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Plot 5: a new urban Community garden

Ac Baker

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posted 4 months ago

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The new composting bay is commissioned: before and after. The black plastic is recovered, so keeps out excessive rain plus helps to heat up the contents for hot composting.

We should be able to fill this bay within two months at the current rate!

2026-05-Double-width-composting-bay.jpg

Double-width pallet composting bay, held together by corner brackets & screws.

2026-06-Composting-bay-covered.jpg

Composting bay covered in recovered black plastic

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Ac Baker

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posted 4 months ago

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We got the word out a little further today, and it was fun too.

We had a little article in a couple of local magazines recently. This intrigued a couple of neighbours, who got together about half-a-dozen people who wanted a visit.

So I did the tour today, with some context about how we're 'cloding the loop' for local veg & fruit growing & sharing, plus some history, plant chat, Q&A etc. Lots of fun, and really good initial feedback too.

Better still, our visitors went & enthused to their friends. So I may be doing another run of the tour in a couple of weeks time.

Best of all, a couple of the visitors are interested in finding out about getting actively involved. Fingers crossed!

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

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Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

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posted 4 months ago

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Good news AC.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

Ac Baker

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posted 4 months ago

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We've had another good week. Decent rain, mostly overnights, with warm drier days. Most of the potatoes are doing well (first & second earlies, and main crop). The various tomatoes are coming along: I think we have about six varieties all donated plants. But the latter need more feeding I think, so I've tried mulching with freshly cut nettles.

The Carlin peas & broad beans are doing well too, apart from the introduced grey squirrels eating the beans!

But! We have a severe heatwave starting tomorrow by our standards, with most of the days next week in the low to mid 30s C. Not good for cool climate crops such as potatoes. Sigh.

2026-06-Carlin-peas-broad-beans.jpg

Carlin peas in flower, light pink & dark burgundy, with broad beans behind, beans ripening in their pods.

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Ac Baker

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posted 3 months ago

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A lot of people in this part of the world are struggling. The heatwave is due to ease on Saturday, thankfully.

We've been managed to water the tomatoes and pumpkins every day, and they're looking pretty good.

We're getting a lot of donated 'past their best' vegetables and fruits from the local greengrocer, because it's so hot and they're not lasting. But I'm pleased to say that some of the produce is still usable straight away by an experienced kitchen expert. So the Mutual Aid kitchen have had some spinach greens, some cauliflower, some aubergines, some courgettes on top of the redistributed produce the central food project have been able to supply. There's never enough variety of vegetables otherwise! (The rest goes for compost for later in the year).

Signing off to cool my head .. !!

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Ac Baker

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posted 2 months ago

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We've been struggling with prolonged drought. Barely a few percent of average rainfall for July, so a punishing programme of watering due to consistently above average temperatures & sunshine too. Today was only a bit of a relief on the temperature, a temperate 20 C but wind to dry things out instead

We have a few runner beans set & growing, and a few tomatoes, but none of the squashes have set any fruit yet for us. The carrots are doing OK in the trough on the bench above root fly height. The red yacón is growing slowly. The brassicas are doing OK, with some hearting up in the cabbages. The ground is far too hard for us to dig up the potatoes yet.

But in any case, there's no way we can compete in terms of weight, calories or even micronutrients produced, with the weekly quantity of food we're rescuing & getting donated from the local mini-supermarket.

But that's OK. Community members are getting more & better food, relationships are building, and we're learning more about what contributed to local food security and what we can grow in our changing climate.

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Ac Baker

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posted 1 month ago

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It's been a long, hot, dry summer since the Solstice here. But the rain has finally returned in torrents today. Sadly, this is too late for many crops, and heavy enough to be harmful.

So our partners at the local sustainability group are very keen to coordinate rainwater harvesting improvements across our suburb. There are at least 6 allotment sites with rentable plots in or bordering our constituency.

Today, I've written a brief project proposal, referring to this case-study from 2021: https://www.allotment-garden.org/garden-diary/7597/providing-water-on-allotments-rainwater-harvesting/ about one way to set up such a system for an allotments site.

Our partners are keen, and we may even be able to secure some grant funding.

Advice on how best to proceed, gratefully received!

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

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Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 1 month ago

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I guess the drought didn't get as far as cutting off the mains water supply like in 1976.... but it could still happen, so good to plan ahead.

I'd look at what existing structures you have to collect the rainwater from (composting toilet? community shed?). See what your possible rainfall (big guesses required) and roof area will give you. Calculate likely useage requirements. Do they match or will you need more catchment? What capacity will you need?
A couple of threads that may help:
https://permies.com/t/88043/benefits-rainfall-collection
and https://permies.com/t/378390/IBC-Cistern-Plumbing
https://permies.com/t/181674/economical-catchment-surface-roof

What functions could be stacked with the water storage/catchment?:
https://permies.com/t/53356/functions-water-barrel

It sort of seems wasteful of surface to stick water tanks on the ground, but the alternative is probably digging a big hole and pumping the water back out again, which is far more complicated.

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Ac Baker

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posted 1 month ago

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Many thanks. Indeed, I think we will go for simplicity.

One possible site for water storage is right at the top of the gentle hill under the mature sycamore trees growing in the gardens of the neighbouring houses.

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Ac Baker

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posted 1 month ago

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Last Autumn, when we took on the plot, for lack of labour or alternate materials, we sheet mulched the tussocky mixed grasses with clear, plain, thick cardboard.

The hot, dry summer means this hasn't decomposed as it would normally have done even 5 summers ago.

We finally have rain as of yesterday. So today I peeled back a lot of the cardboard. Despite an inch of rain in the past couple of days, the ground is rock hard underneath. It was 'protected' by cardboard gone to "papier mâché" - the term adopted into English from French for durable dried moulded paper. So I'm glad I had time to uncover these beds.

We're hoping for half an inch or more of rain in the next 36 hours.

Then I can start sowing seeds again - overwintering crops including green manures - at long last.

I'm going for polycultures, to hedge my bets. I'll sow in some seeds that might not germinate until Spring, as well as those likely to grow for a month or so, then go dormant but hopefully hardy for winter.

Home-saved seeds include a Chenopodium landrace / mixture that started as spinach, chard & leaf beet about a dozen years ago. I usually get an autumn and a spring crop of greens from that.

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

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Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

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posted 1 month ago

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I think that's one of the flaws of the lasagna cardboard type methods, not enough rain can mean not enough decomposition.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

Ac Baker

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posted 1 month ago

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Riona Abhainn wrote:I think that's one of the flaws of the lasagna cardboard type methods, not enough rain can mean not enough decomposition.

That's definitely been our experience this year.

The good news is, we've got some surprisingly good potato yields all the same.

We've finally managed to clear the cardboard away from, and fully dig-over the first of our 'ground-clearing' potato beds today.

I also dug up one of our four clumps of grape hyacinth (which apparently has edible flowers, although the bulbs are to rich in saponins to be more than famine food I fear): https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Muscari+neglectum I've transplanted them to the front borders of both the community plot, and the plot I rent for myself.

I have then sowed in carlin peas as the first element in a green manure polyculture for the winter, in the bed where those potatoes and hyacinths were growing.

I've also sowed in white mustard seeds as a green manure where we grew garlic through cardboard sheet mulch.

This afternoon we have had a cloudburst, overflowing the gutters for about 15 mins. So that's watered everything in nicely!

Several of our lovely volunteers are in the process of picking the abundant damsons from the tree on our community plot, turning them into gorgeous deep purple jam, and distributing them back to the community. Two batches in, and the tree is still heavy with fruit!

We also had an informal ideas session yesterday, and we're going to try to link up with the 16 other allotment sites in our locality for a rainwater harvesting project. (It's a Westminster Constituency, for those who know about UK politics, so we're hoping both the Member of Parliament, and the local Councillors, will be interested in supporting us).

I really feel like this is the start of the new gardening year, with all this planning!

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

Posts: 1722

Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

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posted 1 month ago

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I'm glad that some of your crops have been successful for the community aid pantry, inspite of the droughty weather.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
RionaTheSinger on youtube.
Pop-up garden/vintage+ yard stand owner.

Ac Baker

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posted 1 month ago

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I am ridiculously pleased that, despite the heatwaves & droughts, we have managed to harvest this gorgeous red ripe tomato.

I think it may be Amish Paste variety (thank you to N!).

I'm definitely going to save the seeds for next year!

2026-09-Amish-Paste-Tomato.jpg

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

Tom Bexley

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posted 2 weeks ago

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The amount of useful material being diverted into that plot is pretty impressive, especially the wood chips, leaves and supermarket produce that would otherwise be waste. The pallet compost bin should make a big difference if the volume keeps growing. One thing that might be worth tracking is which beds get the richer finished compost versus mostly leaf mould or woodier material. After a season or two you could end up with a pretty good picture of what actually gives the best return for potatoes, tomatoes, beans and the lighter feeders without having to treat the whole plot the same way.

Tom Bexley

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posted 2 weeks ago

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Makes me wanna have a mater samich right about now.

Ac Baker wrote:I am ridiculously pleased that, despite the heatwaves & droughts, we have managed to harvest this gorgeous red ripe tomato.

I think it may be Amish Paste variety (thank you to N!).

I'm definitely going to save the seeds for next year!

Ac Baker

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posted 1 week ago

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Tom Bexley wrote:The amount of useful material being diverted into that plot is pretty impressive, especially the wood chips, leaves and supermarket produce that would otherwise be waste.

We're very lucky with the support we're getting! Today, we have our share of a new "chip drop" to the site also, huzzah!

Tom Bexley wrote:The pallet compost bin should make a big difference if the volume keeps growing.

I think for now we've probably plateaued. But I think the compostables could reach 5 m3 per year, so the pallet bin will need a second bay.

Tom Bexley wrote:One thing that might be worth tracking is which beds get the richer finished compost versus mostly leaf mould or woodier material. After a season or two you could end up with a pretty good picture of what actually gives the best return for potatoes, tomatoes, beans and the lighter feeders without having to treat the whole plot the same way.

I think we're going to aim to keep the woodier material to the bed edges & paths. The leaves we'll try to turn into leaf mould from now on, as we'll have a decent supply of well rotten compost. We'll give the heavy feeders like the runner beans, toms & tatties the rich compost. I'm already roughing out next year's planting plan in my head, of course!

Oh, and the plot is now rented for the coming 12 months. Hoorah! and thanks to our sponsors.

--
"Whitewashed Hope: A Message from 10+ Indigenous Leaders and Organizations"
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/whitewashed-hope-message-10-indigenous-leaders-and-organizations

I agree. Here's the link: http://stoves2.com