Mud Galore

Everyone is digging. Mud is flying in various directions as we dig up the weeds from bed two and turn them into compost. This pile of organic waste is growing and while we are unsure of where to deposit garden waste, it’s likely to continue expanding. Meanwhile bed one is being raked and seed trenches are being dug in preparation for planting. With bed two officially de-weeded, we prepare it for seeding. However the best laid plans of mice and me often go astray, and likewise we are hit with a crisis! There is no tap in the garden, to get water for the seeds from. Without a thorough sprinkling the seeds will not sprout and the allotment will have failed. Matt takes the helm and we sheepishly approach the local student accommodation to beg for water. Enthusiastically, we are welcomed in and not only allowed to make use of their water supply but are also given tea and a great deal of cheeky smiles by the flat occupants! Like the charmer I am, for their trouble, I promise to save them a potato.

A muddy trench filled with onions.

Our first bed, neatly labelled.

Contented students after a lovely cup of tea!

Day One

Our first ever allotment session! As we gathered around the benches outside the Chester Students’ Union, the distinctive sound of drums and horns could be heard in the distance. I was certain this was the deserved fanfare to inaugurate our new community allotment. Or perhaps it was just the ill effects of a late night. Preferring the former, we set about transforming our jungle of weeds to a paradise garden. It was sweaty work under the glorious afternoon sun but a few hours later we had made significant progress. One bed cleared and organic chicken pellets laid. Success.

Before ^

After ^

Uncharted Land

Today we carried out the first steps toward building an allotment and growing some vegetables. We surveyed the plots before us. It was a rough landscape of riddles with thistles and weeds, comparable to the untamed wasteland which the early pilgrim settlers first encountered upon landing in America. However, we had something the early pilgrim settlers lacked: cardboard, plastic and knowledge of photosynthesis! We set about our task of flattening the weeds and then rigorously fixing a blanket of plastic and cardboard over the beds. Soon enough what once was a wilderness of strange weeds now looked like a rough scrapyard for recycled materials. Whether this helped kill the plants is uncertain. Unfortunately, what was certain was that we had unleashed a plague of loose plastic bags on the allotment that floated around like proverbial tumble weeds.

A picture taken by the first English settlers upon landing in America:

From wilderness to scrapyard (no indigenous populations were harmed in this process):

Pilgrim Byard admiring his new home.

Nature's Garden - The Other Side of the Earth

Welcome!

Welcome to Nature’s Garden!

This blog is dedicated to the University of Chester’s community allotment run by People & Planet Society.

We meet every Saturday at midday outside Chester Students’ Union. We welcome all University students and staff, regardless of gardening experience.

Each week we’ll update you on our plans, progress and (hopefully) produce!

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