Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Making and using leaf mould

Making and using leaf mould:

After collecting fallen leaves place them in a bin liner, moisten them if they are dry, then pierce holes in the bag with a knife or garden fork, tie the top loosely and stack the bags out of sight for up to two years. If you have a lot of leaves you can make a simple heap and to stop them blowing away, build a frame round the heap using posts and netting.

Well-rotted leaf mould over two years old can be used as seed-sowing compost, garden compost and good quality soil for use as potting compost.

Leaf mould, less than two years old can be used as mulch, a soil conditioner, or a winter covering for bare soil.

Our guide to general maintenance tasks

A quiet time of the year, but there is always something to do in the garden

December can be a relatively quiet time on the garden but there are always a few jobs you can be getting on with. For example:

Digging over and prepare your soil for next year’s planting and growing season. At the same time you can add organic matter such as well rotted manure and/or contents from your compost bin.

Cleaning bird feeders, stock up on fat balls and making sure birds have access to fresh water.

Making a log pile or mini beast hotel which will help to provide shelter for wildlife.

Washing, cleaning and servicing all of your garden tools and giving them a wipe with oil to help prevent rusting.

Pruning and trimming fruit trees and hedging.

Turning over your compost heaps to let air in and then covering them with a piece of old carpet or some plastic sheeting to prevent the compost becoming too cold and wet to rot down.

Collecting fallen leaves and adding them to the compost bin and/or save separately to make leaf mould.

Removing weeds and adding them to the compost bin.

Clearing any fallen or diseased fruit.

And from the warmth and comfort of your armchair you could perhaps begin planning for next year.

A time time of year to spend a little time cleaning bird feeders

Autumn can be an ideal time to clean and maintain garden tools

Some of our service users have been busy growing autumn crops

Perhaps a good time of the year to start planning for next years growing season ???

Remembering the work of past volunteers and a time before our power tools when we also got a good workout

A variety of plants flourishing in the autumn sun

Good to see a healthy population of slow worms

A little early morning maintenance

Cleaning the air box, replacing the missing air filter on the mower and lubricating some of the padlocks.

Signs of autumn from the hawthorn in our wildlife area

One of our inhabitant common lizards on the wildlife friendly area

A year in the life of a common lizard…

Spring - Adult lizards emerge from their hibernation sites in early spring. Mating takes place around April.

Summer - Females incubate the eggs inside themselves and ‘give birth’ to up to 11 live young around July/August. Juvenile lizards are tiny – less than 5cm long – and are darker in colour than the adults.

Autumn - Lizards spend the next couple of months feeding up on invertebrates in preparation for winter. They feed on worms, slugs and insects and give their prey a good shake, to stun it, before swallowing.

Winter - Common Lizards hibernate, often in groups, amongst rocks or dead wood generally between November and March. They may take advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage.

Common Lizards are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is an offence to kill, harm or injure them sell or trade them in any way

Collecting calendula seeds and storing them for next year

Its beginning to feel a lot like autumn

Free trees from the Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust want to make sure everyone in the UK has the chance to plant a tree. So they are giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to schools and communities.

For more information and details of how to apply please visit their website here.

Apple trees continue to bear fruit in our small orchard area

Apple trees continue to bear fruit in our small orchard area.

Vegetable seeds to sow in September

Top tips and advice from Gardeners World - Vegetable seeds to sow in September

Ramsden Robins planter looking bright and cheerful

Picture courtesy of Clare Johnson

Remembering the development of the Green Heart Den

Ramsden Brownies and Rainbows enjoy an early evening visit

Pictures courtesy of Clare Johnson

Not long before many of the crops will be ready for harvesting

A good variety of plants flourishing on the grow your own scheme

So far so good........

Poppies adding colour on an otherwise dull and damp day

Checking our onsite risk assessments, instruction manuals and maintenance schedule

Salad leaf crops and strawberries growing well in some of our raised planters

Vipers bugloss, ox eye daisy and buttercup on the wildlife friendly area

Vipers bugloss is a good source of food for a large variety of insects including; bumblebees, honey bees, painted lady and large skipper butterflies.

A wild flower planter looking good in the sun

Preparing a planter for transplanting tomato plants - weather permitting

Service users seedlings are doing nicely and nearly ready for transplanting

Our fellow gardeners/service users have been busy this month