Our seasonal review

We are going to build a hut out of recycled materials for meetings, workspace, educational activities and cups of tea so more people can be inspired to live well with a light footprint. If you can help us with funds, publicity or materials, please get in touch with Charlotte - csynge@googlemail.com - tel. 07752 143683. 

We have been chosen as a local cause to support by the Co-op and have our own page here. There are two ways to support us with this grant:

ONE - Please become a co-op member (coop.co.uk/membership) - you can then choose a local cause to support and we are there as one of them, so please choose us. When you shop, use your card or app on your phone and a donation will be made to ECCG. You can also opt to give your rewards to ECCG as well. If you live further than 10-15 miles from the garden you can change the postcode in your address details to CB2 8BZ and ECCG will come up as one of the local causes. So your friends and family elsewhere can also help.

TWO - Please share this far and wide, we need all the help we can get.

Below it's our annual review... Click on each image to see a bigger version.

Green manure - something to experiment about!

We’re green about green manure, but we’re experimenting and learning. It has been something we have often discussed while weeding and this Autumn we have decided to see what grows well and what we like.

There are advantages and disadvantages to growing green manure and so it is not just a simple process. Is it better than adding compost as a mulch? 

Advantages of green manures:

· Some fix nitrogen.
· They reduce leaching of nutrients.
· Some deep-rooted ones bring nitrogen and nutrients up from deeper and when chopped and incorporated into the soil these are released.
· They reduce weed growth.
· They reduce wind erosion.
· They can help break up heavy clay.
· They provide habitat.

But there are disadvantages, too:

· They may provide a good habitat for slugs and snails to breed in.

· You need to wait for about 4 weeks after cutting and incorporating the green manure before sowing another crop.

· Some are brassicas so you need to plan your crop rotation not to have cabbages and other plants in the family growing immediately after a brassica green manure.

· You can’t pile on lots of compost and high organic matter materials over the slower winter period.

This September we sowed several types of green manure to see how they fare in our soil and how we get on with them - phacelia, red clover, white clover, mustard and marrowfat peas. The last two are from organic food shops and so much cheaper than buying a packet of seeds. The mustard may not survive a cold winter. The marrowfat peas are really cheap - ours have kept for years and still have a great germination rate.

We still have beds that we will cover with a mixture of compost and well-rotted woodchips. Our soil is sandy loam so we are lucky but we are always trying to increase the levels of organic matter.

The article features a few pictures of our beds, covered in green manure seedlings - photos taken in a rainy October. 

Autumn in the Empty Common Community Garden

 

Welcome to autumn. The watering rota is no longer required now we get regular downpours, but we do get lovely sunny days now and then. On a beautiful sunny day, our volunteer and resident artist Rebecca placed this beautiful wooden sign by one of the access routes (you can glimpse the flag and the polytunnel behind it).

Covid has meant social distancing while gardening, so we have not had parties and get-togethers this year... There will be a talk about the garden in November to university's newcomers; we still want volunteers but of course we need to follow good practices to ensure safety and compliance (read more here). Do contact Charlotte if you want to join us - details are here.

The Sunflower poets met in the garden during the summer. Here's a lovely poem they wrote. Enjoy. Our garden is indeed an inspiring place.

Poetry in the Community Garden, Empty Common.

 

We came together in Apple Time

Shared golden light and golden words

Passed from heart to soul

Amidst the trees protecting us,

Waving their branches.

Burnt orange nasturtiums

Purple kale

Fluttering cabbage white butterfly wings

Floating all around

Yellow guardian sunflowers watch on.

Golden sun, blue skies

Green earth,

Emerald grass strokes

Between our toes.

Herbs delicately perfume the air

The oak tree invites child’s play

Soft breeze rustling through the leaves

Rowan red berries

Bending on the bough

Fruits ripen, gifts offered for our delight

Earth waits patiently to be toiled

By loving hands

Tinkling and clanking of bicycles

The Gaia flag blows

Grey and white birds

Make their way home

Softly we came

Softly we spoke

Softly we leave

Having shared our poems

In this sacred space.

Garden update, including our own page on Co-operate!

Last week, we pulled out the remaining sweetcorn plants and dug over some of the beds, removing stones. We planted one emptied bed with clover seeds for winter and plan on continuing this as other crops are harvested. 

The current veggie crop includes kale, swiss chard, potatoes and beans. Squashes are ripening under masses of huge leaves. The apple trees are laden with fruit. 

 

Thank you, Nicola, for providing the update and the lovely photos.

Empty Common is live on Co-operate!

Co-operate is a website by the Coop that aims to help people make good things happen in communities. Thanks to Charlotte, our group has its own page here. We are hoping to reach more people and receive donations of equipment and resources. We have also applied to grants to ensure the future of the garden.

 

Welcome, August!

The weather has been warm, so the watering rota is in full action. We practise social distancing and turn up in shifts - everyone brings their own gloves and sanitation aids. Here are some photos by Nicola.

 

On Wednesday, the Evergreen Elfons (woodcraft folk) visited the garden, here are some lovely photos of them enjoying the space.

Butterfly count in the Garden

Our volunteer Nicola participated in the Big Butterfly Count (17 July - 9 August) for the Empty Common Community Garden and sent us some lovely photos. We also got a report from Audrey. Thank you for doing this on behalf of the Garden.

Nicola's visit on 19 July

We did count butterflies this morning. we counted all the butterflies we saw in a 15 minute period and completed 3 counts in the time that I was there. I have uploaded the results to the website. Unfortunately it was mostly cloudy with short sunny periods and there were not many butterflies out but we did see a total of 10 butterflies.

1 peacock

1 meadow brown

1 red admiral

3 gate keepers

1 ringlet

2 small whites

1 large white

Audrey's visit on 19 July

2 butterflies,  large white and a gatekeeper.

Nicola's second visit on 22 July

Large white 19

small white 3

ringlet 2

brimstone 1

gate keeper 4

small blue 1

comma 1

A restorative pause in the Garden

Rebecca creating soothing vibes with her drum by the river

Our resident artist, Rebecca, has recorded a session of healing and soothing music while sitting in the Empty Common Community Garden. You can enjoy a recording here: https://soundcloud.com/lindum-greene/rav-vast2-adventures-empty The birds start this mini concert and the drum continues...