One of the (many) things I enjoy about community gardening is the way we can try out different ideas and techniques, as well as see how fellow gardeners reuse or recycle. Community gardens by nature are generally short of funds so gardeners are great at adapting “stuff”.
In Goresbridge community garden we’ll be trying out a few ideas we’ve seen online to highlight what can be grown in a relatively small area. We’ll report back how we get on with them.
First off, with huge thanks to Colette’s husband Peter, we now have a vertical pallet garden on the wall. We started filling it with strawberries this morning and will add colour in the form of nasturtiums and perhaps salads over the coming weeks.
We have lots of strawberry plants this year so if you’re a regular follower of the Goresbridge garden posts you’ll start to notice them in all sorts of places. Here we’ve planted some up in guttering that’s been affixed to the wall (Peter is a marvel) and are on the look out for more. We’re curious to see how much watering they’ll need but have a good rota of people so hopefully this won’t be a problem.
Lots of space to add more guttering
Most of the community gardeners are growing vegetables in their own gardens too. Here’s a simple cold frame that James built for less than €20:
Imelda’s husband Ollie is full of great ideas too! How about this simple but effective one for keeping fleece or plastic in place over raised beds:
Bungies keep most things secure!
I especially like Imelda’s greenhouse that’s full of seedling’s under fleece right now.
Imelda & Ollie’s Greenhouse
Ollie built this using clear plastic sheeting and other bits and bobs at a fraction of the price of a flat pack alternative.
I’ll keep you posted of other ways the gardeners come up with to reuse/recycle over the coming months.
Dee Sewell – a horticulturalist and certified trainer who started Greenside Up in 2009 and teaches people how to grow vegetables. Dee specialises in working with community gardens but also offers workshops, allotment visits, consultations, horticultural therapy, afterschools clubs as well as local talks – she tailors her services to meet clients needs. In 2012 Dee launched a Seed Gift Collection containing varieties of vegetable and insect friendly flowers with the aim of getting more people growing. Dee’s blog was a finalist in the 2012 Ireland Blog Awards in the Eco/Green and Lifestyle Categories.
Source: Greenside Up – Reuse/Recycle – Gardeners are the Experts! – Dee Sewell
