There was a really fantastic turnout of more than 20 enthusiastic gardeners for the second of our autumn workshops with Michel Thill form Social Landscapes to discover what veggies can be planted to grow over winter – and our trusty cat Bob came too.
Bob
After starting off with a brief introduction to one another and learning what attendees had successfully grown (The majority of us had managed some green tomatoes, but not red!) we moved into a discussion on different vegetables such as rocket, lettuce and carrots and tried to guess how long each took to grow from seed to harvest.
Michel talking to the group
Michel went into more detail about the growing calendar and when we should have planted them… And now is not the time to spend our time and money on growing any of them them!
Getting to know our onions
But it was good to then learn that there were still a few vegetables we could plant, and we set about doing so for the next 30 minutes. Plots were mulched, seeds sown and planted potted up and we can now wait for our broad beans, garlic, onions and cabbage to grow.
Planting garlic
It was a very fitting day to learn about winter veggies with the chilly weather reminding us it was on the way, and a hot cup of tea and slice of cake went down well. It was a lovely morning enjoyed by all. And I wasn’t the only one who thought so…
Anna, a community gardener on the Clapham Manor Estate, said: ‘Thank you very much indeed for accommodating us on the course today. It was inspiring and very useful – we learned so much and will put that knowledge to good use by planting four crops in the next week or so – garlic, onions, broad beans and spring cabbage. The course was really well organised with a very friendly bunch of people, and the course leader did a great job with a light touch. I didn’t get the guy’s name from the Wandsworth community garden but it seems to me that we could connect with others and maybe visit each other’s gardens in the spring. Would definitely like to come along to the composting workshop!’
Potters of cabbage patch corner (Anna, second from left)
Bandstand Beds member Ollie, who’s also invovled with Bramford Community Garden in Wandsworth, said: ‘The session was expertly and patiently delivered by Michel Thill. Apart from the expert advice given by Michel it was equally useful to meet so many other enthusiastic growers at the workshop. We shared information and experiences, learning from each other as we worked. Thanks to everyone involved with the workshop and the Bandstand Beds for creating such a thriving community and a hub for meeting like-minded people. Despite a nip in the November air I left feeling invigorated, and looking forward to the next session on soil and compost in a couple of weeks.’
Our Soil & Compost Workshop, led by Michel Thill from Social Landscapes is on 19 November 2016 at 10.30.
Written by Sarah Wilson with David Dandridge