The Fruitful Porty scheme lets you order apple, pear, plum and cherry trees at subsidised prices through PEDAL. Download the fruit tree list and order now (or order online).
Category Archives: gardening
Lourish ~ Spare produce that you want to swap?
Have you got a million marrows or too many tomatoes?
Swap your surplus for something home grown & healthy near you in just a couple of quick clicks.
Lourish has been launched to help you share what you grow!
Lourish lets you swap your surplus fruit and veg with people growing their own near you.
Sign up & share your own!
First Portobello Organic Market does a roaring trade!
The first Portobello Organic Market took place on a very sunny Saturday 4th September. Over a period of four hours, more than one thousand people descended on Brighton Park to buy lovely local and organic food, drink and crafts. Initial feedback from several local traders suggests that the event had a very positive effect on High Street businesses too.
The market was officially opened with a short speech and ribbon cutting by Councillor Tom Buchanan, Convenor of Economic Development at City of Edinburgh Council.
The market will continue to run on the first Saturday of every month, from 10am to 2pm in Brighton Park. We are looking to ensure future events reflect the feedback we have received — in particular we aim to change the layout of stalls to reduce crowding, and to have a wider range of produce for sale as well as stalls selling teas/coffees and hot and cold snacks.
You can view more information about the Organic Market and how to book a stall via these links.
https://pedal-porty.org.uk/food/portobello-organic-market/pom-stallholders/
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Posted in carbon reduction, Food, gardening, Volunteering
Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens National Networking Day
The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens are having their National Networking Event on Friday, October 8th 2010 at Battleby, near Perth.
Workshops include New Allotments; a look at different allotments models, Livestock on Community Gardens, Social Return on Investment, Selling Produce at Farmers Markets, Orchards, Wildlife Gardening in Winter, Community Gardening and the 2011 Elections, Risk Management and more!
There will be a chance to meet funders, find out about beekeeping, Care Farming, Planning Aid Scotland and hear case studies from other projects. It’s a great opportunity to network, meet like-minded people and share ideas.
For further information please contact naomi@farmgarden.org.uk Tel: 0131 623 7058 Deadline for applications is Friday 16th September 2010.
You can down load booking forms at http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/farms-gardens/your-region/scotland/506-news-a-events
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Posted in events, Food, gardening, Land Reform, Orchards
Summer Pruning course
Many folk would like to gain confidence in pruning fruit trees and fruit bushes. The Summer Pruning course to be run at the Community Orchard off Brunstane Road South on the evening (6.30pm‑8.30pm) of Thursday 19th of August is for those who want to learn how to get the most from their fruit trees etc by judicious pruning. Contact Peter Upton or Polly Cooke if you’d like to register for this one-off evening course. There’ll be a booking fee of £10 to reserve your place, though there’ll be no further cost.
Telferton Allotment Open Day, 29th August
Open day at Telferton Allotments
date for your diary, Sunday 29th August 2010.
Details to follow
Dig In Porty! Free courses on growing your own veg
Would you be interested in learning to grow more of your own fruit and veg?
We hope to offer a short course over 4 Saturdays, beginning on the 29th of May at Telferton Allotments. At the moment we are only able to offer the course to six people on a first-come, first-served basis. This course on growing Spring and Summer Greens will cover the theory and practice of digging, understanding your soil, compost, seed sowing and care of your plants.
If there is sufficient interest we’d like to run other courses on how to grow in raised beds & containers, and on growing potatoes.
Courses are being offered free, although there will be a small charge (£10) to cover the cost of seeds and some materials.
If you or someone you know is interested in these courses, or in being kept informed of other courses PEDAL may offer in the future, please contact Peter (peter@pedal-porty.org.uk) or Polly (polly@pedal-porty.org.uk).
We look forward to hearing from you!
Posted in Composting, Courses, events, Food, gardening
Midsummer Orchard Party; Orchard Work Days; Orchard Group Meeting
MIDSUMMER’S PARTY — SATURDAY 19 JUNE — at the Orchard, at a time to be confirmed but likely to be early evening onwards.
The next orchard work day will take place on Saturday 12th June, from 10 am — 2 pm. Everyone is welcome!
The next Orchard Group meeting will take place on Wednesday 17th June at 7.30 pm in the Dalriada.
Subsequent orchard work days are as follows:
Saturday 12 June from 10 am — 2 pm
Saturday 17 July from 10 am — 2 pm
Saturday 28 August from 10 am — 2 pm
Saturday 25 September from 10 am — 2 pm
Saturday 30 October from 10 am — 2 pm — HALLOWE’EN CELEBRATION
Saturday 20 November from 10 am — 2 pm
Saturday 18 December from 10 am — 2 pm — WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION
Hope to see at some of these events. Please make sure to bring something to eat and drink and wear appropriate clothing, especially now the nettles have sprung up again. Even better, bring some thick gloves and a bag to collect some for soup!
What to bring (if you can):
- Gardening tools (fork, spade, shears, etc) if you have them
- Gardening gloves
- Wear work clothes with long sleeves and legs (there are thistles and nettles!)
The bees need you…
photo: Jane Lewis
The bees need you and we need the bees! Bees are important pollinators and honey producers; their numbers are declining. As part of the orchard project PEDAL are considering keeping bee hives in the orchard. It would need a committed group with,or to train to get, the skills to set up and look after the hives through the year.It could be a fascinating and rewarding way to spend some time.
If you are interested in this idea contact Tom Ballantine — ballantinehome@tiscali.co.uk or phone 0131 669 0582
Porty Community Growing Space
Porty Community Garden Poster (click to download larger version for printing)
Edinburgh Community Gardening Activists & PEDAL have teamed up to turn a large neglected garden area at the back of Porty Town Hall into a community growing space — Food ‘n’ Flowers! If you would like the opportunity to have a bash at growing a few veggies, or even just help out, please get in touch for more details!
If you have any old/unused gardening tools you’d like to donate, please let us know!
Work days are held most weekends (usually a Sunday)—details are on our blogsite but the next few are:
- Sun 30th August, 2 – 5pm
- Sat 5th Sept, 2 – 5pm
- Sun 13th Sept, 2 – 5pm
- Sat 19th Sept, 2 – 5pm
You’ll need to wear sensible old clothing and gardening gloves. Bring any tools (spades, forks, loppers etc) if you have them!
Become a Rebel Tomato for some gardening fun and a bit of hard work!
Contact: Lucy on (0131) 669 7201 or E‑mail: Edinburghguerrillagardeners@live.co.uk
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Posted in Composting, events, gardening, Orchards