Sue Ryder hospice in Moggerhanger wants volunteers to help its kitchen garden grow

A local Sue Ryder hospice is looking for green-fingered volunteers to help in its kitchen garden so that they can produce more homemade home-grown meals for patients to enjoy.

Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice chef, Sandra Galton, from Biggleswade, started the kitchen garden around two years ago with the support of the community who donated plants and bulbs.

So far, the garden has produced pumpkins and potatoes, carrots and broccoli, strawberries, onions, and more, which Sandra and the hospice kitchen team have turned into delicious creative cuisine.

Sandra said: “I started the kitchen garden in April 2022, with just a small harvest. Last year we managed a bigger harvest, but the hope is that with the help of more volunteers, this will just continue to grow. I would love to use the space to its full potential.

“I have various recipes in mind that require fruits and vegetables of all kinds so whether you are a prize courgette grower or if your expertise lies in weeding between the onions – everyone is welcome!

“We have plenty of empty raised beds too so if people want to take on a small patch on their own they can. Ideally, we need people who can volunteer for anything from a couple of hours a week to a couple of days, but any time given will be much appreciated.

“My mum bought me a book last year called ‘How to Grow a Cake’ which has been a very interesting read. The kitchen has created some vegetable cakes already like parsnip, carrot, beetroot, and sweet potato, but I would love to explore this more,” Sandra continues.

“I currently tend to the garden between shifts, and I can’t always give it the time and attention it needs to flourish. I am very grateful for the support we already receive, but with more volunteers on board, we can achieve so much more,” she added.

Debbie Brown is a new volunteer in the hospice kitchen garden and has been very busy recently refreshing and renovating the space following the cold winter months.

“I started supporting Sue Ryder a year ago as a Grief Kind Space volunteer at the charity’s Moggerhanger and Milton Earnest spaces. I cared for my mum who had Motor Neurone Disease and I became very interested in end-of-life care and bereavement support.

“I felt like I wanted to do more to support Sue Ryder so when I saw in the volunteer newsletter that they were searching for more people to help in the garden kitchen, I thought that would be perfect for me as I am a very keen gardener.

“Depending on the weather I go once or twice a week to help and since I started around a month ago much of my time has been spent clearing the space and weeding, tidying up the shed, and digging over the area ready for the next harvest.

“I am hoping to get the three central beds going soon by planting broad beans, and sweetcorn, lettuces, cucumbers, and courgettes – produce that is easy to maintain.

“The garden is a perfect idea as a way of producing goods for the kitchen. I would also love to set up a composting area so that the waste that goes out of the garden comes back in too. Sandra is talking about having a wormery that will produce liquid feed and deal with the waste coming out of the kitchen. It will be like a full circle.

“It would be lovely to have a wildflower area which would attract pollinators and birds – that would help with pest control. What we need to make all these things happen is more hands-on support so we can have a rota of people maintaining the area ensuring that everything that grows there survives and thrives.

“I love being in the hospice gardens, overlooking the fields. The hospice staff are friendly and to be producing something that goes to feed patients is a really rewarding thing to do,” Debbie adds.

This is an exciting year for people to join the gardening team at Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice in Moggherhanger which will become the forever home of Sue Ryder’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 charity garden, the Sue Ryder Grief Kind Garden, designed by award-winning designer Katherine Holland.

The kitchen garden will overlook the relocated garden which will act as a dedicated space providing solace and sanctuary for hospice staff, volunteers, patients, their families, and the local community.

To find out more about gardening volunteer opportunities contact Emma Chaston, Volunteer Coordinator at Sue Ryder St John's Hospice at [email protected]

To apply visit: sueryder.org/support-us/volunteer/quick-apply. For more information on Sue Ryder St John’s Hospice visit www.sueryder.org/stjohns.