Wonky Planters

I have spent the day down at the studios in Royal William Yard, with the absence of Duncan i have been creating some slightly more wonky planter boxes but have also had a fantastic tutorial!
I found out that it looks like for Mine and Duncan's degree show we have the first space right by the entrance of the exhibition. This is fab news for us as we need lots of footfall to encourage conversations and give out seeds and information on our project. Plus if the College Rd Primary Children can make it, it means lots of people for them to talk to about their gardening books!
Also i have been trying to recreate my own personal website, which is in dire need of updating! Its a long slow process and i have got through a lot of chocolate in the process.
I am really looking forward to next weeks visit to the school, where we will have about 10-15 minutes in each class catching up on how things are growing, and what the children's feelings are towards the project so far. I think I will also bring in some cooked things that involve vegetables to inspire the children and teachers about the wonderful things they can do with their 5-a-day!
Over & Out,
Emma

Exhausted!

Today Duncan and I had our first teaching day in College Road, and my'o'my what a energetic bunch they all are!
We have planted a range of beans, lettuces, spinach and other salad crops to start off with and also set our first lot of researching for each class to do.
All the kids seemed to have a fantastic day and with the weather holding up it meant we could do all our planting outside in the quad. We managed to inject even more excitement, if this was at all possible, about the allotment when the children and teachers found out there was an ice cream at stake for the winning class!
A big thank you to all the teachers and assistants who helped Duncan and I through our first nerve wracking day - I for one have certainly had a fantastic time!
Look forward to seeing you next Tuesday.
Emma.

Bean update and yet more wood.

I have taken these pictures over three days, what fast growers these are, only planted last week. I all  ways feel excitement at the emergence of the first signs of a shoot and the promise of a good harvest. nature at its best, I am sure you  will experience this when the seed you are going to sow on Monday begin to germinate.
We will need to decide on how many planters are needed, the size and the design, do you want them to be pot containers or fulled with compost. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of each and we can talk through your ideas and then decide. See you all Monday Duncan

A Mad Dash to Prepare!

The latest update is that it looks like Duncan and I will be giving our first workshop to the children of College Road Primary school on Monday!!!
That is really not that far away, and although we are fairly prepared, its rather nerve racking!

How do these teachers do it - i have just written my first lesson plan, and my they are as bland as a cucumber sandwich! The lesson aims to be an introduction to teachers and children about how to look after seeds/plants, their life cycle in comparison to our own, and the important aspects of healthy living. Our activity for this workshop will be planting seeds which aims to reinforce these ideas and begins the first few steps to the allotment.

Anyway off to finish sorting the remainder of bits and pieces to do before Monday.
Keep you posted,
Emma

The allotment in its current state!

DIY Superstars!

Hey all,

Today has been a super successful day! As in the picture you can see that Duncan and I have been dismantling MORE pallets for wood, and also made up a planter - perfect for carrots, or in fact its suitable for most veg!

This has taken up the majority of our time today, however since next Thursday we have a promotional event with our funding partner SIFE, we have also been sorting out a bit of blurb and some images to be put on a poster.

Busy day, but totally worth it, i feel truly chuffed with my DIY efforts!
Over and out!
Emma

A Hard Days Work!

Today Duncan & I have been breaking up pallets, in order to recycle the wood for raised beds and planting boxes. We have been doing it all day and it is back breaking! Who knew pallets were put together in such a sturdy way.
Now with 6 or 7 pallets down, 3 bags of fire wood and a load of 'good' usable wood, we are ready for a big cuppa and a nice slice of cake!

Also we had a meeting with the Youth Offending service, however unfortunately its not looking promising that we will have as much help as we first anticipated. So it looks like there will be a lot more days like today coming our way!

Happy Gardening,
Emma & Duncan

bean sowing seeds

Over the weekend I have planted 10 bean seeds of 4 different varieties, runner beans,french climbing and two dwarf. This is a few weeks early so I am keeping them safe from the frost in my studio.
We will now wait for them to grow. Duncan

Disappointment at The Ideal Home show.

This weekend I excitedly caught the coach up to London to visit The Ideal Home Show at Earls Court. I thought with lots of different sections including Ideal Gardens & Ideal Food, it would surely be a fab place to visit to get inspiration for the Sowing Seeds project.

I must admit though i left feeling slightly disappointed with the culture The Ideal Home Show promoted. Instead of working for your Ideal Home and making it your own through the handmade, handcrafted and homegrown, it was instead a filled with exhibition stalls selling thousands of pounds worth of swimming pools, hot tubs, and sheds the size of my Basement flat!

Surely in our current economic climate we should be promoting ways of affordably and realistically creating our ideal homes. Not homes that are full of the latest trends from the high street that give the allusion that your life will be better with the latest shape of vase or paint colour. Instead i feel we should be promoting homes that are unique to our individual tastes, talents and style.

I appreciate not everyone has the time or skills to sew a cushion themselves or start their own vegetable patch, but most people have some skills they can utilise, or at least an interest in learning something new.

Rant over, i am off to sow some seeds!

Emma

Welcome to the World of Blogging!

Sowing Seeds has gone online.
This is where you can keep up to date with everything that is happening within this exciting arts project. Happy reading!
Emma & Duncan