Whoo and hoo – this is great news!

It’s trumpet blowing time in Brighton and Hove where The Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project has been voted the best community allotment project in the UK.

The award was given by the Kitchen Garden Magazine in conjunction with the National Allotment Gardens Trust.

Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project is a community food project based on 8 allotment plots in Brighton. The project offers horticultural, educational and social opportunities. But these aren’t your run of the mill allotments.

Along with plots growing organic fruit and vegetables there are wildlife areas with a pond full of newts and frogs, a treehouse/outdoor classroom being built by youth offenders and pupils from the Alternative Centre for Education; a polytunnel, compost loo, firepit and a children’s space including a wattle and daub wendy house. There’s also a forest garden, which recreates the different layers of a forest from tall fruit trees to fruit bushes and herbs.

Kitchen Gardener editor Steve Ott said: “This is a wonderful project, working with some of the areas most disadvantaged and troubled youngsters to give them the chance to get their hands into the soil, grow and taste their own fresh vegetables, and just to have a positive environment in which to interact.”

Warren Carter of MFG said “For many pupils and youth offenders school has failed them. We just try and find the skills they are good at and give them confidence and self belief. We offer an alternative curriculum, teaching not just gardening but building and carpentry skills, woodland management and cooking skills. The allotments are also a great place for a wide range of people who would never usually mix to socialise around a fire and cup of tea, becoming part of the social glue that binds communities together.”

To find out more about the work of the garden go to www.seedybusiness.org



MFG photograph by Simon Tobbit used under a creative commons attribution licence

Labels: allotment-appearance, allotment-news, allotment-open-day

Allotment Open Days

Helen tells me that Brighton and Hove Organic Garden Group’s allotment open day was a tremendous success with over two hundred people turning up! They were very happy that many of those visitors were younger ones, who took part in a Bug Hunt with Dave Bangs and who were able to use the recently planted "wigloo" – see picture - as shelter from the sun. They raised around £270.00 from sales of plants, tea and cakes and bric a brac, which will be donated to Moulsecoomb Forest Garden and Wildlife Project.

I asked her why they’d had an open day and she replied that the allotment project was set up about two years ago to provide the group with a space to meet, work together and demonstrate organic methods of cultivation. The open day allowed them to invite the wider community to see what they’ve been doing and for the allotment volunteers to put their feet up and enjoy the space with their friends and family. BHOGG was set up about six years ago to promote organic gardening and provide a support network for local growers. Monthly meetings and a quarterly newsletter provide spaces for people to share ideas and information. There’s also a gardening advice "hotline" for members and email for enquiries (details below). The group tries to offer a wide range of activities and to make them accessible to as many people as possible. This is important to try and demystify organic gardening which is really just gardening with nature in mind. An organic gardener strives to look after all the creatures that inhabit their gardens and allotments to deliver a harmonious balance. A major focus is the soil - because a healthy soil will produce healthy plants better equipped to fend off predators or disease - so no chemical fertilisers or weedkillers are allowed as these deplete the soil.

There is plenty of information available for would be organic gardeners today. The Garden Organic website is a good place to start www.gardenorganic.org.uk or go to the local library and find a good organic gardening book.


More about BHOGG: To join BHOGG please go to the website at www.bhogg.org where you can download a joining form. For the gardening advice or enquiries email bhoggroup@yahoo.co.uk

Labels: allotment-holder-interview, allotment-open-day, allotment-tips, organic-allotment