In January the Old North Stables won a prestigious Worcestershire Wildlife Hero award, which was collected in person by Tony Kennell at an awards ceremony organised by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

The citation for the award reads as follows:

“Tony and the team of volunteers at the Old North Stables have worked wonders to create a community garden out of a disused space just off Pitchcroft racecourse.

As part of Transition Worcester, they are helping to educate the public about sustainable food production and wildlife-friendly gardening techniques.

Most resources are donated or recycled, and imaginative re-purposing avoids unnecessary waste, with old bathtubs collecting rainwater, plastic piping providing the structure for polytunnels and raised beds made from old water tanks.

The relatively new forest garden has made a good start, an area of bramble and big trees is left wild apart from the bird feeders and nest boxes, the much decayed hard-standing where the stables once stood feature raised beds, poly tunnels and greenhouses.

There is a meadow, lots of fruit and edible trees, no pesticides and a small collection of beehives.

Open most days to welcome the public, Tony speaks enthusiastically and knowledgeably to passers-by about the garden, what grows there and why, as well as encouraging them to have a go themselves.

It’s a haven for local wildlife with hundreds of birds, bees, butterflies and the occasional gang of brawling foxes!”

new tree nursery

At the beginning of February some of our volunteers helped collect young saplings from a private estate in Kempsey and transplant them into a new tree nursery here on the community garden site. All the transplanted trees are doing well in their new surroundings, and in due course will be planted around the city.

dates for your diary

Annual seed swap

Saturday 14 March 2020,
Saturday 11 April 2020
Saturday 9 May 2020

We’ll be holding the seed swap on these three Saturdays between 11am and 2pm at Repair Café, Unity House, Stanley Road, Worcester WR5 1BE. Bring along any seeds that you have saved or would like to swap. If you don’t have seeds to swap you can give a donation instead.

Annual plant swap

Saturday 2 May 2020 11am-2pm

The annual plant swap will again be held at the old north stables community garden, Pitchcroft. An opportunity to swap plants with fellow gardeners.

Apple pruning workshop

Saturday 27 June 10.30am

At the old north stables community garden, Pitchcroft. A great opportunity to learn how to prune your apple trees to help them flourish.

Open air cookery demonstration

Saturday 4 July 12.30pm

At the old north stables, Pitchcroft with Steve Dent, aka the circus gardener. Steve will be cooking with organic seasonal produce grown here at the old north stables, and there will be an opportunity to taste the results!

volunteers needed!

Whether skilled or unskilled, whether you can volunteer for an occasional hour or two, or can make a regular commitment, we always welcome new volunteers on the community garden. As the weather begins to warm up we will have plenty of jobs to do, including weeding, hoeing, mulching, planting and pruning. We are also planning to lay new water pipes to make the job of watering a little easier, to create a new forest garden designed to attract pollinators, build a new pond, rebuild our flood-damaged insect hotel, and build seating areas in our orchard/forest garden area using donated wooden pallets.

If you are interested in becoming involved, either send us an email [email protected] or drop by and have a chat. We are open between 10am and 2pm every day of the week except for Tuesdays. If the weather is bad, or if you have any questions you are welcome to call Tony on 07532108144.

This is the first in an occasional series of recipes created by Steve Dent, aka the Circus Gardener, based on the lovely, fresh, local, organic produce we grow at the Old North Stables .

Steve produced this curry for our barbecue at the end of July and it went down very well.

Steve’s vegetable curry (enough for 4 servings)

Ingredients

2 red chillies, roughly chopped (keep the seeds in)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped,
5 cm piece ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
pinch asafoetida
1 onion, chopped
400 g can chopped tomatoes
500 g potatoes, scrubbed or peeled and cut into chunks
300 g courgette, sliced
100 g green beans, trimmed
1 carrot, sliced
400 g chickpeas, drained and rinsed
50 g frozen or fresh peas
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
250 ml water or vegetable stock
1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method

1. Combine the chillies, ginger, garlic and sea salt into a thick paste using a pestle and mortar or an electric chopper.

2. Heat a heavy bottomed pan over a high heat and add the oil. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and stir. After 30 seconds they will start to pop. Now add the asafoetida, stir again and after a further 30 seconds add the onion. Continue to cook, stirring regularly until the onion is soft and translucent. Now add the potatoes, carrot, beans and courgette, the garlic, chilli, and ginger paste, the chopped tomatoes, the turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, salt and the water or stock. Stir to combine.

3. Bring the pan to a simmer and then reduce the heat so as to maintain it at a gentle simmer. Cook at this temperature for 20 minutes, or until the potato is tender, then stir in the peas, chickpeas and fresh coriander. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve with rice and/or Indian flatbread.

Author: Steve Dent

Old North Stables wins Worcestershire wildlife hero award