Community glad to be back in the garden

AFTER more than 35 years of providing food, friendships and green thumb advice, there’s no surprise that there’s a waiting list to secure a plot at Geelong West Community Garden.

The community garden, stretching between Autumn Street and Leckie Place, offers about 40 plots for local residents to grow their own food and as blocks are subdivided and townhouses replace backyards, its relevance is growing faster than a spring crop.

However the garden is also a tranquil place in the middle of the busy suburb, which provides a social outing, a chat with like-minded souls, and an escape from everything but the relaxation of tending a garden.

Rosie Friend said the group had 43 members, with about 35 claiming a full plot and others sharing plots to grow what they need.

The youngest plot-holders are in their 30s including young families, with play equipment to keep children and grandchildren busy while gardening is underway.

The most senior gardener is in his 80s and the sense of community across the ages is certainly part of the garden’s attraction.

Rosie and fellow gardeners Brian Voysey and Rosemary Nugent – who established her plot almost 30 years ago – are all extremely glad to be back in the garden after COVID lockdowns, in time to harvest what’s left of their winter crops or keep an eye on their spring plantings.

Rosie said COVID lockdowns had been difficult and it had taken some time for members to weed and clean up their plots, with some members who relied on their home-grown vegetables losing their valuable produce.

“We thought we would have been able to continue to come to the garden but it was closed; it was sad.

“The garden isn’t just a food source, it’s therapy, an outlet and it might be the only contact people have for the day.”

Brian said it was lucky that the lockdowns happened when there was minimal produce growing and slower weed growth.

He said winter crops such as silverbeet, broccoli, leeks, garlic and cauliflower were finishing, while capsicum, tomatoes and cucumbers were now going in.

Brian said members shared their growing techniques, whether it be planting by the moon or organic ideas on protecting their gardens from weeds and snails.

The garden has a pizza oven and barbecue for social gatherings – another welcome post-COVID return – along with a communal herb garden, fruit trees, greenhouse and garden sheds for members to share.

Rosie said they also shared the workload and a new system was being put in place with each plot-holder responsible for a different task to help maintain the communal areas.

“A lot of our members already had their own jobs; so we will have someone looking after the pizza area, the kitchen area, mowing, social media, grants, an archivist… and there’s no pressure to do set hours,” she said.

“We’ll also have some providing plot support, so if someone is away, they can help look after their garden.”

Rosemary said the garden caretakers also liked to involve the community in the space as much as possible, with regular visits from Ashby Primary School and other opportunities for people to use the garden for small events.

“There’s lots of opportunities to reach out to the community; we’ve even had a book launch here,” she said.

The community gardeners also plan to start sharing their gardening wisdom with the wider Geelong community via the garden’s Facebook page.