Phew! what a scorcher....

....it was hot, hot, hot at the urban farm today and we were all suffering and grumbling. It's hard to remember that it's only March and a few weeks ago we were glad to be working in the  warmth of the polytunnels and greenhouse! We were covering the space at the entrance to the farm with a woodchip mulch to suppress the weeds. That area has had a  mixed range of uses - for storage, as personal plots for the trainees and for flowers - and as a result it's always been a bit of a hotchpotch.

Bringing another area into use
with a bark chipping mulch

Sarah plans to bring it into cultivation and the mulch should have done it's job by the Autumn.

The heat and the hard work didn't dismay us, though and Adrienne and one of the trainees had a race off to see who could fill their barrows first and run them to the area we were covering. It was a close match - although I think Adrienne won by a handle.

We'll have squashes growing here
 in the Autumn

I took some time out at tea break to visit the orchard. The trees there are coming into bud and looking very healthy, promising a reasonable crop in the summer. Sarah has been very taken by Charles Dowding's method of growing squash under the trees and the trainees have been laying straw down as a mulch.   

The strings of toad spawn wrap around
 weeds to keep them in the water

I also took a look a the pond to see how the frogspawn is coming on. The gloopy masses are still there -in spite of a duck lurking round - and were throbbing and bubbling with life. Some of the spawn has turned into tiny tadpole - so it looks as if the frog population will be ok this year! The best thing, though, was that we've got toad spawn!!! Toad spawn comes in strings wrapped round weeds. I've seen it before, but not as clearly as it was today. The phot doesn't do it justice...but you can just make out the strings of toad spawn wrapped round the weeds.

I'm away for the next two weeks - so no blogs over that period.Have a good Easter break!

In the meantime if you're interested in joining us at the farm, now that the weather's better come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.

A frog he would.....

common frogs mating:erikpaterson

...and they are..wooing like mad in the pond at the urban farm. I was beginning to worry that the heron had eaten them all, but there's loads of frog spawn and lots of frogs poking their heads out of the water, legs akimbo or jumping around and on each other. They're quite a sight to see!

It takes about three years for our common frogs to become sexually mature. You can generally tell the commonn male frogs from female frogs by size and the females in our pond are huge compared with their paramours, but apparently in some species, males and females are hard to tell apart and the male frogs make a special release call when another male makes a mistake.
Mostly eggs are fertilised outside the female's body.The female releases her eggs and the male releases his sperm at the same time. To make sure that the sperm reach the eggs, the male climbs onto the female's back and clasps his forelegs around her middle - plenty of that going on in the pond today!. Frogs can stay like this for hours or even days depending on how many eggs the female releases - sometimes as few as one but our common frogs can lay anything between 1000 to 4000 eggs at a time.
All frogs' eggs need moisture to develop, and most frogs abandon their eggs once they're fertilized. We're used to seeing the gloopy masses of the common frogspawn floating in ponds, but a few species carry their eggs in their vocal sacs or their abdomens. Others lay eggs in dry areas and keep the eggs moist with water or urine.
Depending on the weather the tadpoles will hatch out in anything from a week to 40 days and will feed on their spawn jelly for the first few days. After that they begin to eat algae.  Spawn and tadpoles have many predators - fish, birds and grass snakes. On average, only 5 out of every 2000 eggs will survive to become adult frogs and I'm sure that heron knows where they are.... I'll be keeping my eyes open in April for tadpoles and also for toad spawn. We saw toads and newts last year - proof that the urban farm pond provides an important habitat for local amphibians!

loverly compost!!:nancybeetoo

It was a  lovely sunny day and the volunteers were busy clearing more space in the wooded area and potting up the seedlings that were sown a few weeks ago. Most of them have germinated and Sarah will have plenty of tomatoes for sale through the veggie mail scheme and on the market stall.

Last week I went on a compost making course at Hackney City Farm. I went expecting to learn how to make compost - but I should have read the details a bit more carefully. Sheffield's Heeley Farm have won lotttery funding promoting compost making. Their plan is to train up 15 or so hubs of accredited compost trainers around England. If Sarah's application is successful we'll be able to run compost making courses at the farm. Any potential rotters out there?

If you're interested in joining us at the farm. Come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.

In praise of worms....

Gulp! Texas.713

A bit of a hasty blog this week - a group of us are going on a composting course at Hackney City Farm on Wednesday so hopefully we'll come back with refreshed memories and new ideas that will help us to combat the rising price of compost by making more of our own for the farm. The no-dig method that we use is quite greedy on compost, so we need as much as we can get. 

Thinking about compost made me realise we don't see many worms at the farm because we don't turn the soil over. I'm sure there must be plenty of them - with all that organic matter around they must love it! Earth worms are essential for good, fertile soil. They help to aerate the soil by tunneling; bring deeper and often nutrient rich soil up into the topsoil; and while they are doing this they secrete a slime that contains nitrogen - vital for healthy plants. They are also an important part of the ecosystem's foodchain - blackbirds love them, so do moles, badgers, foxes, toads.....They can live up to 8 years ( although I don't know how you find out?) but with all those predators their life span is usually quite short. Pollution and pesticides are, of course,also threatening to earth worms - toxins get into the soil and even if they don't kill the worm they can be passed on to their predators, while chemical fertilisers can make the soil too acidic for earth worms to survive. So let's be kind to worms and make sure that there is plenty of soil for them to live in and vegetable matter to eat!    

Frogs, toads, beetroots and hammers

Sarah had plenty of work for us this week, but as soon as I got the chance I wandered up to the pond this week.

toads on the road:grakki

One of the volunteers had already told me that he has got masses of frog spawn in the pond at his allotment and the Guardian on Saturday announced that toads are on the move. Frogs are pretty undiscriminating about where they breed, but toads generally return to the ponds where they were born. This can mean that masses of toads cross busy roads heading for the same pond and inevitably their casualties are high.  Froglife.org is a charity that is committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles - frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards - and saving the habitats they depend on.  At this time of year they are responsible for special road signs warning motorists about the toads crossing. Volunteer toad wardens also carry the creatures to safety, and last year gave 73,000 toads safe passage. And in Oxton, Nottinghamshire, one particular road is closed to all traffic in March for the toads to cross safely.

Both frogs and toads eat beetles, bugs and woodlice. Frogs eat a large number of slugs and snails, whereas toads favour ants, so very useful creatures to have around. Sadly, there was no evidence at all at the urban farm. We saw toads and newts last year so we know they are around. Maybe next week? But at least the water mint I planted last week has survived and looks healthy.

We've got two new volunteers - an ex-trainee who's back until he gets paid work (it can't have been that bad first time round!) and a friend of Adrienne's who's just moved into the area. It was great having them, they both got stuck in and helped us to crack on.


A self - selecting group of guys built a new compost bin in the woodland area that we cleared a few weeks ago. The price of compost has shot up and we're hoping that we can make more of our own. There was quite a hullabaloo at one point -  I'm not quite sure what they were up to but it seemd to involve an old beetroot and a hammer...



parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
:Jill Clardy

The rest of us spent the day taking root and shoot cuttings to meet an order for 1,500 herb plants that Sarah has secured for the farm. I'm not sure how many we planted today, but we must have nearly made the target!


The birds were singing, ladybirds were waking up and the scent of the herbs and the sun on our backs made us all feel very mellow!  



If you're interested in joining us at the farm. Come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.

Riddles and pots!

Rudbekia:Brockvicky

It's been a very flowery day today at the farm - potting up and planting and even though the sun wasn't shining it was warm and lovely to be working outdoors. We've had a load of compost delivered and volunteers and trainees took it in turns to riddle out any large pieces to make it suitable for potting - hard work but I consoled myself with the thought that it was helping to firm up my arm muscles - no more dinner ladies arms for me! We spent most of the day working round a big table outside the cabin potting a range of plants including white and red penstemons,rudbekias, lavender,salvia, thyme, lupins, lemon verbena and geraniums and lots more. Apart from the riddling, the work was relaxing, everyone was in good humour and working together like that gave us the chance to have a chat and a bit of banter with the trainees. They worked hard, joined in the chat happily and looked pleased when we praised them! A cliche - but it made it all worthwhile!

Penstemon: M Martin Vicente

Once the plants were potted up we moved them to the large polytunnel to bring them on ready for sale in the early summer. Keep your eyes open for plants and cut flowers in veggie mail or on the farmers' market in the next few months. Later on I took a look at the seeds I'd sown a few weeks ago. They are all coming up, so there'll be a range of veggie plants on sale too!

water mint: Tico

The pond is beginning to fill up with water at last - but no sign of the fish. Maybe the heron has eaten them all or it could be that they are hiding in the mud ? 

One of the volunteers brought in some water mint which we planted on the edge. Apart from being very atttractive with clusters of pink, blue or lilac coloured flowers at the tip of square shaped stems, water mint smells wonderful and attracts butterflies such as the small tortoiseshell and peacock so hopefully we'll be seeing those in the summer. And you can make mint tea from the leaves - though I've never tried it.

So, altogether a very satisfying day!

If you're interested in joining us at the farm. Come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.

Brambles and bees

Bumblie on a snowdrop: J Meixner

What a change in the weather! All I can say is that I'm glad we were at the urban farm yesterday. It really felt like a spring day, the sun was shining and when we stopped for our midmorning cuppa we saw two bumble bees foraging for nectar from early spring flowers such as lungwort, spring bulbs and willow catkins. The sound of bumble bees is synonymous with summer days, but sadly they are under threat because of the decline in wild flowers in our countryside - over 97% of flower rich meadows have been lost in the UK and in the last 70 years at least two species of bumblies have become extinct.Others have declined dramatically.
The BumblebeeTrust's website gives more information and advice on how to help maintain the numbers of these vital insects.  http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk .


Making a start: Dave Meara

In the morning we started work clearing brambles from the wooded area.Brambles have featured in folk tales throughout the ages. It was thought by some to represent both generosity and others to represent grief. Blackberries were sacred in Pagan religions and were included in dishes made on feast days while Christians thought that when Lucifer was thrown out of heaven he landed in a bramble bush and cursed it and who can forget that Brer Rabbit escaped into the bramble patch when he was caught by Brer Fox!  Blackberries are lovely fruit but they do need to be managed and cultivated effectively to produce good fruit and our brambles have certainly been left to grow wild. It was tough going. The bramble shoots have curled over and the tips have rooted making a woven arched covering but once we'd done a couple of hours we could really see a difference and it inspired us to crack on - that and the thought of pancakes for lunch at Foundation House and a bonfire in the afternoon!
Sarah and the team want to move the chickens into the clearing. As woodland birds they will be quite happy there and it will open up the chicken pooh rich land that they were on for further cultivation. Sarah's also planning to put a series of large bins on the edge of the clearing so that we can make more of our own compost.
Spring must be on its way  and making us more lively - on Sunday a group of us went to the farm to fix the willow dome. We made it last year, but a lot of the willow staves died because of the dry summer. One of the team brought freshly cut willow and we simply pushed the staves into the ground following the same pattern as last year's dome. Hopefully, if we don't go into a prolonged drought this year they will all take,the dome will start to fill out and we'll have a lovely seating area . 

If you're interested in joining us at the farm. Come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.

enterprise at the farm

two seater with a central table

There's always something different at the urban farm. This week when I got there we had a set of garden furniture in front of the cabin.I thought they'd been donated and was just thinking they'd be rather nice near the pond and the orchard on a sunny summer afternoon, when Sarah told me that they've been made by the trainees on the Christian Foundation's construction project and are being showcased at the farm.

two seater

There are two designs - one has two chairs joined together by a table, the other is a two seater sofa style.I tried them out and they are very sturdy and really comfy.

The photos don't do them justice so if you want to get a good look at them or try them out pop along to the farm any day after 10am. Each item costs £65.00.

Someone has kindly donated a bag of seeds so we spent the morning sowing tomatoes and aubergines.I know quite a lot of people who are nervous about growing from seed and if you don't have much success young plants ready for planting out are a good fallback. Sarah is planning to sell the young plants in the spring at the farmer's markket and through veggie mail.

forcing endives: Sandro Lacarbano

The team are also growing endives at Kiln Farm so we went along after lunch to take a look at them. It's not an easy vegetable to grow and needs to be forced in the dark during its final stages - a bit like rhubarb - to get those yellow and white, crisp leaves. They're looking really good so the team should be well pleased with their efforts. They might be ready to harvest soon so keep your eyes open for them!

 It's worth popping round to the workshop at Kiln Farm. The trainees make a big range of itens  - not just the garden furniture. While I was there I picked up a box of briquettes.I've got a French wood burner at home - the sort that was used by concierges to keep the stair well warm.It's a slow burner and can't really cope with big chunks of wood. I've seen the briqettes advertised at the Christian Foundation but I never thought about using them before.The briquettes are made from compressed paper - total recycling-  and burn slowly releasing a gentle heat. I'll try them out over the weekend and let you know next week how they go. Amazing Waste are giving the briqettes away for free to pensioners and for the rest of us are selling them at £4 a box for briquettes and kindling and £4 for a large, post office sized sack of kindling. If you're interested email:  BoxScheme@mkchristianfoundation.co.uk . The briqettes will be ready to collect from Foundation House on Thursday afternoon or they can be delivered to pensioners who live in Wolverton.

If you're interested volunteering at the urban farm come along any Tuesday after 10.00 for a chat or email dave_meara@hotmail.com

If you've got any thoughts on this or anything else to do with the urban farm just leave a comment in the box.