Spiders and their webs

A little light exercise to start a sunny autumn day....mowing and edging the lawns

Preparing to harvest some autumn vegetables

Woodland Trust - Free trees for school, community and youth groups

The Woodland Trust are once again offering schools, and community and youth groups the opportunity to claim free packs of trees for delivery and planting in March 2014.

 If you are interested in claiming a free pack from the Trust, then please get in touch with them by following the link: http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/moretreesmoregood/Pages/home.aspx

Our new portable heater

Our new portable heater for the log cabin which will help keep the chill out for visitors and attendees at our training workshops.

Funding to enable the purchase was provided from a grant we have received from The Peoples Health Trust, using money raised by Healthable Community Interest Company through the Health Lottery

Ten Keys to Happier Living from Action for Happiness

Ten Keys to Happier Living - Guidebook from Action for Happiness

Lancasters One Planet Festival - 13th - 16th October

One Planet Festival returns to Lancaster in October with sustainability themed events taking place from 13th October to 3rd November. "Of particular interest to keen gardeners and allotment plot holders will be our local version of Gardeners' Question Time - your chance to ask our panel of experts all those burning questions related to sustainable gardening practices, food growing and allotments".

Further details at www.oneplanetfestival.org.uk

Quote for the week....

“Friendship," said Christopher Robin, "is a very comforting thing to have.” - A.A. Milne

Ladybird, hoverfly and bumblebee enjoying our wildlfowers

New Roots maintaining their planter and planting onion sets

Charity alliance stress health benefits of green spaces

“The health benefits of Britain’s green spaces could be lost unless politicians and professionals adopt more imaginative approaches to their management, a group of leading charities, including Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG), has warned. The group says billions of pounds could be saved and thousands of lives transformed if public open spaces are made an integral part of health policy”

For more information please visit the FCFCG website here.

Sacred Heart Primary School planting winter vegetables

Common lizard basking in the autumn sun

Growing advice for novices from the National Allotment Society

A section of the National Allotment Society website "has been written with the novice gardener in mind. Included is advice on what you can do on your allotment on a monthly basis, plant profiles which give some background notes on the different types of fruit and vegetables available to grow, and a section on different gardening methods. 

For more information please visit their website at: http://www.nsalg.org.uk/growing-advice/

Garden Organic FREE growing information cards

Garden Organic has produced a range of handy, quick-reference growing instruction cards - all the information you need to start growing your own veg, fruit, herbs, edible flowers and green manures.

These can be downloaded for FREE on their website at:  http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/growyourown/growing_cards.php

Common lizards

Small white butterfly

Fun and FREE early autumn workshop sessions - book now to avoid dissapointment

Seed collecting and storing - advice from Royal Horticultural Society

"Growing plants from seed is generally straightforward and inexpensive. It is an opportunity to increase the number of plants in your garden for free.

• Seedheads can ripen quickly, and must be watched carefully in order to collect the seed before they are dispersed
• As a rough guide, seed is set about teo months after flowering
• Some seed is collected when well developed but immature and green, such as Anemone nemorosa, calendula and Ranunculus
• Berries need to be collected before they are taken by birds
• The plants from which you collect seed must be healthy and vigorous. This will help ensure good quality seedlings and plants
• Usually only species “come true” from seed – seedlings from a hybrid will be extremely variable
• Most seed germinates best if sown as soon as they ripen, whereas seed harvested while immature will not germinate.

Collecting seeds:

1. Collect ripe seed on a dry day, as soon as the seedheads (e.g. capsules or pods) ripen. This is often indicated by a colour change from green to brown, black or red but before they open and shed their contents
2. Pick the seedheads, either singly or on stalks, and lay them out to dry on a greenhouse bench, warm windowsill or in an airing cupboard. This enables seed to be more easily extracted from pods, cones or capsules
3. If they don’t open when dry, gently crush pods and capsules to release the seed
4. Collect seed from fleshy fruits and berries by mashing them in a fine sieve and then rinsing away the pulp in cold water. Leave the seed to dry for a few days on paper towels
5. Exploding seedheads need checking every few days. Place a bag over them and shake – this will usually cause the ripe seedheads to explode into the bag. Alternatively, remove the seedheads on their stems as they turn brown and place in a labelled paper bag
6. Nuts should be collected around the time they would naturally fall either by hand-picking or by placing a sheet at the base of the tree and shaking the branches until they fall
7. After extracting the seed, clean off any surrounding material (chaff) attached to them, as this material could rot and lead to the seed damping off. Chaff can harbour moulds, pests and diseases.

Storing seeds:

1. Place dry seed in labelled paper packets in an airtight container with some desiccant to remove excess moisture. Suitable materials include calcium chloride (sold in DIY stores for use in dehumidifiers) or silica gel
2. Excess humidity or warmth can cause seed to deteriorate or die from fungal disease or rotting
3. Certain seed must not be allowed to dry out as they cannot then take up water necessary for germination. Examples are walnuts, oaks and magnolias. These seed can be stored in a plastic bag of damp vermiculite, sand, or a mix of moist coir and sand for several months
4. Store in a refrigerator at 5°C (41°F) until required. Most seed will remain viable in this way for many years"

For more information please visit the RHS website here

Harvesting lavender in preparation for our FREE craft workshop - 11 until 3pm, Friday 1st November

Valued volunteer Alex helping to manage our banking areas

What you can still be sowing now

"Garlic -  Buy garlic for planting in October or early November.  ‘Vallelado’ is suitable for autumn and early winter planting; ‘Flavour’ for late winter and early spring planting.  To avoid the risk of introducing diseases, don’t use cloves bought from the greengrocer. Planting a named variety ensures you are growing a variety suited to the UK.

Onions  Autumn onion sets, such as Radar and Electric Red can be planted now

Land cress - Also known as American land cress. Makes an excellent substitute for watercress and is very hardy, usually surviving even the toughest winter.

Chinese leaves - There is a great choice of oriental salads to sow now, giving a supply of salad or stir-fry leaves over the autumn and winter. Some (marked* below) are best with some protection, and all will crop more generously under cover. If you are not sure what you like, try Oriental Saldini - a mixture of various greens. Green in Snow, Mizuna Greens*, Mibuna Greens*, Giant Red Mustard*, Indian mustard, Komatsuna*, Pak choi*.

Lamb's lettuce - Also called corn salad, very hardy winter salad with a soft texture and mild flavour. Lasts well throughout the winter, and when it flowers next spring the flowers can be eaten too.

Winter lettuce - Slower and less reliable perhaps than the salads listed above. Use a winter variety such as Rouge d'Hiver, Winter Density or Winter Crop, for harvesting in November and December.

Winter purslane - Goes by the additional names of claytonia and miner's lettuce. Another  very hardy winter salad, good at self-seeding. Produces small, mild tasting, succulent leaves. Sow in unheated greenhouse/polytunnel.

Broad bean - Sow Super Aquadulce, Aquadulce Claudia and Imperial Green Longpod towards the end of the month. The Sutton can be grown under cloches.

Peas - Round seeded peas can be grown from October/November sowings. An organic variety is the Douce Provence. Other varieties include Feltham First, Meteor or Pilot (probably the hardiest of all varieties).

Spring cabbages - Cabbages that were sown last month are probably ready for planting out now. Cover with enviromesh to prevent the pigeons from nibbling at them"

Source - Garden Organic 

How to make green tomato soup

Wondering just what to do with those green tomatoes? why not try green tomato soup (serves 6)

What you will need:

1 ounce of butter

500g/ 1 lb green tomatoes, sliced

200g/8oz potatoes, peeled and sliced

1 onion, chopped

1.2 litres/2 pints stock

1 tin beans like borlotti/pinto/cannellini

1/4 tsp mixed herbs

Salt and pepper

A handful of rice

125 ml single cream or a splash of chilli sauce (optional)

How to make it:

1. Fry the tomatoes, potatoes and onion in butter until softened.

2. Add the beans, stock, herbs, rice, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

3. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the veg/rice is tender.

4. Blend 2/3 of the soup and return to the pan. (They can be left lumpy if preferred)

5. Stir in the cream/chilli sauce and reheat gently.

Maintaining raised planters, preparing them for winter planting

Vacancy at Barrow and District Disability Association (BDDA)

A welcomed visit from residents of Maryport

         

Residents of Maryport visiting the Green Heart Den. Members of Ewanrigg and Netherton Tenants and Residents Association (ENTRA) had arranged the visit to discuss our project in more detail as they are hoping to develop similar green areas in Maryports Ewanrigg estate - one of 50 areas to benefit from the Big Lottery Fund’s local trust programme to help enhance their neighbourhood and improve the lives of local people.

Quote for the week....

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” - Amit Ray

Just taking a little nap in the sun

A bright and cheery autumn day

Plants are becoming more established in our water feature

A small tortoise butterfly enjoying the autumn sun

Shades of autumn....

Progress of our FREE training workshops

Our short training workshops continue to be delivered on the garden site with a current total of 120 attendances from 67 people across 12 days throughout April to September. Attendances include staff and clients from New Roots, The Croftlands Trust, MIND, Sacred Heart and St Georges schools along with many residents of the area.

Comments from participants include:

“Well worth coming and what a lovely haven in the middle of town. I didn’t know it was here.”

“The whole day was great!”

“I liked helping others and meeting different people. It was a warm, inviting and friendly environment.”

“This place changed my life, my attitudes and outlooks are all changing for the better.”

“I would like to come on another course to learn how to cook healthy meals like we have done today.

Funding to enable the FREE training workshops has been provided from a grant awarded by People’s Health Trust, using money raised by Healthable Community Interest Company through The Health Lottery.

A photo from one of our workshops (school children and our trainer Jennifer)  has been used on the Healthable website – see here http://www.healthablecic.org.uk/what-we-do.html

The next two training sessions are arranged for:

Thursday 31st October (cook and eat session)
Friday 1st November. (craft session)

Details to follow shortly.

Network Rail begin repairs to the railway tunnel under Greengate Street

Quote for the week.....

"Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you" 

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Our spiders appear to be enjoying autumn