Seed Sowing and Tree Planting

On Wednesday this week, lots of gardening happened!  The Forest School group helped to plant two more fruit trees in the orchard - a plum and an apple.

Kyle and Connorhan cut the turf, then placed it upside down in the bottom of the hole to rot away and feed the tree.

The hole was very rough subsoil and gravel - which needed breaking up a little!

Tipping the topsoil back round the tree.

We then topped if off with fresh compost, watered it in and mulched with well rotted bark.

So now our orchard has five fruit trees.

We also put tree protectors any hedge plants that needed them and tidied up all the canes.  We then sowed wild flower seeds at the school gate to welcome people in the summer months and attract insects to our orchard.

At lunch time, DiGGers sowed runner beans into pots and watered them in.  We tidied the green house to make room for them on the shelves.

There was also a delivery of more timber ready to make the next pair of storage sheds - hopefully next week!

On Thursday, Danielle and Sara planted a tree (kindly donated by Kath - a member of the RBGE Horticulture class so thank you to her!) into our hedge.

It was very warm weather - luckily the soil was not too dry.

We gave it a good watering to settle in.

Meanwhile, the garden is looking very spring-like with colourful tulips and dandelions in the grass.

Feeding Fruit bushes and Painting a Bird box

This week we managed to weed our fruit bushes.  We also gave them a sprinkling of phosphate feed before watering them and replacing the bark mulch.  This will help them fruit again this summer.

 They are well in bud now that Spring has arrived.

These ones still need weeding - you can see a big difference!

 Meanwhile in the shed, Vicki and Rhiannon started painting a bird-box we got sent from collecting Morrison's vouchers for schools...

...they finished it off in the computer classroom the next day!  It was pouring on Thursday - much warmer in here!

Despite the fluctuating weather, the garden is looking good.  Daffodils are looking bright, and in the middle ground you can see rhubarb coming up in the tyres.

 Classes have also been busy potting up winter pansies...

 weeding and generally tidying around the two greenhouses...

...and potting on foxgloves and poppies.  We have loads from last year's seeds, so will plant them out all around the garden to encourage insects.