Broomhill March, April, May

On Sunday 10th of April we had a fantastic sunny day in the garden!  We were getting our potato patch ready for the main crop potatoes.  We were building beds by turning the turfs of weeds over into the soil and then burying them again, so that as they break down they will fertilise the soil.  We also collected seaweed from the beach which we washed and will be using as a mulch and fertiliser on the potatoes. Apparently the seaweed really improves the flavour of the potatoes too!  We also sowed carrots, and planted the peas. We are also gradually developing the kid’s area on the site, the willow den got some seats and there are plans afoot for balancing logs, a kid’s digging area and lots more.  The community garden session on Tuesday 26th of April will be dedicated to getting the kid’s area more sorted – with the kid’s leading the way!

Open Day

We had a fantastic open day on Sunday 6th March with loads of visitors coming to have  look, lots of planting getting done and a fund-raiser in the hall. Thanks to Julie for face-painting, Iain for the loan of the gazebo and to Frank and EVERYONE for alot of hard work helping getting organised.

Here are some photos from the day…

Exploring the willow den

Raised beds for wheelchair users

Adam and Mark

Bunting and kids

Welcome flags!

Display of the story of the garden

Facepainting

The Site Under Construction

Great thanks to the team from the Future Jobs Fund…

Building the wooden fence by the hall

Work was help up in January due to the amazing winter of 2010/11

Landscaping and building a dropping-off area

Laying paths to make the site accessible and weather proof

Falkland Garden Update

Since May 2009 Jenny Methven has done an amazing job looking after the garden in Falkland. Unfortunately the funding for this work has come to an end meaning that the garden is on pause for the time being. However, some of the amazing growing that happened there is detailed on the Falkland Garden Information page.

Trial Crops

Last year we planted a series of trial plots of Quinoa (prounced ‘keen-wah’) to see if we could cultivate it here in Fife. Some of the varieties were really successful. We have seeds and advice for anyone wanting to grow it, please get in touch.

Quinoa originated in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. It has a remarkable protein value. In cooking you can use it like couscous, rice and it’s also great in bread!