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.

Tidying, Planting and Sunflowers Shooting up!

 Our competition Sunflower Seedlings are shooting up - they have now been potted up and are out in the Betty MacKenzie greenhouse.

 This week, we've been tidying the old pots away in the OJ greenhouse.

 Our Cercidiphylum japonicum tree has started to come into leaf.

 On Wednesday we planted more summer flowers into the barrels to welcome visitors into the garden: foxgloves, lupins and poppies.

 It has been sunny most of the week, though still bitterly cold!  Thanks also to Alastair for dropping off three bags of compost for us!  Rhiannon and Vicki brought them up to the garden in the wheelbarrow.

We have also put out the seed potatoes to "chit" - this means they will grow green shoots ready to get a head start when the soil warms up enough to plant them out.

Preparing for Spring

Lots happened in the garden this week behind the scenes!

Last week, we had a delivery from the Woodland Trust - two boxes containing hedge plant saplings.  The elective classes started planting them out straight away.  There are 105 however, so this will take some time!

On Wednesday, we put them into pots loosely packed with soil to keep them healthy until they get planted.

On Thursday, two volunteers came in and worked tirelessly to rescue our forlorn tool store!  It had been blown over in a freak gust last Friday.

They managed to "right" it and then finished building it - felting the roof and fixing doors onto it.

This will really help to keep our tools organised and free up our "social space" in the shed!

At lunchtime on Thursday, Sara and Danielle tidied the Betty MacKenzie greenhouse by emptying out all the pots and dead plants.

(That's after they'd had a "sword fight" whilst putting two canes away!)

We want to get things ready to start sowing seeds and planting now the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer.

Meanwhile, spring is getting on with "springing!"  We have self-seeded snowdrops and crocus and our daffodil bulbs are showing through the ground.

Our Euonymus alatus bush is also coming into bud - we look forward to green shoots, and some artwork portraying this plant from our new resident "botanic artist" - an S6 student studying Advanced Higher Art.

Potato Day a great success and our hedge plants arrive

On Saturday 1st March, the Black Isle Transition Group held their Potato Day.  Connorhan and Mr Macfarlane were there to help out.

Setting up all the boxes...

 ...then the customers arrived

There was a good turn-out 

 Connorhan helping out on the Seed-Swap table.

 There were two sessions, with time for "re-stocking" in between.

 There were 75 different varieties available with a mix of First Early, Second Early, Maincrop and Late Maincrop!  Names ranged from Accord and Apache, to Valor and Vivaldi.

 The seed potatoes were 15p each.  Connorhan here helps to take the payments.

 Black Isle Transition Group also had their own information table set up.

Our two DiGGers enjoy a lunch break!  Keep up the good work you two!

At the end, we were kindly given 14 different varieties to sell to parents and staff for raising club funds as well as keeping some to plant ourselves in the garden.  Thank you very much to the TBI group.

Also this week, we took delivery of 105 hedge plants - a native mix to encourage birds and wildlife.  They came from the Woodland Trust - more about what species they are later when we start planting them out so watch this space!

Sunflower Competition Launched

On Thursday 27th February, we launched our Sunflower Competition in aid of Sense Scotland who help deaf-blind children.  Ten people paid £1 to adopt a sunflower.  They sowed the seeds into our paper pots which are now well watered and standing on Miss Swallow's computer room window cill.  Already, numbers 1 to 4 have started pushing up through the soil!

 On Friday 28th, Connorhan pruned the fruit bushes.  Above and below you can see a before and after of one of the red-currents bushes.  They now need weeding and mulching next.

A busy Staff Training Day

On Friday this week, we had approximately 30 teachers from many Highland Primary Schools and Education Centres in school for a "Get Growing" training day.

 Toni and Norman from RoWAN (Ross-shire Waste Action Network) and Maggie from RHET (Royal Highland Education Trust) were running the event and they were both in the classroom and out in the garden.  Thanks folks for all the weeding you have done for us!

 Miss Swallow joined them after lunch for a "question & answer" session.  They were interested to hear about DiGGers and how gardening has taken off at the Academy.  It was great to meet so many keen educators and I wish them all well in their growing challenges!

If anyone has any questions or comments - not just about DiGGers but your own growing successes or doubts, please feel free to use the comments section below to post queries and I will certainly endeavour to answer them as best I can!

In future, I hope to develop a link to a forum that we can all use to communicate, share ideas and even arrange plant or seed swaps.  There may also be the opportunity to buy peat-free compost (made from Bracken and Sheep's Wool) at a bulk price in future so watch this space!

Growing Hub Launch Event

On Wednesday 12th February, we were proud to host an event that gave primary schools the chance to share all the good gardening and food waste reduction activities that they are doing in their schools.  It was also our chance to launch the "Growing Hub".  This is in response to us gaining funding from the the “Food for Thought” programme supported by Education Scotland, Scottish Government and Scottish Business in the Community.  We will be working with RoWAN (Ross-shire Waste Action Network) and RHET (Royal Highland Education Trust) to encourage food growing and composting amongst schools and to provide training for interested teachers - there is already a course planned at the Academy on Friday 21st February.

 Ben Wyvis pupils wait to see the others present their activities.  They have growing space for each class in their lovely new school!  We showed them our "paper pot makers" as we waited for lunch and they loved the idea of being able to make pots out of old newspaper and then plant them out without disturbing the roots of the seedling once they have grown through the paper!

 Muirtown Primary pupils

 Dingwall Primary pupils did a great presentation - you can see they had costumes to suit!  They were representing various members of staff in school who are involved with their food growing and waste reduction projects.

 At 10.30 we had a break and DiGGers served refreshments.

 St. Clements' pupils tell us about how they cook their own snacks rather than buy commercial ones that may contain unhealthy additives and excessive wrapping.

  The talks were all very interesting.  Dingwall Primary finish the program of talks for the day.

 After that, we gave everyone a tour of the school garden, new fruit garden and the RIDAN composter - having the handle turned here to keep the contents oxygenated.  It's very hot inside now - steam rises when you take the lid off!

 We returned to the hall for lunch - again DiGGers were making sure everyone got some food...

...before they tucked in themselves!

A huge thank you goes to Toni and Norman at RoWAN for their part in organising the event.  Also to Debbie from the office here at the Academy for driving the mini-bus to bring some pupil groups to the event and back.  Lastly the biggest thank you goes to all the schools that attended and were so keen on recycling, composting, cutting down waste, growing and eating their produce!  We hope to see you again in the future and hear about more exciting projects.  Your talks were inspirational so thank you for sharing them with everyone.