Dawlish Transition has a new web site.

http://www.dawlishtransition.org.uk/

Please update your bookmarks

Gardeners Question Time Tips

Dawlish Transition Gardener’s question time with Toby Buckland, Shirley Tamblyn and Jo Hooper


What is a good way to grow apple trees?
An interesting way is as a fruit hedge with a different variety every few feet.
Adam’s Apples can give advice on the varieties to grow.
Plants for the future: pfaf.org have good database for planting information.


Cox Orange Pippin are a good variety to grow but they can be prone to scab. In this area in the past cider apples were grown as this was not so much of a problem. One way to counteract this is to spray with seaweed foliar feed.

How do you get fruit trees off to a good start in containers?
50% John Innes and 50% multi purpose peat free compost will provide well for fruit trees in containers.
Blueberry bushes need acidic soil, and as with all berry crops don’t forget to net to protect from birds.
Most berry plants enjoy higher levels of rainfall to crop well.
Cranberries need acidic soil conditions and high levels of rainfall for a good September crop.


Growing food as a beginner – where should I start?
Grow veg. you like. Salad leaves like rocket are an easy place to start. Many veg. can be grown in containers if not much space is available; even carrots can be grown in pots.


It is a good idea to get children involved to spur the family on with crops like runner beans- pick young and tender,


Swap produce with other people to give more variety,


During hot weather a watering system is essential with rain butts, however even waste washing water can be used in times of drought.


Which food plants are particularly suited to growing in our local climate?
Brassicas are an ideal cliff top plant- cover with fleece to keep aphids off when young then harden off with full light access.
Chard is also a good tasty plant to grow.
Pak Choi and Joy Choi Chinese greens will thrive as long as the ground is moist.
Autumn planted cabbages appreciate a dressing of garden lime. It is always good to know the acidity level of your soil. West Country compost is very alkaline and can be used as a mulch for cabbages.


Peas are another food plant that love lots of water- it is essential to keep them moist as they do not like drought conditions. An easy way to grow them is in guttering with end stops. It is best to plant them in April or May. By moonlight is also said to be an auspicious planting time if trying out biodynamic gardening methods.


Beans grow well in a trench lined with compost with an organic mulch.


Sweet Potatoes- the easiest way is to grow them in a polytunnel. They like to have warm roots so grow through black plastic to warm the soil. You can order chits from nurseries or start your own off in an airing cupboard.


Potatoes are best grown from seed potatoes to avoid disease. They do not like frosts so plant out after that. They can also be grown successfully in tubs in a green house.


Jerusalem Artichokes are a dependable plant to grow. They are a useful soup ingredient, and a member of the sunflower family so they can be grown to a height of 7 to 8 feet to act as a windbreak. However they can be invasive.


When is the best time to plant?
There will be times of glut and famine depending on the weather and soil conditions. It is important to make a plan for successional crops. A crop of planted F1 seeds will all tend to mature at once. Plant in small quantities and different varieties. Be aware of the hungry gap after Christmas.


What sort of fertiliser would you recommend?
Seaweed collected from the beach is a useful natural fertiliser. Collect after a rain storm if possible as the longer it lies there the more salty it will be. It is especially good around brassicas, asparagus and under potato plants.


How to grow healthy courgettes?
If courgettes are rotten in the ends then the ground or the air has been too moist. Keep pests at bay with a dressing of seaweed. Prevent Club root by growing rhubarb alongside- due to the effects of its oxalic acid.

Garden Share rejuvenates Westcliff Primary School

Dawlish Transition have set up a garden share with Westcliff Primary School to rejuvenate their garden.

We started work on the 5th May when the garden looked like this:












and by the end of the day it looked like this and we even managed to salvage some raspberry plants

A couple of working visits later the plot is planted up with potatoes, onions, celeriac, runner beans, tomatoes, courgettes, fennel, borage and chives.

We also moved the water butt and rigged up a plastic bottle to collect rain water from the green house roof.

If you would like to help out or want to know more about Garden Share  please email us at
dawlishtransition@gmail.com

Seedling Swap on Sat 26th May 2012, 9.30-11am

Dawlish Transition are holding a Seedling Swap on Saturday  26th May 2012, 9.30-11 am outside the URC, The Strand, Dawlish as part of  Delicious Dawlish - growing food anywhere and everywhere.

Bring along your spare vegetable seedlings to exchange or buy young food plants for sale at bargain prices.

“Delicious Dawlish” launch Thursday 8th March

Dawlish Transition “Delicious Dawlish” launch

Thursday 8th March, 7pm, The White Room, South Devon Inn, Strand Hill, Dawlish

We are holding a social and information evening to help everyone reduce costs by growing food in whatever space is available. Toby Buckland, well known as a presenter on BBC Garden Live and a local online garden nursery owner, will be talking about growing edible plants anywhere and everywhere. This will follow a short film about the successful “Incredible Edible Todmorden” initiative. The group is hoping that experienced and new gardeners will come along and be involved in a seed swap and put their gardening questions to Toby Buckland and a panel of local experts

Everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the ‘Delicious Dawlish’ evening at the South Devon Inn on Thursday March 8th from 7pm. Places can be booked by calling 01626 862063. Entry costs just £1 per person, all welcome.

Home Energy Saving Exhibition - Sat October 15th

We are hosting a Home Energy Saving Exhibition at the Strand Centre (URC) on Saturday 15h October from 11am to 4pm.

The Teignbridge Affordable Warmth Home Energy Officer will be giving information about grants and low income loans to help with installing energy saving technologies such as loft insulation.

We have invited businesses who provide and install a range of sustainable and renewable heat capture systems and also businesses providing energy saving solutions for the domestic market.

Winning Renewable energy bids for Dawlish - YOUR help needed

 The short story - "Please just sign up as we need more members to win the bid"...  http://www.energyshare.com/dawlish-transition/join/ 

The long story -We have registered Dawlish Transition as an energyshare group. Under this scheme we will be eligible to bid for funding to put in place community energy projects. This is funded by British Gas and supported by River Cottage and Friends of the Earth. In order to be eligible to apply for grant funding we need to gather as many supporters as possible before 30th June 2011, for a Community energy project. So it is important that you register as a member and supporter of the group, and drum up as much support as possible.

I have put forward the idea of making the Manor House more energy efficient by gaining funding to put in place the recommendations of the Save the Manor Group Report 2010- eg. provision of roof insulation, energy saving lighting, radiator heat controls etc. The roof may also be suitable for the installation of photovoltaic panels to generate electricity for use during sunshine hours. Everyone in Dawlish would benefit through reduced council costs and less energy use by community groups like us who hire the building.

You may have other Community schemes that could be put in place in mind...as well,

About Energyshare

energyshare is a community. It brings people together in person and online, to challenge the status quo and get more control over:

• Where your energy comes from
• How much you use
• How much you pay for it

Please follow next link to accept, sign-up, and join: http://www.energyshare.com/dawlish-transition/join/

Dawlish Transition is a renewable energy community group on energyshare.
Once you've registered you could....

Hope to see you on www.energyshare.com soon!

Next meeting 26th April 2011

Next Dawlish Transition meeting:  

 

Tuesday 26th April 7.15pm, 

The Manor House Dawlish

                                                                                                            

All Welcome

Next meeting, 22nd March, 7pm, Manor House

The next Transition meeting will be held on 22nd March, at 7pm  Room 4a, The Manor House, Dawlish and you are all warmly invited to attend. If you can, please come along.

The meeting is to decide what sort of activities and facilities we would like to see developed here in Dawlish as part our Transition Town movement, and to give information about progress with any ideas that have already been started. We value your input and ideas and look forward to seeing you there,

best wishes,

Carolyn

Dawlish Transition member

PRSD link to Transition launch and bag competiton

People's Republic of South Devon have covered the bag competition and launch here. 

http://www.peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk/2011/03/02/dont-forget-your-old-bag-dawlish-transition-town-comes-to-life/

Dawlish Community group film night launch – all welcome.

Thursday 24^th Feb, 7-9pm, Red Rock Centre, Sandy Lane.

A group of Dawlish residents, Dawlish business people and a local councillor are set to lead the way on the launch of “Dawlish Transition”, a community initiative that can help reduce costs, reduce waste and improve lifestyles!

“Transition” is about people working together to “future-proof” their lives as we face so much change in the world, like reducing oil supplies, higher prices and food shortages.

The whole Transition movement was launched in Totnes, many years ago and has been very successful, with initiatives including festivals, food events, garden share schemes and even solar panels for the civic hall.  It is estimated that Transition has brought an estimated £122,000 to the local economy, with people just coming to the town to find out more.  (See their website for more information - http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org)

Now Transition is proving successful in many other areas, and Dawlish aims to be next on the map!  The group will be showing a film that explains the issues we face, how we can take action, and afterwards a Q&A session event to enable people to find out more about getting involved and taking this to the next level.

The film night will be held on Thursday 24th February, 7-9pm at the Red Rock Centre (by Dawlish Football club, Sandy Lane).   Entry is free and all are welcome.

Films showing “”Power of the Community” and “Message in the Waves”, with guest speakers:  Antony Turner ,  Carbon Sense Foundation & Teign Estuary Transition, and Ben Bryant, Teignbridge Recycling Officer (Dawlish Bag Campaign)

Carolyn Ballard, who has booked the event and speakers said: “I’m delighted that we can kick-start the Transition movement here in Dawlish.  We have so many pro-active people here, and I’m sure we can all work together to create an amazing project that will improve everyone’s lives.”

Dawlish Transition has a site for more information: www.dawlishtransition.blogspot.com/

And members urge everyone to come along and enjoy the film and discussion.   Founder member, Sue Haswell said: “This is set to be a great free community event – and the start of something big, where we can all get together and tackle the issues that matter to us most.”

What could transition do for Dawlish?

For anyone who wants to know what Transition can do for a town, here's what it's done for Totnes.  The article, "What has TTT ever done for us?" is taken from their website:   (http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/content/what-has-ttt-ever-done-us ) – 

"What has TTT ever done for us?"

People visiting Totnes to find out about Transition have brought an estimated £122,000 to the local economy • over 300 people have visited the town to undertake Transition Training • TTT raised the funding for the 74 solar panels on Totnes Civic Hall which will generate around 13,000kWh (a third of its demand, leading to the Council saving over £5,500) • 186 hybrid nut trees have been planted throughout the town • over 4000 Local Food Guides (in 2 editions) have been distributed • our Garden Share scheme means that now 30 gardeners in 13 gardens are able to grow food, providing food to over 50 families • over 70 businesses now accept the Totnes Pound • organised over 140 public events • more than 1,000 students at King Edward VI Community College have now participated in our ‘Transition Tales’ programme • over 75% of people in Totnes and Dartington are aware of TTT’s work • more than 600 people attended 4 workshops on renewable energy • there are now 59 ‘Transition Together’ groups in and around the town, who will each reduce their carbon emissions by 1.2 tonnes, each saving £601 per year • over 50% of those households are low-income • ‘Transition Tours’, a structured tour designed for those who want to visit the town to learn about Transition has, so far, had a local impact of £52,166 • The work of TTT  has inspired an international network of thousands of Transition initiatives • TTT has formed partnerships with 25 other organisations • the creation of the Energy Descent Action Plan engaged over 800 local people, gave talks to 35 local organisations and held 27 public meetings • 50 people have learnt to garden through our basic gardening course • over 400 people attended ‘Winterfest’, a one-day celebration of the work of TTT • 3 annual ‘Edible Garden Crawls’ have been attended by over 500 people • the 2010 ‘Energy Fair’ was attended by over 400 people • TTT’s email newsletter is received by over 2,000 people • TTT’s Garden Share scheme was the inspiration for Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall’s national ‘Landshare’ campaign • Produced 10 short films about various TTT events, see http://tinyurl.com/3yh9ysu • ‘Estates in Transition’, a day conference co-organised with Dartington, brought 65 local landowners and managers together to explore the impacts of peak oil and climate change • 57.2% of local people feel TTT’s work is either ‘highly relevant’ or ‘relevant’ to their lives • the Heart and Soul group provides support to 15 people working in TTT so as to minimise incidents of burn-out • TTT’s website has over 4,500 registered users • our annual Seedy Sunday events each attract at least 200 people • a recent grant of £75,000 from Community Builders is supporting our efforts to bring the derelict Dairy Crest site back into community ownership • TTT has generated a great deal of media coverage, including BBC’s The One Show, Al Jazeera TV, ‘In Business’ on Radio 4, and pieces in most daily papers, as well as regularly attracting international media attention.... 

Taken from the Transition Town Totnes website (http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/content/what-has-ttt-ever-done-us ) –

Local Produce Market

Don't forget Dawlish Local Produce Market takes place on the first Friday of each month. 10.00am-2.00pm

Dawlish Transition to Launch!

As we face peak oil, sustainability issues, climate change and pollution - it becomes evident that communities need to support each other.

We are aiming to launch Dawlish Transition soon.  This will be a great way to bring the community together to tackle issues, and also to put Dawlish's needs on the map.

We could work with regeneration projects, or set up community gardens.   We could get training, support and funding.

We can find out how to make things last longer....save money, and save Earth's resources.

There are so many opportunities for Dawlish, and to get involved and play a part, all you need to do is come along to our events and find out more.

Right now we are planning an event for February 2011.  It will be a film night, held at the Red Rock Youth Training Centre, Sandy Lane.    More details will be posted here as we have them.

Express your interest...
In the meantime you can send us your details, and we'll keep you informed:  email:  s.haswell@btinternet.com, and use "Dawlish Transition" as your subject title.  If you'd like to get involved right from the outset, then please say so in the email. It will be great to have you on board!