Signs of Life

Matt was looking particularly pleased with himself today. A smug grin was spread across his cheeks. Wes and I were cold and grumpy - it was about 1 degrees. “I have some apple pulp!” said Matt cheerfully, as if it justified his good mood. He then proceeded to dump it on the compost bin. After about fifty minutes of the three of us weeding lethargically, we decided that it was far too cold to be outside and headed off to the greasy café for a very much undeserved full English breakfast!

We did however take some pictures of our progress over the last couple of months. Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers who made this happen!

Two planted beds in the background consisting of winter lettuces, brocolli, onions, broad beans, peas and garlic.

Finally our compost bins were cleared. We found some very fertile compost hidden amongst all the rubbish!

A cabbage seedling.

The first sign of life! A spring onion.

Manual Labour

We shoved the trash container up the hill. After the hassle of bringing the garden waste to the bin it seemed a clever idea to bring the bin to the garden waste. While pushing the bin towards the allotment was infinitely easier than bothering with the wheelbarrow, which everyone on the allotment agrees is one wheel too short, I was beginning to feel concerned about the looks we were getting from the elderly pedestrian across the street. “We’re not stealing the rubbish” I shouted guiltily at her and continued pushing the bin up the hill into the allotment. After our sweaty workout, we dug up a small bed and planted a floral, spring bulb tribute to ourselves which you can see below.

Rachael single-handedly taming the compost heap.

Midway through digging our spring bulb bed next to the shed.

A floral tribute to Mother Nature consisting of Tulips and Daffodils (she'll have to wait until spring).
 

The Fellowship of the Bin

What is to be done, about the mountain of garden waste? Today the burning question of our allotment was answered… in a way that left everyone unsatisfied. To be specific our allotment was on one side of the site and the bin was on the other. Ordinarily these complaints about having to wheelbarrow rubbish slightly further than we would like would sound hysterical, but it has to be understood that the journey from allotment to bin was a perilous one. Obstacles such as stairs and archways too small to fit a wheelbarrow through littered the route. One foul step and garden waste would spew out from the wheelbarrow on to the path. I felt like Frodo venturing across the dead marshes. Like him, I had a terrible burden to cast away and was aided on my quest by a fellowship of misfits. Frodo however only had to make his journey once while my trip from allotment to bin would be one of many.

The growing mound of doom.

Our Band of Merry Misfits.

Garden of Weeden

For about five minutes we stare, exasperated at the compost bin. It’s an odd mix of soil, weeds, plastic bags, crisp packets and eggshells. The latter three are not renowned for promoting plant growth. If they did, my kitchen would resemble the Garden of Eden by now. It becomes apparent that something should be done about this situation, so Matt and I set about filtering out the unwanted rubbish from the pile of degrading compost. We then proceed to dump it on to the growing mountain of garden waste. There is still a degree of uncertainty over where this rubbish is ultimately going to end up, although we all agree that it will be deposited in a bin of sorts… somewhere. While Matt and I are having compost fun, the other two members of our party: Wes and Fatima, are busy de-weeding another bed. After some intense soil rummaging, the group is assured by their leader, Matt, of a solution to the bin crisis. I am also delighted by the promise of re-enforcements in the form of pole dancers. This naturally perks the group up and turns out be one of the most productive days yet.

Working hard under the shadow of the giant heap of waste.

Is there any compost under there?

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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