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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: Vertical Growing
With two thriving beds already in motion, we’re excited to unveil our third climate smart method: vertical growing. By training plants to grow upward, we maximise space, reduce soil erosion, and improve airflow, ideal for wetter summers and smaller plots adapting to unpredictable weather. We’re crafting our frame from locally foraged willow, with a generous additional offer from a lovely allotment neighbour (community spirit in action!). We think the structure is a stunner and we’re eagerly awaiting the moment our squashes start to climb and cascade over. As we prepped the bed, we unearthed a stash of potatoes, which were added to our Crop Drop donations. We also harvested some…
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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: A golden afternoon
A golden afternoon in the Climate Resilient Garden! Today was a beauty, and our team gathered an incredible harvest. We cleared the potato bed to make way for our squash, which will soon be trained up the vertical planters. Broad beans and strawberries were also on today’s haul, those strawberries got a little extra care, carefully propped onto straw to keep them from softening on the ground. The keyhole bed is thriving, and we couldn’t be prouder of our progress. A fresh boost of compost and food scraps went into the center to nourish the soil, followed by a generous watering session. Most crops are flourishing, though the peas looked…
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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: Bedtime
We had a small but mighty team today, making exciting progress on our next bed, our take on Hugelkultur, a regenerative gardening technique that mimics natural forest floor ecosystems. By layering logs, branches, compost, and soil, these beds retain moisture, improve soil fertility, and create a thriving microhabitat. We’ve lovingly named ours ‘The Tomb’ while it takes shape! Meanwhile, we’ve begun work on our prototype poly tunnel rain catcher, which we’ll test on our main plot before scaling up. Keep an eye out for photos soon! Garden Growth Update: – Our radishes and even some beetroot from last week’s keyhole planting are already sprouting! We’ve sown salad leaves into trays…
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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: And just like that, we have pondlife!
We’re beyond grateful to Pete the Pond (and the magnificent Mango), artists Charlotte and Clare with WaterCycle, and Charlie, our local bird guide, for making this Build-a-Pond event truly special. Despite the unpredictable weather, our incredible visitors showed up, rolled up their sleeves, and put in the hard work to bring this pond to life. And a special shout-out to our unstoppable young volunteers who kept going with inspiring Pond Building energy! The goal of Blue Heart is to try out innovative ways to predict and mitigate the impact of flooding in Eastbourne and southern Wealden. This will benefit local people, businesses and the environment. What they learn will also…
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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: Update on progress
Another afternoon spent nurturing our climate-resilient garden, soaking up the sunshine and getting our hands dirty! We had 11 attendees join today. With our homemade compost supply running low, we explored our options and as we know compost is pricey! We settled on an RHS-approved blend to complete our keyhole garden, making sure every choice supports sustainability. Garden Updates: 🌱 We direct-sowed beetroot & radish and transplanted dwarf beans against the keyhole composter wall. 🌾 The team tackled a serious weeding session, with our young gardeners enthusiastically wheelbarrowing woodchip to help suppress future growth. 🥗 The broad beans in the polytunnel are thriving! Today’s harvest will be added to tomorrow’s…
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UPCOMING EVENT: Pete the Pond on June 7th!
Thanks to generous funding from Blueheart, our allotment is taking a huge step toward boosting biodiversity and we’re building a pond! Join us for a hands-on, educational day on June 7th The goal of Blue Heart is to try out innovative ways to predict and mitigate the impact of flooding in Eastbourne and southern Wealden. This will benefit local people, businesses and the environment. What they learn will also help inform projects around the UK and beyond.Read more on the Blue Heart website here… Staying Connected with Rooted Community Food Rooted Climate Resilient Garden: Pete the Pond Updates At Rooted Community Food, we believe that staying informed is just as…
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CLIMATE RESILIENT GARDEN: Progress
What a fantastic turnout for today’s Climate Resilient Garden session, where thirteen eager participants got hands-on with our bed-testing mission! Luckily we had some additional admin support at the Kitchen Plot, helping us record valuable climate related data. We invite everyone to take part in this open, experimental session. Join us, whether you’re an experienced grower or simply curious—there’s a place for everyone to participate! We’re especially looking for insights from those with experience in the following climate related gardening practices, so check out the below and see if you can help: Keyhole Gardening Hugelkultur Vertical Growing Seed Saving If any of these climate related gardening skills resonate with you,…
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COMPOST CHRONICALS
Yes, we admit it – we are compost obsessed, but who wouldn’t be with this premium black gold? Our first bay is officially filled, clearing out the old crates that will be relocating to the Kitchen Plot. We’re getting everything ready for our Open Day on March 19th, where we’ll be celebrating social prescribing—and in our case, green social prescribing! Our kitchen plot had a little drama, thanks to some furry friends and premature potato sowing. But fear not, we’ve added some netting and the remaining seed potatoes are chitting in the summer house under tightly secured conditions. And, in a burst of spring beauty, we’ve planted delicate snowdrops along…