Rocket-man seeds

This week we have been talking part in a scientific experiment! We have just planted or Rocket seeds, which went into Space with Tim Peake, and we will be comparing them to seeds which have remained on Earth. To find out more about this, please follow this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35422286

The students from a local autism school have been getting stuck in and impressing us with their enthusiasm... This is a house which is being built from pallets, and will be a playhouse for children visiting the sensory garden. 

These tyres are being painted to form a herb garden planter which will divide the different areas of the garden. Lots of opportunities for tasting, smelling and feeling the difference plants.

We are now able to wash our hands in style at the allotment! No more trying to clean yourself up in a puddle, who knows we may have some carrots to clean in that bowl too later in the year. I was joined on the allotment today by J, and we dodged the rain showers a bit, but we still managed to get our first veg plot laid out and edged, we broke up the clumpy soil and got the first row of peas planted. Peas are amazing eaten straight from the pod, so we will plant more in the weeks ahead to make sure we have plenty to go around.

Hello ladybirds!

This week we divided out efforts between our two sites. On the allotment, we needed to do some of the heavier jobs, like pruning the fruit trees and getting the fence posts in.It's a bit late really to be pruning fruit trees, but it had been years since these had been done, so here they are, tidied up a bit, and hopefully their haircut won't affect them to much this year.

The fence is also looking good now once the posts were put back in with a lump hammer. 

While working, I saw loads of ladybirds, I'm not sure if I woke then up with all the post bashing, but it's a good sign to see these natural pest controllers, as we would rather not use pesticides. 

Meanwhile, back at the farm, the children have been busy getting the seeds planted, they have been very productive today. We've decided to start seeds off at the farm so we can keep a better eye on the watering

Our other plot...

In addition to the allotment, we also have a plot at the farm which is our sensory garden. These photos are from the end of last year. A group of amazing volunteers from Lloyds Bank came and built these raised beds...

and put in this pond for us, and the bug hotel that you can see behind. The path was laid down a little later to help make the garden more accessible for wheelchair users. 

This garden also had a lot of work still to do, but it gives us two places to swap between, and we can focus more on the sensory and play aspects in this one. 

Time to get started

These pictures are from our first visit to the allotment this year. Having cleared the plot last year, and put down plastic sheeting to deter the weeds, it was time to have a look at what needs doing so we can try to get a nice crop during this year. There was a bit of wind damage (last years pallet fence had partly blown down), so the first job that S helped with was starting to put it back up and painting it.

Underneath the plastic had stayed clear of weeds, and though the skill is quite heavy and clay based, it was not to hard to dig.

We were able to plant these fruit bushes which had been kindly donated; a red current, a gooseberry and some raspberries.

 We've got a lot of work ahead of us but it will be great to see what the allotment looks like at the end of the year.