Did you know that the lush Pentridge Community Garden only began in 2016? We’ve collated a brief history of this wonderful garden. Click here to read it!
History of Dunstan Reserve Food Forest
We have recently compiled the history of Dunstan Reserve Food Forest, from the early 1990s to today. Click this link to read it, and if you’d like to contribute, please get in touch!
WBCG features in the U3AMoreland newsletter
Register for our FREE ‘Grow Your Own Way’ course!
This is a special call out for youth/adults experiencing some kind of disadvantage, including: mental health challenges, any form of disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Asylum seekers, migrants, lgbtqia+ members, older people, any other.
Have you had a hard last year and need to reconnect with nature and meet like minded community members?
Are you a Moreland resident and would love to join the amazing West Brunswick Community Garden?
Would you like to increase your gardening knowledge and join the awesome Angelo Eliades, facilitator of the courses?
Don’t wait any longer and come and join our 8-week course beginning next week (14th April).
- Two courses will run in parallel (am and pm sessions), with 12-15 participants in each of them.
- We have funds to receive 1 support staff/per group if needed (please get in touch if this is needed).
- Participation is free.
- Upon completion, participants will receive a 12 month free membership to West Brunswick Community Garden.
- Questions? Contact Fransisca: communication@morelandcommunitygardening.org.
Please visit this link for further information and to register your attendance.
Moreland Community Gardening thanks VicHealth through the Reimagining Health Grant for the funds to make this possible.
Community gardens & composting with Lena Be!
Big thank you to Lena Be (facebook.com/lena.bauckhage.1) for chatting with Libby and Richard about all things community gardening and composting! It will make you feel all warm and fuzzy about community gardens, promise. Watch below!
Food Forest working bee
Thank you to everyone who came along to today’s working bee in the Food Forest! We got loads done, including:
- Removing the dying Kangaroo Apple
- Cutting down the dead Abyssinian Banana
- Taking cuttings from our Mulberry tree
- Smothering the Kikuyu around our Carob tree with (biodegradable) weed mat and mulch
- Weeding the paths
- Weeding and mulching around the Lime
- Bagging our bananas to protect them
- Most importantly, eating plenty of cake for Richard’s birthday!
It was great to meet some locals who discovered the working bee through the new noticeboard (it works!).
If you’re looking for tasks to do in the Food Forest, please keep an eye on the newly mulched areas and remove any weeds that make their way in. There will also be some more carob pods to harvest very soon – wait until they’re brown and dry before picking.
Why we love communal gardening!
Did you know that although our gardens have personal plots, over half of our garden space is dedicated to communal growing area? There are several advantages to this…
You don’t have the pressure of running a whole plot on your own. You can share the load with others! This is especially beneficial if you’re new to gardening. If you go on holidays or want a break from the garden, you don’t need to stress about keeping your plot maintained. Gardening with others is a great way to meet your neighbours and expand your knowledge! The amount of people who can join our gardens is virtually unlimited, with no wait lists for joining as a communal gardening member (if you feel so inclined, you can join PCG here and WBCG here). You have the option to adopt a personal plot in addition to your communal gardening membership, if one is available. You have the space to grow a huge variety of different crops without being limited to your plot space & crops that grow well together. There is always PLENTY of produce to go round. We often have so much left over that we give it away to people walking past the gardens! Our plot holders get involved in the communal space too, sharing their knowledge and excess produce. If you want to check out one of our gardens before committing to a membership, come along to a working bee and say hi! You can see what’s happening here.
Our first bananas!
Libby and Jess were very excited to discover the first fruits on our banana plants in the Food Forest!
These plants are thriving in our subtropical garden. They do need to be thinned out as they are currently growing in very large clumps. We’ll be doing this at a working bee later this year, so keep an eye out for that if you’d like to get involved.
The next Food Forest working bee will be on Sunday 20th February from 10am – 2pm. All welcome and no experience necessary – just bring yourself and a pair of gloves. Hope to see you there!
WBCG – Sofia’s Farewell
On Sunday 28th November we had a great Garden and Gather, with participants: Richard, Libby and family, Judith, Julia C, Melanie, Therese, Carmen, Val, Sofia, Rob, Nat, Kim McC, Laurence (‘Loz’), Marie-Paul, Jess and Christine K. Christine and Fred, and Cigdem and kids popped in too.
We did a lot of work, including moving the compost, harvesting the spuds, clearing beds W16&17, clearing beds N1A & 1B and laying black plastic, clearing bed N4, planting cucumbers in Bed 3N watering the northern end of the Food Forest (south of the path) and planting some seedlings.
We had a delicious lunch with so much variety and heaps of desserts too (wow we have some amazing bakers!).
And, most important of all, we said farewell and thank you to our dear colleague, Sofia, who has left us to go back home to Chile. Sofia has been a passionate and dedicated gardener, member of the Organising Committee, and leader of the communal garden beds. We gave her a farewell present of a Crumpler bag and a Merri Creek bird calendar. Thanks to all those who contributed.
Many laughs, tears and hugs were shared. We miss you already Sofia – safe travels home, besos.
WBCG wine sale
Are you worried about what to get friends and family for the festive season? Or just running out of nice wine? Exciting news! The WBCG wine fundraising sale is now on! Pick up will be from 10 Dec in Brunswick West. Go to https://morelandcommunitygardening.tidyhq.com/…/products to place your order and pay for it by 10 December to collect your wines by Christmas.
All proceeds of the wine sales will go towards the operation of the Garden & Food Forest.