The next Isle of Wight Permaculture Monthly Meeting meeting is due to be held this Sunday 7th June at 10:30am, slight snag – we don’t have a host for it as yet.

If you would like to host it please let us know ASAP, you don’t have to have held one before, nothing grand is expected. All you need is a garden or a bit of land and preferably a kettle. We can help out around your garden or we can just talk, have a question and answer session or swap seeds and plants etc

We have a host for July but we welcome the chance to pencil in people for future months.

Please get in contact if you would like to host this or a future month or would like to come to our meetings.

Email: ventnorpermaculture(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
Phone: 01983 854968
Mobile: 07766077336

From the 22nd May

Fabric & Paper
Bag Making
Workshop

Every Friday
2pm – 4pm
Ventnor Community Cafe



3 Albert St, Ventnor,
Isle Of Wight PO38 1DS

Come along and make yourself a Morsbag – a shopping bag made out of recycled fabric (like the ones in the photo above) to help rid Ventnor of plastic carrier bags. Sheila will show you how to make them, you only have to sew straight lines on the sewing machine – they are very easy to make.

Morsbags fold up really small and easily fit into a pocket or a handbag, pick a fabric to suit your personality, plain, stripes or floral etc. These bags are quick to make and they make ideal gifts. Morsbags are always given away for free and are never sold.

Sheila has also been perfecting the art on making paper carrier bags – so you can have a go at that as well.

Tea and coffee available.

Ventnor Community Cafe is also open every Saturday from 10:30 – 1pm
Local produce, plants, preserves and crafts for sale
Local artists paintings displayed on the walls
Internet Cafe
Coffee, Tea, Home-made cakes, pies etc

Ken's Land June 08

The next Ventnor Permaculture Meeting on Sunday May 17th 10:30am – 12:30pm will be hosted by Ken at his land in St Lawrence.

He could do with some help weeding or you can just admire some of his weird and wonderful, unusual plants as well as the large selection of more conventional ones.  It is just over a year since Ken started renting this land which was just a grass covered field, it will be interesting to see the changes.

If you live in the Ventnor area and are interested in growing your own food or flowers do come along and join us. It is free and friendly and their is no obligation to come every month or do any work, you can just pick our brains if you want.

Bring along any plants or seeds to swap. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided.

For directions etc contact:
Email:ventnorpermaculture(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
Phone: 01983 854968
Mobile: 07766077336

The next Isle of  Wight Permaculture Monthly Meeting will be hosted by Wendy and Nick at their allotment in Shanklin on Sunday 3rd May
10:30 – 12:30.

There will be lots of different things you can lend a hand with: transplanting leek seedlings. Sharpening the remaining stakes with a billhook provided and making sense of the netting to cover the fruit cage. Putting up wires for the vines that I will plant out in Autumn. No need to bring anything but gloves are a good idea, and you may have some plants or seeds left over from the sale the day before. It will be good to see you.
Wendy and Nick

People have tried before and failed (not helped by a private residents only sign on the road you need to go down! ) to find the allotment, so I have comprehensive directions from Wendy and as I did find it last year I will gladly send you the grid reference which you can put into Google Maps to see exactly where it is. There is very limited parking at the allotments.

The photo was taken at the allotment last year, come and see how much it has changed. You don’t have to work you can come along just to say hello. There is no fee or anything to sign up to for meetings, anyone is welcome.

For directions contact:
Email: ventnorpermaculture(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
Phone: 01983 854968
Mobile: 07766077336

Ventnor Permaculture Group

is holding a

Plant and Seed Sale/Swap

Saturday 2nd May

Ventnor Community Cafe

3 Albert St, Ventnor,
Isle Of Wight PO38 1DS

10:30am – 1pm.

Get some cheap flower and vegetable plants, seedlings or seeds.
Never grown anything before?
We will advise you how to grow anything you buy!

Come and have a chat about gardening with us over a cup of coffee and some home-made cake.

Ventnor Community Cafe is open every Saturday from 10:30 – 1pm
Local produce, preserves and crafts for sale
Local artists paintings displayed on the walls
Internet Cafe
Coffee, Tea, Home-made cakes, pies etc

Hi can anyone help me identify this plant from the allotment. it looks edible but I’m not brave enough to try it.

The monthly Isle of Wight Permaculture meeting is being hosted by James in Upper Ventnor this Sunday 8th March at 10:30 am.

Various jobs to do in his garden, weeding, compost spreading, and James could do with some creative ideas of what to use a certain area of the garden for! New workshop made partly with reclaimed materials to see, plus various other things that might be of interest…. portable cob oven etc. Bring a spade or fork perhaps.

I don’t have any photos of his garden but as James is also an expert at making living willow domes I thought I would add a pic of one.

For address/directions please contact:
Email: ventnorpermaculture(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
Phone: 01983 854968
Mobile: 07766077336

Photo: London Permaculture

The Ventnor Permaculture Monthly meeting will be hosted by Sonia & Marie at Whitwell this Sunday 15th February at 10:30 am.

They would like to make some compost bins from pallets if the weather is good.

Please bring any tools that may be useful as they only have a limited amount. They may also have some spare raspberry canes, autumn fruiting if anyone is interested.

If raining we could watch the cork production dvd.

Tea and cakes will be provided.


For directions etc contact:
Email:ventnorpermaculture(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
Phone: 01983 854968
Mobile: 07766077336

Photo: London Permaculture

With the present economic climate and a huge amount of interest in growing your own vegetables (sales of vegetable seeds were up by 60% last year) and fruit, where to grow them has become an increasing problem for many people who have small or non-existent gardens.  There are a few options available to get yourself some growing space including allotments, Adopt-A-Garden and Landshare.

Photo: Angus Mackie

To find out more –

Allotments

If you live in Scotland, Wales or England (other than in inner London boroughs) you can make a formal application to your local authority (your Parish, Town, Borough, City or District Council) for an allotment. If a group of six council tax payers or parliamentary electors make an application together in writing to their local authority asking for allotment land, the authority has a legal duty to provide it. There is no formal rule as to how and when the authority must respond, but they do have to… More information from The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners

If you did not know this don’t get too excited there are a couple of things you need to know about allotments. Most places in the UK have huge waiting lists for allotments (including Ventnor and most other places on the Isle of Wight, about 250 on the waiting list). Although your council has to provide allotments there is no rule about where they are situated, you may be offered one in another town or village possibly several miles from where you live. For example if you live in Wootton Bridge the allotments provided are in Ryde.

If  you know of local allotments, go take a look and have a chat to the gardeners there. They may know of someone who is struggling to use all of their plot who might be willing to share it with you.

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Adopt-A-Garden

This is a scheme started here on the Isle of Wight by The Footprint Trust, which is now spreading to other parts of the UK. Bringing together the person who has a garden they can no longer look after and the individual who wants a growing space. The householder gets their garden looked after for free and the gardener gets a free allotment in returnThose taking part in the Footprint Trust’s Adopt-A-Garden Scheme are being offered free water butts thanks to Southern Water.

To date over 70 households are signed up a total of 90 people interested. The Trust is still looking for would-be gardeners seeking a growing space anywhere on the Island. Gardens suitable for growing vegetables are also being looked for, particularly in the Ventnor area. For more information and downloadable forms and letters see Adopt-A-Garden.

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Landshare

Started by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall during his ‘River Cottage Autumn‘ series on Channel 4 last year. What is Landshare? Watch this short clip (49 seconds) from Hugh to find out.

Or you can find more information, register as a Grower, Landowner, Land-spotter, a Facilitator or a Group on the Landshare site.

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My Farm

Is an interesting business idea that is up and running in the San Francisco area. They install and maintain vegetable gardens, providing paid employment for gardeners, fruit and veg for non-gardeners and a very local veg box scheme.

MyFarm is a decentralized urban farm. We grow vegetables in backyard gardens throughout the city. By increasing local food production we are creating a secure and sustainable food system. Using organic practices we strive to grow the best tasting most nutritious vegetables. We ask what vegetables you like and grow them just for you.

Watch a short video on The Story of MyFarm

Wonder if that could work here? For more information see the My Farm site.

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Rent Land Privately

Which is just what Ken did last year, he saw an advert for a bit of land for rent in the local paper and went for it.

You could also approach local farmers and land owners and see if you could persuade them to rent you a bit of growing space.

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I hope the above has been of some help, thanks to Wendy for sending me the official allotments blurb and the My Farm link.

Well liked mature couple John and Yvonne, who quite a few of us know from the community of Ventnor, are looking for a house to share with like-minded people (green living) in the direction of Brightstone or thereabouts. It could be rented or shared and John and Yvonne would welcome any age group but not too rowdy. They are keen to have an open fire and space to grow things and practice drumming. Please contact them on 854346