We welcomed lots of young people to our family growing session, where participants arrived brimming with energy and got stuck into making a ‘bug snug’. First, they worked together as a team to clear the area, before collecting leaves, twigs and branches from around the project. These were stuffed into a teepee-like structure made from bamboo canes, which will provide habitat for invertebrates, as well as larger animals such as frogs and hedgehogs. Participants then sowed wildflower seeds in pots around the bug snug, which will attract lots of pollinators to the area.

Later in the week, we welcomed a group of young people from the Mortlake Powerstation Youth Centre, who took part in some ‘upcycling’ projects. An old, discarded shopping trolley was re-purposed to create an impressive planter; lined with weedblock and filled with compost, this will create additional growing space for us this season. The young people sowed some wildflower seeds, radish and spinach in the trolley to kick off the growing season. Later in the session, we used old oat milk cartons to make flowerpots for sowing tomato seeds.  These were taken home by the young people, who will tend the seeds and watch them flourish! All of our half-term projects demonstrate the way “waste” can be put to good use in the garden. Leaves and twigs that might otherwise be raked up and discarded can be turned into a habitat; an abandoned trolley can be put to use as a planter and old cartons that we would otherwise put in the recycling bin (in this case, kindly donated by Barnes Common staff and the community cafe) make ideal containers for sowing seeds.

Our growers’ training session this month will focus on seed sowing and propagation.  We will look at when to sow, and what you need to do to sow successfully, including growing mediums, types of seeds and containers. We will also consider the water, heat and light requirements of seeds and seedlings, and there will be plenty of opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience.  Sign up for your free place here: Growers’ Training: Seed sowing and propagation Tickets, Sat 16 Mar 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

As ever, our monthly Growing for Wellbeing group will take place on the first Wednesday of the month, and our LGBTQ+ growing group will be on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  Our regular open sessions run from 10 – 12 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, so please come along to get involved.