Royal Ed Community Gardens – February update

The mild weather in January has allowed work to pick up at the gardens, and we’ve been able to get on with tasks put on hold by the unseasonally early snowfalls last year.

Work on the Rabbit proof fences is nearing completion. This is a big job, around 300m of fencing with lots of changes of direction, and 7 gateways to allow easy access to the whole site. Most of the gates have been made from re-cycled timber, built under cover of the glasshouse during the dead of winter.

The mild weather has allowed us to begin making sowings, with a group of folk putting in Broad Beans last week. Some early sowings of Lettuce, Spinach and Parsley have also gone into module trays in the glasshouse. Broad Beans planted in the Autumn by children from Bruntsfield Primary have overwintered well, and the Garlic planted by a corporate group in November is just beginning to break the soil surface. Next up will be the Parsnips!

Wildlife has been much in evidence, and since the big thaw birds have returned to the orchard and garden areas in abundance. Mixed flocks of Finches have been particularly prevalent, with good numbers of Brambling being a highlight. Early signs of Spring include Snowdrops in the woods (not quite in flower yet), and the sticky leaf buds beginning to swell on our beloved Conker tree.