Within only 4 months from its formation, the Ulverstone Community Garden has produced a bumper crop of achievements. Located in West Ulverstone on three disused clay tennis courts, previously leased to Ulverstone Tennis Club, the Garden has attracted over 40 members, with many who come together each week to plant, build, water, weed, clean, propagate and generally have a good time. The garden concept emanated from significant community consultation that highlighted the desire for Central Coast residents to address the need for food security and to have a place where people can meet to garden in a welcoming, inclusive and safe space. Establishment of the garden has been generously supported by Health Consumers Tasmania, Central Coast Council, the Ulverstone Tennis Club, Housing Choices and many more interested parties. This support has allowed us to employ a garden coordinator and site manager, receive and build a flat pack shed and hot house, as well as assisting us to expand our gate access. We have also been fortunate to receive numerous donations from our community in the way of soil, compost, mulch, raised garden beds, plants, seeds, tools and garden furniture. People can drop into the garden on Mondays and Thursdays from 10am-2pm and have a look around. If you’re feeling inspired you can join in any of the activities taking place on the day. We also have a working bee on the third Saturday of every month for those that are unable to make it during the week. If you’d like to know more about the Garden and how you can connect with us please email Lisa at ulverstonegarden@gmail.com to receive a copy of our monthly Newsletter.
In September we had a potato planting workshop at the Garden where we planted over 350 spuds using variations of the no dig method. We were given some great seed potatoes from the West Ulverstone Seed Library which were donated by the Tasmania Institute of Agriculture at Forth. The varieties we planted in our no dig spud workshop were:
King Edward – Good all-rounder and favourites for making the best jacket potatoes.
•Banana Fingerling – Steaming, roasting and salads. High yield and drought tolerant.
•Pink Fir Apple – Boiling, chipping and salads. Late maturing variety which stores well over winter.
•Kennebec – Good all-rounder. High yields, large size and stores well.
•Innovator – Boiling, baking and chipping. Good disease resistance.
•Nicola – Roasting, boiling and mashing. Smooth skin. High yield early variety
These potatoes were planted on 21 September and are still growing well in November 2024. We’ll keep a track of progress to see which of the no dig methods gives us the best harvest.