The TransMission Community Garden: an update

The most recent work session at the TransMission Community Garden took place just a few days ago on 13 September. It turned out to be a very successful, well-attended day – despite the threat of rain.

The session started with some tidying up and getting rid of rubbish and returning the gate – which had been thrown on the ground – to its rightful position. The tribulations of working on an urban space …

However, the rest of the morning was much more pleasant and constructive. An inspection of the beds followed, with everyone checking on how the plants are doing and planning the rest of the session.

The raised beds were all tidied and weeded. Three strawberry plants and rosemary that had been propagated offside were planted. One of the ground beds that had been dug recently was dug over again with radish seeds sown over one part of it. These are quite old so it’ll be interesting to see if they grow.

The other half of the bed was left uncovered. It can be sown with something else when the group meets again or covered up for the rest of the year. A small aster was planted next to the cosmos near the gate.

One big job was sorting out the compost heap. There’s a three-compartment composting station at the garden, built from wooden pallets upcycled from the market. Use of it has been somewhat ad hoc, with garden and other waste being thrown into all three compartments, and it hasn’t been composting down.

The left compartment is now for fresh green waste, with raw food waste to be mixed underneath – plant based only! The middle section has been covered and will be left to break down for now. On the right, we now have plant waste that doesn't decompose quickly: branches, twigs, woody weeds and so on.

Our next work session takes place on 27 September, starting at 10.30am. This is also partly a planning session for the future of the garden. This would be an ideal session to come along for any new volunteers. We hope to see you there!