Thursday 11 October 2018

Enjoying Garden Produce

We continue to harvest edible crops in the warm weather.
Here Ryan is washing potatoes (luxury eh?!) and sorting out produce boxes for staff.
Lewis harvests tomatoes...
...along with peppers and herbs to make pitta-bread pizzas.
There has been a lot of activity to tidy the place as winter approaches.  Collecting runner beans both to eat...
...and to collect seeds from the drier pods.
We've been continuing to weed the borders...
...and top them up with more soil.
The S2 class have started sowing broad beans...
for an early crop in spring.
The S4 class have also been learning how to split and divide perennial plants.  
This is a great way to keep them healthy whilst gaining more plants for free ☺
They topped up the new "long border"...
...dug in some fresh compost from our RIDAN hot composter...
...and planted the new plants into it.
It is important to water them really well to make sure moist soil is washed around the roots of the plants.  If the roots sit in an air pocket, they will die and the plant will suffer.
Talking of plants for free, S2 pupils have been learning how to take cuttings from the laurel bushes around the school campus.
They should take care of themselves in the ground over the winter and start to grow bigger in spring when we can transplant them somewhere else.
In other news, we CAUGHT A RABBIT!!  IN THE GARDEN!!  Oh dear, after three years they have worked out that they can dig into the steep bank in the woods behind the garden and burrow under our rabbit wire.  We released this little one and...
...cut some short lengths of new wire to put over the fresh holes in the woodland.  In time, we might have to lay wire along the whole length of the bank to prevent them getting in again - something of a mammoth task!
Talking of mammoth tasks, the council guys came in to clear all the weeds from the walled area.  It looks SO much better!  This will make it easier to develop into a reflective garden next year.
They were also happy to take away the old broken-down picnic bench and pallets to help tidy things up.

We break up this week for our October half term holidays.  So to everyone involved in the garden project - enjoy a restful break and re-charge your batteries ready for more hard work when we return!  Thank YOU too for visiting this blog and taking an interest in TEAM CG - The Ellon Academy Memorial Community Garden!