We’re inviting volunteers from across the country to share top-tips for supporting communities to grow their own food and make lovely compost.

View the Masters Conference flyer (links opens PDF)

Read about the National Masters Conference 2011

NEW for North London Master Gardeners

Please click here to reserve your place with co-ordinator Susan,

We’ll then send you a booking form with details and for you to choose your workshop preferences. We’ll also be arranging shared transport to Ryton Gardens.

When? Saturday 30th June 2012.

Where? The beautiful Ryton Gardens in Warwickshire, home to the UK’s leading organic growing charity, Garden Organic.

What? Leading UK speakers, unique workshops, expert guides, and much more with over 200 volunteers expected. This is your conference. Please get in touch here to share your ideas.

Who? Master Gardeners, Master Composters, Compost Gurus, Gardening Champions, and any other volunteer involved in promoting gardening or composting

How much?

Places are FREE for Master Gardeners for the all day event including lunch and refreshments.

£44 + VAT for friends and family. £84 + VAT for CPD places.
Please contact us for exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities.

Come for the cake!

See photos from our National Masters conference 2011

Find out who won the Master Gardener Awards…

See latest news from Ryton Gardens

What else is Garden Organic doing…?

But May is the time for catching up with sowing seeds and planting out your favourite fruit and veg.

Remember there’s still time to prepare quick growing harvest for your ‘Big Jubilee Lunch’ on the 3rd June 2012.

Also crops for shared salads and BBQs for London 2012 celebrations… Please click here to read how North London Master Gardeners are getting involved with the Games.

Seeds to sow in May

Sow these cold-hardy crops direct into your soil – or for more comfort if a little cold and wet, sow seeds in pots and trays instead. Tuck these away indoors or in a sheltered sunny corner to transplant later.

The following links open PDF growing instructions by Garden Organic:

Annual Spinach, Beetroot, Sprouting Broccoli, Pea, Radish, Rocket, Salad Onion, Pot Marigold, Parsnip, Lettuce, Carrot, Celery, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohl Rabi, (deep breath), Leaf Beet, Turnip, Swede, Spring and Summer Salad, and others…

You can also transplant energetic plants started off in March and April, moving them to their final growing space outdoors. This works well with Brussels Sprouts, Leek, Cauliflower, Calabrese, Summer Cabbage, and Sprouting Broccoli. Don’t worry if you haven’t sown these crops yet! There’s still time to sow and get large plants for transplanting in June or early July instead.

Nearly frost free…

There’s a collective horticultural rush during May. The South of England should be frost-free by the end of the month and soon after for the North and exposed sites.

So, now is the time to sow your cold-tender crops that like to be kept warm, such as Pumpkin and Squashes, Sweetcorn, Courgette and Marrow, French Bean, and Runner Bean. Start off these plants indoors on a clean, warm windowsill or in a greenhouse or polytunnel. Then plant outside after the last frost.

You can also move crops started off earlier in the year destined for a summer inside a greenhouse or polytunnel, moving your lovely Aubergine, Cucumber, Okra, Pepper, and Tomato. Although if growing these sensitive crops outdoors during summer, wait until after the last frost before transplanting.

Did you know that Garden Organic publishes a wondrous array of growing tips?

Click here to discover unusual crops (opens ‘Sowing New Seed’ project website)

Step by step growing activities…

What to do in the garden in May

Local growing blogs by volunteer Master Gardeners:
Warwickshire, North London, South London, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire

We’re looking for experienced and passionate food growers in Islington, Camden, Hackney and Haringey to support their communities to have a go at growing their own food.  You might be growing fruit and vegetables in a garden, allotment, school or community group – but you don’t need to be an expert!  In return for mentoring others, you get support and ongoing training from your local volunteer co-ordinator and membership of a wider network of Master Gardeners.  If this sounds interesting to you or someone you know, click here to find out more.

Thanks to Robbie the Rockstone (Master) Gardener who brought along callaloo seeds at the Master Gardener foundation training in October 2011.

Callaloo.jpg (963 KB)

Dear Households and all,

Have you rolled up your sleeves yet and started sowing seeds? Hope so!

All those who ordered seeds via me have received them now. Our seed order came from the catalogue which is on line at http://www.OrganicCatalogue.com . I am growing some seedlings, does anyone else want any Golden Sunrise Tomato, Pepper Marconi Rossa, Kohl Rabi, or purple sprouting broccoli seeds? I have some to give away… And don’t forget to retrieve your saved seed (Painted Lady?)!

Our most recent and inspirational Master Gardener training was on container growing skills given by Mark Ridsdill Smith, who lived in Islington up to last year when he moved with his wife’s job to Newcastle. He is the person who grew £900 worth (Tesco prices) of fruit and veg vertically on his terrace house and his small patio back garden! What did I learn? That :

If you have less sun (3-4 hours a day) then lettuce, rocket, and other salads, pak choi and stir fry greens, mint parsley, coriander, chives and woodland fruit like blueberries and blackcurrants will grow best.
If you have more sun (5-6 hours) then peas, beans and root crops potatoes, carrots, radish.
If you have lots of sun (6 hours +) fruiting crops like tomatoes,, courgette or squash, chillies/peppers, strawberries and aubergine.

On containers a good size guide is :

salads etc 5cm deep e.g. standard window box, veg tray
tomatoes, peppers chillies, carrots, runner beans 30cms deep 40 cms widee.g. big plastic bucket
squash courgette, fruit bushes 40 cms deep 50 cms wide e.g. recycling bin.

Don’t forget to punch enough holes in the bottom so the plant does not “drown”!
The guide is that the bigger the pot the bigger the crop.
Recommended organic composts are New Horizon and Vital Earth.

Feed your pots after 6 weeks (by which time the fertility of the compost will have been depleted). Recommended fertilisers are worm compost, seaweed extract (liquid feed), liquid comfrey, or organic tomato feed.

Don’t forget that the nearer the pots are to your back door the more likely you are to remember to look and see if they need watering…

If interested you can keep up to date with Mark’s latest vegetable exploits at http://www.verticalveg.org.uk or Twitter@verticalveg. Vertical Veg is a social enterprise that inspires and supports food growing in small spaces.

Beating the drought tips from Garden Organic here.

What to sow in March ideas here with links to Garden Organic factsheets courtesy of South London Master Gardener Coordinator Fiona Law. Or look in your Cooks Garden Planner/The Veg Grower’s planner.

Don’t forget to make your own compost for fertility and mulching – look at the Garden Organic website to find out how. A golden rule is to mix thinnish layers by colour (green, brown, yellow).

Best of luck with your growing season!

Brigid

“Sowing seeds is like bingo: eyes down for a full-house!” Steve Penny

“When planting seeds with children, I recommend two seeds per hole to avoid those disappointed little faces.”
Helen Bronstein

	Seed packets always describe perfect conditions for producing the best looking and biggest crops, but seeds can still grow perfectly well without matching these requirements and will give good yields at less than the recommended spacing.” Derek Miller
	“I sow in modular trays, pots or plugs as it is much easier to look after my seedlings when they are not sown in situ.” Keith Wellsted
	Seed packets often contain far more seeds than you use, so why not swap your spares with others to get a wider range of varieties? Also remember that as seeds get older, less will germinate, so sow larger quantities than you did when the seeds were fresh.” Paul Sanders
	“A good rule of thumb for how deep to sow: make a hole twice as deep as your seed.” Alex Collings
	“Sow some beetroot in groups and others spaced out. When they grow, you can choose a bunch of small beetroot or individual bigger ones.” Terry Patterson
	“Create a propagator with a takeaway container as a base and another plastic container as the roof. Place it in front of the telly to remember to keep the compost damp.” Mike Wohl
	“To grow scotch bonnet chillies, I use the seeds from fruit that I have purchased from a market or grocer. Wash the seeds in a plastic tea strainer, allow them to dry on kitchen paper; then germinate them on moist cotton wool covered in cling film. Pot up the sprouted seeds in compost and put on a windowsill to grow on.” Phil Bannister

More top tips from Master Gardeners

• “Sow peas early in the greenhouse in a length of guttering. You can then slide the peas into your trench without disturbing the roots.” Helen Kelly
• “A heated propagator is a cheap and worthwhile investment, but pots on windowsills covered with cling film work well, provided you take this off once seeds sprout.” Adam Lee
• “How about germinating seeds in the nice, warm environment of an airing cupboard? I tried it with aubergine seeds and it worked a treat!” Rosie Humphreys
• “Only sow seeds when the soil is warm. Cover the soil with horticulture fleece or bubble wrap for a few days prior to sowing.” Ray Price
• “For peas and sweet peas, soak the seed overnight and then sow them in paper pots which are particularly easy to plant out.” Maria Elena Brady

“Warm your filled seed trays in advance. Either in a propagator, airing cupboard, greenhouse, or on a windowsill. Then talk to them nicely after sowing! Grow seeds, grow” Ashleigh Rinchey

“Sow little and often. For vegetables that need to be harvested when they reach maturity like lettuce and cauliflower, sow small numbers but do sow regularly; two to three week intervals.” Paul Sanders

• “Fill an empty cardboard egg box with compost. Put one runner bean in each compartment and spray with water. Close the box and look into it in three or four days. Monitor the moistness: not too wet, not dry. When you see the first shoots established, pot on or plant out.” Eulalia
• “Always read the seed packets carefully. Not all vegetable seeds are best sown into pots or trays, for example beetroot, carrots and parsnips are very hard to transplant, so it’s worth waiting until your soil warms up in the spring and then sow directly into their permanent positions.” Karen Webb
• “Jamaica Broad Leaf Callaloo: Sow in container and cover with cling film. Keep in warm conditions. When they reach 6cm, transplant to 7cm pots. When all risk of frost is gone, plant out 30cm apart.” Robert Samuda

For more tips and advice..

• ‘Growing From Seed’ (Garden Organic factsheet GS1)
• Sowing advice from Garden Organic (opens PDF)
• More growing tips from Master Gardeners

Article by the Master Gardeners, collated by Pauline Pears and Philip Turvil

As the UK’s leading organic growing charity, we use innovation and inspiration to get more people growing in the most sustainable way.

This fourth annual Big Lunch, an initiative by the Eden Project, proudly supports The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations on Sunday 3rd June 2012.

What’s happening?

The aim is to get as many people in the UK as possible to have lunch with their neighbours, for a few hours of community, friendship, fun and of course some lunch. About 2 million people got involved last year.

Master Gardener project manager, Philip Turvil, said: “For this unique occasion, we’re engaging our enthusiastic local champions to grow and share food with their mentored communities. Our London and county network are swapping seeds and growing tips to get ready for the Big Lunch.”

Philip added: “With only a few months until this year’s Big Lunch, there’s no better time for locals to get out in the garden and plant their favourite plate-fillers. From carrots and beetroot to peas and spring onions, there’s a whole host of tasty food at your fingertips which can help to create a fantastic spread for a Big Lunch.”

Three ways to get involved

1. Click here to tell us about your ideas for the Big Jubilee Lunch – and any top growing tips

2. Click here for more information and FREE Pack or call 0845 850 8181

3. Become a Big Lunch Champion (link opens PDF)

The Big Lunch team are looking for volunteers to help grow the success of the campaign by promoting the initiative in their local area.

Big Lunch Champions can get involved by spreading the word, going along to promotional events, distributing materials and providing support to communities organising a Big Lunch.

To find out more about becoming a Big Lunch Champion, please contact camilla.baker@thebiglunch.com or call 0207 255 6468