Tag: getoldhamgrowing

Looking back at 2021 – A year at Lees Park

By Graham Rogers and Team REEL

Over the last year, Team REEL has been working in association with Lees Park Eco Hub, helping to  run groups and assisting with maintaining the site. Two volunteers, Graham and Gareth, helped Alan (Hub lead) every week with the Eco Hub volunteers with whatever jobs needed doing – getting their hands dirty, so to speak. Among many other jobs the team have been re-planting butternut squash and strawberries. They also took seeds from various plants to save ready to start the next year’s crop. Volunteers, Louise and Graham helped re-plant rose bushes in the spring of 2021. This was hard work – but both got a great sense of self-achievement and ‘wow, we did that’ moment when it was finished. It was very rewarding and they can’t wait to see them bloom again this year.

The hub is a safe environment for volunteers to go to, to learn new skills. One volunteer said it has been great for their own mental health and wellbeing, giving them a focus and something to look forward to. We cannot underestimate the importance we think that the site brings to the local community and the contribution to people who will be accessing it. Everyone benefits from these types of opportunities.

Later in 2021, whilst on site harvesting pumpkins, the team came up with the idea that this would be great to involve their own children and family groups that are run by Team REEL. We held Halloween activities on the site, which involved children and their carer’s picking their own pumpkin from the those growing on site, carving the pumpkins, playing party games, singing and dancing and spooky themed stories.

Having the poly tunnel provides a great space for groups to enjoy sessions at the hub. We have been lucky to be able to work with a number of groups over the last year or so, mainly with kids at the heart of it, so they can learn about the outdoors in a safe place. This together with Alan’s knowledge, the activities have gone down very well and we are seeing people coming back again with the promise of spring and better weather. Seeing the kid’s faces when they are enjoying themselves is a very special thing and Lees Park ECO Hub  is definitely one special place that does that.

Thinking ahead… Our plans for 2022, will be to get more groups accessing and enjoying the site. We have plans to be running baby classes, our dad’s group will be helping out to maintain the site and we will be running themed events through out the year, including Easter, Halloween, Christmas, cooking sessions, fitness classes, mindfulness sessions, plus many more. Watch this space…

For more information and to contact Team REEL email info@reelcic.co.uk

Grow Well

Join Grow Well and the RHS in growing Calendula officinalis to share the wellbeing benefits of plants

As part of Grow Well, the RHS are encouraging everyone to sow their calendula seeds during the first week of May.

Everyone is welcome to sign up to Grow Well – you don’t have to be expert gardeners. Schools and youth groups have demonstrated the fantastic benefits of growing, and through Grow Well, hope to help you share the feel good power of calendula.

For more information see: http://www.schoolgardening.rhs.org.uk/Competitions/Grow-Well

Volunteer help needed at Fullwood Community Garden

Fullwood community garden and nature reserve are seeking volunteers to help on Thursday mornings 10am – 12pm.

The team are in need of help over the next few months with a range of manual tasks particularly strimming the paths, preparing raised beds for planting, clearing brambles and mulching fruit trees among other gardening duties. Since the pandemic, the team has dwindled and are currently a small group of volunteers, who would greatly appreciate extra help and gardening company.

Fullwood Community Garden was established in 2013 as a space within the Nature Reserve for the community of all ages to learn about growing vegetables and to showcase locally grown produce at the community centre as part of a range of local activities for local people. This year, in 2022, having paused during the pandemic, the project hopes to attract new volunteers, grow more vegetables, link with more groups and greater support the community on Sholver.

The team will always provide tea, coffee and cake for motivation! and in return volunteers will meet local people, make new friends, share conversations and can also work on their own raised beds and grow their own produce if interested.

If you can spare an hour or two weekly or monthly, please contact Joyce Ward on joyce5729.jw@gmail.com or message via facebook page – Sholver Rangers and Fullwood Community Garden

Seed Swap Event at Lees Park ECO Hub

Thinking about growing food this year?

Why not come along to this event and pick up some seed.

Packets often have more than we need so bring along and swap any surplus you have or wont get to grow. However, seed donations are not necessary.

Get tips on growing something a bit different

Join Alan Price for a tour of Lees Park Eco Hub and find out what is planned for the coming year.

Community growing groups, families, individuals – all welcome

February top tip Number 2 to kickstart your growing season

2. Get yourself organised. Have you done your planning?

Although February is a bit early still for most vegetable seed sowing a bit of planning is a simple thing to do – a little organisation gets you ready for the season ahead.

  • Check what space you have to grow in this year – how many pots?  How much of your growing beds? 
  • List what you want to grow this year and roughly plan out what will go where.
  • Check your seeds. Do you have many from last year? Are they still within their sow by date? Which seed do you need to get?
  • Go through what you plan to grow and note which month you should get them sown. 
  • Have you got compost. Don’t forget – only buy peat free compost.

February top tip Number 1 to kickstart your growing season

1. Reuse your plastic labels

When sowing seeds gets underway it’s really important to label everything, especially when growing different varieties of the same crop. 
At The Hub, Alexandra Park the volunteers separate the labels, keeping those with varieties that can be used again, the rest are cleaned to reuse. To ensure labels are clear we use a permanent marker and here’s how to clean these stubborn labels.

  1. Fill a shallow tray with water
  2. Cut up the paper into small pieces (approx 3 cm x 5 cm)
  3. Put on some gloves
  4. Rub off any marker or dirt from the labels under the water with the wet dry sandpaper. 

‘Wet Dry Sandpaper’ can be bought at DIY / hardware stores.

Great efforts engaging local people in food growing 2021

By Sholver and Moorside Community Team

In August 2021 Sholver and Moorside Community Team held our 5th annual Flower and Vegetable Show.

The event welcomed growers and residents of all ages, allotment holders, representatives from community gardens, councillors and businesses (who sponsored the show).

A member of Oldham Floral Society also gave flower arranging demonstrations and Get Up and Grow were on hand to give horticultural craft demonstrations.

In total the show attracted 396 entries  – the highest ever – across fruit, vegetable, flower, craft, home produce and junior classes.

We were lucky to attract a large number of local visitors who purchased the fruit, vegetables etc at knock down prices during an auction held at the end of the show.
Any leftover fruit and vegetables was donated to the community fridge at the centre which is a free accessible service to all locals.

To find out more about the annual flower show and food growing with Sholver and Moorside Community Team contact Joyce Ward, email joyce5729.jw@gmail.com

February top tip Number 3 to kickstart your growing season

3. Get ready to chit seed potatoes

Potatoes are an easy thing to try growing and so much fun. Even if you grow nothing else – try potatoes!

Potatoes are grown from a ‘seed potato’. Seed potatoes are selected from the previous year’s crop and disease–free. They are kept in cool dark conditions to keep them dormant until it’s time to plant for the next year’s crop. 

For an experiment you can try bought potatoes that sprout in your cupboard as seed potatoes. They will produce potatoes!

Now is the time to plan how many and what variety of potatoes you will grow and get your seed potatoes ready to chit.

…What is chitting?

Chitting is a term for breaking the dormancy and enabling your seed potatoes to sprout before you plant them. This is done by moving the seed potato from the cool and dark to somewhere light and a bit warmer.

Many gardeners will use an egg box to stand the potatoes in a light and dry place such as a windowsill.

In Oldham ‘chit’ your potatoes at the end of February / early March and they will sprout ready to plant later in April.