Mind in Furness - Planning what they will be growing over the following months

Growing well in the poly tunnel

Valued volunteers Alex and David, tending the planted borders

Feedback from our first horticulture training workshop

Sowing seeds and planting bulbs in the poly tunnel

Garden Organic - 10 easiest vegetables to grow

Garden Organic has produced a list of the 10 easiest vegetables to grow. Details can be found on their website at: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/growyourown/easiest.php

Iris beginning to flower around our water feature area

A welcomed visit from a chaffinch

Disability information day - Tuesday 5th March 2013

Easy to grow - poached egg plant

The poached egg plant is very simple to grow in almost any soil in a sunny spot. The bright white and yellow cup-shaped flowers create a colourful area of ground cover. It is an asset in the vegetable garden as a companion plant to attract hoverflies which will feed on aphids and pollinate plants. The flowers also have a sweet fragrance and are particularly attractive to bees.

It will self-seed freely and will continue to appear and naturalise themselves over the area, germinating and flowering at different times. This can be imitated by sowing in autumn for flowers as early as April, and from spring to July for a long sequence of summer flowers.

When to grow:  Sow in autumn for flowers as early as April, and from spring to July for a long sequence of summer flowers.

How to grow:  Poached egg plants prefer a sunny position and well drained soil. Seeds can be sown direct in to the ground where they are going to flower. Sow seeds 5 mm deep and 10 cm apart. As they grow the plants can be thinned out to about 10cm apart. They will grow to be about 15 cm tall. 

One of our resident little blue birds

Isn't nature grand.....

A splash of colour to some of the raise planters

Re - potting some of our strawberry plants

Sowing nasturtium seeds in the poly tunnel

One of our little blue birds enjoying the sun

Snow drops basking in the sun

A little colour in the undergrowth

Easy to grow nasturtiums

Nasturtiums are easy to grow, add colour to the garden and are edible. Their petals can be added to salads, they taste quite peppery and hot. The flowers come in a variety of colours; creams, yellows, oranges, reds and burgundy.

When to grow: You can sow from March to May, outside where they are to flower. They will flower from the summer through to the autumn.

How to grow:  Nasturtiums prefer well drained soil in the sun. Sow in rows 20 mm deep and 30 cm apart. They can be thinned out later if they become crowded.

One of the best things about nasturtiums is that you don't need to buy more next year, you can simply collect the seed pods when they begin to change colour from green to brown, dry them on some newspaper in the greenhouse or on the windowsill and plant out next year. 

As the flowers are pollinated by visiting bees you often get different colours every year. It's great fun and cheap.

New roots tending their plants

Margaret and Mark from New Roots tending their seedlings in the poly tunnel and watering in some new plants in their raised planter.

Stopping off for a little snack

Plant terms and vegetable family groups

Some of the handouts circulated at yesterdays horticulture training workshop by facilitator Jennifer Lauruol from Carpe Diem Garden Design. The handouts were courtesy of Robin Eyre of LESS UK http://www.lessuk.org

RHS vegetable planner

You can download the veg planner and find gardening tips and advice on the RHS grow your own web pages here: http://www.rhs.org.uk/gardening/grow-your-own

Our first horticulture training workshop

Our first horticulture training workshop as facilitated by Jennifer Lauruol, owner and director of Carpe Diem Gardens Ltd. Jennifer is passionate about designing and creating vibrant, living gardens and has campaigned for the environment for over 30 years.

The day long workshop consisted of two separate sessions; the first  for members of our community grow your own scheme, the second for members of Furness Parents and Carers Forum.

Funding to enable the workshops was provided from a post project sustainability grant we received from Marks and Spencer's Greener Living Spaces programme.

Additional pictures can be found on our Flickr photo gallery here.

Plastic bottle greenhouse

Barrow Community Trust - 2013 Spring Charity Dinner

The Barrow Community Trust makes grants to support voluntary and community groups throughout the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. This year their Charity Dinner and Ball, which is the main fundraiser for the Trust, will be held on Saturday 16 March 2013 at Abbey House Hotel.  All proceeds from the evening will support the work of the Trust. Last year the dinner raised over £4,000.

A chilly morning in the undergrowth

A little more snow

Quote for the week......

"Every gardener knows under the cloak of winter lies a miracle . . .a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dreams." - Barbara Winkler

Growing Well horticulture training course - March 2013

Crocus adding a little colour to the undergrowth

A very generous donation from the Rotary Club of Barrow in Furness

We would like to thank the Rotary Club of Barrow in Furness for their very generous donation.

It was very much appreciated.

Friends of the Lake District - Conserving Lakeland Magazine article

We would like to thank Friends of the Lake District for including an article about our new community grow your own scheme in their Conserving Lakeland magazine.