Postcrete No-No....

I had this great idea to make some more pots this week. I wasn’t going to bother with the hypertufa pots, they just disintegrate when you pick them up. This time I was going to make them to last. I went to the local DIY place and found something called Postcrete, which is a ready mixed bag of material that you would normally put into a hole around a wooden post. It says on the bag that it sets within minutes. Just the job I thought.

Panic

I got a bucket and mixed the contents of the bag with water. All seemed to go well as I put the mix into the first pot mould. Then disaster struck, the mix was hardening faster than I could pour it so I panicked, added more water and then mixed it with my hands, so vigorously that the gloves I was wearing tore. I was only filling the remaining moulds for a few minutes but this was enough for the mix to take off several layers of skin and fingerprints from my hands. I should imagine the reason for this to go solid so quickly is that it has a really high lime content, so high in fact that it shouldn’t be touched, just poured directly into a hole. I’ve spent the last few days wearing rubber gloves full of cream to try and grow the skin back. I should have read the label. My lad was unsympathetic as I ran into the house screaming in pain. 

 “This is what happens when you mess around with chemicals” he dryly told me. It’s back to hypertufa for me in future, or shop bought cardboard pots.

Barrack Hill Carndonagh Community Gardens

Barrack Hill Community Gardens

I was chatting to Stephen McGirr from Carndonagh this week and he has been telling me of the new Barrack Hill Community Gardens that have been set up in the town. It’s a bit of a well-kept secret at the moment, but that won’t be for long. As spring sets in there should be a lot of interest as the movement to grow your own continues to get more popular.  Stephen already has tunnels in place with raised beds and a growing number of keep gardeners helping to get everything ready for the growing season. 

It’s an impressive collaboration of four councils along with the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG) that have set up the NW Healthy Living, Community Garden and Allotments Programme. The Programme has been part funded under the European Union's INTERREG IVA Cross-border programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body to the value of £1,552,411.

The Project will develop a targeted response to local health, social and economic needs through the development of allotments/community gardens in Strabane,Magilligan, Maghera town and Barrack Hill in Carndonagh, where Stephen is.

The allotments and gardens will be used:

·         To create a sustainable source of food;

·         As a resource for health through physical activity;

·         As a resource to practically impact on 'food poverty';

·         As a community resource which brings people together;

·         As an educational tool; and

·         As a source of creating open space and encouraging biodiversity.

The need for the project has been proven by the research completed by the Institute of Public Health funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA) on behalf of the North West's INTERREG IVA funding application. The health impact assessment provided a mechanism to inform the planning for the development of the four demonstration community garden/allotment sites and ensured that improvement of health was at the core of the programme. 

Research has identified that local community garden/allotment projects appear to be quite exceptional in their ability to address a range of health and liveability issues for all ages. They provide people with an opportunity to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.

There will be training courses setting up for budding gardeners and there are also other ideas such as the “Healthy Eating Lifestyle Programme (HELP)” With Ian Corr our local celebrity chef already doing classes.

For information about the whole of the North West initiatives go to the www.nwcommunitygardens.com website.

More information

If you would like to have a look around the Barrack Hill Community gardens or would like to participate in this fantastic idea then Stephen will be very happy to hear from you.  Check out the Facebook page : Barrack-Hill-Park-Community-Gardens-Carndonagh or phone Stephen McGirr on 0862745886.