Guest blogger, Hema from growwithhema.com writes about our Seed Planting Workshop held on March 14th.
Seeds little and large, pots made out of paper and biodegradable material, plastic module trays and compost …what’s not to love! We all got our hands dirty and planted the first seeds of success for the Northwick Park Community Garden.
It was truly a fun evening at the Annunciation Church Hall on a blustery Thursday evening. We were all delighted with the feast that was waiting for us as we entered the hall, all prepared by the talented Noel, the landlord of The Windermere Pub. Delicious handmade sandwiches thickly filled with fresh ingredients, thick pittas with a huge helping of hummus, tasty samosas and spring rolls all hot from the kitchen washed down with hot or cold drink of our choice! Now that’s the way to start a session on a cold windy evening, isn’t it?
As our plates were emptying, we were all welcomed by Susannah Hall, our expert gardener leading the design of this new community garden. The founders of this fabulous venture - Joanna, Eleri, Iris and Rishil greeted us all warmly. There were 25 attendees and we all introduced ourselves and said what had brought us to the session. It soon became evident that we all had different levels of experience. Some had never sown a seed or planted a garden and some who were there for the sheer love of gardening. One thing became very evident though and that was we were all there to become more informed about successful seed sowing and an ambition to see that the Northwick Park Community Garden was going to be a success!
We found Susannah’s presentation very informative. She explained the evolution and biology of seeds, the conditions required by seeds to successfully germinate and why factors like water, light and air were needed by the seedlings to grow further.
It was fascinating to find out from Susannah that seeds may seem dead but there were very much alive as they remain viable, some have even germinated after 2000 years, absolute magic wouldn’t you say?
Then we were told about all the different kinds of compost that are available. Seed sowing compost is particularly suitable for germinating seeds as it is free draining and not fertile – seeds have their own nutrients tucked away inside them to support them during this active process.
Once this very informative presentation was over, we all rolled up our sleeves and started choosing our seeds. Susannah had brought packets of chicory, calendula, aquilegia, chard and nasturtiums, amongst many others. We picked our pots and trays, filled them with seed sowing compost and took our first steps in sowing seeds for the Northwick Park Community Garden.
Now looking forward to the little seedlings and the next workshop where we will be potting these little plants up. Why not come along and join us for a fun and very rewarding session!