Our Brick Skip Hour …

A load of old bricks

If you happened to be in the Kentish Town Road at 6.30 a.m. last Friday you might have seen my … ahem … derrière sticking out of a skip.  (If you were sensible, you'd have looked away quickly.  Ho, ho;  No, not really, I'm sure my bum didn't look that big in it …  Er, why's it all gone quiet?)

I'd spotted a skip load of lovely old weathered bricks as I cycled home the previous afternoon, a sight which quickened my heart.  (And, believe me, there's not a lot that does that these days…)

As the ground in the vegpatch is a lot damper in these Autumn days (which is good) and quite a lot of it goes home on the soles of our shoes, we needed to put down some little paths next to our raised beds.  And because we want to keep appearances up, we thought brick would be nice … except they're expensive and we have a tiny budget.  So the Skip Sisters (L and me) were on the lookout, and also passed the word around.  After many weeks, and many people claiming to have "only just got rid of" theirs, fate presented us with this bountiful haul.  And, by the way, I wasn't up at the crack of dawn because I doing anything illegally, but because the traffic is dreadful in Kentish Town.  I had, of course, asked permission to take the bricks as, I imagine, would all of you lot.

Now then, where are those builders when you need them?  Er, Frank?  Frank?  *Tap, Tap*  Is anyone there?

A matter of priorities …

October Peppers - still growing!

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone since Saturday's jaunt to Camden's Good Food Day, what with the arrival of our first fruit trees on Tuesday and Wednesday (on which topic, I think enough has been said), plus we've had a couple of beautiful sunny, fresh autumnal days so, obviously, back out into the Veg Patch for some happy time, and a chance to look around the place with my camera lens. Sometimes there's so much good stuff going on you just don't know where to start …

Ooo… lucky D.  What a stunner! 

But first, a quick update on Saturday's event.  It was quieter than I anticipated - but hopefully lots of people went along later because there was some good stuff there: inspiration and education for food growing, advice about healthy eating and food waste, food co-ops and the seed exchange.  I chatted to a variety of folk doing sterling work in the community; hopefully a few of you will click through to their websites, below, and be inspired by the good they do - or maybe you already have something similar in your part of the globe.

Let me just say this - Real Bread making skills are back on everyone's agenda (as part of a community food project and as a free workshop on the South Bank on 24th Oct - more details nearer the time)  and I'm pursuing a line of enquiry about making huge baskets for plant growing - see Global Generation below, and I've made simple recycled plant markers from a top tip on City Leaf's website. (I also made some of my own which I'll show with a tutorial - mine are also recycled, but prettier, naturellement.)  Utterly F.A.B.

And, as they say, last but certainly not least:  Pumpkin progress.  We're watching this one.  Only 2 weeks to go before (say it quietly) … snip, snip, snip.  (Ouch! I feel so mean saying that.)

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Here are a few highlights from Saturday:

Sustain - loads on their website about food, the environment, urban agriculture, workshops, training and grants.  Recommended! 

FoodWorks - Cooking and redistributing surplus retail food overstock as nutritious meals to needy people in the local community.  (Inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project in the U.S.A.)

Global Generation, engaging with younger generations to promote change in both the community and business.  (Take a look at their website; I was inspired by the large baskets they made to grow veg in at a local school, especially good if you only have a concrete patio, balcony or rooftop at your disposal.)

City Leaf:  Helping would-be gardeners make the most of their growing space (however small).  The website has some interesting tips and advice for gardeners - even if you're not local to London!! (Yayy, something for the non-London readers!)  …  I would, however, take them to task with their by-line "Grow Food Not Flowers".   For shame, guys!  Flowers are edible (nasturtiums, violas, lavender, marigolds, sunflower seeds, for heaven's sake!) … and companion plants … and pretty up your growing space to make it even more inviting.  Okay, I rest my case.  Point made.  Getting off my soapbox (for now).

One size fits all …

Folded tree on right, Snapped tree on left.  (Middle tree not a lemon)

A few weeks ago when placing our Orchard Order, we added lemon trees thinking it would be so educational for the kids to watch lemons growing… nothing at all, of course, to do with the usefulness of having a ready supply for the occasional G&T or Tequila shot - although, now you mention it …  (And yes, apparently these particular trees are hardy enough to bear fruit even in the UK.)

So, today:  Arrival of lemon trees.   In gardening terms, this is the equivalent of getting a new puppy and should have generated a surge of excitement but, as it happens, turned out to be a bit of a damp squib.   The supplier had packed them into one-size-fits-all boxes and literally folded them in half to get them in!  [Sighs with utter disbelief.]  Hello??  Is there anyone with a brain in there?  Needless to say, branches are snapped off and phone calls will be made...

Blueberry Thrill …

Welcome to our world - our new arrivals!

The hot news of the day here is the arrival of our Blueberry Bushes - were we excited?  OhYes!  We love blueberries. Immediate thoughts of next summer's harvest:  blueberry pies, blueberry cake, blueberries picked straight from the bush - blueberry heaven!   The packaging around the shrubs was Very Clearly Labelled:  Bottom (Heavy) and Top (Light) …

And then we found ourselves wondering, "Which part of that didn't the van driver understand?"  One of our bushes arrived with it's bottom in the air and understandably, after hours of plant yoga, no longer at it's best.  There is a very happy outcome to this though;  L contacted the supplier - the (newly) highly recommended Wiggly Wigglers - and they immediately offered to send another bush and gave advice on pruning the damaged one, which they said we can keep.  They are very nice people, and we thank them.

Seedy Saturday …

 Share the Love…  

Butternut Squash seeds (I hope you don't throw yours away!)

Have I  mentioned that we're in the Borough of Camden (yes, reasonably close to that Market/tourist magnet -  more info here).  Far more interesting though, I've just heard that today is the launch of Good Food for Camden with various events being staged across the Borough, including Apple Day (with prizes for the best Apple Cake!), tours of growing spaces and my nearest event a seed and produce swap (with food tasting and plants to take home) at Somers Town (round the back of the British Library).

Gosh, I do love the fact that we have all this great stuff going on.  So, spur of the moment decision, I'm off to flaunt my wares. Don't look at me like that.  I'm talking about my veg - as you well know - and possibly a few swopsy seeds in my little seed packets.

I'm going with my Investigative Reporter hat on, and camera, and will report back on Monday.

Thrilling times, folks, thrilling times. 

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If you can get to this event, check out What's On in Camden for times, etc. (the map's wrong, go by the postcode).