Thursday 28 November 2013

Launch of the Robin Trail

A group of local school children and the local paper came today to check out the new trail before it opens to the general public for two months in the morning. The trail was put together by Jean and Chris-see photo below-and combines entertainment with some nature education really well!





Wednesday 27 November 2013

The Robin Trail



If like me you love this time of year and enjoy seeing the little robins hopping around our gardens then why not follow the Robin Trail that is now in the Kitchen garden. 









 




This will be great fun for children & adults alike with a quick Guess the Word quiz sheet that you can buy from the Coach House cafe for a £1.  If you are correct with working the word out then you can claim your very own little Robin badge. 








Each little robin has its own post with a little information with it all about the habitat of Robins; why not see how many you can spot. Also you can see if you can find the little Robin bird house hanging up in the garden made by a volunteer.

Christmas Wreaths

We are involved in a very seasonal activity! Our creatively inclined volunteers are enjoying making wreaths which are for sale on our produce table -see below. We are also selling some lovely paperwhite narcissi which we planted up in the greenhouse a while ago




Thursday 14 November 2013

November jobs

We have been busy clearing the orchard up (weeding and mulching around fruit trees and completing path maintenance), turning the compost, planting trees, taking down the runner bean poles and making bird and bat boxes






Thursday 7 November 2013

Green Compost



If you have a bare empty patch in your garden or allotment that may consist of poor soil, then why not consider growing something to create green manure or compost. This is just the right time of year and there are various plants you can grow which will enrich the soil and help improve the soil structure. As well as improving the soil these plants will often help cover the ground and prevent weeds from taking over.
Field beans can be grown from Sept onwards over the winter as can rye grass. Once the plants have grown and you are ready to plant something else the plants can be cut down and dug into the ground encouraging micro organisms. These help decompose the green compost giving a really healthy soil. Growing plants that give ground cover also encourage insects and frogs and beetles like the cool damp undergrowth.
 




Phacelia is a lovely plant with pretty blue flowers that can be used to attract bees and hoverflies. This can be sown in early spring and cut down before it flowers and dug in after a couple of months or you can wait till the autumn and then dig it in the following spring. Phacelia will thrive in most soils and as it’s a fairly bushy plant will help with keeping the weeds out.






For more info on the different plants to use for green manure and lots of useful information on producing green manure then check out this website: www.gardenorganic.org.uk

Wednesday 6 November 2013

Co-op supported community gardening day

Had a great day on Saturday October 26th with 38 people all busy harvesting carrots, radishes, beans and salad, planting kale, sowing seeds, propagating plants, clearing brambles, mulching trees, weeding, sweeping leaves and much more!




Autumn Tasks

Its a time of year for sweeping leaves, sowing green manure and tidying courgette and squash plants onto the compost heap. We are sowing salads for the greenhouse to keep the cafe supplied during the winter and potting Narcissi for Christmas purchases.


Friday 1 November 2013

Ulverston - Super Saturday Market

If you get chance do try and pop into Ulverston tomorrow Saturday 2nd November to see all the various market stalls including our very own Ford Park stall.You can find fresh produce from the Victorian Kitchen Garden, the Coach House Cafe's famous scones and lots of other things as well as various wooden items made on site such as bird boxes which could be the ideal Christmas gift. Thanks to an agreement with South Lakeland District Council, an all-day stay in one of the district council’s car parks on a Super Saturday costs £1.20. You can be sure you will enjoy wandering round and sampling the various foods on display. Also if you can't make it tomorrow then the date for your diary for the next Super Saturday Market is the first Saturday in December.

Remember remember the 5th of November

As it's nearly Bonfire night I thought you might like to see this poem all about Guy Fawkes.  Bonfire night is celebrated by buildling a bonfire & letting off fireworks to celebrate the foiling of the plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament by the catholic Guy Fawkes.
As children we had great fun collecting pieces of wood to "build" the  bonfire and then making a " Guy" with old clothes to sit on top. As soon as it was dark the bonfire would be lit and then it would be time to light the fireworks and have fun with sparklers. Our parents and friends and neighbours would go round with baked potatoes & sausages and of course treacle toffee which did more than it's fair share of damage if you happened to have a filling in one of your teeth.
 I hope if you are having a bonfire or you are going to an organised Firework display that you all have a great time, but remember to stay safe!

  English Folk Verse (c.1870)
            
The Fifth of November
    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!
    Guy Fawkes and his companions
    Did the scheme contrive,
    To blow the King and Parliament
    All up alive.
    Threescore barrels, laid below,
    To prove old England's overthrow.
    But, by God's providence, him they catch,
    With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
    A stick and a stake
    For King James's sake!
    If you won't give me one,
    I'll take two,
    The better for me,
    And the worse for you.
    A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
    A penn'orth of cheese to choke him,
    A pint of beer to wash it down,
    And a jolly good fire to burn him.
    Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
    Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
    Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!