TRANSITION Town Wellington’s community gardening group have had a mixed bag for 2024.

The wet weather up until May was posing a problem and delayed progress with developing the Fox’s Field Forest Garden.

We could not get a delivery of either compost or woodchip onto the field, which we use to cover the ground and mark out the patterns of planting beds and paths.

We also could not use the mower inside the forest garden which meant the grass got very long.

However, despite these problems we still met here once per week, and with a slightly soggy team, managed to mulch and weed around the trees, move the fence from the herb area to the new area, and moved the bales that were weighing the black plastic clearance mulch down.

We sowed a mixture of green manure/cover crop seeds into the bare soil, which started very waterlogged, then became too dry!

But luckily it still grew, due in part to the diversity of seed species - mustard and radish surviving the wet and clovers preferring the dry.

It looked beautiful, too, all summer, providing nectar for the insects that managed to survive the wet winter.

By June, things were looking up.

Having planted numerous annual vegetables in the bales to only get eaten by slugs, the third or fourth try resulted in some squashes and courgettes, garlic and potatoes starting to grow.

Without a grant for the new area, we shared out seeds between our gardening team, and despite some not germinating in the cold spring, Greg managed to grow some red veined sorrel and cardoons, Steve grew lots of liquorice, and Kate grew perennial welsh onions.

These, and some beans and sweetcorn grown by Flip, started off planting in the new area.

In August, we had fantastic news in that we were one of five community groups in the country chosen by Blue Diamond Garden Centres to receive a £2,000 grant, to spend at our local Blackdown Garden Centre for our project.

This will give us not just the plants to fill the new area, but tools and a bench which will last for years to come, and also six hours of expert advice from Blackdown Garden Centre to help us with horticultural skills.

Once the weather became better we also found numbers of volunteers increased, so we have now almost completed mulching the new area with cardboard, topped with compost and woodchip, weighing it down, and marking out the pattern of planting areas and paths.

Underneath this mulch we have been planting spring flowering bulbs, which will provide flowers for cutting, pollen and nectar for pollinators, and some providing leaves you can eat.

If you would like to join the community gardening group you would be very welcomed, you do not need any prior gardening experience.

It is a good way to meet new people and get outside for fresh air and exercise, plus the satisfaction of completing a task together is very rewarding.

There is no commitment to come every time, just turn up when you can.

Do wear suitable shoes; we have tools and some gloves.

Children are welcome, too, but must be accompanied by an adult

If you want to come as part of a large group or have any special requirements, please email [email protected] at least 24 hours before the session.

You can see a map of all the sites TTW manage in Wellington here www.ttw.org.uk/sites, and full directions along with a diary of when and where the sessions are can be found here www.ttw.org.uk/calendar.

I hope we meet soon!