No Dig Projects along the old Canal Path

 Approached by Ben Bell last year suggesting a community gardening project to be run by Jess Halsall, farm lead at Uplands Enterprise Trust, using the No Dig method publicised by Charles Dowding,  I was very interested to try and accommodate this offer made to do some gardening in community spaces. I looked into possible contenders for sites to grow runner beans and courgettes with some of the South Swindon Parish personnel; we identified a potential site by Cambria Bridge which has formerly been used by school children for planting bulbs. This was deemed a bit dark for beans and courgettes, and a site further down the old filled in canal, towards Kingshill was identified as a much better spot.

We had to wait until risk of frost had passed, and the weather had warmed up, taking us to the end of May. So on the second May Bank Holiday weekend, we were ready to get going with the project. Three rubble bags of compost were delivered to the site, and a wooden frame was made by Jess, lined with wetted cardboard, and filled with the compost. We then stuck bamboo canes into the compost, through the cardboard and into the ground below, tied them up, and planted runner beans, courgettes and some marigolds as companion plants around the outside. The runner and french beans were grown by young adults with SEND at Uplands Enterprise Trust Farm, using seed saved from their favourite varieties grown last year.

Here are a few photos taken during the process, starting with the massive bags of peat free compost made locally:

We were serenaded by Ben Bell while working, and people walking along the old canal were pleased to see a community garden being created along the old canal. The ambience created by the music and the gardening was lovely.

Above a bit further on with the process, canes in place and beans in the ground.

Here Jess and I were photographed at the end of a busy gardening session

This photo was taken a week later, there had been so many offers of help that two watering cans have been supplied for people to help with watering. When the beans and courgettes are ready to eat, people will be able to pick them. 

Not to be beaten by low light levels at the Cambria Bridge site, at the end of April, virtually the same No Dig method was applied to that site after removing the bindweed and nettles exposed by rotovating it, and we planted fruit bushes such as gooseberry, blackcurrant, white currant, red currant and raspberries. These won't yield results this year, but hopefully in subsequent years will do so, and I think have brightened up an otherwise dull area.

This photo below shows the stage where the fruit bushes had been planted into bought in compost, covered in cardboard, and well watered in.

On top of the cardboard, bark chippings were added, and we tried to make a record of what variety was planted where.

 

A sign explaining what is happening there has been added, and this is what it looked like a month on:

The fruit bushes are looking bigger, and although there are gaps between them this year, they will grow to fill the spaces between them very soon. A very positive result of  looking after and green up spaces has been a noticeable reduction in litter, a cause close to many of our hearts. More on litter reduction in Swindon can be found here: https://plasticfreeswindon.org/activities/keepswindontidy

There's also a great partner post on the canal planting by Ben Bell here:   https://plasticfreeswindon.org/activities/keepswindontidy/blogs/canal_path/
 Thank you Ben.