Issue 2 page 1

TOP NOTES

In this issue:

The Editorial Team wish all our readers a very happy new year and may your Gardens, (be they large, small or flower box), flourish, may they be beautiful and productive.

"Conventionally" gardeners aim to tame nature, to eradicate everything that doesn't fit or may militate against their concept of beauty.

How much better to learn to appreciate the beauty that is already there, become a 'Macro tourist' look a little closer. The more you see the more you learn, the more you learn the more you appreciate the stunning beauty of the natural world. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ." Surely a wise and apposite saying, for all gardeners!

On TOP we aim to work with nature. When the Aphids attack the Broad Beans we pinch out the tops then stand back and enjoy the intriguing contest as Predator and Pest vie for supremacy.

Problems with Slugs and Snails? TOP garden is Mollusc heaven with top quality Organic food in abundance and plenty of hiding places safe from marauding Blackbirds and Thrushes. But we have a cunning plan. TOP Slugs are premium 'Organic fodder' for Hedgehog and Blackbird.

Currently any that show themselves are thrown over the fence into the Church yard where there's no hiding place. I hasten to add that this practice has no noticeable effect on the Church lawns but simply leaves the slugs in an exposed area as they seek cover. The hope is that wandering Hedgehogs and sharp- eyed blackbirds will discover this fairly regular supply of tasty morsels. This is a fairly haphazard and ineffective method of controlling Molluscs but our plan doesn't end there!

Strategically placed 'underpasses', will allow Mrs. Tiggywinkle to pass to and fro under the perimeter fence where she will discover Hedgehog Nirvana. There are to be nest-boxes, hibernation sites, lay-up areas in dense bushes and best of all a plentiful supply of juicy slugs!

Do we have a volunteer for the post of Hedgehog liaison officer?

Carboots, Fetes, Community Events, Meetings advertise here. Phone 01202- 679517, 623987or 671610

Letters to the Editor and articles for publication write to The Editor, TOPNOTES

issue 2 page 2

11 Bring soaked Beans and dry Lentils to a vigorous boil for 10 mins, then simmer for 40 mins.

21 Whilst cooking the legumes prepare the vegetables.

31 Add ha1f the shallots and the Plum Tomatoes direct to the Stew.

41 Cook half the shallots, and the rest of the chopped veg in olive oil.

51 Add the Herbs, Spices, Wine, Salt I Pepper and Tomato Paste to the chopped veg.

61 Add a little liquor to the pan containing the ingredients cooked in olive oil and stir. Pour into main stew.

71 Stir the stew frequently wh11st cooking until the veg and the Beans are soft adding more wine or stock as necessary.

The Stew is especially good with fresh crusty bread.

Reheating improves the flavour but beware the stew thickens ...and thickens.

The humble Bean I hear you cry! There are after all many different varieties sold commercially and an even greater number grown (and usually saved annually) by small farmers and gardeners worldwide. Ok Beans. What's so good about Beans?

Well there's nutrition for one. Few vegetables are as Protein rich. Add rice, greens and fruit and you have a nutritionally well-balanced meal.

Then there's cost. Of all garden crops Beans are one of the least expensive. No need to buy seed it is simplicity itself to allow a few pods to mature and dry on the vine.

Fertiliser, other than a little Dung or Compost to condition the soil, is by no means essential? Gardeners of the 'old school' plant atop a shallow trench filled with kitchen waste. Although, I have found, that Dwarf French Beans like a little dung or compost under them, and will reward you for it. In fact, rather than calling for added nutrients Beans fix nitrogen from the air and leave it easily available in the soil to benefit the following crop. For many years Field Beans have been grown as a 'Green Manure' to be dug in to feed the soil and the following crop.

And so to taste ! are they good to eat? Young tender Broad Beans and freshly picked Runner Beans are firm favourites throughout Britain and have been chart toppers for many years. Those of us who sampled Mark's superb "Rich Bean stew"* at the TOP Guy Fawkes night knees UPI will bear witness that dried Beans can also form the basis of a delicious warming and nutritious meal. This year TOP will be growing Broad Runner I and Dwarf French Beans to eat green and there will be plants of 3 or 4 drying varieties available to us if the TOP gardeners wish to try them. I might add that I have recently tested a sample of TOP grown Pea-Beans, Runners and French Beans which all showed excellent viability.

Peas share all the virtues of Beans but are even more of a delicacy and have a longer cropping season. TOP will be growing Early and Main crop Peas. There will be a Marrowfat variety available to TOP if I can source it. For the non Pea- connoisseurs among our readers this variety produces a large distinct tasting fresh Pea and when dried is used for the traditional 'Mushy Pea' dish.

There are large quantities of Paint and Wood preservatives on site. They were obtained, at least in part/ free of charge from B&Q. These were used in good faith until the last AGM, when it was decided to adopt the HDRA guidelines which 'outlaws' the use of wood preservatives. Gary Finch proposes that we should donate the lot to LA21's Scrap Store. Does anyone out there have a claim to them? Or any better ideas for their disposal? For a copy of HDRA guidelines see Gary-ed

Gary is floating the idea that TOP should 'tune-in' to the turning of the seasons by celebrating the Festivals of the old Pagan calendar (8 per year). We've missed the shortest day, 23rd December but we could perhaps gather for a Spring festival.

Gary suggests that we might enjoy the usual mix of fun, debate and good seasonal nosh. I imagined something a little less decorous myself ed.

 On the 4th November around twenty members and friends enjoyed a TOP Guy Fawkes Night. A few members arrived early, cleared the greenhouse area and built a bonfire. Mark showed great skill in lighting the fire, was he a Boy Scout? I think we should be told. A supper of Bean Stew, (three varieties), Squash parcels and Tattles baked in the embers and pumpkin soup was enjoyed by all. Eric brought his Guitar for a Sing-Song by firelight the heavens, of course opened before a chord was struck.

I think we may hold the record for the number of people that can gather in a tool shed whilst eating Bean Stew and quaffing homemade beverages. Convivial social gatherings at the garden cement the TOP team closely and people from all sectors of the community are brought together, most with a keen interest in environmental issues. This leads to networking and an exchange of ideas, which ale I believe the 'yeast' of community action !

Wrens Robins and Blue tits have been much in evidence during this winter with at least one Wren showing some interest in the compound, which would be a particularly sheltered nesting site! To encourage our feathered friends to take up residence two aluminium kettles have been nailed up inside the compound and nesting material has been strewn under the overhang of the southern wall. Most of this dry grass has been taken or scattered but there is no evidence of activity in the Kettles. There is some debate as to whether we should feed the birds during winter. Conventional wisdom has it that in the long run it is best to let them fend for themselves. However, given great care in choosing and presenting the food, some notable modern environmentalists make a case for support at certain times of the year. Since the time of St Francis there has been a bond between people and garden birds usually expressed by feeding them especially in hard weather. I for one believe this bond to be more important than the cold logic that says let them fend for themselves. The antics of a Blue Tit enjoying a garden feast or the robin bravely singing when all is silent under a blanket of snow have I suspect done a great deal to increase pubic desire to conserve nature.

Saturday 20th Jan Work party Stream maintenance, Greenhouse base construction Shed/ Compound tidy, Garden Tidy, shady- Pond excavation.

There will be hot drinks, Parsnip Soup and Bean Stew to keep your strength up.

PROJECT WORKING DAY - 21/01/01

The base for the greenhouse

Barry, Gary, Andy and Mark began measuring out the greenhouse base. Firstly there was the all-important question of which colour string would do the job best. It was soon decided that whichever string was available from the shed would be the best!

While they got on with that, Sarah, Chris, Sara and I got stuck in (literally) to composting. Sara energetically chopped roots and weeds for composting, while Sarah and Chris were in the thick of it turning out a compost bin.

At lunch break we had a impromptu natural history lesson on butterflies' breeding habits from Mark. Barry remarked how amazed he was that Brimstone butterflies are now found in the garden and that they arrived within days of planting their food source.

Back to the greenhouse. Setting breezeblocks in cement is a tricky business and as I left to go home, Gary and Mark were carefully measuring, cursing and stamping down wet cement!

Here's to the next project day when we hope to continue with the greenhouse.

Melanie.