Farm Club's lovely food drawings!

Some lovely vegetable pictures by the kids at farm club...

Wimbledon Wunderland

Just down the road from the farm and garden is Wimbledon College of Art. They have just started their own blog page. I just wanted to show you Franks wonderful Orchid collection. very beautiful.http://wimbledontechnicians.myblog.arts.ac.uk/the-garden/franks-orchid-page/

Introduction to Food Growing Workshop

Growing Gardens Project

Introduction to Food growing  Workshop

The day will include all you need to know to get started in food growing and what to do in your garden now. You will learn about crop rotation, sowing, planting and harvesting, planning what to grow and more. 

The workshop will be run by Ecolocal—All welcome and no experience needed—Refreshments provided please bring a packed lunch.

Date: Sat 18th Aug 2012

Time: 10.30am – 3pm

Price: £20 for visitors, £15 concessions, volunteers £10

Location:

Deen City Farm

39 Windsor Avenue

Merton Abbey

London, SW19 2RR

www.deencityfarm.co.uk  

To book a place please call us on 020 8543 5300 or email Louisa on louisa.loakes@deencityfarm.co.uk  

Back in the day

While sorting through my files yesterday I came across this photograph, which I believe was taken at the old site of Deen City Farm down Church Road. What a wonderful photo. Then... I came across the photo, below on the back it reads ' Derelict allotment in the centre of a high rise estate, soon to be developed as a community garden.' Initially i thought it might be the phipps bridge allotment, but i am unsure.  I have been told by someone local to this area that the three high rise building to the right no longer exist? If you have any ideas, do let me know!

  

Then...I remembered that we had some more photographs from the old site in our portacabin. I have taken photos of these to share. Are you one of these people? They are just such lovely pictures!



Today and the weekend

Pop along to the garden over the weekend. We are part of the Open Gardens Squares Weekend.....

Open Garden Squares Weekend is organised by the London Parks & Gardens Trust (LPGT), who work to protect and promote London's green open spaces.

Here is a little bit of history about OGSW...

Squares are one of the defining features of London. Like other European cities, London has its grand civic spaces, but no other city has developed the garden square in quite the same way. 
London squares are different because they were built for people to live in. The layout of Georgian and Victorian squares created an ordered, spacious arrangement of streets and leafy open spaces which has made an enduring contribution to the quality of life in London. 
Today, London’s squares are a vital part of the city’s fabric: a focus for local communities, attractive to tourists, and pleasant places for Londoners in which to live, work and relax. They can also be a haven for wildlife, important links in the green chain between the city’s parks and back gardens, and occasional oases in built-up areas. 
Social changes, two world wars, building development and neglect all took their toll on squares in the 20th century. The London Squares Act of 1931 was hugely important in protecting more than 400 of the city’s squares from being built over, and without it many of the squares we enjoy today may not have survived. 
Today, private squares with their mysterious, shady gardens co-exist with those run by councils, more open in their layouts and often with playgrounds and sports facilities. Public ownership has allowed more people to enjoy the delights of squares, which provide vital access to recreation and green surroundings in poorer urban areas. 
Events such as Open Garden Squares Weekend allow public access each year to many of the private squares, ensuring that their contribution to London’s environment can be appreciated by all. 
Awareness of the value of London’s parks and gardens has grown in recent years, and there is renewed commitment to the conservation and improvement of squares, both public and private. English Heritage has undertaken several major restorations, and many smaller renovations have been completed, thanks to support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, local authorities and others. 
This site tells the story of squares, and highlights how much has been done - and remains to be done - to preserve this integral part of London’s landscape.

Volunteers have been putting the bunting up ready for the weekend....

Tickets for the weekend are available in our farm shop. 

To find out about other gardens that are part of the weekend click on this link... http://www.opensquares.org/

And today.... many thanks to Volunteers Alex and Randy for creating our 2012 front bed. Alex has grown all these plants from seed and Randy has helped to plant them out. There is an assortment of Calendula, Nicotiana and cosmos, I will look forward to seeing them all in full bloom - a colourful and cheerful entrance to the farm, I think!   

Have a great Diamond Jubilee weekend everyone!

Flag by Volunteer Andrew

Just a short note to wish everyone a wonderful jubilee weekend and If you haven't already got anything arranged...The farm is celebrating jubilee weekend by joining in with the BIG LUNCH on the 3rd of June.  There will be lots of tables laid out so bring a picnic 11am - 3pm. Come and join us, the more the merrier! www.deencityfarm.co.uk 

Elderflower recipe

This is a photo of the first flowering elderflower in the garden project for 2012. I love elderflower. Making elderflower cordial is one of my favorite things to do each year...batches and batches of it (slightly obsessively i think!) Its also quite expensive to buy in the shops so their is nothing better than being able to harvest the flowers and make it for yourself for next to nothing. I thought I would share a recipe with you... 

Elderflower Cordial

250g elderflowers, cleaned1.1L 

water 900g

caster sugar

50g citric acid

2 lemons

2 limes

Bring the water to the boil, pour the boiling water over the sugar. Stir to dissolve and let it cool completely.
Wash and cut the lemons and limes in quaters and add to the stock syrup.
Pick the elderflowers and remove any dead bits and leaves. Place the elderflowers in a colander and wash under cold running water.
Let the elder flowers drain while the stock syrup cools.
Once the stock syrup is cold add the elderflowers and the citric acid, mix and place the mixture in a deep container in the fridge, place a layer of clingfilm directly on top of the mixture.
Let the cordial infuse for 48 hours, stir a couple of times during this period.
Pass the cordial through a fine sieve and pour into sterilised bottles. Keep refrigerated.

Makes aproxiamtly 2 litres of elderflower cordial

Food Fanatics Tips
If you add the elderflowers to they syrup while it's still boiling hot you will scorch the flowers and it will change the taste of the cordial. I have made this mistake in the past and the end result is not pleasant. Instead of keeping the cordial in bottles you can pour the cordial into ice cube trays and freeze them, this saves space and it will keep slightly longer.


Read more: http://www.britishlarder.co.uk/elderflower-cordial/#ixzz1vhA1Zkfs

Oh.... and here is our giant fennel progress...its now very tall and spectacular!.....enjoy the sunshine everyone!

Herb Growing Workshop

Workshops are back. I am pleased to be posting our first Garden workshop for 2012!  Come and learn about herbs, what you can do with them and how to grow them. Spaces are limited, so get in quick to avoid dissopointment.  To book a place or for more information please email me on louisa.loakes@deencityfarm.co.uk or call 020 8543 5300.

Date: Sunday 1st July 2012

Time: 10.30am – 3pm

Price: £20 for visitors, £15 concessions, volunteers £10

Location:

Deen City Farm

39 Windsor Avenue

Merton Abbey

London, SW19 2RR

www.deencityfarm.co.uk  

We are planning on running one workshop per month on gardening/food growing subjects, so please keep checking this blog for all up-to-date details on all our workshops. Cheers!    

Made by the people for the people

Myself and Will Waterhouse (Fizzy Roof Designer) were asked to do a talk at Hackney City farm on our cob building and Fizzy Bottle Project, for the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. The building was about involving as many people in the local community as possible, along with being built fron re-used materials to demonstrate what you can do with urban waste and having a beautiful, educational and functional space to use on a daily basis.  To prepare for the talk we had to go through many  photographs from the start of the project to now. I thought it might be nice to share a few of the best photos with you... 

The start

The cob wall building workshop

The William Morris inspired recycled tile floor!

In need of a roof....

The start of the bottle collection for the Fizzy Bottle Roof. Only 7500 to collect!

The design

The Fizzy Bottle Community Build day.

The inside of the roof

For sale sign posts and lots of bottle tops. 

Last stage - lime and clay rendering.

Many thanks to everyone who was involved in the project.