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]

Working  through the rain at Grandview Community Garden

The rain on thursday did not deter all of the community gardeners! In the fine breaks, Jody got the spinach weeded, harvested a bunch of pak choi and planted out silverbeet, as well as spreading mulch on paths and gardens.

[Clare Jackson]

Seed Sowing at Grandview Community Garden

Spring is nearly here! At our seed sowing demonstration on saturday the gardeners made a batch of seed raising mix from pumice and composted bark, and sowed peas, cabbage, capsicum and tomatoes. The next demo is on thursday august 30th at 10.30am. All welcome. Grandview Community Garden is on bus route 8 (Frankton) Entrance to the garden  is through the gate opposite 183 Grandview Road.

Clare and Tim WIC Community Garden Mentors ph 021 224 3109

 

[Clare Jackson]

Composting  at Grandview Community Garden

On saturday the gardeners made a slow compost by covering a huge pile of weeds with a sheet of black polythene. The weeds in this heap will rot down slowly into compost, ready to use in a few months. You can add more weeds, just uncover part of the heap and cover again when you have finished.

 

[Clare Jackson]

Gardeners set up a Worm Bin at Grandview Community Garden

A handful of compost worms are settling into their new home at the community garden. It is made from an old sink with a hinged wooden lid, and sits on four wooden stakes, hammered into the ground. The worm liquid drains into a bucket underneath. Thanks to the Hamilton Community Men's Shed for donating materials.

 

[WIC Garden Project]

Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting

The next Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting is on 13 September, 12 noon - 2 pm.  Anyone interested in community gardening is welcome to attend. 

It is being held in the Anglican Action conference room, Te Ara Hou Village, 100 Morrinsville Road, Hillcrest, Hamilton 3251.  For more information contact Anna Cox or Robert Moore, [phone].

The Waikato Community Gardens Network was set up in 2011 and meets twice a year to share what is happening in community gardening in the Waikato, and to provide a forum for information sharing, capacity building and support.

[WIC Garden Project]

Waikato Community Gardens Network- Google Group

The Waikato Community Gardens Network now has a Google Group email list with open membership:  please join if you want to hear about when meeting are on, etc.  The link is: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/waikato-communit...  (There should be a join group to reply button on the right, or similar.)

 

Use the Google Group to ask a community garden question, advertise an event, publicise useful resources or research, or...

[WIC Garden Project]

Waikato Community Gardens Network Meeting On 13 Sept

Robert says there is a cafe on site, or BYO lunch.  Tea & coffee provided.

[Clare Jackson]

vegetable seedlings coming up at Grandview Community Garden

The first  pea and cabbage seedlings which the gardeners sowed last week are already up. We have been keeping them warm and moist in a polystyrene box lightly covered with an old net curtain, inside our tunnel house. Outdoors, our carrots and lettuce are popping out of the ground.

[Clare Jackson]

potatoes at Grandview Community Garden

Now the soil is starting to warm up we are preparing the ground for potatoes. Potatoes are ready to plant when they have grown sprouts.

[Clare Jackson]

Time to plant !

When: Wednesday September 12th 10 - 12

Hands on seed sowing - grow your own summer vegetables :)

Now is the time to sow carrots, celery, spring onions, lettuce, beetroot and peas outdoors - and tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies and zucchini indoors.

We will show you how. New gardeners welcome at Grandview Community Garden 

 

Enter through the gate opposite 183 Grandview Rd.  Bus route number 8 (Frankton)

Clare and Tim WIC Community Garden Mentors ph 021 0387623   021 2243109

         

 

[Clare Jackson]

winter gardening at SWPICS Community Garden, Tokoroa

Edna and staff at SWPICS joined Tim (community garden mentor) in the garden at Maraetai Road to make a mini tunnel house. Built out of new and reused materials, the 800mm high modular mini tunnel will warm up the garden and bring on the vegetables. The cover is pegged down against the wind with home made wire pegs. The gardeners planted out cos lettuce seedlings, donated by the community gardeners from Grandview Community Garden, Hamilton.

[Clare Jackson]

staking the new fruit trees at SWPICS Community Garden

Edna and SWPICS community gardeners staking the newly planted fruit trees at the Tokoroa community garden. Secured against spring winds, the young trees can now put down roots in their new home :)