squash bed and the soft fruit beds, topped up soft fruit beds with compost, cut grass around beds by the fence, and picked tomatoes, carrots and beans to share.

The cake stall made an impressive £113.38 and completely sold out. There were delicious cakes and cookies from Anne, Cathy, Di, Jean, Carole, Kate, me and an anonymous donor. There were lots of happy families drawing fantastic pictures on the pavement.

Posted: October 8, 2010

Tomorrow 12-3 is the Big Draw, our cake sale to benefit our bees project, and our dig day. The weather looks to be good (phew). But in case of rain, the Big Draw and cake sale will be in the Carnegie Library. I saw Carole yesterday, she was about to make the bees for decoration on her marzipan-topped cakes. YUM.
No dig day Sunday.
Clara, Robert and I are meeting with the Maudsley folks next week to understand how we can organise patient visits to the garden. Clara did the training this week, thanks!!!
Our four beekeepers are enrolled in the natural beekeeping course and we’re meeting with a local beekeeper to talk about supervision.
I have put a plan of the garden with current/future crops on it here. We have three named beds: St. Nicholas, Shinto, and Oklahoma. Please suggest more!

Posted: October 4, 2010

Our gardeners are a stalwart bunch, no fair weather diggers here! Several of us braved the downpour and we planted, netted, and harvested. There was another huge pile of beans, and some potatoes, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and a courgette.
Next weekend: the dig day will be Saturday 12-3, during the Ruskin Park Big Draw, and we will run a cake stall at the same time. No dig day on Sunday. Saturday’s dig day will be all about planting – onions, garlic, broad beans, peas, spring cabbage, and green manure.
We’ve got seven bakers on board, so we should have a table groaning with yummy treats (always room for more if you fancy a bit of baking!). The cake stall will be next to the bandstand, and we’ll hand out garden flyers and invite people to go have a look. If you’re one of the baker’s please stop by the stall with your goodies at 11:45.

Posted: October 1, 2010

PLEASE NOTE: The dig day next weekend (October 9-10) will be Saturday, not Sunday! We’ll dig 12-3pm Saturday October 9 so that the garden will be open during the Ruskin Park Big Draw. This weekend’s dig will be Sunday 1-3pm as normal.
We’ll have a cake/cookie stall at the big draw, please let me know if you can bake something and/or help run the stall, or whether you’ll come to the dig day. We’ll hand out community garden flyers at the cake so we may have a lot of visitors to show around. All proceeds benefit the bees project.
This Sunday’s dig: the weather forecast is marginal but we’ll be there if only to harvest. If it’s not too grubby we’ll do some planting and weeding.
I’ve ordered the fruit canes. They will arrive mid-late October. Very exciting!

Posted: September 26, 2010

We had a very productive dig day today, and only got wet at the end. We weeded, trimmed the grass around the beds, and switched the netting on the brassicas to get more ventilation in. Roger fixed the water tank so it doesn’t leak (thanks!!). Kate planted up some winter lettuce in the ammunition boxes and we figured out what seeds we need to buy; next week we should be able to plant more seeds.

We had a big harvest, particularly of green beans. Also potatoes, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, lettuce, chard, potatoes and the first of the jerusalem artichokes. We also harvested the first purple sprouting broccoli and can see the brussels sprouts forming.

The Ruskin Park Big Draw is October 9th and we agreed that we’d hold a cake sale to raise money for the bees project. Please let me know if you can contribute something.

The Carnegie Library Winter Fair is Nov 27 and we’re going to have a stall selling herb plants to raise money to buy seeds etc next year. We’ll bring compost, pots, and seeds next Sunday and have a potting session.

One more reminder about the home energy talk Tuesday, hope to see you there:

HOW TO REDUCE HOME ENERGY USAGE BY 20% OR MORE

Home Energy Reduction Talk
Tuesday 28 September
7:30pm for 8pm start
Upstairs at the Prince Regent Pub
69 Dulwich Road, Herne Hill

Come hear local home home energy expert and resident Martin Hoenle present a range of ways to save energy in the home, including:
* the small and easy things to do immediately
* things to do in a complete refurbishment
* things to do over the next 5 to 10 years.

For more information, please visit www.hernehillcan.org

Posted: September 25, 2010

Tomorrow we’ll do a bit of weeding and harvesting and planting up some of the containers and beds in the front. The weather forecast is iffy but not dreadful.
Maria led a brilliant workshop yesterday at lunchtime for several King’s Hospital employees. She covered all the basics of veg growing and the attendees each planted up some rocket to take home. She has offered to do more workshops in the future. Thank you!!!
And thanks very much to the Friends of Carnegie Library for letting us use the art gallery as a workshop space; we couldn’t meet in the garden because of the rain. It is a lovely space.
Big thanks to Carole and Jake for putting together the list of fruit canes etc – both the variety and number of each. We need to spend our Capital Growth money by Thursday, so I’ll order those this week. I’ll also order the rest of the seeds and sets we need for our winter planting.
The Maudsley hospital has asked whether we can accommodate patients coming to the garden. Is there someone who wants to take this on? There is a half day training day on October 5th. It will “provide practical information and guidance to enable you to feel confident supporting volunteers who have experienced mental health problems, as well as ensuring the volunteering experience is a positive one for everyone in your organisation.” Please let me know if you’re interested.

Posted: September 20, 2010

The harvest feast was aptly named; the picnic tables were groaning with delicious local food. We have some serious cooking and baking talent! Big thanks to our chef-organisers (Cosmo and Meloni) who prepared our harvest: potato, green bean, sugar snap pea and beetroot green salad with mint, roasted squash with three different dressings, grated beetroot, fried green tomatoes. The gardeners brought veg lasagna, veg curry, barley and peas, tabouleh, samosas, tortilla, cheese, home made bread, date cake, scones, cookies, and several apple desserts – pie, crumble, cake, tarte tatin, and apple butter. Meloni made gorgeous bunting which added to the festive feeling. A really lovely evening, thanks to all everyone!

We did some work before the feast – we finished edging all the beds, trimmed the grass around the beds, weeded, watered, and sieved more fruit beds.

Next week we’ll finish the sieving, and do some weeding and watering.

Posted: September 13, 2010

Harvest Feast is Sunday 5-7pm! We’ll harvest and cook some veg, then eat it together to celebrate the harvest and the garden that we’ve created. The dig day will be 3-5, not 1-3. Please bring: some local food to share, something to drink, and your own plate/cup/cutlery. And please RSVP so we have an idea of numbers. It looks like we’ll have a good crowd.
Sunday was a gloriously sunny day and loads of people came and sieved, dug compost in, edged the fruit beds, weeded, and harvested. Kate came from her sickbed to deliver the winter planting plan and the seeds, and we planted turnips (for spring greens), spinach, rocket, and lettuce. Roger brought timber and tools and built a stand for the water butt. Carole made very yummy beetroot chocolate cake. We have one more bed named – Shinto is the bed closest to the front, named by Meloni because it’s the Japanese religion that believes that there is spirit in everything including veg.
Our first workshop will be Friday September 24th 12:30-1:30 at the garden and will cover basic plant care. Please let me know if you’d like to attend.

Posted: September 10, 2010

Sunday promises to be lovely and warm, and there’s lots to do in the garden. Lambeth delivered a big load of compost (thanks!!) and Carole shifted it (30 barrowloads!!) into the garden. So digging in and a bit more sieving to do on the fruit beds. The edging is expected to arrive tomorrow so we can put that in too and then we’ll be ready to plant up. We will start the fall planting and as always there’s weeding to do.
Hope to see you then.

Posted: September 6, 2010

Please RSVP for the Harvest Feast – September 19, 5-7pm. Thanks!

We had a very productive day Sunday. We finished digging the fruit beds and did most of the sieving. We did a lot of weeding, staking, watering, and harvesting.

There’s loads to do next week.  We can finish sieving the fruit beds, and I will get some manure (and hopefully some compost) this week for digging in.  And the edging should turn up so we can put that in.  We should be able to get seeds for winter planting so those can start to go in, and there’s more weeding to do.

The meeting was good too, and we made great use of our new picnic tables.

Planting: Kate talked through the planting plan. She has organized a 4 year crop rotation – brassicas, onions and roots, legumes, and potatoes for the seven beds in the back, with the small square bed used for herbs.  The front beds will continue to be a variety of veg to show people what can be grown. For winter planting, we will put in turnips, spinach, lettuce, onions, broad beans, and green manure. We will build coldframes using the donated windows (we need bricks!) in both the back and front. We will also use companion planting.  We need to name the 8 beds in the back so please bring a name suggestion next week. The fruit beds will have Scottish names.

Admin: People are happy with the way things are run, so nothing will change. We are writing down a few guidelines just so that if the need arises, they are there.

The harvest: people like the idea of eating what they’ve grown, so we’ll continue to distribute the harvest among the people who worked that day (and arrived before 2pm).  Rather than dividing up the harvest so each person gets a bit of each thing, we’ll have people take a bunch of one or two things.

How decisions are made: The purpose and values of the garden are described in the mission statement (http://www.ruskinparkcommunitygarden.org/about), and these guide decisions that are made about the garden.  Most decisions now are taken as a group; for example, putting in fruit beds came out of the discussions at the June garden meeting at the pub. The initial decisions about the garden were made by the steering committee  – Therese, Jean, Karen, Giles.  (Meloni has now joined the steering committee). The license is in Therese’s name so she is ultimately responsible for the garden. Jean is responsible for how the money gets spent as her name is on most of the funding applications, and she writes the cheques.

At the moment, people are taking on individual projects. People would like to continue that way, rather than creating formal committees.

Fundraising: the funding source I had identified for our bees project is no longer available, so we’ll have to find money elsewhere. As a start, we decided to hold a cake sale at the big draw at Ruskin Park (October 9^th).

Sunday supervisor: there will be a person designated as a supervisor on Sundays, and people should check in with this person to see what needs doing. The role of the supervisor is to make sure that the garden progresses as the group has agreed it should; e.g. there’s no sense in Kate doing a detailed planting plan if subsequently someone turns up and plants whatever they want.

Garden rules

• Don’t step in the beds if possible (I will bring some planks to use for weeding)
• No use of pesticides or other products that aren’t acceptable to organic farmers
• No dogs
• Take any rubbish with you
• Safety:
  • Children need to be supervised and musn’t use the big tools
  • If you’re using big tools, wear solid close-toed shoes
  • Don’t leave tools lying on the ground

Harvest feast: Meloni is organising this. It is September 19, 5-7pm. The dig day is 3-5 that day. She and Cosmo will cook (on three camp stove burners) food that is harvested that day.  We should all bring something to share, e.g. bread, rice, pudding, and something to drink. Please try to bring something that is local, e.g. English wine.  Please RSVP and indicate what you’ll bring.

Workshops: Maria Devereaux, a Master Gardener, is going to lead a lunchtime workshop for King’s employees. The workshop will be about basic plant care.  We haven’t organized anything for the 1 o’clock club yet because they require an enhanced CRB check. Good news – Seb has just got one and Farah also has one. So they’re going to think about what to do for a workshop for 2-4 year olds.

Bees: Roger is going to help build a hive based on plans provided by Seb. We need to raise some money for equipment, timber, and training, as the funding I had identified has been suspended.

Posted: August 31, 2010

We had another fantastically productive day Sunday. The fruit beds are mostly dug! Jake laid them out and we had lots of diggers. The weather cooperated, even had some sun, until the last ten minutes which felt like a mini hurricane. Next week we’ll finish digging, sieve, and add compost and a bit of topsoil. We’ll get some more edging to keep the grass at bay. Then they’ll be ready for planting in November. Carol is researching which varieties and how many plants we’ll need; she’s going for disease resistance, yield, and flavor. As well as digging, lots of weeding, building bean teepees, caterpillar picking and harvesting was done.
Next week we’ll need to finish the fruit beds, stake the tomatoes in the front, weed, and maybe start the winter planting.
Compost – the council has been promising us compost for months, I have requested it urgently for the fruit beds. I am also trying to get some from Aardvark, which composts food waste. Please bring your garden waste and kitchen scraps for the compost heap so we can make our own!
Let’s have a meeting after the dig day. Here’s a draft agenda:

garden planning (based on Kate’s plan)

• winter planting
• crop rotation
• green manures
• soil improvement

garden admin

• put together a list of garden rules? e.g.
• how/when to harvest
• safety, e.g. closed toed shoes for digging
• no pesticides
• dogs
• don’t step in the beds
• how dig days are organised, e.g. who decides what needs doing
• how bigger decisions are made, e.g. what gets planted

other garden activities

• harvest feast
• workshops
• bees

If there’s something you want to add to the list, please let me know.
Sunday is also the Urban Green Fair at Brockwell Park and the Sky Ride (http://www.goskyride.com/city/details.aspx?eventid=305&cityid=4), The Sky Ride opens at 9:30 so we’re going in the morning.

Posted: August 20, 2010

There will be no dig day this Sunday, because of heavy rain. We’ll dig the fruit beds next weekend.

Posted: August 15, 2010

Today was brilliant. Kelly, Jared, and Meloni put the picnic tables together and Kelly and Jared did the smelly job of coating the tables with wood preserver. We moved the compost to the compost pile to make space for the tables. We planted some carrots and cavolo nero seeds. We also took the netting off the beans and sugar snap peas (they’re big enough to withstand the pigeons) and built teepees for them. Meloni made delicious chocolate chip cookies. The picnic tables are settled into their new home, looking inviting, and the garden is looking fantastic.

We agreed that we would dig the fruit beds next week. Jake is going to draw a plan. Meloni will coordinate things on the day. If we get really ambitious and have a lot of people we may dig one more big bed where the topsoil pile is (we’ll have to shift the topsoil).

We noticed that during the week someone harvested three crown prince squash; the squash are all meant for the harvest feast. Today we agreed that we would only harvest on Sunday, as a group, except for the waterers who are welcome to take the beans, tomatoes, and sugar snap peas as they are ready; harvesting encourages these plants to keep producing.

We had a big harvest today – two marrows, broad beans, French beans, cavolo nero, chard, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, and cabbage. Meloni harvested some blackberries; she’s going to freeze them to make a crumble for the harvest feast.

Does anyone have camp stove we can borrow for the harvest feast? We have one but need another.

I will be sorry to miss next week — I will be in Cheltenham at my mother in law’s.

Posted: August 6, 2010

There’s not much work to do in the garden at the moment, so let’s take the opportunity to have a picnic and watch the veg grow. Please bring something to eat and drink, a rug, and maybe a Frisbee.

Exciting news – two big picnic tables are on order and should arrive in the next few days. We’ll need to assemble and oil them when they arrive. Big thanks to Lambeth for some additional money. The tables will be really useful for running workshops and for events like the Harvest Feast.

We’re all set for the Harvest Feast September 19 at 5pm, after a dig day 3-5pm. We’ll cook what we harvest, and bring extras like bread, pudding, and drinks. The park closes at 7:15pm that day.

Posted: August 2, 2010

We had another lovely day yesterday at the garden. We put more netting on the brassicas and the seedlings and newly planted seeds. Kate planted some more seeds and worked on the planting plans. We put blocks of wood under the crown prince squash to prevent them from rotting. We strimmed a path to the beds and around the beds, and left the rest wild. We labeled the demonstration bed chalkboards with the chalkboard marker and picked up the stray bits of rubbish. We harvested the corn, (yum) and a bunch of other stuff. And we had a brief meeting to talk about the harvest feast. It will be Sunday September 19 at 5 pm, and we’ll have the dig day 3-5pm that day. We will cook and eat what we’ve harvested, plus bread, puddings, etc that we bring. Cosmo and Meloni will be in charge of cooking. Partners and children welcome as well. Would anyone like to come along and play guitar/harmonica/banjo/etc ? We’re thinking of cooking on a half-drum bbq (if we’re allowed to) – anyone know where we can borrow one?

Posted: July 29, 2010

I am incredibly pleased and relieved to say that the outside tap is operational and the water tank and water butt are both full. I know you’ll all miss the smell of the boys’ bathroom.
Thanks to the folks who came to the planning meeting last night. We’re making steady progress on all fronts.
Simon and Kate are going to plan the winter and spring planting. On Sunday they’re going to ask people what they want to grow, and also about names for the different beds. Kate has done some research into crop rotation and companion planting which will factor into the planting plans.
Bees – Seb is going on a natural beekeeping course on Saturday. We are looking to put bees in the depot.
Fruit beds – we’ll dig these once the ground has softened. They’ll get planted up in November.
Harvest feast – we’ll talk about this Sunday.
Workshops – Monica has found a volunteer, Maria Devereaux, to run an adult workshop on basic plant care and growing indoors. We have set a tentative date – Sunday 12th September at 3pm. The 1 o’clock club workshop needs to be run by someone who is CRB checked. Di, who had volunteered to run it, is on holiday until September. If Seb’s CRB check is acceptable to the 1 o’clock club folks he’s going to run a workshop for children in August.
A kind neighbor is going to loan us a strimmer for Sunday. If you fancy some strimming, please wear long trousers and boots. I will bring safety goggles.
Please bring your veg scraps for the compost bin.

Posted: July 25, 2010

First – please note that we’re having a garden meeting at Herne Hill Green Drinks, this Wednesday 7:30 at the Prince Regent. The pub is across the street from Brockwell Park Lido. There’s lots to talk about – planning the fruit beds, winter planting, bees, permaculture, workshops, the Harvest Feast.

We had a lovely dig day today. We put up netting on the bed with seedlings coming up so the pigeons can’t get at them. We put up our sign, tidied a bit, and watered a lot. We harvested a bit of a lot of different things – cavolo nero, chard, beans, courgettes, tomatoes, cabbage, broad beans, and radishes.

The garden is looking fantastic. The demonstration bed and ammunition planters are looking great; I’ll order some restaurant chalkboard markers so the rain doesn’t wash the writing away. It was good to see the netting up; I could see a cabbage white being frustrated by not being able to get at the broccoli. The corn should be ready next week. The first crown prince squash are appearing. We are going to have a bumper crop of Brussels sprouts.
I am meeting the plumber on Tuesday to get a quote on putting an external tap in; this will hopefully be the last week of trekking to the loos with the wheelbarrow. To all our waterers, without you the garden wouldn’t be what it is, thank you!

Posted: June 27, 2010

Yesterday was the Ruskin Park Summer Fete. Big thanks to Maeve who helped run the stall, it was a huge success. We gave away all the recycled yogurt pots that Becca decorated to people who planted seeds in them and went home with planted up lettuce, carrots, beans, peas, and beetroot. We gave out leaflets about the garden and encouraged people to have a look around. Mastoor, Monica, and Nicholas represented Garden Organic as Master Gardeners and helped people plant seeds as well.
And big sweaty thanks to the folks digging away in the hot sun in the garden. The soil is rock hard and it was seriously hard work. They dug and sieved the demonstration bed and started planting it. Simon made the planting plan, thanks! They also showed a steady stream of visitors through the garden, I think there will be some new faces in the coming Sundays.
Cathy’s dad has made us two beautiful signs- thanks!!! We’ll buy some more timber and put it up further away from the fence.
We are using up the water in the water butt really quickly. We are trying to find a used cold water storage tank so we can store more water. We are also trying to pursue a better water solution.
My mum is having surgery this week so I am going to America to look after her, and then we’re on a family holiday straight after so I will be away until July 20th. We have a rota of people who will be coordinating the Sunday dig, and Mastoor has generously promised to make cookies.

Posted: June 24, 2010

This week the dig day will be Saturday 1-4, not Sunday, so that people at the Ruskin Park Summer Fete can tour the garden. We will be running a seed planting stall at the Fete using recycled yogurt containers fabulously collaged by Becca. Hope to see you there.

We had a great discussion last night about what we want from the garden and what to do next. People said what they like and want from the garden, and why they’re involved in the garden:

- To teach people how to grow veg and to encourage veg growing

- To teach children how to grow things and expose them to nature, e.g. minibeasts

- For people with a bit of experience, to learn more about gardening

- Community/social , meeting like-minded people and being inspired

- Bees!

- Wildflowers

- Climate change/sustainability

- Gardening with nature, e.g. companion planting, permaculture, forest gardening

Then we talked about what to do in the garden. We agreed to:

- Pursue getting bees. Seb is taking the lead on this.

- Look into permaculture and how we could apply its principles to the garden. Kate is going to research this.

- Plant up the demonstration bed next to the fence so that passersby can see things growing. Simon is going to do a planting plan for Saturday. I will look into some signage.

- Mastoor is going to look into soil nutrients and building an herb spiral.

- We definitely want to run workshops, both for the 1 o’clock club and for adults. I am going to work on getting picnic tables. We agreed that we’d aim to run our first adult workshop at the beginning of August, with the topic of basic plant care and/or what you can grow indoors. For the 1 o’clock club I will confirm with the staff what the CRB requirements are, if any, and arrange a date with Di, who will run the workshop. Monica is going to speak to the people from the Master Gardener training to see who can run the adult workshop.

- Maeve is going to be general intern and social secretary.

- We’re going to create a fruit area in the shady back right corner – black currants, logan berries, gooseberries, and rhubarb. I will look into getting canes, etc.

- Fruit and nut trees and a pond were discussed, but we decided we don’t have room for them. There is an orchard between the 1 o’clock club and the wildlife pond.

Mastoor and Monica did the Master Gardener training and were very enthusiastic about it; they’re going to help at the seed planting stall on Saturday, as are a few other people from the course.

The Lambeth country fair is July 17 and 18 – do we want to enter our produce?

We will have our next discussion at the next Green Drinks – July 28 at the Prince Regent. I am really excited about our plans. Thanks to everyone for all your energy, hard work, and general loveliness.

Posted: June 21, 2010

The Ruskin Park Summer Fete is Saturday 1-5pm. It would be great if people could tour the garden during that time, so it might make sense to move our dig day to Saturday this week. Please let me know if you can come Saturday and if so what time you can come. Thanks!!

We have water! We bought a hosepipe and filled up the water butt donated by Mary from Friends of Ruskin Park. Those on watering rota, you should be able to dip the clear plastic water bottles in the top and fill up the watering cans that way. Also, the potatoes are big enough to start watering.

We had another lovely productive day yesterday, weeding and edging the planted beds and sieving the other beds. We also talked a bit about what we want from the garden. We agreed that after next Sunday’s dig day we would sit down and talk through what comes out of Wednesday’s discussion. Here are some things to think about:
• Planting fruit and/or nut trees
• Planting raspberries, gooseberries
• Winter veg planning/planting
• encouraging biodiversity – bug hotel, bee hives, ponds, wildflowers in areas too shady for veg
• Working with nature, e.g. companion planting, permaculture
• Educating/encouraging people to grow veg. Demonstration beds – plant up beds near the path with signage so people can watch it grow and know what it is and when it was planted. Run workshops? Run seed planting stalls at local fetes?
• Dig days – change the time to 2-4, or 3-5? Have regular mid-week dig days? While the days are so long we could even do an after work dig evening.
• A forest garden area, herb spiral, grape vine arch
• Anything you want from the garden but aren’t getting?

Meloni has volunteered to organize a Harvest Feast at the end of the summer! The basic idea is to research recipes that use the veg, take the veg home to cook, and bring the food back for a feast, most likely open to the public.

We agreed we would prepare and plant the bed near the path next week as a demonstration bed. We’ll need to figure out some signage. On an unhappy note, someone has taken our sign frame; the whiteboard was ripped off and left on the ground and the frame is completely gone. Next time I guess we’ll just have to have it further from the path.

We also agreed that we’d name each of the beds and make a map of the garden. I’d like to call one of the beds “Oklahoma”.
There was lots of chard, spinach, lettuce, and some broad beans and French beans to take home. It looks like the soap solution is helping a bit.

Posted: June 19, 2010

Great news – we have a solution to the water problem! We are going to buy water tanks and fill them up by running a hosepipe to the 1 o’clock club’s internal tap. We’ll have to do this between 12:30-1pm Monday-Thursday as that’s when the staff are there but before the children arrive. We will order tanks and a very long hosepipe in the next couple days. Enormous thanks to the waterers for all those trips to the loos.

Sunday we will be preparing more beds and planting more seeds and probably doing some weeding. If the netting arrives in time we’ll put that up as well. It would be great to get the compost going, please bring your veg peelings, they’ll be lovely plant food in no time.

Next weekend is the Ruskin Park Summer Fete http://www.ruskinparkcommunitygarden.org/friends-of-ruskin-park. We are signed up to do seed planting and we need volunteers, please let me know if you can help!

Posted: June 18, 2010

Posted: June 16, 2010

We had a another lovely day at the garden Sunday. We dug a new bed near the path to become a kind of demonstration garden for folks walking by, we sieved and planted some of the other beds, and we put more edging in.

We have harvested our first produce! People took home spinach, rocket, chard, lettuce, and green beans. From now until the fall we should have a bit of something to harvest every week.

The broad beans have pods on them, yippee! But they also have black fly. The organic ways to treat this are to wipe it off (I tried but some are inaccessible) and to spray with a water/washing up liquid solution. There is now a sprayer with washing up solution with the watering cans (thanks, Karen!) so if you’re on watering rota please spray the broad beans all over with the sprayer as well.

We also need to net the brassicas; otherwise we will get very small green caterpillars living in the broccoli heads. I have first hand knowledge of this and it is very icky. We are ordering netting – it will be the right size to prevent the cabbage white butterfly from laying its eggs on the leaves.

Don’t forget to add 23 June 7:30 at the Prince Regent to your diary and start thinking about what you want to see in the garden.

Posted: June 12, 2010

tomorrow promises to be partly sunny, perfect for digging! we’ll prepare more beds, plant more seeds, and put more edging in. and we’ll harvest our first produce – beans and salad. there won’t be a huge amount but please bring a container to take some home in. and pecan shortbread for sustenance.

i am doing my best to solve the water problem. we have made the problem abundantly clear and have proposed an alternative solution that addresses the health and safety issues, but another issue has been raised and we are waiting on an answer.

i have posted a watering guide on the website http://www.ruskinparkcommunitygarden.org/other-things-of-interest/watering-guide. once the seeds come up we may want to adjust the rota to water every other day.

we have received some fantastic tools from Veolia, thanks very much!

let’s get together to talk about things we could do next in the garden – raspberries, fruit trees, permaculture, demonstration small beds near the fence, encouraging biodiversity e.g. a pond, fall planting, please bring your ideas. please come along to the next Herne Hill Green Drinks – http://www.hernehillcan.org/dates/herne-hill-green-drinks-june
7:30-10:30 at the Prince Regent pub, on Dulwich Road across from Brockwell Park Lido.

Posted: June 7, 2010

Big thanks to Phil from Lambeth Recycling who came along to help us build a nifty composting bin out of recycled palettes, and spotted a stag beetle in the big horse chestnut tree . He has promised to come back at the end of the summer to give an instructional talk about composting.

Phil also helped us construct a frame for our sign; for the moment it is holding the white board with the week’s jobs. Cathy’s dad is a sign painter and has kindly agreed to make a proper sign for us, thanks!!!

We planted up the rest of the seedlings, the potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, and some French bean and sugar snap pea seeds. We sieved and dug compost and topsoil into more beds, and we got started putting the recycled plastic edging around the beds

We have our very first produce! Our dwarf bean plant has several beans on it. They will be ready to harvest Sunday, although it will only equate to maybe 1/3 bean per person . The lollo rosso lettuce is also ready for picking.

Our next dig day is Sunday, June 13, 1-3pm. We’ll prepare more beds, put more edging in, and plant more seeds. We may hold a general meeting at the garden at the same time, will keep you posted. We have achieved a huge amount in a very short space of time and it seems like a good time to talk about what next.

Posted: June 5, 2010

We sieved and planted up broccoli and Brussels sprouts on Wednesday; it’s all looking really exciting.

On Sunday Phil O’Keeffe from Lambeth will be coming to help us build the compost bins. If we bring timber we might also be able to build a frame for the whiteboard, so if you see any long posts in a skip please bring them along. We’ll also be preparing more beds and planting Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes, sugar snap peas, and whatever other seeds take your fancy.

Water update: the 1 O’clock club has said we can’t run a hosepipe above ground due to health and safety issues. I have asked Lambeth Parks for a site visit as soon as possible to discuss another solution and am waiting for a reply.

Thanks very very much to the watering rota folks; it is an onerous task but without it the veg could die, particularly in this hot weather. Each watering counts as a timebank hour, as does the other lovely things that people are doing – Mike wrote a great update about the community garden for the Friends of Ruskin Park newsletter, Cosmo is going to be posting weekly seasonal veg recipes to the website, Becca decorated a huge number of recycled containers for seed planting, and Ben is chasing up free tools.

I saw that another community garden is having a picnic in combination with a dig day – does that appeal? We could meet at 12, bring blankets, and hang out a bit.

The Ruskin Park Fete is Saturday June 26, 1-4pm at the bandstand in the park. We will be running a plant-a-seed stall; we’ll supply recycled containers (decorated by Becca!) that people can plant a seed in and take home. We need volunteers to help run the stand – to help with the seed planting, to talk about/answer questions about the garden (maybe give tours?), and to generally help out. Want to?

Posted: May 31, 2010

thanks so much to everyone who came yesterday! we planted up most of the vegetables from the eden project, finished digging the rest of the beds, and started sieving them. the garden is looking great and abundant – we have spinach, rocket, chard, tomatoes, beans, pumpkin, crown prince squash, broccoli, cabbage, cavolo nero, broad beans, corn, beetroot, carrots, lettuce, basil, coriander, rosemary, thyme, and oregano. and i’m probably forgetting something.
we have organised a watering rota – thanks to all who have signed up.
we’ll have a dig day wednesday 3-5pm so we can sieve enough of the beds to plant up the rest of the seedlings. i have a big box of seeds so we can then start growing from seed, and we have some jerusalem artichokes to plant. there’s a fair amount of interest in potatoes so i’ll get some as well.

Posted: May 27, 2010

We planted up the broad beans and cabbage seedlings yesterday, as well as some lettuce seedlings that Mastoor brought (thank you!) Everything will benefit from a couple days of rain. Sunday looks to be gloriously sunny. There’s plenty to do – lots more seedlings to plant and beds to prepare. We’re also going to plant some beetroot seeds amongst the broad beans.

Wandsworth Prison gives away free tools – would anyone be willing to give them a call and see if we can get some? Please email me and I’ll give you the contact details.

We’ll organize the watering rota Sunday and I’ll have padlock keys.

Posted: May 24, 2010

Extra gardening session: Wednesday 2:30-4:30. we’ll be planting up the rest of the seedlings, after sieving the beds. We have broad beans and cabbage ready to go in.

Thanks to all of you who came yesterday, we got a huge amount done! Two of the wheelchair-height containers are planted up with tomatoes and beans. We shifted 5 tons of topsoil. We forked in topsoil and compost into two big beds and sieved and planted one up with corn, courgettes, crown prince squash, and beetroot. We marked out three more beds and lifted the turf on one, and sieved another bed. We had soil samples collected for testing, thanks to Sarah from Growing Southwark. Thank you specifically to the water carriers, it is a mind numbing but essential job. And thanks to Florence Nsogebe, the Lambeth Cabinet Member for Culture, for coming to see us.

We talked a little about crop rotation. Here’s some more info http://www.vegetableexpert.co.uk/VegetableCropRotation.html. In general the RHS website is a fantastic source of veg growing knowledge http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/

I have posted some photos

Watering rota: We’ll need daily watering in this hot weather. I’m going to get several extra keys made, and hopefully we can sort out a water source quite soon. Please email me if you said you’d be up for watering.

Health & Safety note – open-toed shoes and metal gardening tools are a risky combination; please wear close-toed shoes if you’re going to be digging/forking.

June 6: Phillip O’Keeffe will be coming from Lambeth to help us build compost bins using recycled pallettes and scaffolding boards.

Also, Herne Hill Green Drinks is Wednesday night, come along to the Prince Regent (across from Brockwell Park Lido on Dulwich Road) 7-10pm to talk about green stuff. http://www.hernehillcan.org/herne-hill-green-drinks

Posted: May 20, 2010

We’ll be planting up the four wheelchair height containers this Sunday. We’ve got cabbage, borlotti beans, tomatoes, beetroot, broad beans, corn, pumpkin, and courgettes seedlings ready to go in. Time permitting we may do a bit more sieving on the raised beds.

The weather looks to be fabulous, so bring your suncream and a water bottle. As usual we’ll have something yummy to snack on.

Posted: May 16, 2010

We had a great day despite the weather (again). We moved the turf to the compost heap and lifted the turf from the 5th bed. We sieved all the soil from one of the raised beds and a bit of another.

The rocket has germinated! Nothing yet from the spinach or chard.

Next week: we will fill the wheelchair height containers and plant them up. And more sieving. We are hardening off seedlings: crown prince squash, corn, broad beans, cabbage.

We need to get the soil tested asap so we can get on with planting the big beds.

Posted: May 15, 2010

Please come by on Sunday, 1-4pm. If you have them please bring gardening gloves and maybe a big fork or spade. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, an extra wheelbarrow would be handy.

The soil looks very good, so we’ve decided to build quite shallow raised beds to take advantage of it. This means that we need to test the soil for contaminants. So… building and planting the raised beds is on hold until the soil is tested.

The jobs we’ll be doing are:

• Shift turf from 4th large bed to compost area, we need a couple of barrows for this.
• Remove top layer from that bed to compost area
• Fill raised tubs with available topsoil and compost
• Sieve grass roots from soil in cleared beds.

Posted: May 10, 2010

Ruskin Park Community Garden is up and running!  Our launch party was Sunday – lots of people came by and planted a seed to take home, listened to vegetable songs by Jane Ruby, ate scrummy cupcakes made by SE5Forum, and learned about local groups  including Loughborough Junction Action Group, Friends of Carnegie Library, Friends of Ruskin Park, Growing Southwark, Brockwell Park, and SE5Forum. We planted our first seeds – salad, rocket and chard.

Next up, we will be building the raised beds and planting out the containers donated by the Royal Hospital via Growing Southwark. We will be meeting with the 1 O’clock Club to plan activities for the children there. We plan to participate in the Ruskin Park Summer Fete and to combine a Harvest Festival with the Big Draw. We also will be organizing vegetable growing workshops.

Posted: May 2, 2010

The garden is up and running! We had our first dig day May 2nd – a fantastic success. Despite the miserable weather lots of lovely people turned up, worked hard, and we lifted the turf on four of the raised beds – way more than the one bed we had expected.