Our day began as usual with a check-in and we all were very pleased to be at Greencare on such a beautiful day with the sun shining through the blossom trees and watching a Great Tit using the bird feeder with relish. The first part of the morning was spent planning which vegetables we would like to plant this year; peas, kale, leeks, pumpkins, carrots, spinach, chard, parsnips, onions, garlic, squash, beetroot and radishes. We will have our work cut out for us on the allotment, however, we felt very enthusiastic as new growth is exciting!
We assessed our allotment space and planned what would be planted where, and discussed the idea of a small shelf like greenhouse of our own to solve the problem of lack of space for everyone’s seed trays in the main greenhouse.
Thinking of the summer months ahead, we also plan to plant salad crops, and thinking about a longer term project Mary had the idea of planting asparagus (which takes three years to mature) if our neighbour farmer would allow us some space to start the plant and also develop a neighbourly relationship with him. This crop may also perhaps some income for us to fund other projects or outings for the group.
After this, we were more than ready to cook and share the delicious lunch of fresh bread, homemade butternut squash soup and Sharon’s legendary egg mayonnaise, cracker bread and a selection of hummus and fruit.
Some of the group felt that people outside of Greencare had the wrong perception of it, thinking of it only as a gardening group or an allotment (that may put some people off it)which doesn’t fit with the group members experience of it. We discussed which words we would use that would better fit our experience, such as Sanctuary, retreat, peaceful and lots of laughter! Although we have an excellent Greencare leaflet, the group members discussed how they might present Greencare so as to illustrate what meaning it has for them.
We were joined by Ronnie Fleming, Laird of Denham, who stayed for a wee cup of tea and joined in the craic.
The plans for next week include clearing the beds before implementing our planting plans and sow seeds of our companion flowers Marigolds and Calendula, and also sunflower seeds for this year’s Sunflower hedge surrounding our allotment.
Let’s hope the sun shines for us again next week!