25 September 2022
The week started on a sombre note with the cancellation of Monday’s Growing Well session due to the Queen’s funeral. I’m sure the current cohort will be raring to get back to the garden this Monday and I look forward to seeing what activities they have planned.
The Growing Well shed, built and donated by Buxton and Leek college is finally fully glazed, thanks to Anne and Keith, and one of our newest volunteers, Joe, has put his name forward to decorate the inside, which I’m sure he’ll do a smashing job.
The Resident’s of Fairfield Association food bank is back this Monday. From the garden we have harvested apples, beans, courgettes, basil, spinach, chilli’s, tomatoes and blackberries. We have also received a donation of kale. If anybody has anything they can spare The Residents of Fairfield office will be open Monday from 12 to receive goods or you can drop off at the Serpentine Garden for donation every Sunday from 11am till 2.30pm.
Don’t forget the mark the 9th of October in your diaries for Apple Day. Having no prior experience of apple pressing I’m excited to see how it all takes shape and hearing from many other volunteers it sounds like a good day out for anyone who wishes to get involved. It could also be a good time to take a sneak peek at the new propagation area some volunteers have just started work on.
As ever we are always open to new projects for the garden and welcome anyone to contact either myself or Melissa with any proposals for new ideas.
18 September 2022
The temperature has dropped significantly over the last week, with even a slight ground frost noticed overnight in places. Despite this, our tomatoes are still ripening nicely in poly 2 as are our chilli peppers in poly 1. Elsewhere in the garden we have picked a variety of french beans, runner beans, peas, cucumbers, courgettes, potatoes, cauliflower, blackberries and apples.
Speaking of apples, I’d like to remind you we will be hosting Apple day on Sunday the 9th of October. We currently have a nice crop of apples and pears for juicing and will be open from 11am to any members and volunteers who wish to take part or would like to donate fruit. Please be aware that we have limited time, person power and equipment for pressing, and because of this we feel this years Apple day invitation should be limited to current members, supporters and volunteers to save on any disappointment.
We currently have a growing collection of seeds saving for the new year. This week has seen collections of sweet peas, caseknife, Mrs Lewis, fava and Eden Gold beans, morning glory, nasturtium, and borage.
As is the time of year to start planning for the next, I welcome all volunteers over the coming weeks to make suggestions of what they’d like to grow next year. As we look to expand our growing space with extra beds and vertical planters we should look to accomadate new ideas, however exotic, to see what can be grown in our little garden.
11 September 2022
After weeks of warmth and cloudless skies it seems summer is drawing to an end.
Growing Well began the week collecting the first fallen leaves for leaf mould as well as giving the potato beds a double dig, successfully harvesting an extra crate of extra large spuds.
There has also been a great harvest of leeks, lettuce, rocket, runner beans, tomatoes, basil, cucumber and squash throughout the week.
Yet, while the growing season slows the work in the garden never stops.
Our volunteers have been busy composting and weeding and sowing green manure to replenish the raised beds, as well as continuing on with the seed saving programme. This week has seen collections of giant sunflowers, nigella, achocha, nasturtium, cerinthe, blue borage, sweets peas, fava beans and a variety of heritage beans.
Outside from the garden our friends at Transition Buxton are linking with Chesterfield’s potato event. Orders for seed potatoes and more will be taken from October 1st and delivered for pick up in Buxton. More details can be found in the link below.
Also keep an eye out for Macclesfield Potato Day.
Of course the week ended on a rather sombre note, with the sad news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth. May she rest in peace.
4 September 2022
It was a dry but interesting August. In the last few weeks we have had a number of new volunteers join our group and with them has come new inspiration from volunteers old and new. There has been talk of wild craft days and expanding on our little piece of paradise to gain extra growing space and really showcase what we can do. We have also started a weekly food donation to The Residents of Fairfield Association. For anyone who would like to donate any fresh or home grown produce can do so by visiting the garden every Sunday between 11am and 2pm with their donation. For further information or updates you can see checkout the Home Growers of Buxton Facebook page.
Despite the difficult growing conditions over the last month, every volunteer has really put in some hard graft to keep on top of things and it shows. Our tomato harvest is huge, as was our potato haul, and the courgettes, cucumbers and beans seem like they will never end. This all comes down to clever planning throughout the year and the work our volunteers put in each and every week.
This week our volunteers have been busy as bees, weeding, watering and generally clearing out the garden in preparation for the end of summer. This includes collecting seeds from our harvest of Fava beans, Magnum Bonum peas, sweetpeas, Buxton best broad beans, imperial beans and achocha. As well as donating runner beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, courgettes and berries to ROFA from the garden we were also gifted a bag of apples and a tray of spinach and kale.
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