Plans for Wilton St Community Garden

June 9, 2009 · Filed under Gardening

Wilton Street Community Garden – Top of Wilton Street off Richmond Road behind the Gypsy Tea Room

We have a fantastic resource – the land.  There is plenty to do to develop this into a lovely and sustainable community garden and we would welcome any keen people experienced gardeners or not, who’d like to join in.

Background

The garden is on privately owned land, consisting of two combined sites, belonging to the Gypsy Tea Room and the Wine Vault.   The site was previously a very overgrown ‘vacant lot’ with a bad jasmine infestation.  So far work on the garden has consisted mainly of weed clearance and rubbish removal, which has been carried out by a handful of enthusiastic locals, mostly neighbours from Wilton Street.

Plan

Our plan is to grow herbs, pickable fruit and vegetables and maybe have a compost unit for local people to bring their compostable waste to.

We only have certainty of a medium term tenure estimated at 3-5 years minimum.   We have made the decision to develop the garden as much possible using locally sourced recycled materials.  We are hoping to get unwanted plants and materials from the local community, garden centres and businesses.

The site already has an existing fig tree, nasturtiums, some old roses (including one covered in rosehips) and a bay tree.  We have recently planted a lemon and bananas salvaged from a nearby site being bulldozed for redevelopment.  One shady corner of the site is fenced off with trellis and has existing native plants and trees.  We plan to have this as quiet amenity garden, with the balance of the site – the sunny area, used for growing fruit and vegetables.

We’d like to have a regular working bee on the site – say every Sunday afternoon.

As the garden becomes established, gardeners can work in and use the garden at any time.

Short term jobs

Soil test site – we want to grow food and don’t know the history of the site and until recently cars have been parking on it

Ongoing weed removal – spray and chop back Jasmine

Boundary fence the site – a very nice picket fence has been donated to us now we just need posts put in to attach picket sections to

Make and hang Community garden sign – this might be on the concrete wall behind the garden

Repair existing trellis fence and gates

Shift concrete tubs and bathtub to better location on site

Build compost bins and raised garden beds – we may need some top soil to build up beds to begin with.

Materials we require (recycled is fine)

8-10 Posts for perimeter fence (minimum 2 m length)

Untreated timber (or other material) to construct compost bins and garden beds

Clean topsoil/compost for beds

Useful Plants

We are using OOOOby (Out of Our Own Backyards) as a way to stay in touch and also learn from other gardeners who are are not in Grey Lynn. Here is the the link.



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Grey Lynn Community Garden makes NZ Herald

May 28, 2009 · Filed under Community, Gardening, Grey Lynn

Did you see this story on the Grey Lynn community gardens?  It was in the Viva section of the NZ Herald.

It’s an intesting story  with the history of the garden and how it work.

Great photo of Andrea and her friends!

andrea

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva-magazine/news/article.cfm?c_id=533&objectid=10574634

For those of you who don’t know the garden, it is in the grounds of St Columba Church (where Richmond Rd intersects with Surrey Cres)

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City Grazing for Sheep or Cattle

March 30, 2009 · Filed under Community, Urban Design, Urban Food Production

Do you have sheep or cattle which you would like to graze on paddocks alongside Kelmarna Organic City Farm in Herne Bay?
There is currently approx 1.3 ha, which includes six fenced paddocks, of pasture for grazing.
If interested & you have queries please contact:
Lynn Green greenly@xtra.co.nz
Kelmarna Community Garden Trust Inc
P 376 6376

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Wilton St Community Garden

February 18, 2009 · Filed under Community, Gardening, Grey Lynn 2030, Urban Food Production

We are lucky to now have threee community gardens in Grey Lynn. The “experts” next to St Columba Church and Kelmarna Garden who have years of experience and flourishing gardens.
We also now have a new garden on Wilton Street directly behind the Gypsy Tearoom and the Wine Vvault. Both the owners of the plots and the lessees have given the enterprise their blessing so ongoing tenure is assured.

The project has been started by a group of neighbours at the top of Wilton Street, including Mandy McMullein, Kate Walshe, and Jacqui Watson and Adele. Mandy, is a landscape architect, and intends to design a plan for the garden which the community could use that might gain sponsorship from various funding sources. This would pay for
soil testing and structures that need to be put in place, such as a fence and a compost bin. A local enterprise that makes compost bins businessman has offered to do any building required at a reduced rate.
There are a few locals already involved  largely from Wilton Street who are keen on the project and have good skills to donate to it. Since they started other people from further afield have contacted the gardeners asking to be involved. All are welcome.

Presently it still looks like a empty section but Ponsonby News spoke to the Mandy and Jacqui who said the plot has already undergone a transformation with a major weed problem tackled. and almost overcome. They’ve hand cleared the site of jasmine that was growing right up into the trees and smothering everything. Although pretty, jasmine is very hard to eradicate
completely and will require ongoing control.

Some kind person has offered them a couple of goats to get rid of it, but that’s an option requiring careful consideration! Might be a bit upsetting for people having a tipple at Gypsy Tea Rooms….

The plan is that members of the community will pull together to create a resource that we can all enjoy. Part of their vision is to have a relaxation area as well, where people can enjoy sitting quietly, they might have street barbeques, or neighbourhood celebrations at festival times.


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Grey Lynn Community Garden

January 28, 2009 · Filed under Community, Gardening, Grey Lynn 2030

The Grey Lynn Community Gardens are nestled in the Saint Columba Church grounds in the heart of Grey Lynn. It is a Living Community Trust Project that began in 2000. The Saint Columba Church and Community have provided a safe and highly supportive space for the Community Gardens to grow.

The intention of this Garden is for it to be a place where people can build a sense of community and connection with the earth and seasons. The gardens help us practice and enjoy being, working, learning and sharing with others. This gardening opportunity fosters a sense of respect and awe for the art of growing your own organic food. Growing a sense of confidence in our ability to nurture nature, manage our waste and sustain health and life. The Community Gardens nourishes the belly and the soul!

It is a volunteer project and it operates in a very open manner. Anyone on any day can come and explore the gardens. The Gardens have ‘Growing Together’ Sunday afternoons (5pm~8pm in Summer, 2pm~4pm in winter and 4pm~6pm in Spring and Autumn) – where gardeners and people interested in gardening can come, meet, exchange experiences, plant material and resources. We often eat together, share vegetables, recipes and herbal remedies. We have a general foraging policy where you can pick with respect anywhere in the gardens. We do have about 14 allotted areas where individuals tend and are guardians of ‘their’ plot but we also have communal areas. We have working bees to keep those communal plots planted and to invite people to come and enjoy and learn more about gardening. Hundreds of people of all ages, ethnic and social backgrounds have been involved in the Community gardens since its inception.

Permaculture and Organic Gardening are the main approaches applied in the garden. The Gardeners have been influenced by many philosophies and methods such as Biodynamics, The Slow food movement, Zero Waste principles and Deep Ecology.

To keep the gardening community inspired we have organized field trips to permaculture and organic gardens including Rainbow Valley Farm in Matakana and Koanga Gardens in Kaiwaka. Networking with institutions such as Unitec and other community gardens like Kelmarna Organic City Farm in Herne Bay to support us in the Gardening movement.

We have had stands at the Grey Lynn Festival in Grey Lynn Park which is attended by thousands of people. During the Festival we talk to hundreds of people, display images and information, give worm farm demonstrations and sell summer seedlings to promote gardening to the local community.

Every year the Community Gardens put on a Winter Solstice Celebration in The Saint Columba Community Hall. It’s a festive time to pay respects to Matariki, Papatuanuku and the people of our community. This year (2008) we fed 200 people dinner from the Grey Lynn Gardens, other supporting Community Gardens and the Kai Tika Organic Food Co-Op, also run by the Living Communities Trust. It is a major promotion of sustainable local living practices.

The Gardens have been resourced by the goodwill of volunteers. Our seed and plant material has been donated by the gardeners. There is a tool shed, a clubhouse, worm farms and composting facilities. Our water supply comes from the Saint Columba Community Hall roof. In time we will be able to integrate more fully with Saint Columba and its grounds, helping manage food waste and plant material through our worm farms, composting and mulching systems. We have hopes to strengthen our infrastructure so that we can be a greater community model and resource, to potentially provide open community workshops.

In a time when the cost of living is rising and our awareness of how dependent we are on our fragile environment, the Grey Lynn Community Gardens at Saint Columba are a precious asset for our future.

Contact us at greylynncommunitygarden@gmail.com

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