FEBRUARY 2023              We are busy preparing for the growing season at Windmill Gardens.  Over the winter, James and his volunteers have been repairing the raised beds and we have started creating more lower beds in the middle allotment.  Unfortunately, James has had to leave us for other work, but Anna, Connor and Bryn are carrying on with the repairs under Tracey’s watchful eye.     The wildlife pond has filled with water and is looking good, but still needs more planting, which we will do as soon as the ice melts and plants are ..read more

WHATS ON AT WCG IN OCTOBER?   Welcome to the official blog for Windmill Community Gardens, Bobbersmill, Nottingham. If you haven't visited us before, we are the first allotment on the left, on the track at the end of Ascot Road, which is off Aspley Lane, next to Bobbersmill Bridge.  Nearest postcode NG8 5HD If you come by bus, then you need to catch the 77, 78 or 79 or Trent Barton 1, from Upper Parliament Street.  For the 77 get off at the Ascot Road stop, for the others the Aspley Lane stop.  (Same stop if you are coming in the other direction). If you come by car, t ..read more

 The Supershed is Officially Open! The official opening of our new Supershed! Thanks so much to the Sheriff of Nottingham, Merlita Bryan, for doing the honors and cutting the ribbon. We also have a huge number of people to thank for the creation of the shed, which was built for us bespoke, by James Trickey and a team of willing volunteers who he taught a wide variety of skills along the way. Funding for this much-needed building came mainly from the Health Lottery, with additional help from Castle Cavendish. With prices rising everywhere, the funding was only just able to stretch due to t ..read more

 February at Windmill Gardens   The Hellebores and Snowdrops are out at last and the first Broad Beans are sprouting, so spring is on it's way.  Today I planted our first peas in the polytunnel.  We have to grow them suspended in lengths of guttering to prevent the mice having a feast.  However snow is forecast for Valentine's Day, so we are not being too hasty. Our main work over the past few weeks has been coppicing the hedges and using the cut branches for poles or dead hedging.  We take the old dead wood out of the hedge first to burn, then replace it wit ..read more

MASHUA Mashua, along with Yacon and Oca are all edible tubers, once grown by the Inca's.  We planted all three at Windmill this year, but only the Mashua survived.  We fear that the other two might have been weeded out by over zealous gardeners.  The Yacon has a plant that looks a similar to a Dahlia and the tubers are long and brown.  The Oca plant has a lot of trefoil leaves that spread across the ground and smaller white and red tubers.   The Mashua grows upwards and has leaves, a bit like a Nasturtium, but smaller and more "frilly".  The flowers are ..read more

Wreath Making by Candlelight Thursday 9th December at 7pm Pay by donation To book, please go to our Facebook page, or email wcgnottingham@gmail.com (18) Wreath making by candle light | Facebook   ..read more

 Our new meeting shed! James and his band of willing volunteers have been working hard on our new meeting shed.  It's a wooden structure with a raised floor and veranda at the front.  You can see the roofing fabric, which is recycled rubber, similar to a pond liner.  There will be two opening skylights in the roof and windows at either end.  We are also hoping to get doors with windows for the front, which will be opened up in hot weather.  The rest of the outside will be clad with cedar paneling.  We are still looking for funding for cladding on the inside ..read more

Pumpkin Celebration day is coming soon! Please join us for fun activities, good food and a chance to use our specialised carving tools to create your own carved masterpiece. There are prizes for the best ones, and for the largest and the strangest pumpkins and squashes that turn up. There will also be games and crafts and lovely pumpkin food to taste and apple pressing as well! We'll have our Spooky woods set up to look around if you dare, with a cosy story telling hut with one of the Nottingham Story Tellers on hand to entertain you. We will be mostly outside, with canopies to shelter under ..read more

Some people have been telling us they would like to be able to drop in to Windmill a bit later, so we're staying open until 6pm for the next 3 Thursdays - 26th August, 2nd September and 9th September. If you fancy paying us a visit, Carly will be on hand to help you with a few fun activities and making a snack. Hope some of you can visit ..read more

  Wildflowers at Windmill Tammy enjoying the meadow We have two small wildflower meadows at Windmill Community Gardens, one annual and one perennial.  The annual meadow is dug over every year, after the flowers have died down.  Then new seed is sown in the spring.  Tammy, who is our main meadow volunteer, has changed the seed that we use to dry meadow mix, as she felt that the flowers weren't thriving.  The gardens are on rubble, maybe from the  the old Radford Colliery which was nearby, and the soil is a mix of all sorts, which seems to make it very dry in ..read more