Inosculation at Empty Common Community Garden

Ino what? You might ask. In the photos above, Susanna held two tree trunks together and tied them to an aluminium baking tray, which had holes drilled into it. She then sliced a little off the trunks where they joined so their cambia were in contact and taped the whole lot tight to keep out the air and help stop the joining tissues from moving against each other. 

The pretty green bows made with plastic bags stop the whole tree structure waving around too much. If you want to have a go at inosculation, here is an article with a few more examples... click here to read it.

The blog (not the garden!) is taking a holiday break so we will be back the Sunday after next. Happy Easter everybody!

Polytunnel party!

On Sunday we celebrated the erection of the polytunnel. Thank you to the building team for such a sterling effort! Just click on the pictures to enlarge them.

The new addition to the garden, next to the new shed and
the old shed peeking behind

Our sharing box, facing a busy footpath

A view of the Empty Common Community Garden
from the public footpath

Another view, including some of our raised beds

One of our young members, busy planting

Getting our party started, wood-burning kettle
for our tea outside, of course!

If you like what you see, please join us! Read the first post of this blog to find out where we are and how to join. It's free, fun and we are very inclusive.

More gardening jobs for March: mulching

Mulching with pine needles - pic courtesy of Wikimedia

As the volunteers are still hard at work on the polytunnel here at the Empty Common Garden, many of us might have given their lawn the first cut of the year.

It's also time to mulch the borders. Most people would use compost (own or bought). Mulching helps to suppress weeds and keeps moisture into the soil while forming a barrier for weeds. At the Empty Common Garden we have also used cardboard, which you bury in your veg plot, then plant seeds on top. It helps with weeds and keeps moisture locked in the soil.

Some gardeners use grass clippings. Aside putting a bucketful in the compost bin (not too much as you want a mixture of organic matter), you can use them to mulch. Apparently raspberry canes can do with some mulching at this time of year, so you could build a lawyer around the cut-down stumps using grass clipping. I am sure grass clippings can be used for other tasks. If you have a tip on mulching, please leave a comment!

Snail and slug control

Snail - Wikimedia

Last week, we mentioned stocking up on snail and slug control products. March and April are wet months in Britain and these garden pests can become a problem. And no, it's not OK to throw them over the fence into your neighbour's garden or allotment. So here is a collection of ways to protect tender, green shoots from slugs and snails.

Slug - Soil-net Library

Snails can look cute and slugs are interesting to watch if you are a child, but for gardeners they are a yearly challenge. When all your carefully planted seedlings have been munched and you are left with bare earth and chomped tendrils, many gardeners will feel frustrated if not angry. So there are those who will squash such pests under their wellies or go on recces early in the morning and bag all the snails, then throw them away. The latter approach is brutal but effective if the garden or plot is infested with slugs and snails. Or you might want to encourage birds into your garden, frogs and any other animal that will deal with the pests for you. A toad can eat up to 100 slugs a night!

Other ways to deal with garden pests

Apparently, according to Amateur Gardening, slugs tend to live within an area of 4.8m in diameter, so you don't need too many traps to cover a small garden or plot. For this reason many gardeners have switched from pellets to traps. Other ways to deal with snails and slugs include:

• Nematodes: eelworms that enter slugs and reduce their reproduction. Once the population of slugs dwindle, these worms will return to natural levels.
• Copper barriers: rings are sold but you might have some copper tubing laying around that can be used to ring-fence your raised beds or planted areas.
• Pellets: they are made to be unattractive to birds and other wildlife (hence the blue colour), but you will need to reapply them after heavy rains and some gardeners don't feel comfortable using them.
• Beer traps: bury a jar or yogurt pot to its rim, fill with cheap bear and cover it so rain doesn't dilute it.
• Half a melon/orange/grapefruit, flesh scooped out and placed on the earth to form a 'little home'. Come back the next morning and you might find some visitors attached to the domed walls.

Do you have any tips to share? Please leave a comment.

Gardening jobs for March

Empty Common Garden in late January

Volunteers are still finishing off the polytunnel (pictures to come) and doing all sorts of jobs around the Community Garden. It's quite a green space considering we are still in winter, but spring is not far now. The photo above, taken in late January, shows you how lush a winter garden can still be here in England. We had no snow last year and little snow this year.

Photo: JamesDeMers 

Today is the first of March, which is very exciting for all gardeners, whether you have a plot or a balcony to flex your green thumbs. For those who like blooms, it's time to plant summer bulbs (in the ground or in a pot). A handy tip for a heavy clay soil is to place a bit of sand under each bulb to improve drainage. Other jobs and tasks for March include:

• Planting lilies, they are generally hardy and can go in now. Other summer bulbs to grow are Homeria, Gladiolus and Dahlia (the latter is best protected from frosts and started in a pot)
• Planting tomatoes in grow bag if you have a greenhouse or conservatory
• Cutting your lawn and give it some TLC, identify and repair bare patches
• Stocking up on slug and snail control products.

Have a good weekend!

Wild garlic... green shoots of spring

Wild garlic at Empty Common Community Garden

This week I was sent a picture of the wild garlic. The team of volunteers have been hard at work preparing the ground for the polytunnel. After spending some time to get the measurements right, they dug the anchor poles in the right spots, so it should be going up soon.

New volunteers have joined in the past two months but there is still space for more helping hands. As the weather improves, there will be more to do and crops to grow. The polytunnel will really help with early growing and protect young plants from the elements and, hopefully, some unwanted visitors. 

We will publish a photo as soon as the polytunnel is up. I am also hoping to get a few photos of the garden so you can see what it looks like now.

If you'd like to join us, please refer to the first blog post, which has a contact number and a map.

Getting ready for spring - gardening jobs for February

Photo from Wikipedia

Snowdrops have been joined by crocuses and primroses in many gardens. Daffodils are going to follow pretty soon here in Cambridge. At the Empty Common Community Garden, volunteers have prepared the space where the polytunnel will be located. We will publish a picture as soon as it's up!

If you have a gardening diary, you will find that February can be a busy month. Many gardeners will be buying seeds and plants. If you came to the Seedy Sunday, you will have a big batch of seeds and be ready for action! 

You can start mowing a lawn if the weather is mild and dry or prepare the ground for a new lawn. It's also a good month to:

• plant bare-root trees/shrubs such as roses
• move deciduous woody plants
• cut down dogwood to get lovely red stems next winter. 

If you have a greenhouse or warm windowsill, you can start planting seeds, if you have not already! Hope you had a Happy Valentine's day. I always enjoy getting a plant rather than cut flowers.