Community Gardening

[WIC Garden Project]

A community garden is a single piece of land gardened by a group of people.  The garden may consist of individual plots (sometimes called allotments) and/or areas that are gardened communally. 

Many WIC members are interested in participating in community gardens, or at least finding out more.  Such gardens provide an opportunity to share gardening knowledge and work in a sociable environment.  It often leads to sharing seeds, produce and recipes - made all the more exciting when so many different ethnicities with our traditional plants and cuisines are working together!

We are most likely to maintain involvement in a community garden if it is close to where we live.  There are a number of community gardens with membership open to the general public already in existence in Hamilton and many would welcome more members.  There are also a number of groups considering starting community gardens in the area. 

So that you can find out about the gardens already running that you may want to join and also to learn from their experiences, we are organising a Waikato Community Garden Network Meeting on the afternoon of Thursday 22 September in Frankton, Hamilton.  More details will follow - watch this discussion page... 

Some of the groups that joined WIC have their own land, and we are working one by one to help them develop their gardens. The first is in Tokoroa.

Most WIC members live in the Nawton area of Hamilton, where there is no existing community garden.  The Salvation Army in nearby Grandview (where some of our Grow Your Own Vegetables From Seed workshops were held) was thinking about starting a community garden when we approached them about their land: we are now looking to work together on a joint community garden project - watch this space!

Photo: Katherine Hay of the Waikato Environment Centre talking about community gardens at our first WIC meeting. (Jovi, HMS)

 

[Clare Jackson]

This photo taken at Grandview  Community Garden today shows how the kale on the right (mulch) grew better and did not have many weeds.  You cannot see the kale on the left (no mulch) because it is smaller and covered in weeds. Mulching slows down weeds, keeps the soil moist and feeds the soil. At Grandview Community Garden the gardeners mulch their plots using well rotted woodchips.

[Clare Jackson]

Grandview Community Garden

The gardeners are busy in their plots sowing basil, pumpkins zuccini and chillies..

and earthing up potatoes

[Clare Jackson]

Grow your own vegetables with us at Grandview Community Garden

Thursday nov 8th after work   5.30pm to 7pm: making hot compost, sowing chillies and pumpkins

New gardeners are welcome. We can help you start a garden. Now is good for sowing: chillies, tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, spring onions, carrots, silverbeet, parsley, beetroot, leeks, beans and peas. Bring seeds if you have them 

park on Grandview Road and walk through the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd Hamilton. (look for the banner ) Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Get in touch if you have any questions Clare 021 0387623 and Tim ph 021 2243109 WIC Community Garden Mentors

 

[Clare Jackson]

for a continuous supply of greens

Sow some lettuce, spinach or pak choi every week. Then you will always have one ready to pick, right through summer.

 this photo is of the demonstration plot at Grandview Community Garden

[Clare Jackson]

 Free workshop - building a low cost shade house

 Grandview Community Garden Saturday nov 17th 9am to 5pm:

 All welcome- bring tools if you have them.

park on Grandview Road and enter through the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd. (look for the banner ) Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Get in touch if you have any questions Tim ph 021 2243109 WIC Community Garden Mentor

[Clare Jackson]

Making use of a problem weed at Grandview Community Garden

Dock  (Rumex obtusifolius http://weeds.massey.ac.nz/weeds.asp?pid=90) is a difficult weed because its deep roots easily break off and re grow if not dug out carefully. Fortunately dock is rich in minerals - and we can use it like comfrey to make liquid manure :)

How to dig out dock

 

 

[Clare Jackson]

volunteers and gardeners build a shade house at Grandview Community Garden

A group of volunteers, gardeners and supporters worked hard on saturday to build a shade house for the garden.

The timber was recovered from  large wooden pallets, which were  levered apart and denailed. The finished structure was painted with fence stain, ready for the shade cloth to go on.

Tun Hla denailing the planks

Owen on the sawbench

Bob, Tun Hla and Clare L painting the frame

[Clare Jackson]

Going to seed

Silverbeet, lettuce and spring onion are seeding at GCG. We will collect some by cutting and drying stored upside down in paper bags in the shed, and some will land in the gardens and grow  – we just need to learn to recognise them from weed seedlings when they pop up –free veg, planted for free :)

spring onion seed heads

silverbeet (L) and lettuce (R) seed heads

 

 

 

[Clare Jackson]

Hamilton Organic Gardeners Group end of year tour of Grandview Community Garden 

on saturday afternoon the HOGS garden group toured the community garden, saw the water harvesting system in action and joined the gardeners for a picnic afternoon tea. The Hamilton Organic Gardeners Group gave a generous donation of seeds to Grandview Community Garden:)

[Clare Jackson]

Natural shade for baby lettuce

At Grandview Community Garden we use the runners of pumpkin and squash to make shade for letttuce seedlings. The runners are easy to pick up and move where you want them, to either provide shade for seedlings or to smother weeds. 

[Clare Jackson]

shadehouse at Grandview Community Garden

The gardeners, volunteers and Tim have finished the shadehouse -just in time for the hot weather :)

[Clare Jackson]

home made mini shade house for seedlings

New seedlings need shade on very hot summer days. This mini shadehouse  was made from a broken clothes airer, a piece of shadecloth and 2 clothespegs. When the seedlings are about 10cm high they will be hardened off gradually to the full sun before being planted out.