Yet another sunny morning down at the gardening club. Peter finished off uncovering the foundations of the old scout hut. We thought we would have four walls but we only have three. Not sure what happened there but at least we know what we are dealing with now.
A generous volunteer Enid, donated some beautiful yellow chrysanthemums from her garden so that we could have a little dash of colour in the garden at this rather barren time of year. Paul and I planted them up in a bed and I think they look rather nice. There is something very positive about putting in plants at this time of year when you've been working so hard digging over, harvesting, weeding and constructing and it made the patio look a little more jolly.
We also put a layer of spent hops down on our empty raised beds. Many thanks to Ringway Brewery Limited, a new microbrewery in Stockport for providing and delivering these hops for free. Spent hops are a byproduct of the brewing process and are valuable to the gardener as a mulch and soil improver. From my experience of using them on my own allottment they are very attractive to worms so they really help to break down and feed the soil over winter. The hops do smell vaguely of beer but it is not unpleasant. You might smell a bit more like you've been down the pub rather than down the allottment once you finished spreading it though!
Our Gardening Sessions are 10-12.30 every Friday. If you would like to find out more contact us on 0161-881-2925 or come along to our office at St Ninian's Church, Egerton Road South and have a look for yourself.
Older Men Development Worker
Hello, Just wondered if our Greening guide might contain any useful information for any of your gardeners?
ReplyDeleteIt was produced in Whalley Range as part of a lottery funded 'Celebrate your Alleygates project.
The monthly calendar produced by Cath is a useful guide. This is a link to the guide:
goo.gl/4wOIt
let us know if you'd like a hard copy or two.
Regards,
Chris
Thank you for that Cath. I will pass it on.
ReplyDelete