Community Fund – Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens – August Update

Well it has been another incredible month in the gardens this month.

We are delighted to welcome Albert, Daniel, Esmee and Paul to the team. Four new and very enthusiastic volunteers joining our keen squad. So thank guys for coming along and great to have you on board!

Top crops this month have been delicous runner beans from the beans sown and planted by P4 students at Craiglockhart Primary School back in Spring. The beans are supported by – quote “the biggest sunflowers we’ve ever seen!”, again sown and planted by the greenfingered team! New potatoes are still being harvested and the tomatoes are coming on really well too with a huge crop slowly rippening in the glasshouse. The squash are also getting bigger by the day and the courgettes just keep on coming!

New this summer has been our Friday morning bend and stretch session of yoga with our wonderful volunteer Douglas. He encourages us to take on some light yoga before we get started at 10am. Thanks Douglas, it’s really fun and the warm up definitley helps the limbs.

Another welcome new activity has been a weekly cook up. Inspired by John (for providing the gas stove) and Jacinta (for offering to be first chef), we have enjoyed some wonderful culinary feasts. Using produce freshly picked that morning and cooking it outside in the gardens really supports the local, healthy ethos we promote in the gardens – so thanks guys and we look forward to others enjoying the kitchen garden we have created at the Royal Edinburgh Community Gardens.

A team of us enjoyed a fabulous visit to Bridgend Community Gardens this month. It was great to meet the team and see the fabulous work the community are doing there. Not only did we get a tour but also lunch which added to our enthusiaum to get cooking in the gardens. So thanks to all at Bridgend, who made us feel very welcome.

Finally we would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who took part in a great workshop at the Gardens at the end of the month. As we are now entering into a period of large transition we wanted to take the opportunity to assess where the gardens are at the moment and how we move forward. The feedback was very encouraging and although we have faced some sad news with regards to the relocation, the general feeling is positive and full of enthusiasum for the future. So thanks team and we are really looking forward to growing together in the future!