Happy New Year!

First, a big thanks to all who came and helped shift the ply for the roof on Friday - great response to our call out with very short notice!

🗓️ EVENTS AT THE GARDEN

🀩Willow Obelisk Making Workshop, Sunday 25th February, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Join us for a unique and hands-on experience as we delve into the art of crafting beautiful willow obelisks with Lisa. Limited to 8 spaces. Tickets» HERE

Drop in Events at the Garden⬇️

• Apple Tree Pruning Wednesday 17th January 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

• Tree popping Sunday 28th January 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

• New Fruit Cage and Netting This will be a “Big Job Sunday” 18th February 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

• Cobbing Day with “Galiford Try” in 12th March

• New Entranceway Laying with “Ringway” in April (date TBC)

• Completing the Wildlife Pond with Margaret Sunday, March 24th

🎟️EVENTS OFFSITE

🌳Mount Volunteer Dates

The dates for the rest of this season are: February 4th and March 10th, 10:00 am - 1:00 pm

Helen Harris, our Chair, also helps to run the Mount Volunteers - a new local community led conservation group that is working to restore an area of Chalk Downland habitat on the Mount, just a short walk from central Guildford. 

Helen says: "Our group meets on Sundays once a month during the winter, when there are no ground nesting birds present. We use hand tools to remove hawthorn, dogwood and bramble scrub. This stops the rare chalk grassland habitat, that is important for rare flowers and butterflies, from getting overgrown and disappearing. Its fun - you meet other local people, get a good workout and the views over Guildford are beautiful. We always welcome new volunteers - so do come and get involved." 

Find out more information here.

In collaboration with ZERO Carbon Guildford and Guildford Environmental Forum in this section, we share upcoming events organised by Sarah Davis, their Environmental Events Co-ordinator ⬇️

🐸Toads On The Roads: "Love Is In The Air" Tuesday 16th January 7:30 pm at St Nicholas Church Hall, Millmead Terrace, Guildford GU2 4AW

Spring is just around the corner, how you can help your local toad patrols - An engaging interactive talk from Regena Coult, Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group in conjunction with Shamley Green Environment Group. Tickets » HERE

⭐VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT - MEET KATE

Kate was one of the founding members of the Rosamund Community Garden and has seen its development over the last 14 years. She is making fantastic composts and, with her colleague Paula, is using the fruit cage and compost areas to study how different treatments and composts can affect the soil and plants.

We will be doing some talks and videos with Paula and Kate over the year to show their results and findings - watch this space!

From Kate:

Fourteen years ago, when the Transition Towns movement was riding high, a very generous Mark and his sister Julia got in touch with our merry little Transition Guildford group to see if we’d like to look after a beautiful piece of land in Longdown Road and Rosamund Community Garden was born! 

Back then it was a field with the original polytunnel and a small cluster of young fruit trees.   With the help of Malcolm (the area farm manager) the roughly 1-acre garden was deer-proofed.   Tree whips were planted along the back fence and more fruit trees in front.  We started small with bed formation, opting for a no-dig approach from the start.   Gradually the number of beds increased and later, the fruit cage was installed.  Successful funding gave us the second polytunnel. 

Throughout the early years, there was much discussion on how to make the garden pay for itself.  For my part, having followed Charles Dowding’s no-dig market garden methods since 2006, I was keen to grow produce to sell locally.  I was able to commit more voluntary time back then and for several seasons we sold salads and herbs to a local pub and café.  The income helped pay for the garden materials, seeds and plants needed to grow the garden.  

Over the years my interest in no-dig, the soil and compost has grown.  I’m fascinated by the life below ground and its influence on everything growing above.   Early last year I signed up for Dr Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web on-line course.  This course is part of the regenerative agriculture movement, an approach that works with the life in the soil, not against it.   As luck would have it, I met Paula who also lives locally and had completed the course. 

Together we’ve been making composts (manure from Kate C’s horses, green waste from the garden and woodchip from tree surgeons in the area) and experimenting with applications and amendments up at the garden.  It was astounding to see how just the application of wood chip to half of the grape vines, for instance, produced a clear contrast in leaf quality in a matter of months. 

This year, Paula and I will be continuing to make compost whilst diving deeper into the magical world of Rosamund’s soil food web! 

📰GARDEN NEWS FROM CLARE

A wet and incredibly windy start to the year has caused a bit of damage at the garden, but luckily nothing devastating.

The tarps we had bought to protect the cob walls of the Hub were shredded and ended up in the hedge, and the felt on both the sheds has started to lift and tear, but luckily for us, Fudge the builder has come back to the garden to build the roof on the Hub!

The cob and wattle and daub walls have survived the rain and wind, and the roof is being built over the next 2 weeks, meaning no need for new tarps, and a huge step towards completing the project.

In the garden and poly-tunnels our autumn plantings of salads, kales, chards and garlic are patiently awaiting the longer days, when they’ll start to grow again and produce the eagerly anticipated flush of greens. Ann has some really lovely lettuce seedlings in the greenhouse, and will bring them up next month to add to the poly-tunnel produce.

Our experimental plantings of broadbeans and peas in poly 1 was met with delight from the mouse community, so we will wait a bit and re-sow them outside.

January is a great time to clear up the garden, mulch the beds and prepare for the Spring.

The light at the garden as the sun goes down is particularly lovely, this time of year, with the clear, cold skies. Look out for the resident birds of prey hovering near the hub as they hunt for mice.

The Surrey Wildlife Trust cattle are munching their way through the meadows, watched diligently by our trusty volunteer “lookerers” (yes that’s a real word!) We have ten boys this year and it’s a real pleasure to visit them and watch them clearing the long grasses.

Helen has been using her bird-song app and noted - chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch, linnet, redwing, fieldfare and skylarks among others, which really shows what a haven the chalk downlands are for the wildlife.

♾️COMMUNITY PROJECT NEWS

Our “Duke Of Edinburgh” student, Amy has been creating some wonderful new signs for the garden. Amy and her mum, Sandra, started coming to the garden last Autumn, and have been working on the fruit-cage. Amy has hand-painted the new signs and had fun practicing her woodwork skills, screwing them to the poly-tunnels and logan-berry post.

🐝Ceiling Fans, Hash House Harriers and Horrible Hornets by Peter Smith

This is an article from Peter's January column in “BeeCraft Magazine” - it's not really about bees CLICK TO READ

🌿PLANT OF THE MONTH - ROSEMARY

The herb that grows best at Rosamund is the wonderful Mediterranean Rosemary.

Planted from small cuttings a few years ago, it has formed a vigorous hedge near the arbour, and a lovely bush in the herb-bed. 

This amazingly resilient herb provides us with year-round refreshing tea, fragrant additions to our Xmas wreaths, and much-needed nectar for the pollinators (especially popular with the bees).

The leaves can be pressed to make essential oil, and the flowers can be used as a garnish in salads. 

It has been used for centuries in folk medicine to alleviate headaches, stomachache, rheumatic pain, depression, fatigue and memory loss (among other things). 

Pick some sprigs next time you’re up and steep it in hot water for an uplifting tea.

🔨JANUARY JOBS AT THE GARDEN

• pruning apple trees

• clearing and mulching spaces in beds

• weeding the fruit cage

• cutting back dead plants in the flower beds

• finish edging front beds

📣AND FINALLY - “FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR WILD WEEING”

Did you know that one of our volunteers, Jane, hosts virtual speaking events called “Random Dialogues”? The format is 6 speakers, up to 6 minutes each. On Wednesday 10th January at 8:00 pm, Clare is going to be joining the speaking crew to talk about “Tree Bogs - How They Work”. Tune in to watch, support and even virtually chat with Clare during the live » INFO 

🌳GARDEN VOLUNTEER GROUP SESSIONS

We have regular groups on Tuesday and Sunday from 2.00 pm - to 4.00 pm and Friday from 10.00 am - 12.00 pm so if you want to come and garden together, just turn up. If you are in our WhatsApp group, please also use this to check if people are in the garden for a session.

💰MEMBERSHIP 

The Rosamund Community Garden shares a membership system with Guildford Environmental Forum for joining info please email [email protected]

December’s Update