Reaching the peak of summer means that we have reached the season of bountiful harvests! Ending a volunteer session by sharing out some homegrown fruit and veg is always particularly rewarding. Last session we harvested kale, peas, artichokes, radishes, beetroot and cucumber. Cucumbers are one of my favourite foods, last year I went to Bulgaria where the cucumbers are much smaller, tastier and less watery and I have been determined to try and grow some of this variety. My first attempts were all eaten by slugs but now we are finally reaping the rewards. My other favourite food to grow and eat are peas – I think most dishes are improved with a handful of peas although the ones we harvest at Station South are generally eaten straight from the pod while gardening. My main advice with regards to crop planning is to grow what you enjoy eating as things will always taste 100x better straight from the garden.

The other crop we have had a lot of this year is kale. While this is traditionally harvested as an autumn crop, a benefit of direct sowing means you get lots of plants that need to be thinned out. Some people find the process of thinning out stressful and wasteful but I enjoy the power (read into that what you will). There is also a horticultural reason to do this as if plants don’t have enough space to grow then they will impede on each others growth. The best way to thin out is to start by choosing which crops look heathiest and making space around them working towards even space between all plants. You may have to lose some promising plants in the process but things like kale can be replanted where there is more space (this is unlikely to work for root vegetables) and you can always eat even the smallest crops while leaving the rest to fully mature.

Hopefully all the talk of free veg has encouraged people to come the volunteer sessions. These are still taking place every Thursday morning 10-12.30 afterwards we have lunch in Station South. In addition to all the harvesting, the plans for August are deadheading and seed saving as well as rescuing lots of the flowers from the heatwave by cutting back, replanting and dividing. If you are interested in coming along then just turn up on Thursday or drop me an email. There are a couple of events in the garden which will conincide with Levenshulme Pride. The first is gardening for mindfulness on 12th August – where I will give some tips on how plants can improve your wellbeing – book here. There is also a tree walk on 15th August in Highfield Country Park after which there will be DJs at Station South and lots of events throughout Levenshulme.