October 2022 news
- Killaloe Ballina Community Garden
- Oct 18, 2022
- 2 min read
Workdays Saturday 1 October and Sunday 2 October
As many members are unable to take part in workdays on Saturdays, it was great to see so many members turn up on Saturday 1 October as well as on Sunday 2 October. We added heaps of leaves to the leaf bin and cleared the area along the bottom fence of timber, rubbish, nettles and brambles.
We made a start on a no-dig carbon capture experimental bed between the new polytunnel and bottom fence. Weeds were piled up and covered with black polythene. What’s needed now is a layer of cardboard to smother weeds and then a thick layer of compost. Possible crops that could be grown here next year could be potatoes followed by pumpkins or, if the experiment is working well, salad crops.
AGM Saturday 15 October
In accordance with our agreement with East Clare Community Coop and licence from Clare County Council, the AGM was held on Saturday 15 October at 1 pm in the Killaloe Community Resource Centre. The meeting reflected on the huge transformation undergone by the garden during the year and expressed heartfelt thanks to all involved. New members have brought fresh impetus to activities.
Look back and plan forward
Now is the time to think about what you want to grow in your community garden plot this coming year. Look back over the year. What have you grown successfully? What crops have failed? Plan. Do you want to grow food crops, or flowers, or both? How much time will you have to tend your plot?
Some vegetables are low maintenance, others need a lot more attention. Some, like kales and perpetual spinach, give you harvests right through the winter. Others, like peas and courgettes, only crop in summer.
Also, how much time do you have to contribute to helping maintain the common areas in the garden? Are there any particular areas you are particularly interested in looking after and could take responsibility for?
Upcoming tasks
Over the next few weeks we'll be busy with the usual autumn garden tasks such as: continuing to rake up leaves and adding them to the compost bin; clearing the the small polytunnel and adding the spent crops to the compost heap; washing out pots and storing them in readiness for planting next year; and coiling hoses and hanging them in the shed.
Once the autumn raspberries have finished fruiting, we'll be cutting the canes down to the ground. New canes will start growing in spring and will bear fruit next year.
The manure bin is now empty. We're hoping there may be members with contacts in the horse community to who could arrange for a load of manure to be delivered to the garden.
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