Grow wild

10593178_10202302906485938_8824817254722291747_nWe have had a series of grow wild craft workshop over the summer. Irene started the season with creating a colourful wall mural to cover the breeze block wall that backs the kitchen seating area. She followed this last week with a two day workshop making up-cycled insects that are decorating the garden, rambling over walls, crawling up plants and flying around our heads.

It might have been wet but there were still some creatures hatching. Here our regular volunteer Brian is busy helping one emerge.

 

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Meanwhile Terri has been working on the final fixings for the mosaic tiled wall. This workshop was held over a busy 2 days with 20 people attending on Monday to cut and fix tiles to spell out ‘Community garden’. Local youngsters went home inspired to draw designs of insect that were then made from tiles the next day to decorate each corner of the wall. We will be fixing the tiled panel to the wall behind the sink to give a washable hygienic surface in the kitchen area.

As a continuation of our Grow wild season we will be creating a wildlife area to increase the beneficial insects needed to protect all the wonderful bounty of fruit and vegetables from pests. Work will start soon on a viewing platform that will over look this area. On Monday 29th we will be fitting the pond liner and planting native plants. If anyone has any native plants that they can donate to the garden or if you wish to help form this new area please come and get involved or contact the Cultivate team. We will also need old carpets or sand as a liner underneath the pond liner to protect it from sharp stones. Donations gratefully received.

There are still some micro allotments available and we are after donations of wood to help make the raised bed to reduce barriers and encourage people to get growing. Planks either 1.2m or 2m long are needed please contact the team if you can help. On 11th October we are running a National botanic gardens one day gardening course ‘ Veg for autumn sowing’ Only £5 and perfect to get you started. For those wanting a bit more you can join courses through WEA Cymru starting 25th and 26th September in ‘Essential Gardening skills’ for beginners or ‘Level 2 gardening’ for those more experienced and wanting a deeper understanding.

The next couple of Mondays in the garden volunteers and micro allotment holders will be sorting out the water collection system…… better late than never, it will be ready for the next dry spell….

We will also be mulching perennial beds and preparing ground for planting.

 

 

Summer craft workshop

Grow wild-summer craftsAs part of our summer season of Grow Wild workshops we have Terri Sweeney this coming Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th August, in Llani community food garden.Come and get involved making a mosaic tiled mural for the kitchen wall. Hang out in the sun and discuss future potential for this exciting new space. To keep younger children entertained and anyone else, we will be making wild-flower seed bombs to take home.

Please tell your friends and anyone who may be interested, families, artists, cubs, brownies, scouts etc.. Bring your own lunch. This FREE summer crafty workshop for all, is between 10am – 3pm on both days.

Then this will be followed by Insect sculptures on the 26th and 27th August with Irene Gardiner.

Throughout the summer as part of our Grow Wild summer season we will be creating a wildlife area.  Following the design produced by level 2 gardening students from ‘WEA Cymru Llanidloes’, the area will include a pond, planting, viewing platform and fencing. We are looking for donations of native plants, building materials, peoples time and skills. Please contact the Cultivate’s ‘Get Growing‘ team if you can help. Or visit us in Llanidloes on a Monday 10am – 4pm.

For anyone interested in Getting Growing we still have some micro allotment spaces left and we have a selection of growing courses coming up. From taster half and one day practical courses to regular weekly lessons.

25.9. 14 – Level 2 gardening 22 wks each Thurs 9.30- 3pm. – Llanidloes

26.9.14 – Essential gardening 12 wks each Friday 9.30 – 12 – Llanidloes

26.9.14 – Essential gardening 12 wks each Friday 1- 3.30pm – Newtown

11.10.14- Extend your growing season 10am- 1pm – Llanidloes

3.11.14 – Purely practical – overwintering crops 10am-1pm Llanidloes

9.1.14 – Garden design – design your own garden. 12 wks Friday Morning

20.2.14 – Organic gardening, 20 wks Friday afternoons

21.2.14 – Extend your growing season 10am- 1pm – Llanidloes

21.3.14 – Back garden edibles 9.30 – 1pm – Llanidloes

30.5.14 – Summer pruning 10am – 4.30pm – Newtown

Poster gardening courses 2014

Record breaking Welsh cake

 

Last weekend was the Llani chartered market 734th birthday and to celebrate they made the biggest welsh cake ever, aiming to smash the world record.

_MG_7315Chameleon Engineering made the 6 foot pan to cook it on, whilst Welsh Oak Frames donated the wood for the fire. The fire was prepared and kept going by the Llani scout explorer group in the Llani community food garden.   A large scaffolding tripod was made as a trivet shown here.  A whooping £50 worth of ingredients was donated by the Co-op and mixed up in giant mixing bowls.

_MG_7481 copy Once cooked the pan was carried down Great Oak street, weighed and cut with pastry cutters to make ordinary sized welsh cakes for all to try.

When cooked it weighed a massive 26kgs. A world record – was made by a group of volunteers and then cut up and distributed in aid of Air Ambulance.

The last four were saved to put on eBay, buy one here.

 It was Yummmmy. Well done all involved. See moremoremore.

Grow Wild- wall mural

Wall art LlaniLast week saw the first of our ‘Grow Wild’ summer art workshops. The good weather and the start of the school holidays saw a good number of youths getting involved. Thanks to Irene Gardiner for leading the workshop based on creative art to do with biodiversity and wildlife.

We have two more workshops coming up….. mossacia tile walls for the kitchen area with Terry. Followed by insect sculpture with Irene. Come and join in,bring a picnic and stay the day, these workshops are free to all.

This summer we will be finishing the wildlife area and pond. There will be some more top soil coming out of the pond area, so the perfect time to fill a raised bed and there are still a couple of plots left if anyone wants one please get in touch with the cultivate team.

International evening in Llanidloes food garden

Photo-0102Llanidloes Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts enjoyed a sunny international evening in the community garden Llanidloes on Wednesday 14th May. The younger Beavers and Cubs made bugs from around the world whilst older children made bunting to represent different nations.

international evening

The older Scouts and explorers sawed and chopped wood and made a fire in the cob oven for cooking pizza’s and made a fire to sit around. Everyone enjoyed traditional Italian style pizza from the clay oven, about 40 in all.  Stacks of pancakes with sweet treat toppings were consumed and drinks from around the world were tasted, such as: laasi from India and Ice tea from the States.

 

fire-pit seating area

Llanidloes Scouts are  fundraising for a trip to the international scout camp in Kandesteg, Switzerland. The 9 participants will be part of a jamboree camp with over 1000 Scouts worldwide. While individuals are paying for their own transport, camp fees and food, they are fundraising to take part in extra events such as staying in alpine huts high in the mountains and glacier walking.

willow fenceThe Scouts from Llanidloes will be sharing Welsh culture by inviting other nations to supper to share food, songs and games as well as exchanging Welsh symbols such as daffodil badges, rugby motifs etc while at the jamboree. They will also be visiting other nationalities to learn about their cultures.

April in Llanidloes

sunken seatThings are developing fast in the Llani food garden. The sunken seating area has now had the wood slated seat fitted. This is made out of local untreated larch. Our aim was to give a more rounded seating area, the corners are to be covered with mosaic tiled art work made as part of a series of workshops during the summer with local artist Irene Gardiner.

wildlife area first plantings and new stepsOur next project is to develop the wildlife area which is part of the Grow Wild project funded by Kew Gardens and the National Lottery. In this area we are developing a wildlife pond, the soil being removed from this area will be used to fill micro allotment plots on a first come first serve basis. We have started to build the steps down through the terrace beds, these are also made from chunky untreated local larch.

Rosie tending her allotmentWe have a good team of regular volunteers now, which enables us to get a lot done each Monday during a volunteer sessions 10am – 4pm. Micro allotments are starting to come into use now and some of the plots that were started earlier in the year are even starting to get a harvest. There are still some available plots at only £10 a year. All tools are available on site and assistance available if needed on Mondays.

The willow hurdles we made earlier in the year are looking great around the seating area and so Level 2 gardening students are constructing some more to go on the other side. We will be making some more later in the summer to fence of the pond area, so if you are interested in getting involved get in touch.

oven open day

Andy cooking pizza in the clay ovenMothers day, glorious sunshine and the first bake in our new clay oven attracted 46 people to our open day and wild workshops.

Andy and Leanne from’ Andy’s artisan bread’ fired up the clay oven and spent the afternoon cooking pizza’s for all the visitors. The oven worked well and the pizza’s tasted great, first pizza- Ralph & Hannahaccompanied with lots of fresh salad harvested from one of our polytunnels at the Newtown community garden.

Hannah and Ralph snapped up the first pizza out of the oven. The base was a little sandy and grey with ash, but they got better as the day went on and as Andy mastered cooking in the new oven.open day- eating area

This project has been funded by GwirVol youth led grant scheme, that paid for the materials for the construction of the oven and seating area,  workshops in clay & willow and volunteer opportunities in construction, cementing, block and brick wall building and plastering.

We had been busy this week finishing the sunken seating area and today open day-seating areawe put the fire bowl in place and the local youths lit a fire and heated up marshmallows, having lots of fun and really enjoying this new space. It is a multi purpose area, that can be used by all ages. Parent and toddlers will be able to throw down a rug and some toys and use it for containing the little ones while they work on their allotments or enjoy a chat. While others can take the fire bowl from the shed when needed.

seating area and fire bowl

We started the day running workshops in making bug hotels and wild flower seed bombs. Individuals could choose their materials for making the bug hotels, using moss, wool, hollow sticks and leaves they tied them together or slotted the Bug hotel - zeff Lyonmaterial into tubes or bottles. These were then putt into place in our larger hotel between the oil tanks in the wildlife area or they could be taken home. We also were making wild flower seed bombs made from a mix of sand and clay rolled in wild UK native annual meadow flowers. The flower bombs were put into egg boxes to be taken home and then Gary & Kids making wildflower seed bombsdistributed. The open day was 10-2 pm but with it being mothers day and the clocks changing it was a slow start, although it turned out to be such a beautiful sunny day people came for pizza at lunch and stayed till around 5-6 pm and made the most of the new garden and the weather.

We have just been awarded another grant called ‘Grow wild’ this funded the native seeds for the wild flower seed bombs and will be funding many more workshops during the summer. Our next project is to develop the wild life area designed by level 2 gardening students. This will have a large pond and bog garden planted with UK native plants. We will be constructing a small fence to ensure child safety and a viewing platform over the pond. The craft workshops coming up will be run by local artists Irene and Terry, dates to be confirmed. There will be painting a mural in the eating area, mosaic tiles for the kitchen and making insects out of recycled materials.

 

 

Llanidloes meeting and eating place

We have been busy in the Llanidloes garden during the last month finishing the clay oven and sunken seating area that has been funded by a youth lead grant from pavo. Creating the sunken seating area by converting an old crumbly greenhouse base. At times it has looked like we are making a swimming pool, but it is draining and the cement and rendering is now nearly all dry.

Willow workshopweaving willowWe held a one day willow workshop with Beryl Smith to make 5 hurdles that will surround two sides of the seating area to give shelter and privacy.

We had a fantastic hot spring day and everyone enjoyed learning skills in this traditional craft.

 

Some of the willow had been harvested locally just outside Llanidloes at Cae Felyn market garden. The rest came from a willow coppice on Bulmers water purifying land. Willow is a fantastic renewable resource, coppiced every year it increases yields year on year, giving straight lengths of a couple of metres.

completed willow hurdles

 

The hurdles are going to look great around the seating area, but first we need to cut out some tarmac and cement in place some posts.  These hurdles will go in place when the cementing and rendering is finished in the sunken seating area.

 

starting cementing

 

We eventually finished digging out the soil, which has been used to fill some of the raised beds. We smashed up some old broken bricks and paving to give a hard core base and then started cementing the base.

Bill rendering

Local builder Bill kindly gave up his Saturday to teach volunteers how to mix cement and render the wall. Also fixing the fence posts in place ready for supporting the willow hurdles.

This Monday regular volunteers Rhys and Luke continued with cementing the base, positioning some slate slabs to brighten up the cement.

 

Rhys & Luke cementingWork will be continuing this week to finish the seating area ready for our open day this Sunday. When we will be firing up the clay oven and Andy local artisan bread maker will be cooking up some pizza, whilst visitors will be able to take part in making a bug hotel or make some wild flower seed bombs to take home.

 

Clay oven and open day in Llanidloes

Oven insulating layerWe started the second day of the clay oven workshop glad to find it had survived the rain and wind over night. The clay hadn’t dried as much as we hopped which meant we had to progress slowly during the day. We mixed up the clay slip with sawdust to make the insulating layer and applied that it stages.

time for teaWe had to leave it then to dry, so lots of time for tea and chats. Lots of visitors popped in to take a look at the progress around the site and sign up for a micro allotment. The final layer will be finished next Monday during our regular volunteering session.

Meanwhile we continued to work on the sunken seating area,  regular volunteer Brian gaining help from Aidan and little Sammy. We are now ready for constructing the bench seat and putting in a solid floor.

sunken seating area

Two of the micro allotment holders have bought raised beds from our cultivate site in Newtown, so while we had some time Alexandra and I put the  beds together.

We have a regular volunteer day every Monday and have several events coming up. Including a willow weaving course with local weaver Beryl Smith. Sunday 9th March only £5. We will be lighting the oven and having a Pizza lunch with local artisan bread maker Andy on Sunday 30th March. The same day we are running a bug hotel making session for all the family 10am – 2pm.

raised beds

Clay oven workshop

Oven building 1Today was the first day of our 2 day clay oven workshop and open day. It was a lovely sunny day, which was a relief after all the wind and rain.

Oven building 2People of all ages came to have a look around the garden, sign up for a micro allotment and get involved with making the clay oven.

In the afternoon we had time to get started with the sunken seating area. We finished removing the inner breeze block wall and soil. The youths enjoyed smashing up the blocks to make hard core needed for the floor base. We are now ready to start rendering the walls tomorrow, weather permitting.

Looking forward to another action packed day tomorrow, when we will be adding an insulating layer to the oven then more clay. All welcome to come and join in.

Oven building 3