Thanks to all for the lovely and positive feedback we have received regarding the community herb planter we put out at the Pavilion in early May. If you haven’t yet seen it, pop along and help yourself to some herbs. We’ve planted them to share with the community. The planter currently contains: Oregano Thyme, Sage, Mint, Salad Burnet, Chives and Parsley. The idea is for people to take a pinch or a snip, only as much as they need for free. More details including some culinary usage can be found here.
We are currently planning an exciting community event for Saturday 21st July. This will involve more planters and an opportunity for families to get involved. You can keep up to date by signing up to our newsletter or check out our Facebook page @greeningchinnor.
Sunday, 27 May 2018
Seed & Plant Swap
We would like to thank the good people of Chinnor for their amazing support that they gave us at our recent Seed & Plant Swap. It seems that the whole village was queuing up to donate plants and seeds whilst choosing what they wanted to plant in return. We are delighted to say that we are already starting to plan next year’s event.
Monday, 21 May 2018
What a year... so far!
I think the first part of 2018 must be one of the busiest we've ever had. So just in case you missed it, here's what we have been up to.
First was a tree and hedge planting session in January where together with some of your local Parish Councillors, we put in some glorious young trees to replace those that needed felling in Conigre. In addition a row of native hedging was planted in order to help prevent youngsters having easy access to the traffic dangers of Station Road
Our expert team of volunteer fixers were able to mend or offer progressive advice to everything that was brought in with the exception of a single broken iron.
24 items examined
61.6 kilos weighed
Fixed 20 (40 kilos)
Advice given 3 (20 kilos)
Unfixable 1 (1.5 kilos)
The cornucopia of items received were:
a bike, 2 cd players, a ceramic bowl and tray, a waxed jacket, an iron, an extension lead, a printer, a lamp, a padlock, taps, a small watering can, a spider catcher, tent poles, a tyre gauge, a drill charger, chicken bone cutters, secateurs, a hobby horse, small action toys, a small wooden dolls chair, a small Victorian chair and a small leather mystery. If the owner ever finds out what it is, please let us know.
Look out for details of our next Repair Cafe coming up in the autumn. In the meantime, if you would like to get involved either as a fixer or facilitator please email Linda at greeningchinnor@gmail.com.
Spring Community Litter Pick
We had our belated Community Litter Pick on Sunday 29th April. Despite winter not wanting to finally depart we had an excellent turnout. We were particularly pleased to see some children from the Beavers group turning up to lend a hand. For the first time we made sure that Old Kiln Lakes was included on our clean up. As always, unfortunately, there is still much too much rubbish discarded by the thoughtless.
Incredible Edibles
As part of Chinnor’s contribution to the Incredible Edible Network started in Todmordon, we have planted up our first Community Herb Planter in half an oak barrel outside the Pavilion. There is a good selection of some common and not so common culinary herbs and are there for community use. So go along an take a pinch or have a snip of chives and use them in cooking or in salads. Please just take a what you need and leave some for your fellow residents.
We will be inviting you to join us in placing our next community planters soon so watch this space!
Seed & Plant Swap
Nearly there (phew). We had an excellent turnout of plant donations and garden 'stuff' (as well as customers) at our Seed and Plant swap at the Green Living Event/Giant Swap Shop Event on Saturday 12 May. We even had some garden tools donated which soon found a good home. Last year we swapped or gave, for a small donation, almost 1000 plants - well this year we did even better and totally lost count of what came in or went out. Thanks to your generosity we made enough in donations to help fund next years event. Any plants that were leftover after the event were split and given to Open Gardens and Christian Aid Week.
First was a tree and hedge planting session in January where together with some of your local Parish Councillors, we put in some glorious young trees to replace those that needed felling in Conigre. In addition a row of native hedging was planted in order to help prevent youngsters having easy access to the traffic dangers of Station Road
| Chinnor Repair Cafe We are pleased to say that Greening Chinnor are part of the innovative Repair Cafe Oxfordshire Programme supported by The CAG Network and Oxfordshire County Council. This initiative is happening across Oxfordshire to tackle the growing issue of waste and change the way we view normal household items like toasters and radios. Repair Cafes are a social event where people with broken items are matched with skilled people who like fixing things. The focus being on skill-sharing where rather than throwing items in the bin, attendees will be invited to learn how to fix their item alongside the volunteer fixers. April saw the launch of Chinnor's first Repair cafe. We all had a great afternoon and huge thanks go to our team of “experts” and fixers who worked wonders on the stream of varied items placed in front of them. Also to our team of facilitators who made sure everyone was looked after as well as serving a steady stream of tea and homemade cakes. In addition one of our fixers gave a couple of excellent sessions where he demonstrated how householders can make simple inexpensive fixes to some common plumbing problems.   |
Our expert team of volunteer fixers were able to mend or offer progressive advice to everything that was brought in with the exception of a single broken iron.
24 items examined
61.6 kilos weighed
Fixed 20 (40 kilos)
Advice given 3 (20 kilos)
Unfixable 1 (1.5 kilos)
The cornucopia of items received were:
a bike, 2 cd players, a ceramic bowl and tray, a waxed jacket, an iron, an extension lead, a printer, a lamp, a padlock, taps, a small watering can, a spider catcher, tent poles, a tyre gauge, a drill charger, chicken bone cutters, secateurs, a hobby horse, small action toys, a small wooden dolls chair, a small Victorian chair and a small leather mystery. If the owner ever finds out what it is, please let us know.
Look out for details of our next Repair Cafe coming up in the autumn. In the meantime, if you would like to get involved either as a fixer or facilitator please email Linda at greeningchinnor@gmail.com.
Spring Community Litter Pick
We had our belated Community Litter Pick on Sunday 29th April. Despite winter not wanting to finally depart we had an excellent turnout. We were particularly pleased to see some children from the Beavers group turning up to lend a hand. For the first time we made sure that Old Kiln Lakes was included on our clean up. As always, unfortunately, there is still much too much rubbish discarded by the thoughtless.
Incredible Edibles
As part of Chinnor’s contribution to the Incredible Edible Network started in Todmordon, we have planted up our first Community Herb Planter in half an oak barrel outside the Pavilion. There is a good selection of some common and not so common culinary herbs and are there for community use. So go along an take a pinch or have a snip of chives and use them in cooking or in salads. Please just take a what you need and leave some for your fellow residents.
We will be inviting you to join us in placing our next community planters soon so watch this space!
Seed & Plant Swap
Nearly there (phew). We had an excellent turnout of plant donations and garden 'stuff' (as well as customers) at our Seed and Plant swap at the Green Living Event/Giant Swap Shop Event on Saturday 12 May. We even had some garden tools donated which soon found a good home. Last year we swapped or gave, for a small donation, almost 1000 plants - well this year we did even better and totally lost count of what came in or went out. Thanks to your generosity we made enough in donations to help fund next years event. Any plants that were leftover after the event were split and given to Open Gardens and Christian Aid Week.
Sweet Pea - Gardening Advice with an Environmental Slant
Well it looks as though the weather is trying to make amends for the dire period last month. As we have had such a cold and dismal spring, the bees will need all of the help they can get. You will note that there seems to be a record crop of dandelions this year. Don’t rush to cut them down but wait until they are just starting to form seed heads. This will give the bees and ladybirds some valuable support.
Whilst the days are starting to really warm up, the nights can still give us a severe chill. There was a sharp frost last week which has really decimated the early dahlia shoots. You can protect your potatoes by earthing them up. It will also markedly increase the crop
Keep anything that does not need to go in the ground in the greenhouse or cold frame. If you put anything really tender out now then be prepared to replace them. As the soil is starting to warm up you can sow a lot of seeds directly in the ground. Make sure you cover them with fleece as besides keeping them a little warmer it keeps pigeons and flea beetle away.
To keep pests and diseases at bay don’t grow items in the same place every year. Rotate them around your garden or plot on a tri-annual basis.
Good Gardening
Sweet Pea
Whilst the days are starting to really warm up, the nights can still give us a severe chill. There was a sharp frost last week which has really decimated the early dahlia shoots. You can protect your potatoes by earthing them up. It will also markedly increase the crop
Keep anything that does not need to go in the ground in the greenhouse or cold frame. If you put anything really tender out now then be prepared to replace them. As the soil is starting to warm up you can sow a lot of seeds directly in the ground. Make sure you cover them with fleece as besides keeping them a little warmer it keeps pigeons and flea beetle away.
To keep pests and diseases at bay don’t grow items in the same place every year. Rotate them around your garden or plot on a tri-annual basis.
Good Gardening
Sweet Pea
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