2014-15 was another successful year for the Garden. Read more here PRESIDENT report 2015 AGM

At the AGM on 1 August the following committee members were appointed

President   Graham Stevens

Secretary   Christine Manning

Treasurer  Kevin Lollback

Garden Coordinator: Sheila Buchan

Vice President : Daniel Grono

On 20 June about 12 members and friends had the opportunity  to visit community gardens at Stratfield and Glovers Road Lilyfield. This provided us with plenty of ideas for our garden. We were made most welcome at each garden and it was a very useful excursion for the members

We were pleased to receive a cheque from the Rotary Club of Concord to allow the garden to acquire a native bee hive. Native bees are stingless and play an important role in pollination and managing pests.  Concord Rotary President Dee Covington and other Rotary members presented the cheque to President Graham Stevens and member Sheila Buchan at a recent Concord Rotary Market

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Our open day on 17 May attracted many visitors who were able to inspect the garden,  talk with a composting expert and  help build a vertical garden. The children were entertained building a scarecrow and with facepainting

The recent working bee saw members working hard to tidy up the garden as the focus turned to weeding and mulching between the beds. The garden looked much better at the end of the morning, thanks to the efforts of those involved. Members are also working to establish a second flower patch near the entrance to the garden to further encourage bees and insects into the area.

The community beds are growing well and provided an abundance of fresh produce as we harvested strawberries, broad beans, peas, silverbeet and chinese spinach to share among the members. Thoughts are now turning to the next rotation of beds.

The Community Garden was represented at the Concord Carnival and offered local residents the opportunity to win a hamper of organically grown produce. Representatives were available to discuss what’s on offer at the Garden and to promote this great facility. Residents were encouraged to visit the garden and see what was on offer.

Late August and Early September have seen a huge amount of rainfall in the garden. This has been great for our water tank and means we will have a good supply of water once Summer arrives. The garden has coped well with the deluge but we are expecting a influx of weeds of follow!

Our monthly meeting got off to a somewhat damp start but those that braved the rainy morning managed to stay dry under the pergola and continued the meeting with a smile. However, we did decide to leave the Working Bee items for another day. Instead we focused discussions on what needs to be done to prepare our community beds for Spring planting.

We have had very little rain since the last report and as this is the first year we have grown crops we are still learning the micro climate of the garden.  Those who visit the garden from mid-morning to mid-afternoon know the garden can get very warm to hot causing the soil to dry out, but as soon as the direct sun has moved off the area it quickly becomes cool to cold, so we do need to continue to water every three or four days even though it’s now officially winter.

A reminder, when you water your own bed to also check the community beds to see if they need a drink.

Community Beds

Joy has picked several pumpkins and we will distribute them today at the working bee.  The Silverbeet  (Bed 27), Asian Greens (Bed 3), Chicory and Lettuce (Bed 4) are all ready for picking.  The Broad Beans (Beds 5 & 6) are doing well but their growth seems to have slowed a little.  Strawberries have been planted out in (Bed 12) and it won’t be long before they will be ready for picking.

Water Tank

The tank is now functional, however the water level is still low and I would suggest we don’t use it till it is almost full.  Joy will demonstrate how to operate it at the working bee later on today.

Council also getting a quote for another tap connected to the tank that will service the other end of the garden.

Annual Garden Inspection

Belinda and Petrina from Canada Bay Council did the 1st annual inspection last Wednesday and I think we can say that generally they seemed pleased with the progress.

A big thank you to all who have worked on the cleanup of the garden.  A cleaner, junk free environment makes a safer and more pleasing work place for us.

Let’s keep up the good work!

In April we won our first prizes for garden produce at the Concord Garden Club’s Annual Vegetable and Flower Show. We won $18 and a very pretty ribbon for “Best Vegetable Exhibit,” like the ribbons they put on cows at the Easter Show, so we are now inspired to plan for even great glory next year by planning our planting schedule to coincide with the Concord Garden Club’s Show. It was pleasant surprise that we were able to harvest seven good show entries, including “A basket of vegetables” and “Five herbs” from our communal and individual plots in April without having planned for it.