Community Garden

OskarDoLittle

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Gosh, starting to sound like a small business!! Interesting "retirement"...sounds like lots of hard work going on!
 

Kasalia

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Insurance alone needs paying for then there is a host of other things to keep the garden going. The fruit fly have discovered us, so nets is one thing. We apply for every grant going. We need bricks for a bench in the "pavilion" for our donated pizza oven bricks, and a place for our donated BBQ. Concrete for a floor. There is no power connected that would be a bonus lol. and a ride on lawnmower.
Already had enquiries if we have any seedlings for sale.
 

Kasalia

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Did a market stand and raised another $200.00 Was for Seniors week and all the entertainment were retired. Choirs, dancers, ukulele band, Big Big Boogie band. Not ina hurry to do another one too soon, lots of work.
 
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Bea

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I am soooooooooo impressed by how fast everything has come together and the amount fo cash and materials that have been donated. I am wondering about the volunteers. a good principle of any non-profit or profit group is a strategy for rewarding volunteers. some people dont need a reward and others really need a pat on the back. but, why cant volunteers take a share of the produce when they help out. for example, if someone is picking the greens why not a basket for tonight's supper or the kids' sandwiches tomorrow or a soup with kale and white beans? You could always provide the baskets so one person might get a lot of greens and another, one or two squash but that seems fair to me. You would obviously have a lot of people picking fruit. LOL as for the food forest, I recently watched a blog from Florida where the blogger helped his dad create a food forest in the middle of the backyard. it wasnt a 1/4 acre size. It was very impressive. the principle is to just let stuff grow, pick the produce when ready, trim the trees and pull up stuff when needed and you just throw 'stuff' into the bush. the maintenance isnt any different from what you would do in the other plots and frankly, a lot simpler. No fancy composting but as nature intended. I can send the blog if you like. it is a permaculture concept.
 

Bea

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I also love the organizing around the market stand. I know from having worked in an organic market, that organizing for entertainment as well is a JOB. but, I'll bet it was fun!
 

Kasalia

http://retired2006.blogspot.com.au/
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Thankyou @Bea. The volunteers so far are sharing the produce that is grown. We aren't producing enough yet to give it away. We only have 20 members so far and family or just spouse, and most retired. When open average turnup is 8

I decided against a food forest, after writing to several gardens with them. Beans climbing up trees need ladders, as do a normal size fruit trees. Weeding can also be awkward with novices who can not tell the difference. Then there is the visitors and wheelchairs who need pathways. Cant have them tripping over a wandering pumpkin and falling flat on a blueberry bush.

Being such an open garden, the structure so far is working. Keeping the grass down is a problem, I am now setting my sights on a ride on lawmower.

One day I hope to be able to sell seedlings at an annual fair due to the fact that 2 nurseys have closed down. Then whenever we are open. This will eliminate the need to go chasing money at markets, and applying for never ending grants, which tends to fall on myself , husband, and sister. Members seems busy on those days, although one donated plants this time for the market, which helped a lot.

This May makes it 1 year exactly that I took over with a flat block and 2 containers and a fenceline. It has been a lot of work to get it to this stage. Two new couples joined 2 weeks ago, and a chef and his son, the month before. Hopefully the hard work is beginning to pay, as members is what we need. Those who attend regularly are good workers, and once our pavillion is up I can step it up a notch with social and learning days.

Always interested in links to help, especially how other communities cope.
 

ClissAT

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Kasalia, your market day looks like Cooroy on market day!
I guess all small towns that do market days would look similar.
All small towns have the same funding needs & have similar organizations.
 

Kasalia

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Just doing an update we have been going in leaps and bounds. We had a successful grant application and now going ahead with a concreted floor double carport and kitchen with water tank for our pavillion. Just now putting in a DA to the council this coming week. Woo Hoo
May was the anniversary I took over a flat acre.
Orchard is in and today we planted 2 plums, nectarine and peach all with hoops for fruit fly cloth.The 5 citrus trees are in. Mulberry and a Fig left to go and thinking of espaliering them. 2 dozens blueberries have been donated from the supplier of the local blueberry farms here, half tall 1500cm and half small. Thinking the big ones as a hedge.

Rosella hedge going in also.

Rotary donated and planted the bush tucker garden, which we made into the shape of two boomerangs.
Local centro started a market day, the last Friday in the month which we attend, so am now looking at producing cut flowers to grow for that.
Been busy busy busy.

Citrus Garden
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Bush Tucker Garden

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New Archway is now up this was donated from the local wood Mill after we bought all the wood for the garden beds we rent. Birdhouses still to go on top.

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New arch walkway which has to be netted to grow vines looking down to Orchard.
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The new planting of today.

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One large cabbage the first to be picked.
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ClissAT

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That looks like a huge crispy succulent cabbage, kasalia.
Your soil must be working now.
Congrats on the funding & I hope you get the DA through.
 

Kasalia

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Our lovely new bush house was vanderlized by an unknown group 2 weeks ago. Such a dissapointment. It was locked so they broke a water pipe and used the sharp edge to cut through the mesh. Lucky the water didn't let loose from the IBCs. They up ended all sorts of plants, and generally messed it all up.
This week we spent fixing it all up by sewing the rips together with fishing line, and putting fence wire around which should have happened a month ago.

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All fixed now, one cut was the back, and one on the RHS.

The centro market last Friday, didnt go so well which was expected and I already decided also to do cut flowers for it especially so been busy this month working it all out and getting seeds,from a wholesaler. These I started at home along with all sorts of veg as well.

J rotarying the last quadrant for flowers.

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Couple views of the garden today.
Morning tea table.
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ClissAT

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I like the idea of the numbered beds. I will pass that idea onto our own community garden people in Cooroy if I may.

How are you going with the drought?
It's beginning to bite here, even this close to the coast.
Pity about the greenhouse. Such reprobates!
 

Kasalia

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@ClissAT the rented plots are numbered the community ones are alphabetical. I put a painted red clothes peg on the actual rented ones as not all of them are rented yet( where we screw the signs in to a stake in the soil, leave a little bit to clip to). These we use for community till needed. It makes it easier on the notice board if I write water bed C, plant x in bed 9 etc. I dont go every day too much work otherwise and have my own big garden. Share away.

We have our water storage and everything is done by hand. It hasn't rained for weeks.
 

Kasalia

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Been super busy with the garden just updating. Pavilion is going up this month just waiting on the concrete guy. We were successful last week in getting a grant to put solar on the roof and batteries for it. Hopefully all done by Christmas.
Been picking lots of giant cabbages and a million snowpeas amongst other things. Just changing the gardens over for Spring. Also entered the garden competition in 2 weeks time.
 

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Lois

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Wow, you're doing an amazing job there. What a lovely read from top to now. I am currently in Cunnamulla fixing a house damaged by tenants. No garden here plently of weeds and black wattle to deal with though. I am glad for the dry weather out here, just for the lack of hard work, as the house will take me a month to do, I hope hahaha.
Good luck and best wishes for your project, I hope it grows well as you wish.
 
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ClissAT

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Lois are you a handylady?! Please came here when you are finished out there!!
I can't find anyone to work here. All I seem to get are people who want to not work but who still think they deserve far too much in hourly rate.
 

Lois

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Thanks to Utube, I think I am what they call a gerryrigger. I fix things the best way I can. I've got the tools I can afford, which is not all I would have liked. And I will do the best I can, knowing that a professional would turn up their nose.
 

ClissAT

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Rather like myself! Got the tools, do the best i can.
Unfortunately that is not very good these days due to restricted physical capacity.
Hence the need to employ help which is very hard to find in these parts.
Have built an old fashioned timber house many years ago plus a heap of rural buildings.
 

Kasalia

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Well judges been and gone but haven't heard anything, most important of all is the ground work has finally started for the pavilion, spent most of last week letting people in and out of the gardens. Spent 15 months of hard work for this occasion.

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Delivery of the actual pavilion a 6 x 6m car port.

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Followed by the digging out for the concrete base and entry pathways.
The dirt from this was placed on the 4th quadrant and covered the clay over. That was a bonus.

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Note all the boxes around the edge, they are all the new cut flower beds.
Flowers to be sold at market hopefully.
 
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