WHATS ON AT WCG IN OCTOBER?

 

Welcome to the official blog for Windmill Community Gardens, Bobbersmill, Nottingham.

If you haven't visited us before, we are the first allotment on the left, on the track at the end of Ascot Road, which is off Aspley Lane, next to Bobbersmill Bridge.  Nearest postcode NG8 5HD

If you come by bus, then you need to catch the 77, 78 or 79 or Trent Barton 1, from Upper Parliament Street.  For the 77 get off at the Ascot Road stop, for the others the Aspley Lane stop.  (Same stop if you are coming in the other direction).

If you come by car, then please park at the end of Ascot Road and walk the last 100 metres, unless you have a disability, in which case please phone 07816899978 and we can open the bollard for you.

Our regular opening times are:

Monday - 10am to 1pm.

Thursday - 10am to 4pm

Feel free to drop in at any time.  Children are welcome if supervised.

Call 079816899978 or email wcgnottingham@gmail.com for more information.

Under 4's activities

Small Steps Big Changes are running a session on Friday 28th October from 10 am to 1pm.  For pumpkin fun and more.

Their normal activities include -

Food growing activities, Stories songs and rhyme and healthy food preparation.

Places are first offered to residents of Aspley, Hyson Green and Arboretum, so please check you have a place before coming by texting 07816899978 or emailing wcgnottingham@gmail.com

Older siblings welcome to attend.

Pumpkin Day Celebrations

Our annual Pumpkin Celebration will be on Sunday 30th October from 3 to 6pm

Pumpkin carving for children, pumpkin competitions for the best carvings and heaviest pumpkin.  

Food

Games

Spooky happenings

There will be pumpkin carving for adults beforehand, please contact the us, using the phone number/email address already given to book.

Growing Forward

Growing Forward, a social proscribing project, combining gardening and therapy, is based at Windmill Community Gardens.  For more information, please got to: 

Growing Forward | Facebook

 

Exciting News!

We asked you to vote for us, and you did!! Thank you so much!

We are delighted to tell you that we've won a Silver Award of £10,000 from Severn Trent Community Fund which will allow us to create a ramp to link up our current garden with a new area we've taken on!

This area floods in Winter, so the grant will also allow us to put in a raised path so we can make use of the site when it's wet, and it means we can put in a much needed pond + liner and some wonderful native plants. 

We'll be using some of the money to put in a lot more water storage on site, so more of the rain falling on the area can be used in the Summer when it's needed.

 The Supershed is Officially Open!

The official opening of our new Supershed! Thanks so much to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Merlita Bryan, for doing the honors and cutting the ribbon. We also have a huge number of people to thank for the creation of the shed, which was built for us bespoke, by James Trickey and a team of willing volunteers who he taught a wide variety of skills along the way. Funding for this much-needed building came mainly from the Health Lottery, with additional help from Castle Cavendish. With prices rising everywhere, the funding was only just able to stretch due to the generosity of many local suppliers who gave us discounts and freebies, including Lomax, Wickes, Permaroof, UK Timber's local sawmill and Irony (metal fabricators). Thanks to all!

We're really looking forward to having a useful space for cold and wet weather, which we know will help some of our volunteers to keep coming over the winter months instead of being isolated, and improve our ability to be a welcoming space for the whole community!

Big News!

Big news! We're really excited to tell you that we’ve been shortlisted for a grant of £10,000 from the Severn Trent Community Fund! We’re one of 10 projects competing for 6 grants in the Silver category, so it would be great if you could help us win by voting at www.stwater.co.uk/publicvote Anyone who lives in the Nottingham area can vote as you’re a customer of Severn Trent Water, but only 1 vote per household is allowed. People in the rest of the country in Severn Trent areas can vote too, so feel free to spread the word!

If we win, we’ll be using our grant to make more of the Community Gardens accessible for wheelchairs, as well as improving our ponds for wildlife and increasing our water-saving on site. 

It would be fantastic if you could help us get as many votes as possible. Bulwell Community Gardens and STAA at St. Ann's Allotments are also up for an award in the £20,000 Gold category, so people can vote for our project and one of their projects as well, as we’re in different categories.

And remember - voting finishes on 24th April at midnight! www.stwater.co.uk/publicvote

February at Windmill Gardens

 February at Windmill Gardens

 

The Hellebores and Snowdrops are out at last and the first Broad Beans are sprouting, so spring is on it's way.  Today I planted our first peas in the polytunnel.  We have to grow them suspended in lengths of guttering to prevent the mice having a feast.  However snow is forecast for Valentine's Day, so we are not being too hasty.

Our main work over the past few weeks has been coppicing the hedges and using the cut branches for poles or dead hedging.  We take the old dead wood out of the hedge first to burn, then replace it with new.  We have nearly finished cutting back the totally overgrown hedge at the boundary of our new plot.

Fortunately the man who rents the allotment on the other side of the hedge is a professional hedge cutter, so we hope that he will fell and cut back some of the trees on the other side, which are blocking the sunlight.  The pond and bog garden have been full of water for about two months, so should make a good home for wildlife.  We are still in the planning stages for planting, but we are collecting bricks for raised beds.  We are also preparing the top corner for a grass area and performance space.  The corner where the shed is, is going to be used by Growing Forward, Clare and Vic's mental health support project.  It will provide a safe space for their clients.

Meanwhile, James and his crew have been getting on with building the outdoor classroom.  I think it's looking pretty good, especially the cedar cladding.  The walls and roof have been been insulated and lined with wood.  They are just putting in the folding doors at the front.  James has reclaimed some pine boards from a skip for the flooring, so everything is well under control.  We are just waiting to see if we can get funding for the finishing touches, like the ramp and wood burning stove.

So we are well prepared for a new growing season, in another couple of weeks we will be preparing beds and planting seeds.  In the meantime we will be educating a class of school children on Friday, on the human digestive system, using home made props.  Great fun! 

Rosie Jarrett 7th February 2022