March Update

March update:

I hope you are all well and have had an opportunity or two to visit the garden and see all the work that’s been completed, more details below. I am waiting for an update on the security gates and I will forward this as soon as I have more to tell you. A reminder the summer BBQ will be Sat 13^th July 12:30-3pm, Owen’s Animals will be providing a free show for the children at 1pm so make sure you are there in time for it! If you have anything happening in the garden you would like to tell us about please email us the details. The grant for a new bench with access for mobility vehicles and/or pushchairs, plus, the new children’s toys is due to come to us in early April, we’ll be spending it ASAP!

Committee led work parties:

We’ve had lots of work completed by the committee and work parties so far this year, large trees have been pruned and the willow round the pond has been cleared back. We hope the increased light brings life back to the pond, a good sign was that when I arrived at the garden yesterday (19-3-13) there were a pair of mallards on the pond. Work parties are held 10am-12noon the second Sat of the month Feb to Nov (except Mar – see below), please come along and lend a hand.

Corporate visit by Microsoft:

Microsoft came to the ORCG via Connect Reading (www.connectreading.org.uk) (19-03-13) and completed lots of work including the removal of the large grasses by the pond, a tree in one of the flower beds and two large trees behind the veg plots. The pictures below show the garden boundary before the Microsoft visit and the Microsoft soft team proudly showing off the cleared area after some serious hard work.

        

Corporate group visits are an essential source of help in the garden, if you work for a company that would like to volunteer to complete a practical task then please contact us, we have many tasks to complete.

Vegetable Plots:

It is pleasing to see nearly all the veg plots have been started, some of the plot holders have made a good start despite the weather, I hope all the plots will be in use soon, weather permitting, and that the hard work to increase light in this section of the garden pays off with bumper crops!

Reading Rescue 2013:

Reading Rescue is 21-24^th March 2013 (www.readingrescue.org.uk) , ORCG is holding our event on Sat 23^rd 10am-12noon, I hope to see many of you there to help with this annual clean-up event. Can I remind plot holders that part of the agreement to provide free plots is that you contribute towards the garden either in an administrative role or a practical role at work parties or complete regular tasks in the garden. We have a range of tasks to complete, from litter picking to tree pruning to bramble removal, I hope to see some of you there.

Finally a reminder that the clocks change 31^st March 2013, we lose an hour but gain brighter mornings!

Regards,

Ricky Josey

Chair ORCG

June! A hot day.

Today was hot in the garden, and the pond was alive - tadpoles, newts, a waterlily about to flower, and two damsel flies which I photographed on a
friend's hand.

We had a picnic with fresh handpicked lettuce, played frisby and drove the little car around, and tried to count how many tadpoles had grown legs and turned into froglets.


Somehow, the lack of rain meant that the children didn't really need to water the garden much.

Open Day 2008

On the 26th of July 2008, the ORCG had a glorious open day.

There was a BBQ, lots of families and children using the garden as it was meant to be used.

A resource for the local community to enjoy.

Compost toilet is finished.

from Adrian Windisch: "At last the Compost toilet at the Oxford Road Community Garden (www.orcg.co.uk) is finished. I think it's the only one in Reading, probably the first in Berkshire. I've seen and used them at LILI in Buckingham (www.lowimpact.org), and at Sunseed Desert Technology in Spain (www.sunseed.org.uk). I downloaded the instructions from www.humanurehandbook.com. It's a great way to turn what others regard as a waste product into a source of nutrients to enrich the soil. I hope it spreads the message, and it's the first of many."

Work Day at the Garden sees the start of the new Compost Toilet

With help from volunteers from Yell and St Lawrence's Church the 31st July saw the garden transformed. Volunteers dug up beds and an allotment that can now be used and cleared up paths that were barely visible. For the compost toilet the area behind the shelter had to be cleared, the donated shed given a coat of timber preserver, the ground levelled and cleared, blocks laid as a foundation and finally the shed was assembled. The toilet itself will be finished at a later date.

The volunteers did a magnificent job in the hot weather, some areas have been transformed. They, and other groups or individuals, are welcome to help our community garden in the future. Please see our website at www.orcg.co.uk for information on what is happening and for contact details. We're in this week's Reading Chronicle, where I discuss the green benefits or using what others consider a waste product to give nutrients to the soil. Also it will be more convenient for gardeners than going to the fast food outlet next door.

School visits Garden

We had a visit from Wilson Road School today, the children were very interested in the vegetable plots, and the ducks.

Pride of Reading Awards 2006

And the winner of the Pride of Reading Awards Environmental Project was:

The Oxford Road Community Garden

See more pics of the awards ceremony at www.getreading.co.uk/news/2005/2005043/picture_special_pride_of_reading_awards_2006