Belmont Community Growers' Inc Autumn Planting

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Sun 06 May 2018

You are invited to come along on Sunday morning from 10.00 am to 12.00 noon on May 6th to have some morning tea and take a look at the wonderful work of the Belmont Growers' inc Community Garden on the corner of Francisco Road and Gerring Court, in Rivervale.


The garden has been up and running now for over a year with initial funding by the Belmont City Council, the Labor and Liberal parties and Bunnings in Cloverdale.The garden provides a constant supply to locals in and around the area with a fresh in-season greens for their families, safe in the knowledge that the vegetables, salads and herbs are free of pesticides.

As well as planting seedlings the gardeners, for the first time, will be planting some fruit trees, those with shallow roots such as banana, paw-paw and citrus trees.



If you like what you see on the May Autumn Planting morning you are very welcome to join in and assure yourself of the very best and freshest produce by filling in an enrolment form at a very inexpensive cost - only $20 per person for the year, $10 per person on concession and $40 for a family subscription for a year. The cost will be recouped in one or two visits to the garden.

Many people are nervous about harvesting from the garden but advice is given on how to take from the garden ensuring that there is plenty of re-growth for others. This way it seems like the more you take the more there is next visit.

The lush and healthy plants and delicious produce are a testament to the planning, the extremely healthy soil base and the wisdom of our resident horticulturalist and chair Sandra Maynard without whose vision the garden would not have been possible. Along with Sandra are a great bunch of willing helpers on the committee and a bunch of members on a watering roster who are scheduled to water once or twice in a blue moon.

The group meets once a month on a Sunday morning to harvest the produce, weed a little if need be, swap recipes, share cuttings and seeds, give away pots and plants, share morning tea and generally socialise. Twice a year the gardeners get together for a major revitalisation of the garden with weeding out the old and replanting of seedlings ready for the new season, hence the Autumn planting in May.

The May meeting will also be fun for kids as the members are busy at home making scarecrows or gathering materials to make some scarecrows on the Autumn Planting Day. Members will be bringing the wood, hammers, nails and other construction tools, along with other materials such as straw, farmer-type shirts, trousers, boots and a pillow slip for a head and some felt to make a face.

If anyone gets some great photos of the new scarecrows Tracey Orr from the Belmont Grower's Inc would be happy to put them up on their Facebook Page.


Sandra gives talks and demonstrations on various topics which members in the group and any keen gardeners wanting to boost their green thumb success, remedy a failing plant or hear, for example, the best way to care for secateurs to keep them effective, safe and extend their life. Easy knowledge from the expert with lots of benefits.



Committee meetings are held now and again in the Meeting Room 4 next to the garden.

The growers have been busy beautifying their space by adding a bench seat so people can come and rest a while to watch the garden grow. Or they can watch the more pacey activity in the park - the locals playing a bit of footy on the weekends with jumpers and drink bottles as goal markers or the dog brigade bringing their owners for a walk in the mornings or the late afternoon.

One large tree near the garden has been clothed in crochet and knitting in many zany colours to draw attention to the area. It is hoped that if more people know about the garden it will ensure its survival and the increase in funds will provide for the planting of citrus, avocado, mango and other trees in time.



To attract interest in the Community Garden, the members are going to open up the Riverale Community Centre's Meeting Room 4 which is closest to the garden, for activities such as a games afternoon or a craft, knitting, crochet and sewing morning where people can share their different cultural styles with each other and give each other support - all topped off with morning or afternoon tea from the garden.

The first of such Get-Togethers will be on Monday April 30th from 1.00 pm to 2.45 pm, giving you time to get the kids or grand kids from school. The theme is Neighbourhood Get-Together Games Afternoon and you can learn or play games such as chess, Scrabble, Numero and cards or simply just meet up and chat with new friends. Refreshments will be provided. The event is free but a donation to help with the cost of the venue would be appreciated.



It is hoped that as more beds become available the community of First Nation Peoples will be able to grow traditional food or "bush tucker" and introduce this to the wider community. This seems a welcome use of the land as the land on which the garden is situated, even though it is now owned federally, is on the traditional sacred meeting site for the elders of the region.

The community garden in Wilson Park is just off Kooyong Road in Rivervale is in an ideal position for the many apartment dwellers who have downsized and moved to the areas in Rivervale and Burswood from places further afield and who miss dabbling a bit in the soil and smelling the irresistible perfume of basil, coriander and the leaves of the curry leaf plant, especially when it is watered. Sandra will be on hand to advise on how to make the most of a balcony garden or chat about any of your gardening needs so maybe it could be a good time to turn off the telly and go on down to check out the garden!

For more information on the Autumn Planting morning on May 6th or the Neighbourhood Games Afternoon on April 30th ring Sandra Maynard on 9361 6638. You can also email her on [email protected] or visit the Belmont Growers' Inc website here , or visit their Facebook page.

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#burswood
#cloverdale
#community_events
#eastern_suburbs
#free
#gardening
#redcliffe
#rivervale
#may
!date 06/05/2018 -- 06/05/2018
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