S.1 Greening Tinsley - Community Garden Handbook

Tinsley Community Garden - Handbook

Greening Tinsley

THE COMMUNITY GARDEN Tinsley Community Vegetable Garden is a proposal for the regeneration of the old infant school playground. The design aims to give the space back to the community and to encourage people to grow their own food - a practice that brings people together and benefits mental well-being, as well as the immediate environment.

To maximise planting area and to create flexible and pleasant spaces, a system of overhead steel cables has been proposed, where cables can be hung to enable vertical growth, cultivation of climbing plants and implementation of a variety of green wall systems.

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GROW YOUR OWN This booklet includes some suggestions for particular plants that are suitable for the site, based on climate, sun exposure and companion planting. Companion planting is the cultivation of difference crops side by side to increase productivity for a number of different reasons, such as pest control, pollination and providing habitats for beneficial creatures.

Ideas for companion vegetables for each season are illustrated in the following pages.

Start with a few vegetable beds, then expand as you become more confident and find the shortcuts that work for you. The opposite diagram provides some general information about the vegetables mentioned in later pages.

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2m

1m

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Garlic Courgette

Peas

Aubergine Beans

Spinach Tomatoes Carrots

Squash Cucumber Onions

Peppers

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Sow

Harvest

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PLANT GRID The opposite diagram shows the location of the overhead grid on the site of the old school playground. This is generally a sunny area, however parts of it will get shade during different parts of the day.

1 Receives sun all the time, suitable for peas and beans 2 Receives sun most of the time, suitable for tomatoes and peppers.

3 Receives sun at midday, suitable for squash and cucumbers 4 In shade most of the time, suitable for plants such as spinach The blue marks indicate potential sites where water butts could be installed. Using rainwater is a sustainable and cheap method of watering plants.

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SPRING

March - May

Pea plants

Pod plant with colourful flowers. They can be sown every two weeks and are fast growers, so they can be harvested regularly. Great climbers, can grow big so start them on the ground in shallow soil.

Use vertical cables to provide support.

Courgettes

Courgettes are reliable vegetables that can grow throughout the year, but they are fastest in the spring. The yellow flowers are also edible.

Grow well with vertical support, so try on vertical cables.

Elephant garlic

A bulb plant that brings flavour to any recipe.

Elephant garlic is sweeter than ordinary garlic.

They are slow to grow but are a reliable crop.

Small plants that can be planted in beds, hanging bottles and palettes.

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SUMMER

June- August

Runner beans

Pod plant with colourful flowers. They can be slow to develop as seedlings, but they are reliable plants and have edible flowers. Natural climbers and can grow up to 1.5m, so grow them up vertical cables from the ground in a bed or pot with deep soil.

Squash

Squash are good plants for vertical growing because the stems are kept away from soil, which prevents rotting. Start as seedlings indoors, then plant in a sunny but sheltered spot with vertical climbing supports.

Spinach

A leafy salad plant high in iron and vitamin K. A fast and reliable grower that can thrive in shadier spots. Spinach is a low, wide plant. Can be planted in beds or half pipes.

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AUTUMN

September - November

Aubergines

Aubergine are used frequently in European and Asian cooking. The stems can sometimes be spiny, so take care when handling. Can grow up to heights of 1.5m. Growing them vertically is advised in order to keep the stem away from soil.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are vine plants that thrive in sunnier patches. A healthy plant will produce 5 - 10 kg of tomatoes per season. Vines can grow to up to 2m, but their height means they have weak stems.

Grow them up cables, leaving plenty of space between plants.

Carrots

Root vegetables high in vitamin A, and a reliable crop to grow yourself. They need a fair amount of soil to enable them to grow underground, so a deep vegetable bed is advisable.

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WINTER

December - February

Peppers

Peppers can be picked when green, or when they have ripened to the sweeter red flavour (2 - 3 weeks longer). The stems can be weak, so grow them up cables for support.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers seeds grow quickly if sown indoors.

Once plants have grown three real leaves they can be re-potted and grown outdoors. Growing up cables is advised in order to keep the stem away from soil, and a sheltered spot will shield plants from wind.

Onions

Plants can be harvested after 2 months for spring onions and after 3 months for onions. Mature onions should be dried after picking. Onions are suitable for growing in beds and in pallets. Leaves can grow to 40cm, so allow clear space above soil.

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