BIG Garden needs support!

The Big Friendly Gardeners volunteers group at High Woods Country Park's BIG Garden project now have a facebook page so you can keep up to date with what's going on there.

NEWS FLASH! This unique 10 year old community project loses funding in September 2017, and needs all the local support it can get. Please go and visit, apply to volunteer, get involved! There are numerous well evidenced health and well being benefits from being involved in community food growing including from the obvious exercise involved, eating more fresh organic food, the social support experienced, being in the sun and learning new skills, gaining knowledge about the seasons and nature, wildlife etc.

The project is just a short walk from the Visitor Centre off Turner Rd and is open Monday to Thursday and alternate Saturdays 10am to 1pm. Saturday dates online here.

Big Garden Bounty

It's Apple Day at the Big Garden tomorrow. It's been a good year with bountiful harvests of pretty much everything we've grown! The poly tunnels are planted up with leaves to keep us going over winter, spinach, chard, mustard leaves, kale, lettuce. Outside, cabbages, kale, leeks, squash, main crop potatoes are doing well and we're still picking runner beans, courgettes, carrots and tomatoes.
Here are our super huge swedes, first time we've grown them successfully! 

NEW growing project in Colchester!!!

There’s an exciting new veg growing project starting in the town center for young people age 16 to 25 interested in learning to grow food. Contact 

Toni Peers, Go Green Project Lead gogreen[at]colchesteryes.org.uk

y.e.s - Colchester and Tendring Youth Enquiry Service
Colchester  01206 710771
Tendring  01255 434601
www.yesyouthenquiryservice.org

Edible Mach

I've spent the week in Machynlleth in mid Wales and have enjoyed eating delicious purple kohl rabi, lettuce, peas, kale and fresh herbs from some of the Edible Mach plots outside the swimming pool and library!

There are some great outdoor growing projects here including Gerddi Bro Dyfi Gardens and GPs at the local health centre can even 'prescribe' volunteering at the garden to patients!

Help needed at new community garden!

Hurrah for residents at Balfe Court in Greenstead who are creating a new community garden with help from Colne Housing.

They would welcome any help and advice from gardening enthusiasts.

Contact Amanda on 01206 520585 or email her palangatura[at]gmail.com

Spring at the Big Garden

Clare's mixing our own potting compost using a recipe from I don't dig peat:

Ingredients
1 part sand
1 part leaf mould
1 part garden compost
1 part loam (soil from a garden bed)

What you do
Just sieve it all together!

We're experimenting  and comparing it to a bought organic peat free compost. Will let you know the outcome. 

Here's Matt using some coppiced hazel from the woods to make some woven fencing.

The uprights are cut from the red alder we've felled from the shelter belt. It was planted as a fast growing tree to get the belt established while slower growing trees developed.

New Year Plotting

compost making workshop at the TTW plot

Volunteers are invited to join in at the Transition Town Wivenhoe allotment this Sunday 5th January between 2pm and 4pm.

There'll be a variety of jobs on offer, bring a digging spade or fork if you have one.

07926 463568 hello@transitionwivenhoe.org.uk