Food growing at individual and community level

DeBG's CF project is starting to get asked for help not only with pop-ups (in which one can grow fruit and vegetables) but also some quite large community growing projects - one entire Council estate and one pocket park, so far - and the rate of enquiries is growing very fast.

I wondered if I could recruit any help and support to provide the expertise and/or just plain helpful effort from local food growers/those interested in doing more of that, via this group.

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Growing Communities on May 10, 2012 at 15:58

Hi Diana -- the Master Gardeners network is an obvious source of free gardening advice. They are training a new lot shortly, and these trainees will probably be keen to take on households.

I can also email you some information about Growing Communities' Patchwork Farm project (which I coordinate).

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Permalink Reply by Diana Weir on May 15, 2012 at 10:28

Hi there, whoever it is behind the collective name!

Thanks for this. I very much hope that the request made for us to help with the pocket park has now become integrated with Alex Collings's more advanced campaign to achieve something very similar, on behalf of the TRA which she co-chairs on the other side of Somerford Grove, but the Council estate and potential future requests may well need such help.

Patchwork Farm, I first heard of the other day when you were asking for not only part of our modern vicarage's still-enormous residual garden but for another 10 x 15m (or bigger) space around De Beauvoir. Everyone helpfully copied me in on that - such joined-up thinking! - but I have no helpful ideas about where to find one yet, I'm afraid. We tend to make full use of our own gardens, round my way at least - and few private gardens are as big as your minimum ask, anyway.

If you are interested in using bits of our various Council estates for this, then the De Beauvoir Association might be able to give you some contact names. I've been in touch with Cherie Joseph at Hackney Homes, who's trying to co-ordinate Council estate growing groups, and De Beauvoir appears to be a gap in her database so far - so ask the universally -knowledgeable Paul Bolding for the DBA's current Council estate contacts.

Do tell me where you find your further space down my way, when you achieve that - and get any estate people you work with to complete Cherie's standard estate growing group consent form (of which I attach a copy), so that it's all done by the book and no-one upsets their estate grounds maintenance manager.

All the best with your efforts,

DIANA

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