As spring creeps nearer, thoughts turn to vegetables to grow over the coming season.
That’s all very well for those who have been doing it for years, but growing one’s own can be a bit daunting for newcomers to the edible scene.
To get a feel for what will do well in your area, visiting a local community garden is a good starting point. Not only can you see what can be grown but you can also get some hands-on experience, gather tips and tricks from others and enjoy the company of friendly, like-minded people.
On a generous piece of land behind St Peter Chanel church, the garden was started in 2015, Marion Thomas heading the team of volunteers.
"It’s an amazing site," she says.
Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin Michael Dooley, the parish priest at the time, "couldn’t have been more helpful", Mrs Thomas says. She also praised Community Constable Fred Jansen for his work in marking out the garden beds and the "very helpful" Steve Hayward, of the Greater Green Island Community Network.
Mrs Thomas’ husband, Joe, says companion planting is helping, too, by eliminating harmful organisms and encouraging beneficial insects.
Volunteer Jules Haldane emphasises the importance of learning from older gardeners before their knowledge is lost. One tip gleaned from an elderly Brighton man was growing potatoes in "nests" of pine needles. Another was mixing one part cider vinegar to five parts water and a teaspoonful of dishwashing liquid as a spray to keep rust off garlic. "I need to use some on my old truck," another volunteer quipped.
Not having enough space to rotate potato crops has been overcome by another old practice, using green manure, including mustard, to revitalise the large spud patch annually.
Last season, carrots, tomatoes and pumpkins were the most popular vegetables but "anything that’s fresh and edible" is sought after, Mrs Thomas says.
"We go with the tried-and-true vegetables and tuck in a few wee different ones for people to try as an education," she explains.
An Otago Community Trust grant in 2018 enabled the purchase of fruit trees — "We wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise" — so apples, pears, plums and other stone fruit now line the garden perimeter.
"We planted known varieties, as opposed to heritage varieties that people now don’t recognise," Mrs Thomas says.
A great educational service is a retired orchardist who teaches how to prune, shape and spray the trees to enhance health and fruit production.
An edible hedge on a fenceline has feijoas, Chilean guavas and blackcurrants, the latter producing "huge berries, as big as gooseberries ... and so sweet and juicy", Mrs Thomas says.
It’s not all fruit and vegetables, though. Green Island Sheds made a chook tractor for the project and there are two hens in residence, Lucy and Jane. When the hens have worked over one piece of ground, clearing it of bugs, the tractor is moved, leaving droppings to fertilise the soil.
"It works a treat."
Gifts of sheds and a tunnel house have been of great benefit and at the start of this week pak choi was almost ready to harvest, while outdoor lettuces that stood under soft-drink containers over winter were starting to shape up.
Coming up
- On Tuesday, September 13, the Green Island community garden will host a free seed-sowing afternoon from 3pm until 5pm. Each attendee will be given a six-cell plant punnet and seeds, the cost of which is being covered by the Greater Green Island Community Network. Organisers hope parents will bring children along.
- The community garden will be selling plants at the Green Island Market Day on Saturday, November 5. This is the garden’s main fundraiser for the year.
