A bright start to CRED 2012

Posted: 16 Jan 2012 in Blog Beauty is on the inside... what's inside your moisturiser?!

 

Although slightly chilly on Saturday, the community garden in Kingston was blessed with clear bright blue skies – perfect light to take a step back and imagine how the garden can be transformed in the coming months. Kingston’s CRED (Cambridge Road Estate Diggers) community garden had a great first year in 2011 with lots of yummy veg for the community to enjoy and the plans for this year are sure to see it develop further as a fantastic resource for the community.

As winter continues there is not a lot happening in the community garden at the moment. However, I love this time of year as it allows us to look back on last year, see what grew well and where, and make a plan for the year ahead. Now that the garden is back to its bare bones, the avid gardener’s are making their plans for this year with many new ideas in the pipeline.  I’m particularly excited to follow the progress of the planned herb spiral which will be located in the slightly more wild area of the garden. Alan, one of CRED’s main members, is progressing this idea and is looking to include lemon balm, mint, lavender, sage, rosemary, chamomile, calendula and yarrow – a wonderful variety and some skin care gems in there too!

Saturday’s turnout included the key driving members plus a new face or two. The group are always glad to see new people get involved and help out – particularly with the more strenuous work! Last year provide a brilliant learning curve and allowed the group to see how different areas of the garden developed over the year. One of the main issues that came to light was the proximity of the vegetable beds in relation to the large mature trees on site. As such much of this Saturday was spent moving the beds slightly further away from the trees to ensure they get maximum light during the summer months. 

If you’re thinking of getting your hands dirty this year in your own garden, an allotment or community garden, how about making a little room for some skin care plants such as chamomile and calendula?  Not only can they be great for your skin, but calendula (pot marigold) is also a great companion plant as it attracts beneficial insects which then feed on pests, helping to protect your food crop.

Watch this space for some organic gardening tips coming soon! 

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