Working bee at the #communitygarden this morning, followed by a #composting workshop. I though I’m relatively knowledgeable about composting but I picked up some good tips.
Went to spread compost for our plot at the community garden and sunset caught up with us.
The tool shed looked so pretty in the dark!
In the last 8 years, this space has been transformed, little by little, from a barren piece of land into a thriving garden.
The garden may not be as pretty or lush as other community gardens. Enrollment is still low and we are in a kinda rough area, with the occasional theft and vandalism. But there is so much positive going on.
I don't have good words to explain it, and the pictures don't make justice to the feeling. But so many living beings have moved in. So many positive interactions with other gardeners. And with visitors. It's a work in progress and it is beautiful.
This place gives me hope that we can build other types of systems. Sometimes I think it's like a baby solarpunk seed.
While we weren't fast enough with using all our fennel, we have harvested more than a ton of potatos in our cosy community field. #SoLawi#kartoffelroder#communitygarden
Flower of #artichoke, #Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, which we don't usually get to see as it's the tightly-closed buds we eat. But it's a gorgeous bloom.
About two blocks from my house is a little community garden that is maintained by a local church. When I'm feeling overwhelmed or just need to get out of the house, this is always only a few minutes away.
Every time I go, I notice something beautiful. The flowers are blooming even now, so many pollinators frequent it.
It fills me with calm, and serves as peaceful distraction from the chaos.
Growing your own food, especially with others in your community can be one of the most revolutionary things you can do. Just growing some herbs and a couple of tomato plants on a balcony or a window means one step towards divesting from the massive, multi-national agri-chemical businesses that own our food production and profits! Or go further and set up a community garden?! #BoycottSupermarkets #UrbanGardening#CommunityGarden#CommunityGardening#HealthIsWealth#GYO#GrowYourOwn G
...not for good reasons though. Wish this would stop happening every year. Glad we're finally getting some coverage of it though; you'd think after the arson last year there would've been at least some attention.
Sometimes I mention "my" garden, but really it's a #CommunityGarden I share with about 20 other people.
A few years ago, this small lot had an old house that was in very bad shape. It was sold and the buyer intended to build a new one as an investment rental. But for some reason the construction was delayed and it was left as an empty lot after the sale and demolition.
Some neighbors got together and approached the owner, asking if they could turn the lot into a community garden. They made fences and beds out of recycled material like pallets and decking. They planted fruit vines and trees for everyone to share. The local food bank agreed to pay the water bill.
10 or so years later, here we are! Every year we don't know if this will be the last one, the owner will finally need to start building. It could end at any minute.
I wish that cities would plot more gardens or that it was easier to establish them on private property. I love guerilla gardening but it's hard to grow vegetables that way in this climate (you have to water them in summer) and you miss out on the community part.
I think the ideal housing pattern is small apartment buildings (4-20 units, up to 3 floors tall) #missingmiddle with shared gardens. This maximizes the useful space and minimizes wasted space for everyone. You could do this retroactively by converting parking lots into gardens and allowing residential infill to densify neighborhoods. #urbanplanning#urbanism
In some cities the waitlist for community gardens is years long. That's an absolute travesty. How much more value do gardens give people and cities than endless expanse of lawn and pavement? #FoodNotLawns#gardening
We have a couple open spots still at ComeUnity Roots Garden, and we're open to everyone regardless of age, experience, or ability - this is a place to learn and grow (lol) with a community model - we have a few individual plots, but most of the garden is full of shared beds.
Come join us! The honeyberries are ripe in our food forest already ;)
A Transition shed has been shortlisted for the coveted #shedoftheyear award!
Built by volunteers over several months, with mostly reclaimed materials, it sits in the lush oasis of Transition Cambridge’s Empty Common Community Garden close to the centre of the city.
It's a place of peace for the volunteer gardeners and for local groups working towards a fairer, resilient and thriving community to use.
They call it the Head, Heart and Hands shed – amazing how just a few square metres of space can help bring people together and support local change...
Barring emergencies, it shouldn’t be legal to trim big trees during nesting season. Those poor birds nesting in those trees. If the babies aren’t falling onto the ground, they’re being tossed into the chipper. It’s horrible. Workers are destroying the beautiful maple trees next door. @waterlooregion#kitchener#NestingSeason#Deforestation#BirdDeath#Robins
@waterlooregion this gorgeous community garden, orchard, flower garden, and vineyard was bulldozed and paved this year. This garden fed many people and was necessary habitat. Now it is just another equipment yard. This land is being intentionally destroyed, and for what? This is a moustache-twirling kind of evil. What do people intend on leaving for future generations? This is stealing from our children. #HabitatDestruction#LandBack#CommunityGarden#ClimateCatastrophe
Planted four varieties of #beans today. I’m using the garden fence by the dogwoods for supports for the climbers (two green and one dry). And these pictured are bush dry beans, in a new #NoDig zone. There’s newspaper on the grass, with at least 6” of half rotted straw-y compost on that, and I’ve planted the soaked beans in little hills of potting soil. Tomorrow I’ll work out a sprinkler for down there. I don’t think the fence beans will necessarily need irrigation, but these terrace beans sure will, at least at first.
In other corners: Almost all of the potatoes have sprouted! And the little corn plants look good.
The snapdragons (I think; I forget the names of flowers pretty easily) and pansies are overwinters! We’re in 8b west coast, but the sheltered spots closest to the house are closer to a 10, and these lovelies all stayed green all winter.
Has anyone grown #manuka from seed, or even grown other bushes from seed? I started this tray of manuka seeds in March, and I think at this point I’ve got all the germination I’m going to get. When should I prick these babies out? Can I transplant them straight to some larger 6” or 8” pots for easier moisture control, or do they need to be babied on in 4” pots? #Gardening@gardening
Toronto Community Housing Corp. dismantled & binned everything in it - the koi pond, sculptures, waterfall - over what it says were hazardous materials.
The garden's founder claims that the garden removal began soon after a TCHC staffer allegedly said that the garden was “too gay.”
@KatLS Toronto mayoralty candidate Josh Matlow is onto it:
"This garden was a beloved oasis. It was a truly magical place that made so many people happy, thanks to Brian Gorrell. Working with the community, I’m determined to ensure this wrong is made right. More to come…" #communitygarden#gardening