Moss Vale Community Garden was fortunate to be chosen as a site for some Railcorp executives to demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively whilst completing some activities with the community.
The community garden was in need of some serious muscle to help build new compost bays, raise the roof on the shadehouse and erect the wire structure for our espaliered apple trees.
We are totally grateful to the lovely men of Railcorp who have helped us to develop more of our infrastructure for the future.
They worked like Trojans and look what we have to show for it!!!!
Creating concrete boots to hold down the structure in high winds
We are now opening for the first Sunday of each month (except January). At our inaugural Sunday opening, we ran a sheet mulching/creating instant garden beds on grass demonstration and made a new scarecrow – Eileen (I LEAN – get it?!)
Kimberly Elliot and young Tom very kindly donated a shell sandpit (plus the sand) to the community garden and it was an instant hit with the kids! Thanks Kimba!
Helped by two enthusiastic young future gardeners, we planted some spuds under straw directly on top of existing grass – instant garden bed and a crop of spuds at the end of the growing season. How bad?? Lazy gardening is a smart approach – saves your back and minimizes disruption to the soil biota. As it is Spring, we also transplanted seedlings of our spring veggies.
One of the day’s highlights was firing up our pizza oven and having participants make their own pizzas to go into our wood oven. Yummmm.
Despite the threat of wet weather, many people came along to get involved in activities and were rewarded with a dry day. Here are some photos from the occasion.
Pizza Lunch
Making Our Scarecrow
What Shall We Call Her?
Eileen almost complete
Rosina’s Beautiful Beneficial Insect Hotel
If only it was as easy as this to reproduce good kids
With the support of Moss Vale Tennis Club and financial support and action of Wingecarribee Shire Council’s Environment and Sustainability Department, the five Leylandii pines were removed at the back of Moss Vale Community Garden in September, 2012.
The Community Garden had requested their removal because of the deep shade they created from midday in the western sector, particularly over winter. This made it impossible to use the area to grow food.
As we are generally opposed to the removal of trees for environmental reasons, our plan is to replace the pines with other deciduous trees which will provide shade in summer but allow light in during winter. Filbert Farm owners, Jim and Lauren Gleeson, who have actively supported the Community Garden in previous years have once again kindly donated six hazelnut trees as replacements along with a Walnut tree kindly donated by Mary Gough. The tree planting will take place over the coming months and we can’t wait for them to start growing nuts for consumption in our community.
As a consequence of the tree removal we now have a large pile of wood mulch, which we are currently recycling into paths between our raised beds to minimize mowing and whipper-snipping over the growing season.
We would like to thank all those involved – MV Tennis Club, Wingecarribee Shire Council (in particular, Kimberly Elliot) and Jim and Lauren Gleeson – who have made this significant change for the better in the future food-growing capacity of our local Community Garden.
