Salute to Solanum (lycopersicum) pt.2

You're so EdibleI popped up to Forest Hill station this afternoon for the Edible High Road event. A good load of people braved the changeable weather, a kids school band belted out some tunes and there were a couple of stalls handing out free plants, how good is that for a Saturday afternoon?

I got some healthy pea plants off the Forest Hill Society and a handful of tomato seedlings off Mihaly from Dig This Nursery in New Cross (they must be the only garden centre in the UK with a record shop attached) who knows a few things about tomatoes (see the post above).

All the plants went in the garden as soon as I got home and put under some protection just to settle them in tonight (even though they’ve been hardened off.) I do hope the event got a few more people interested in that there gardening lark!

Didn’t he do well? Not really

didn't he do well

I painted two panels of the fence this afternoon after a hiatus of two years. I have two more panels to do to complete the job which I will get around to next weekend if all goes well (that’s what I said last time!)

Thanks to Theresa Webb at Kitchen Buddy for letting us know about her great wild food walk in Hither Green on Sunday 18th May as part of the Hither Green Festival & also for telling us about the London Permaculture Festival on 6th July 2014.Hither Green Festival

Also thanks to Lewisham Gardens for letting us know about a few things, firstly The Hither Green Festival Seed Swap event on Sunday 18th May (see above) and for informing us about the World Naked Gardening Day over the weekend. I couldn’t stop laughing as how mad is that? Do some naked pruning in your front garden next year on world naked gardening day and your neighbours WILL be calling the police!

World naked gardening day

And finally for letting us know about next week’s Edible High Road festival in Forest Hill. It’s on Saturday 10th May at Forest Hill Station Forecourt, Devonshire Road, Forest Hill SE23 3HB from 2pm-4pm with live music and free plants. I got some great seeds and tomato plants there last year and it’s worth a visit. For more info here.

Naked

You take the high road (and I’ll take the flu jab)

beans and more beans

Thanks to Lewisham Gardens (it was great meeting you!) for inviting us to the Edible High Road event in Forest Hill last Saturday. Due to having a stinker of a flu combined with an argumentative child in tow, I turned up too early to see Matthew Wilson from GQT but I did see some of the fruit trees in pots with their accompanying herbs, great stuff! I also picked up a couple of freebies that are always appreciated here, three runner beans (from the nice people at friends of Hornimans or Forest Hill Society? sorry I can’t remember which one they were) which went in the back garden as soon as I got home. Only one plant survived the night though (slugs? moths? cats? I have no idea, but they ain’t there now!)

Dig this! weeds up to me knees

I also got some tomato plants (one a sweet cherry tomato called “Vilma”) from the nice guys at Dig This Nursery in New Cross which is situated next door to the Hobgoblin pub opposite the New Cross Gate train station. It’s a great place, they have plants galore, lots of varieties of tomatoes, their own brand of seeds (Happy Seeds – aimed at the younger market, all with great illustrations, bright packets and info you possibly wouldn’t have known about the plant), some gallery space (to Marc B and Marc G, it might be a good place to show your work) and to cap it all, some boxes of second hand records. What more do you want out of a nursery?

Dig this!_1Although I only stayed a short while, it’s brilliant there are events like this, making people more aware of gardening and how easy it is to grow your own food!  Big shout to all involved and for the free plants and seeds, ta!