Yesterday our volunteers tidied up the plots at TARRAGAN Educational Gardens and Nursery and also picked some green beans and courgettes.

We’d like to send massive congratulations to the group on being shortlisted at the GAVO Annual Volunteering Awards! Well done guys!

This is a report written by our head gardener Morgan Jones:

My employment with Caerphilly People First has started. I’m now the head gardener at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens. At the allotments yesterday, my job was to give orders to Rees Powell and Gethin Chamberlain. The main thing we all had to do was to dig out the weeds which had been growing and growing, because of the rain we’d been having over the last few weeks. Once we had finished our work, I asked Rees & Gethin to clean all the tools and put them away neatly and tidily.

I’m very grateful and satisfied because before now, I hadn’t been paid at any of my jobs, because all of them had been voluntary. I’d like to thank Caerphilly People First for awarding me the TARAGGAN allotments job, because since I started working there, I’ve loved every second.

The allotments are looking great and everything is growing nicely. Well done to all our volunteers; you do a great job. Today we picked courgettes and tasted the flower. Courgette (or zucchini) flowers can be stuffed and fried to beautiful effect, but are best eaten fresh.

If you would like to volunteer with us at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery please contact Morgan Jones, who is now our Head Gardener. Massive congratulations to Morgan on getting the job, we know you will be amazing

Since we returned to our allotment at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens in February our volunteers have worked there every Tuesday morning, preparing the plots for planting vegetables and fruit, and learning how to sow the seeds. Our volunteers are learning new skills every week and enjoy working in the fresh air, even on drizzly mornings.

Last week we continued working on the fruit plot and weeding the vegetable plots, and you can see how much progress we have made in the picture below. If you would like to join us we are at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens every Tuesday morning from 10.30am.

Gethin Chamberlain and Rees Powell have been busy volunteering at Llancaiach Fawr gardens. Well done lads, you did a great job. Caerphilly People First will be there every Wednesday from 10.30 until 12.30 if you would like to join us.

This week at TARAGGAN Educational Garden & Nursery Caerphilly People First volunteers worked on clearing more of the fruit plot by removing the bindweed. After the rain we recently had, the raspberries and strawberries are beginning to grow, and the broad beans, onions, courgettes, leeks, carrots and runner beans are looking very healthy.

Thanks John for all your advice – it’s much appreciated as always, and thanks also to Sam for showing us the wax and honey the bees have produced. It tastes delicious and we can’t wait to buy some.

Well done to everyone who volunteered at the garden this week, especially in this heat. The strawberries and raspberries have made an appearance, along with the courgettes and runner beans. Our volunteers did a great job weeding and tidying up the fruit and veg plots – they are looking really good and everything is growing nicely. We could do with some rain now, as the land is extremely dry and the plants really need water.

We will back at TARAGGAN on Tuesday 27th. If you would like to volunteer with us please email: enquiries@caerphillypeoplefirst.org

It was a breezy one yesterday at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery where Caerphilly People First volunteers continued to remove weeds from the fruit plot, and planted leeks with Kyle and John.

Everything that has been planted is starting to grow nicely and all the plots are looking really good after being weeded.

This week our volunteers worked on tidying up the plots at TARAGGAN Educational Gardens & Nursery. The ground is very dry due to not having any rain recently so we concentrated on removing the bindweed, as this can be a real problem for other plants. Bindweed is a weed that can become a persistent problem in gardens; it can grow to form a large mass of foliage, choking garden plants, reducing their growth, or killing smaller plants entirely.
If you would like to volunteer with us we are at TARAGGAN every Tuesday from 10.30 until 12.30.