2011 - a year of action
Bath Organic Group Newsletter
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Spring 2011
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OR THE PAST year I have been unofficially sharing this job with Peter who does all the clever IT stuff! My lack of electronic expertise has made me nervous of accepting the role of Chair but I know this is not the real story. This is a people organisation, which ticks my box. The year did not got off to a good start as far as getting out on the garden is concerned but we seized the day early in February with that magnificent effort to get the pond lined. Thanks to everyone who turned out on a raw day to complete that vital stage in our new showpiece, even if it isn’t yet looking particularly beautiful. In the coming weeks and months there is plenty to look forward to. The Trading Hut has already opened for the new growing season initially for the collection of potatoes, onions and garlic. There was the seed swap in February too, and there is talk of a trip to Cornwall in April to visit the Eden project and the Gardens at Heligan, staying
Before and after: the pond lined and ready to go after the work day, and below, filled by the firefighters, three weeks later. Now the planting starts
2011 - year of action overnight. At that time of year Cornwall can be very pleasant and is usually very mild. Plans are not very far advanced so if you have any experience of organising events or know of cheap and cheerful accommodation (preferably not in a tent) but could be self catering, let us know. You may notice in the diary that Growing Green has been put back to the second Bank Holiday weekend, but still on the Monday, May 30th. This will allow more time for the garden to blossom, So keep it free.
Come along to see the magnificent enlarged pond, probably now more suitably described as a mini lake! In time the viewing platform will be reinstated and pond-dipping will again become part of the fun for visiting schoolchildren. Just one of the many challenging and very rewarding jobs we face in the coming months. June brings the Plant Sale at John and Ursula Brooke’s lovely garden in Southstoke, an event not to be missed. And to finish the first half year there is a celebratory party. Good Growing Hesitantly,
Kate Mills Chair
As well as working hard in the garden Kate then buys the stuff she has helped grow at the farmers’ market
What Kate did before ... Kate Mills reflects on all the things she did in the days before she committed all her waking hours to BOG, just by agreeing to become our new Chair
M
Y FIRST MEMORIES of gardening are at home with my dad. We had a large garden on two levels with an orchard below the house with cooking apples, eating apples, a greengage and a pear tree. Of course all the summers were hot and sunny, we had a lot of freedom and tree climbing was obligatory.
I remember rows of gladioli and asters each summer. The beetroot were favourites, but we didn’t grow tomatoes or salad for some reason. Our neighbour, Mr Williams, worked for a horticultural supplier, and his garden, which we occasionally visited by invitation, was pristine. He did have an advantage as the Williams’ only had
one son, whereas we were five children at home. I came to Bath to go to Newton Park College for teacher training and have been here ever since. After teaching for a few years and having children, Steve and I ran a business to make and supply pottery. This developed into Bath Potters Supplies which lasted until 2005 when it was sold. I joined BOG in the autumn of 2005. I have often felt over the years that I really knew very little about growing things. I now realise that my dad did teach me quite a lot about gardening, which was picked up by a process of osmosis. Now, with my grandchildren nearby, I hope to pass on the love of gardening to them through doing it, and then eating the produce together.
Spring push starts here very long, but it does need about eight people to handle the new cover, and a still day.
As Kate has mentioned, it is going to be a very busy and challenging year on the community garden. Outstanding jobs to do with the Lottery grant have to be completed by the end of April, and there are many more that have cropped up as a result of the hard winter, the efforts of the ever-present local louts, and the side-effects of building the ponds. And there are our own expansion and renewal plans.
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The excavator that we hired to dig out the pond made a nonsense of the old paths through the garden - though none of the newly reinforced paths were touched. It will need another work party to reconstruct those damaged sections of path, possibly with the help of some scalpings.
On top of that there is always so much to do at this time of year that we will be needing as many hands as possible to make sure that the garden looks spruced up for the summer.
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The steel shed, so recently a big new empty space, is now so full, not least with the new training tent, that additional storage space is planned on the southern boundary, scope for another group effort. This will involve dispersing the huge stash of unwanted plastic pots that currently occupy this space.
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The damage to the polytunnel covering, which was set alight, some time ago, is an urgent job because it is hindering plans to develop early vegetables.This is one of the first of the jobs that will be tackled by a workteam, like the one that so successfully lined the pond in February. This task won’t take
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Though the ponds are both now filled and habitable by our amphibian tenants, there is still a lot of work to do to trim and finish the edges, and to plant the margins.
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And there is serious thought to creating a new bower to replace the down-at-heel bender thing that is the ugly focal point of all our efforts - and always manages to aim a drip exactly down your neck even when it’s not raining, it sometimes seems. The replacement would probably be something similar to the shelter nearby, but with three sides. ...and then there is the small matter of preparing the garden and orchard for the year. And if you want to see how much work that involves just look at Old BOG’s Almanac, a bit further on in this issue. The burned tunnel, the digger, and a damaged path
Progress, progress, progress – it’s been change all round on the community garden over the autumn and winter. Even when the temperature slipped below zero the work was carrying on to fulfil the programme ofchange funded by our Lottery award. First task to be completed was the rebuilding of the main paths with cellular (recycled) plastic panels which were then backfilled and re-seeded with grass. This has made a large part of the garden (and the new composting toilet) wheelchair accessible. That was carried out in September, and got us some valuable publicity in the Chronicle. The grass sown then has taken a beating in the most-used parts of the garden since then and what doesn’t recover quickly in the spring will be reseeded. Putting up the new training tent was, apparently a learning experience for all involved, not least because it filled the space allotted to it — in front of the bower — a bit too neatly. To make that job easier in the future a length of fence was removed in December and the grass area is being extended over a bed which was never very productive. December was also the very chilly time that the serious, but much delayed work was going on to create the wonderful new ponds, with Steve Pritchard and a digger hacking through the frozen mud to create the shapes and contours. Frustrating delays in getting the digger on site meant the job took much longer than was anticipated. As a result Steve spent several days creating the two shapes, both nearly two metres deep, and not a little time digging the machine out when it
got stuck in the mud at the bottom of the hole. Because the digging went down to a very thick pan of clay, the bottom of the big pond quickly filled with water running off the slope, which was a bit of a problem, but it did mean that once the smaller pond was relined in January, that groundwater could be pumped straight into it, making filling simpler than expected.
The site before work started, top, and filling the pond in March
Before any work started the wildlife had been removed from the old pool and put up in temporary accommodation overwinter. With the small pond complete, they, and some of the original vegetation, were returned to a palatial new home, allowing all those animals and animalcules to get on with the job they do best: breeding madly to restock the ponds and make them interesting
for our pond-dipping visitors. And early in the new year, with the soil scooped out and disposed of to other parts of the garden it was time for BOG volunteers to take to the stage. On Saturday, February 5, between 15 and 20 people worked their socks off (more of that later) to turn that very big hole in the ground into the
Baling the slurry with a chain of buckets, Steve in his socks spreads sand, and rolling out the geotex pond. First job was to create a chain of buckets to dredge out the slurry of clay and water that had accumulated in the bottom of the hole, This involved everyone squelching around in thick clay for the best part of an hour. Then, after the customary BOG tea-break, and fortified by slices of Simi’s cake, the first geotex layer was rolled out to cover the entire base (protecting the liner from any stones or sharp objects left in the soil) and this was followed by a layer of sand spread over the entire area. This is where the socks came in, with Steve, and then Verona Bass, taking off their boots to spread the sand without damaging the fabric. By the time most other people were thinking of knocking off for a leisurely lunch, the team was cracking on with the main event, unfolding the liner, an operation which looked far more difficult than it proved to be, which was good because all of this work had to be finished within the day, not least because it relied on the large number of helpers. Next came the top layer of geo-
tex, and a gusty wind which made life difficult, and finally, some five non-stop hours after the team had started work, another hour’s hard labour barrowing topsoil to cover the geotex, making a bed of the pond which is more favourable to wildlife and adding one final defence against destructive wildlife, aka vandals. The best-laid plan to have it all filled first thing on the following Monday morning came to naught, because of the need to get various permissions but heavy rain through February
did a great job in filling the big pond about a third full. Those celestial efforts were dwarfed by Blue Watch firefighters who filled the rest of the pond in about an hour of pumping on March 1 — though it took them 10 lengths of hose to get from the nearest usable hydrant, because they couldn’t cross the main road. It’s going to take a while for the pond to settle down and the surroundings to look good but it’s been a fantastic team effort.
January Clean, tidy and repair tools Tidy and clean glass in greenhouse and walls of polytunnel Put chippings on slippery parts of path Prune & tidy apple, pear , gooseberry, and Russian Vine Woodchip on old blackcurrants & gooseberries Dig vegetable plots if soil not too hard or wet Put in new raspberry canes. Tie raspberry canes to wire Sow seeds to go in greenhouse if warm enough LABEL (WHAT IT IS, VARIETY, DATE SOWN) Chop logs Hedge laying if necessary
Simi Rezai combed through all her gardening books to come up with this very daunting looking calendar of all the jobs that have to be done on the garden in a year. Then Tim has added some additional notes about things that are specific to our plot. It makes you realise just how much is achieved every year – and why it always seems an uphill slog.
Check compost heaps - rotate Put compost on early potatos in polytunnel Plant out shallots in raised beds Water in greenhouse and polytunnel
beds and plant Green manure pulled and strewn Clear sprouts Outdoor broadbeans sown in pre-prepared beds Harden off broadbeans grown in pots
March
Sift compost and spread over potato plot
Seed Swap
Clear and level ground - herb beds
Sieve and mix soil ready for potting up
Clear around tree bases
Prepare Strawberry
Pot up lettuce, cabbage (pricking off), leeks, and fruit cuttings
February
Netting around brassicas Top up paths with chipping where needed Cut back willows & elder Sow broad beens, leeks, sweet peas, parsley, coriander, lettuce and celery in pots and early cabbage, peas in trays to put in greenhouse - protect from mice. Dig vegetable plots if soil not too hard or wet ready for planting
Prick out seedlings, discard failed plants Prepare pots of plants for market next month Sow lawn seed, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, beans, cucumber, celery, celeriac, corn, sunflower, sweetpea, and peas in gutters Succession sowing of coriander and parsley Plant early potatoes and onions
Mow grass in orchard and other areas
Weed where necessary
Dig orchard
Weed where necessary
Plant out woodland plants, calendula and potatoes
Plant tomatillos in polytunnel
Tie in blackberries
Tidy cut flower garden
Tidy around compost, shred any willow,
Water plants
Empty compost into open bays
May
Make room for manure delivery Top up hot box with manure
Tidy garden for Growing Green day
Water greenhouse and polytunnel
Prick out tomatoes
Bonfire
Remove bolted lettuce
April
Sow squash and protect from mice, French beans in ground, courgettes, pumpkins, cucumbers, basil,
Water on at tap First farmers’ market Compost and manure the polytunnel beds and dig over. Dig over bean bed - reserve top section for sweetcorn and squashes
Plant out beans , runner and french and sweetcorn Straw up strawberries Pot up zinnias Compost heaps
Asparagus bed tidy and weed
Check fruit tree stakes Dig and manure orchard
June John Brooke’s sale Tidy garden, sheds, glasshouses, and polytunnel Weed and net redcurrants Weed (using hoe) brassicas, new strawberries Remove bindweed climbing soft fruit Cut nettles Remove bramble Mow grass Clear under apple trees Prop any trees, train apples and pears Pick off asparagus beetles
Clear polytunnel
Check all seedlings in pots and trays in greenhouse and polytunnel
Tie broadbeans Clip rosemary
Thin root crops - beetroot
Plant gladioli and sow flower seeds
Tidy compost bins
Last of indoor sowing of seeds?
Weed (hand weed onion sets)
Sow herbs, parsley, coriander, dill - a few seeds in a single pot - french and runner beans, pumpkins, peppers, and squash 1 seed in a pot, basil seeds in tray, calendula in boxes, melons, zinnia, french marigolds, toms (beefsteak), mixed gourds, cornflowers, aubergines, mange tout, okra, and last lot of broadbeans
Water —use comfrey tea where appropriate — blueberries like rain water Prep plants in pots for farmers market (toms, squash, cucumber, pea, pepper, sweetcorn, herbs...)
Plant out lettuce, tomatoes, breadbeans, sweet potatoes, leeks where potatoes have been, squash and basil Sow lettuce, radish, beets, mixed salad leaves. Plant more tomatoes
Net soft fruit
Tie any vines eg tomato, grapes, etc.
Tidy garden in general
Cut sorrel back
Create runner bean structures
Pick off asparagus beetles
Succession planting
Mulch plants which require it
Net cherries
Cut comfrey- make tea
Pick soft fruit - redcurrants, raspberries, blackcurrants and strawberries
Water things in pots, polytunnels and greenhouse
Harvest: lettuce, peas, broadbeens, cucumber, soft fruit, potatoes, garlic, radish,
August
Water plants
Summer bbq New King St. Apple Pressing
July
Compost - chop up any stems, green waste, organise
Pick off asparagus beatles
Take off bindweed on soft fruit
Weed strawberries, hoe sweetcorn beds, onions, brassicas
Tidy - garden, compost bins, glasshouse, polytunnel, sheds
Tidy garden, greenhouse, polytunnel, compost, sheds
Weed and deadhead where necessary
Check compost bins
Dig up potatoes
Plant leeks where potatoes have been, lettuce, pak choi, brassicas protect from pigeons
Plant leeks where potatoes have been
Harvest onions & shallots (leave in polytunnel to dry), soft fruits, cucumbers, beans, greengage, blueberries, beetroot and lettuce
Mow grass Take off caterpillars off brasicas.
Pick last of peas, then pull up, dig and plant out beetroot & celeriac which are in pots (1 plant 6� apart)
Harvest asparagus, peas baby sweetcorn, tomatoes, aubergines, soft fruit, plums, beetroot, herbs, beans, apples (Beauty of Bath), rocket, and pick mulberry
Cut comfrey - make tea
Net grapes
Tie up and pinch out tomatoes indoor and outdoor
Sow winter green manure
Flowers ready to cut Net soft fruits
Prepare for market Clear nettles
and green manure Cut grass Weed and deadhead where necessary Water indoor and outdoor plants Tidy garden, sheds, and orchard Harvest fruit and vegetables: beans, rocket, beetroot, spinach, cucumber, courgettes, herbs, flowers, tomatoes, sweetcorn, gourds, apples, plums, grapes, cabbage, Kale Clear bindweed and nettles Pruning of soft fruit Weed brassicas Plant garlic and onion for winter Take out old strawberries and old sweetcorn Collect seeds When cleaning, tidying polytunnels also conduct any repair Pick up windfalls Apple pressing - clean all tools used for this before putting away Water if necessary
october Apple Day in Farmers’ Market
Feed tomatoes
Leave borlotti beans to collect seed
Sow late seeds, dwarf french beans
Collect seeds - bring envelopes and newspaper
Prepare herb beds ready for planting
Save some bolted lettuce for seed
Tidy paths, sheds, greenhouse, polytunnel, garden
Summer prune apples and pears
Water pots, glasshouse and polytunnels
Weed
Dig up and store potatoes
September
Pick up windfall
Mow grass
Prep for market
Deadhead flowers
Sow overwinter salad
Pick up fallen apples, plums - keep paths clear.
Pull up tomato plants and compost Pick borlotti beans for drying
Prep for market
Compost - turn heaps Apple juicing
Tomato plants cleared from polytunnel, compost dig in Weed blueberries Take out old blackcurrant bushes Clear bean canes, pea and as-
Plant onion sets and garlic Cut asparagus fern down and mulch Harvest parsnip, jerusalem artichoke, celeriac, Prune summer fruiting raspberry and mulch with compost Pot up broad beans Bonfire Pull out old brassica stems Design and prepare herb beds Careful pruning of apple trees (may need propagative material for budding / grafting) and grapevine. Raspberry supports
paragus bed, courgette and carrot
Water
Clear out pond Prepare for Christmas market Clear and tidy garden, polytunnels, sheds, and orchard Weed where necessary Check compost bins Tidy paths Prepare herb beds Mulch and compost on soft fruit Dig in mushroom compost on veg plot Cut back willow & hazel Prune soft fruit, apple, Bay tree Turn over beds
Now Start all over again
Clear beetroot and rocket Plant overwintering onion sets
December
Tree pruning
EVENTS DIARY
Pond clearing
March 5
Garden Development Meeting
Clear manure bay
April 2
Farmers’ Market
Collect seeds
5
Garden Development Meeting
Water if necessary
9/10
Proposed visit to Cornwall
May 7
Farmers’ market
14
Garden Development Meeting
Bring water (tap is turned off)
30
Growing Green
Weed where necessary
June 4
Farmers’ market
Clear and tidy garden, orchard, polytunnel and greenhouse
7
Garden Development Meeting
11
John Brooke’s plant sale, the Old Brewery, Southstoke
Prepare for market
July 2
Farmers’ Market
Pick up windfalls
5
Garden Development Meeting
Juice apples
16
Party to celebrate 25 years of the Bath Organic Group and the completion of the Lottery projects.
November
Check compost bins
Plant broadbeans, winter lettuce, mitsuba, greek cress, rocket.
11 am
11 am
11 am
11 am
Which bits are true? CHICKENS COME FIRST ... ome
By the time you read this the eggs will have been laid, the chicks may already be hatched, and within a matter of weeks they will be moving to their luxurious new home and spacious run being built next to the toilet block. Current plans are that there will be 10 Buff Rock bantams (above).
Day to day care of the chickens will be left to the chicken club, a group of members who will each undertake to take a share of the running of the coop. They will also share out the eggs between them, definitely not forgetting Bill Brown, who has financed the scheme, and fulfilled an ambition going back many years to see chickens in the garden. The chicken club model has been well tested for a couple of years on the Bloomfield community orchard, on Bear Flat where a group of people living in the vicinity each chipped in for the housing and the livestock, and take care of them, and the eggs. Anyone who would like to become involved should get in touch with Tim Baines. You will need to live quite close to the garden to participate.
EGGS LATER
Which? has been doing some debunking of late. Some of it will be welcome, other bits will provoke, or rather reignite, old arguments. It must always be remembered that although Which? call themselves the Consumers’ Association, they are in fact a profitmaking concern which cultivates headlines to drum up more business, because it is cheaper than paid for advertising. Anyway feel free to ignore any of the following..
Old wive’s tales
Which? Gardening conducted experiments on a bunch of ideas we’ve all heard, or believe. And debunked most of them. Crocks in pots improve drainage. No they don’t, they can make it worse. Watering in sunshine scorches leaves because water droplets act as magnifying glasses, which focus the sun’s rays and scorch leaves. Untrue, and it does waste water and encourage powdery mildew and grey mould. Peeing on the compost. is good because its nitrogen speeds decomposition. Not really true because there is enough of the stuff in a decent compost heap anyway and it may increase salt levels. Parsnips taste better after the first frost. That one’s true.‘Cold sweetening’ is used by the food industry to improve the flavour of parsnips harvested in late summer because the cold converts the starch to sugar. So leaving parsnips in the ground is a good idea. Coffee grounds deters slugs. Their evidence indicates you would need to spray your garden with coffee at the strength of an espresso to see them off, which might get a little expensive. And the grounds have lost so much caffeine it won’t hurt them. Pea and bean roots left in the ground improve the soil. Everyone knows about nitrogenous nodules, but now you can forget them. They exist, but the nitrogen they fix is passed to the beans or peas, not stored in the roots. Put the plants and the roots on your compost heap. Tea is a good fertiliser for pot plants. Don’t be silly, they say. Tea contains nutrients but there is also a lot of stuff that doesn’t harm us but doesn’t do the plants a lot of good. Put them on the compost heap instead.
Other recent reports Organic v non-organic veg A rerun by Which? Gardening of the arguments with the conclusion that the inorganically grown stuff was more nutritious, better tasting and yields were better. Greenwash. Surprise, surprise, ‘gardening product manufacturers are using vague marketing claims to persuade you that their products are green.’ Report misleading claims to trading standards is sound, just so long as there is anyone there once the cuts have taken place.
SPRING TRIP
Mudlarks before the pizzas
The indefatigable Danny is organizing a visit to the Eden Project and Heligan. This is planned for the weekend of April 9/10.
Now here’s an offer you can’t refuse: the chance to spend half an hour or so – more if you like – tramping through deep mud. Did I mention that you would have bare feet? And it will be in March or April. Any volunteers? The reward will be the group’s own clay oven, which will, a few weeks later, be knocking out tasty pizzas and other baked concoctions.
The tramping sessions are necessary to create the solid clay base for the oven, mixing the clay excavated from the depths of the new pond with straw to create the pisé from which bricks are made throughout Africa. There the climate makes the tramping of the mud a bit more attractive. And the reason that it has to be done barefoot is that if you tried to do it in boots they’d get sucked off anyway. Liz Clarke will be doing the building of the oven in early May for our Growing Green day. Talk to Kate to volunteer.
Travel is by train, Bath to St Austell and public transport. We can get a cheaper group ticket for 10 or more souls. Accommodation in a hostel or b/b. Heligan knot garden
rent a Tent Our fantastic new training tent is a great asset when we are running courses or holding events on the plot, but inevitably it sits, unused, in the steel shed for most of the time. To make the most of it the committee is thinking of offering it for hire to members for their private use. This would be at a cheaper rate than commercial small marquees, and the money would be going to our own good cause. Tim or Kate can give further information.
If you are interested in going contact Dan Smith (07951 047650) or dantherandom@hotmail.com Closing date for booking: March 18.
Revisiting our past In the last issue we promised that all the archive pictures of BOG activities would be available on Flickr. It proved a little harder than that to get it organised, but now you can definitely see them all at http:// www.flickr.com/photos/bogisphere Additions to the site always welcome. Just email them to g.andrews@mac.com or post them if that’s easier to Geoff Andrews at 30 Oldfield Road, Bath BA2 3NF.
You must shell out to stay young
Anyone for Cream de Caracol? No don’t eat it, you are supposed to put it on your skin to get rid of any wrinkles – an organic cosmetic derived from snail slime. Not just ordinary snail trails, this is made from the excretions of ‘excited’ Mexican snails and sold for about £15 a small jar. Some people apparently swear by it, and it is true that you don’t very often see a snail with bad skin, but before we round up all the snails from the community garden to create a new line for the farmers’ market, we need to think how we are going to get them excited. Translation: I’m not excited
B O e h G T i s e
If we call ourselves a ‘community’ then we should surely be supporting each other when we can. To kick off the idea of the BOGisphere here are some members who provide useful services you may want to use
s i p G h O e B r e
e Th pher e B
Southstoke Food Co-op
At the moment saving money is even more fashionable than ever and if you can be doing the right thing at the same time it’s even better. The Southstoke Food Co-op, started many years ago by BOG veterans John and Ursula Brooke manages to combine both ideas.
It won’t always be cheaper to buy mainstream goods from the co-op, compared to say Sainsbury’s, but it offers bargains on specialised foods, and even quite common choices. Essential Trading’s organic rice cakes are half the price of those in Sainsbury’s, for instance.
Now run by BOG member Ros Pears, the co-op collects orders four times a year for food and household supplies and you collect on an appointed day from Southstoke. It means you need transport and money upfront to pay for the supplies, but the upside is that bulk-buying is cheaper, that the supplier, the Essential Trading (which also supplies places like Harvest in Walcot) only handles ethically produced goods, a lot of it organic and FairTrade, and that you aren’t left with a ludicrous amount of stupid packaging.
If you want to order contact Ros at 01761 433627 and she’ll send you the order form and dates for the next delivery, which will be about June. Then you compile your order using the lists at essentialtrading.co.uk to work out the price, adding on 10 per cent for a handling charge, and send it with a cheque to Ros. On the collection day you pick up the goods, and settle up for any adjustments in price that may have occurred between ordering and delivery.
Computer repairs and training
phere OGis Th
It’s getting increasingly difficult to have a fulfilling life without being online, which means owning a coputer, knowing what to do with it, and knowing where you can get it mended if. or rather when. it falls sick. Or to put it bluntly, knowing someone who is reliable.
Tom Trosberg offers a repair service which has been approved by the local Trading Standards department, and a guarantee that if he can’t fix a problem he won’t charge. He deals with all makes of PC (but not Macs) and is happy to give free advice if that’s all you need. A lot of people want a bit more than that, so he also offers, in
conjunction with Simi Rezai, a service called Confident Computing for Seniors, which unlocks the possibilities of a computer for people who thought they might have missed out on the internet. We can thank Tom and Simi, for instance, for the fact that Kate Mills is now au fait with emails and working online. Tom and Simi will help you choose the right computer, get it installed and set up correctly, and then show you how to use it in the comfort of your own home (with a discount for BOG members). For this service or for repairs contact Tom at Odin Consultancy, 01225 808475, or info@OdinIT.co.uk
If you would like to feature in this spot contact Geoff Andrews. Details on the final page.
Creating a community energy strategy
Peter Andrews is a director of Bath Community Energy - a community enterprise, run by volunteers whose primary purpose is to develop renewable energy projects, in partnership with, and for the benefit of the local community. They have a plan in place to create heaps of renewable en-
ergy over the next few years, and to develop a financially viable community enterprise, provide a return to members and generate a community fund for further local projects.
We need to gauge the level of local interest in investing in such a community enterprise. And to that end have created a survey
https://www.surveymonkey. com/s/Bath_community_energy_investment_survey Peter wants us each to take about 10 minutes to complete the survey, which will then be used to help shape their future plans. So read to the end of the newsletter, then do the survey.
Guerrillas with a Georgian touch By Lyn Barham Guerrilla gardening in 2010 ended with a celebration in Park Street. A good crowd tidied the garden and enjoyed the baked spuds (or at least the ones that weren’t too burnt!) That was before the weather bit, and all that remains of last year’s growth is some sage, lavender and remnants of the brassicas. A sad sight now, by comparison! But plans are afoot as the weather improves. The plan is to have guerrilla gardening going on somewhere in Bath most weekends. An existing site, like Park Street, is going to be an easy task for clearing away frost-damaged plants and getting some new planting in hand. A few sites have been identified, but please pass on any suggestions (I am co-ordinating information: lynbarham@btinternet.com, or 428039). One very recent project is a small but prominent bit of land on the Gravel Walk, just near the Georgian garden. Work started on March 6 and you will be able to see it develop as Spring progresses . This is a good site for getting noticed and attracting interest. We’ll be setting up a list of sites and dates on the Transition Bath website (www.transitionbath. org.uk), but you can also put your name on the list for email alerts (via Lyn, as before). Guerrilla gardening doesn’t have to be scheduled – just go and do some. But often it needs a gang to get things started – so call on help if you’d like to get a patch going in your bit of Bath, or come along and help others with the patch they’d love to ‘guerrilla’. Or just sow a few extra of things you are growing anyway, and donate the spares to a guerrilla gardening site.
Above: Park Street party Left, the same plot recently Below, the Gravel Walk plot, before work started
Report of the Annual Meeting of Bath Organic Group at St Marks Community Centre on November 27, 2010 19 members attended
Minutes of last year’s annual meeting on November 28, 2009 were approved.
Trading Hut Tim Baines reported that the trading hut is run in partnership with the Allotments Association. He thanked all the helpers. Turnover was £5,327 whilst sales were£5,239 which made a trading loss of £107 due to over purchasing. The sales were split 50/50 seeds and sundries. In 2011 the plan will be to open on January 29 and run until July. Orders were being taken for seed potatoes and onions. Catalogues are available. Seeds come from Kings who grow their own organic seeds, which are cheap and good value with 25 per cent discount.
Farmers’ Market Pauline Magrath reported that income from the market stall has increased this year. Thanks to Sheila for doing the rota and to all the volunteers who pick crops and sell them on Saturdays.
group leaders to run the activities. We have not had very many requests this year. Sheila circulates all Primary Schools in Bath. Last year Oldfield Infants and St Andrews visited.
Email addresses Peter Andrews asked that anyone changing email address should let him know, or risk not getting regular communications about events. He was also willing to pass on information to other memebrs. BOG now had a presence on Face Book and Twitter The website also has links to like-minded organisations.
Newsletter Geoff Andrews said all contributions to the newsletter were gratefully received. Nearly all members had accessed it on-line.
Treasurer: Dan Smith Minuting Secretary: Sylvia Hudnott The meeting voted unanimously to re-elect them. Committee members willing to stand for another year are Peter Andrews, Pauline Magrath and Rosemary Alvis. The members agreed. Gemma Bolton has agreed to be co-ordinator for Saturdays, taking over from Sheila. BOG activities January: A celebration bonfire and lunch was held at the garden to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the plot. February: BOG took part in “Ready Get Set Grow” at the Guildhall. At the end of the afternoon Tim and Caroline Francis King were discussung fund raising and it was decided that, together with Lyn Barham, Kate and Dan, they would explore the idea of a lottery bid.
In 2011the spring newsletter would be published after the seed swap, and the second at the end of the summer.
Seed Swap: Thanks to Sue and Ros for organising this event. At the seed swap the members were asked to vote on a Lottery bid and on a show of hands there was substantial support. A list of projects was outlined
Elections
1. Refurbish the ponds 2. Relay the main paths to make them flatter to encourage disabled access.
More helpers are always welcome.
Chair; Rosemary Alvis proposed and Gill Christie seconded Kate Mills who agreed to stand. She was unanimously and enthusiastically elected.
School visits
Officers
Sheila Blethyn co-ordinates the school visits and approaches helpers/
All agreed to stand again.
5.Design a standard identity for BOG and create a members’ pack. 6. Buy a new apple press.
Membership Secretary: Sheila Blethyn
7.Restock tools and safety clothing.
3. Teaching tent and tables and chairs, to run courses. 4. Laminate the identification posters (used on school visits)
8.Create a earth oven. The application and costing were posted for inspection. It was also announced that Dan had secured £1,000 of funding to pay for a new compost loo designed and constructed by John Gibbons. The new loo had level access and hand washing facilities. Geoff had done a great job putting the newsletter on-line with lots of pictures. He put together a superb bumper 20th birthday issue with history, archive and personal stories. Many thanks for a valuable record. May: Growing Green The garden looked magnificent but there were slightly fewer visitors than usual to enjoy the usual customary feast. June: 20th Birthday Party; was a roaring success with the offical opening of the new toilet a central point, but the food, the music, the weather, and the gardens all contributing . Some of the original members of the organisation came. Serpil made an evocative DVD which can be bought for £2.50, from Kate, funds to BOG. We hoped to announce that we had the Lottery Grant but it didn’t come until mid-July. Sue Kendall has painted a lovely watercolour impression of the “ new” ponds. Market; This ran from April th December, orchestrated by Pauline with the rota by Sheila. Many thanks to them both and to the pickers who prep on the Friday. On Saturday Phillipa and Pauline make a very early start collecting and delivering to the market. A team of helpers split into 2 shifts sell, sell, sell! The money raised helps to run BOG and represents our most PUBLIC face which is very important. More helpers are always needed so come along and see us. The Autumn Feast; was in late September. and again the weather was very good..The new tent bought with Lottery funds was used. Garden Development Meetings have run at the garden throughout the year
each month alternating Tuesdays and Saturdays. For dates see the Diary. The group consists of anyone in the garden on the day. Decisions are made about managing the garden, planting etc. All members who come to the garden’belong ‘ to the GDM. Students; This year we have had great help from students from the American College and Bath University. Chicken Project: Bill Brown has funded this enterprise which looks to be up and running in the spring. The construction and design has been done by Tim Baines and Tony Marchant. If you would like to be part of the team to look after the bantams by joining the “Chicken Club” please contact Tim Baines. Lottery Bid; The Lottery Bid was
£9,454. The biggest tasks were the Path and the Pond.To date the Path has been completed but a little more needs to be added. The pond is due to be dug and a team of helpers will be needed to put in the geo-textile and liner. So far so good but we will need help in the new year. Many thanks to all those who got this off the ground. Any Other Business: Verona Bass suggested additonal ways of raising money for BOG could include a higher entrance fee at the Seed Swap. At other events we should be more up front asking for “donations” Peter, suggested that at the seed swap the trading hut could bring seeds, big packs could be split The Meeting ended at 4p.m.
BOG contacts Kate Mills,14 Junction Rd, BA2 01225 311699 katemillsbath@gmail.com Community garden matters: Tim Baines, 28 Ashley Avenue, BA1 3DS 01225 312116 timjbaines@yahoo.co.uk Membership/visits Sheila Blethyn 9 Winsley Road, Bradford on Avon BA15 1QR 01225 866150 sheilablethyn@yahoo.co.uk Trading hut/farmers’ market Pauline Magrath, 8 Beech Avenue Bath, BA2 7BA 01225 464697 Newsletter/ Geoff Andrews, 30 Oldfield Rd, BA2 3NF 01225 484422 g.andrews@mac.com