Welcome to Maidstone's Shepway Chariots - community garden and wildlife corner

Who are Shepway Chariots, Maidstone?

Welcome to Shepway Chariots, my name is Nikki and I am the founder of Shepway Chariots… in Shepway, Maidstone. So, a little bit of a back story for you. After applying for an allotment plot on Hampshire Drive and being unsuccessful, we approached the council with the idea of taking on the whole area of abandoned allotments with the intention of creating one large community garden and wildlife corner. 

In January 2017 we received the keys to the half-acre of disused and fly-tipped land and began to transform the land into a community garden. What once was unloved land, now represented the beginning of change, for which we have won several awards over the last 18 months. 

Shepway Chariots welcomes all to come and join in; to learn how food gets from plot to plate and encouraging an active and healthy lifestyle as well as building new friendships. Run completely by volunteers we welcome anyone who would like to join us on this amazing journey.

New year, new projects

With so many new projects lined up and the warmth of the sunshine, it has allowed us to make great progress with the patio area outside our lovely greenhouse. Not only will this make a great spot for raised accessible beds, but it will also be a prime spot for you, to come and sit in the sunshine and enjoy a nice cold glass of lemonade. 

A new wildlife corner has also been created with a new waterhole which will be perfect for our residential frogs and their frogspawn. Specially selected wild seeds will provide a splash of colour as well as providing nectar for insects and bugs. 

Shepway Shallots - our children’s gardening club

Shepway Shallots gardening club is free to all children however they must be accompanied by an adult. Tea and coffees are supplied for the adults and juice and biscuits for the children. 

Recently the children have been busy working together; they foraged for moss, leaves, straw and all other types of insect friendly materials to build an insect hotel. This will provide a home environment for numerous insects and minibeasts, making it a great place for your little people to come and explore. Some of the wildlife visitors have enjoyed tucking into the feasts that have been hung around the garden by the Shallots and we have been visited by a heron along with some wagtails and a beautiful great tit to name but a few.

We’d like to thank Cllr Mckay who has provided funding for Shepway Shallots to allow them to embark on some amazing workshops.

Has Spring arrived - the growing begins …

Well, those few days of Spring have had such an amazing effect on the garden and a surge of growth in the greenhouse will see us soon planting out Rocket, Radishes, Cabbages, Peas and Beans. Our Potato crops have gone in and our Strawberries have been transferred to their new beds. 

We are planning to have lots of fresh produce available for you to purchase this year, so please consider supporting us and buy local. 

Would you like to name our chicks?

Recently we welcomed the arrival of 9 baby chicks, whom at present are living in a brooder, which provides a safe and warm environment for the chicks until they are big enough to make the transition from brooder to pen. At this stage the ladies would welcome a visit from you, perhaps to even share your picnic (Chickens love their food!!!) 

Videos and updates on our little chicks can be seen on our YouTube channel. We would welcome name suggestions to be sent in for them and the winning suggestions will be announced in our next blog with certificated for those that have won!

Coffee and Friendship morning with Involve Kent

Furthermore, we are delighted to announce that Shepway Chariots received funding from Involve Kent which will allow us to hold our first Coffee and Friendship morning on March 18^th from 10.00am to 13.00pm - all are very welcome to come and join us. 

This is a great opportunity to meet new people and make new friends whilst enjoying a slice of cake and a cuppa, as well as this we will be purchasing a new poly tunnel. 

The garden is such a lovely place, with beautiful flowers, buzzing with wildlife and not forgetting our amazing chickens, a slice of paradise right here in Shepway, Maidstone - come down and see for yourself - the kettle is always on!

And, if you can’t make it down, we look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming months with our regular blogs on Maidstone Daily Prss.