It has increasingly become known that gardening is an excellent way of calming the spirit and allowing one to enjoy the absolute wonder that is Nature. Of course, it is also a means of growing produce superior in every way when compared to supermarket produce. As such gardening became the founding facet of our project and today 6 years later it is still just as important. Under the guidance of lead volunteer John Spiteri our gardening project flowers every year.
At the Katharine Elliot Centre in Howdenbank Hawick we have a nice sized allotment where we grow crops in the 4 sections you can easily spot this from the A7 road next to the police station. Our group of volunteers take part in all aspects of allotment management from sowing seeds through maintainance to harvest and finally preparation for the coming year. All volunteers are encouraged to be involved and follow the progression of their plants to fruition and perhaps the most enjoyable part - eating!
At the back of the KEC we have a large greenhouse which was erected last year with the invaluable assistance of all the volunteers and whilst at times it was hard going the cameraderie between volunteers was a treat to see. The greenhouse is used for propogation of seeds prior to planting out. We grow various types of tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegtables as we can accomodate. If you can see it in the greengrocers then we probably grow it here in our allotment or greenhouse. We also grow on a selection of flowers and herbs to plant out in the grounds.
As a group we also look after the grounds of the KEC excluding the grass cutting whis is carried out by another social enterprise The Green Team. We are responsible for weeding the shrubbery, trimming the bushes and shrubs, planting out seasonal flowers, harvesting and maintaining our fruit trees and looking after the garden furniture. We have also constructed a number of raised beds to grow strawberries and other produce. Everything that we grow is put to good use with volunteers, service users at the KEC and staff all enjoying the fruits of our labours, we always aim for no waste everything is used.
Following on from this it was thought that a cooking course would be of benefit to our volunteers to encourage them to eat more wholesome food in comparison to processed types. Here the volunteers learn the principles of cooking basic foods by a qualified chef and from the various reports she does a grand job! This course has been so successful that it now runs twice a year to meet the need.