Gardening on the Brandon Estate
The Brandon estate has an active gardening group that has been running since 2017. We are a collective of estate residents who have actively decided to help keep the planting on the Brandon looking good. This involves planting and maintaining the plants, shrubs, and herbs that are growing in the raised bed planters on the estate, as well as maintaining some organic food growing plots. We generally meet up weekly (typically over the weekend) during the growing season (March – September) and coordinate our activities via a Gardening WhatsApp group. We are also part of the Walworth Community Garden Network (CGN) and are working with other community gardeners locally.
The gardening group maintain (planting, watering & weeding) some of the communal planting, and also have some individual growing spaces for organic vegetables. We meet informally during the growing season (usually weekends) while gardening, but we do hold a few committee meetings during the year to discuss planting plans, or to discuss funding applications.
Members are allocated a designated growing space on an annual renewable basis, but are also expected to help out on maintaining the communal planting, as part of the group. During the growing season (March – September) we will expect all members to help with weekly watering, and taking care of the communal planting.
We have also developed a ‘Junior Gardening & Eco Club’, where we are encouraging local children to take an interest in planting, growing, and environmental issues. This is located beside the Jack Hobbs club, and meets every Saturday at 11:30, during the growing season.
Launch of new Growing Spaces – August 2021
The new raised beds are brick built and finished in the same blue engineering brick that was used when the estate was originally constructed in 1961. Each of the two new raised beds measures 10m x 3m, and these have been subdivided into plots measuring 3m x 2m that have been allocated to members of the Brandon gardening group. This has been a really successful collaboration between our TRA committee and the Great Estates team, and we have revitalised some underused space, and installed a lasting addition to our estate grounds. By choosing to construct the beds in brick, we have avoided the issues around maintenance and upkeep that are associated with wooden planters, constructed from railway sleepers. Read the full article here:
Please see some of the images of the launch of the new growing spaces below.
(Photo Credits – Niels Hermannsson)
WhatsApp Group
We coordinate all our activities through a gardening WhatsApp group. We can add you to this group. All planned gardening activities & general comms are coordinated within this group.
Tools & Equipment
We have some shared tools & equipment (hose reels, forks, shovels, wheelbarrow) but you will be expected to provide your own gloves, hand tools, pots, & canes, etc. Please respect each others property and ask before taking or using something that does not belong to you. Gardeners can store personal equipment in the storage detailed below.
Water Points & Storage
We have four storage areas with water points, located in the pram-shed spaces below Bateman, Brawne, Cornish & Cruden houses. We have limited keys for each of these spaces, so access needs to be coordinated via WhatsApp group. Gardeners can keep their equipment here – (hand tools, gloves, pots, compost, etc.)
Communal Planting Areas
We look after 26 raised beds and 39 newly planted beds outside the tower blocks. These areas require weekly watering, and bi-monthly weeding. We are hoping that the residents of the four tower blocks will maintain the planting outside their respective blocks. The planting in these is fairly established, but we do look at replacing dead plants at the start of the growing season. Please do not add any planting in these beds without first consulting through the WhatsApp group.
Allocation and Use of Growing Plots
Growing plots will be allocated to growers on an annual basis, but title stays with the Brandon gardening group. We expect growers to stay within the boundaries of their allocated plot, and maintain it throughout the season. Further clarification of our rules can be found here:
https://brandontra.co.uk/join-brandon-garden-association/
We propose to hold a monthly workday during the growing season where we will all meet up and address some of the communal areas – digging, weeding, maintenance, etc. These days will be scheduled in the WhatsApp group. Members are expected to attend these days and help out, but these can be social events, and give you a chance to get to know the other members.
Junior Gardening & Eco Club
We applied for some funding in 2020, and have established a ‘Junior Gardening & Eco club’ which is located behind the Jack Hobbs Community Hall, which is being developed now. These sessions are open to all Brandon children, and take place every Saturday from 11:30 – 12:30. These sessions are led by Helene, with assistance from Marie-line & Verity and have been very popular since they started in June 2021. If you or your children are interested in getting involved, please find more information please read the full article here:
(Photo Credits – Tom Lloyd)
Growing in the Library Garden
Some of our community gardeners have been maintaining plots in the library garden since 2018. Please see some images below:
(Photo Credits – Tom Lloyd)
