What to do and what to grow now!

This Sunday volunteers will continue to sow broadbeans and early peas, winter hardy lettuce and pak choi under cloches, and also some herbs in the glasshouse. If there’s time we will also give the walkway a very high tech non-slip coating (chicken wire!) and if it continues to rain like it wants to wash us away, we’ll go indoors and lust over seed catalogues with a hot cup of tea.

If you’d like to volunteer, please email us (urbanveg@contacts.bham.ac.uk) for an application form.

For more information on WHAT TO GROW NOW try Garden Organic, they have great seasonal advice.

In the warm and dry this Sunday we have a very exciting course on willow weaving. Attendees will make their own basket and learn invaluable skills for the future.

If you’d like to learn how to weave willow, Urban Veg is please to announce we will have two new dates in the New Year. To take part please email us (urbanveg@contacts.bham.ac.uk) and we’ll get back to you when course dates and times are confirmed.

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Be Part of Birmingham’s Big Dig

Help the Big Dig happen in Birmingham

Birmingham! 2013 is the time to make a noise about your community gardens and food growing groups.

Supported by gardening organisations and charities across Birmingham The Big Dig will promote urban growing activities by providing free publicity, networking and advice to new and established projects.

Over 20 food growing groups have already signed up. If you’d like to be part of it, or if you’d just like some more information, have a look at the Growing Birmingham articles or get in touch urbanveg@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Urban Veg Digs Sundays

A naturally-occurring Sunday gardening group has sprouted at Urban Veg!

On Sunday mornings a small group emerges and works ‘til lunch tending the land, planning and dreaming of harvests for the following year. The work is varied but always accompanied by chatter, inspiring ideas, tea and even a bit of German (don’t cut your fingers on the baumschere!).

It’s often said that good things start small but I reckon they start better with cake! So far we’ve warmed our hands on mugs of tea and re-energised with Rachel’s Lemon and Thyme cake, had one of our 5-a-day with Lena’s pumpkin cake (even though it was smothered in chocolate, I still claim it was healthy!) and people were very kind about my carrot muffins.

Cake keeps me going but the joy of gardening with others makes me skip down the road on a Sunday!

Clare, Coordinator @urbanvegwhg

Rachel and her tropical offering. If this grows well we could end up eating pineapple cake!

If you’re interested in joining us on a Sunday or volunteering in any capacity at Urban Veg then please, drop us a line urbanveg@contacts.bham.ac.uk or tweet @urbanvegwhg

Activities coming up:

Help us make the garden wheel-friendly (renovate raised beds and pathways)

Hard work but we’re worth it (work day to fix our polytunnel space)

Sow the seeds of Urban Veg (broad beans, garlic and over-wintering onions)

Feed the soil, feed the belly (mulch and manure spreading)

Perennial jobs (weeding, better done over a chat)

Release your inner-carpenter (help to build structures for info boards and bikes)

Get graphic (help us design signs for the garden)