We have a new fence at the Belleville veg garden. We´ve given it a couple of coats of rustic looking wood preserver and a good sandpapering. There´s now a bit more room inside the fence so that larger groups of children can visit the garden more easily, as we hope to integrate with the school carriculum more fully this year.
[Left] A highly trained craftsman gives the fence a coat of ´Eco Preserver´
[Above] Skills like these don´t come cheap you know!
While we were on our hols in France the garden had a real growth spurt! The beans in particular had done really well. They are the ´purple podded´ variety chosen because they show up so well and are therefore easy to pick. They also seem not to have attracted a single greenfly/blackfly which is a huge advantage. Although purple when picked they go green when boiled, something that goes down well with the children.
The courgettes also went crazy and some turned into marrows. The tomatoes and sweetcorn are now ripening and the squash are growing rapidly. The tomatoes are delicious and, as happened a couple of years ago, the Radiator Charlie´s Mortgage Lifters are set to be enormous (and delicious!).
Next year we really need to make sure produce gets picked in August so we´ll be looking for volunteers! Pick your own localorganic veg. Can´t be bad.
I´m hoping to have some produce for sale in the upper playground at pick up next week, either Monday or Tuesday.
[Above] The finished fence looking quite sturdy
