As community gardeners we make biodiverse gardens combining food, exotic and native plants brought together into an assemblage that benefits us as well as the birds, bees and the myriad insect life that surrounds us.
Author Archives: Russ Grayson
Calmsley Hill City Farm, an early foray into urban farming education
An example of sustainability education and urban farming before they became popular, the story of Calmsley Hill City Farm is largely forgotten. At the time it was the locus of landcare education in the Sydney region and an early example of professional permaculture design.
The uses of cardamom
Cardamom is a tropical plant whose centre of diversity, the region of its natural occurrence, is India. This one I attacked with machete was growing quite vigorously in warm-temperate Sydney.
Bananas
If your community garden is in a warm climate with plenty of rain, a compact clump of bananas will provide your gardeners with a tasty treat.
Purslane
Some call it a weed. Those in the know call it food. Purslane is a low-maintenance plant that can cope with summer’s heat in your community garden.
New Zealand spinach, Warragul greens
It’s one of those set-and-forget plants that serves multiple purposes in our community garden, not the least of which is a leafy green vegetable that enhances any cooked meal.
French sorrel
French sorrel is one of those perennial plants that yield something edible through the year. It’s worth having a sizeable clump of the plant in the community garden, or establishing it as a border along the garden edge son there is plenty to share.
Jerusalum artichoke
Root crops like Jerusalum artichoke are a staple food that we can grow in our community garden. Before we dig them up to cook and eat, we can enjoy Jerusalum artichoke’s bright yellow, sunflower-like bloom.
Black sapote — chocolate pudding fruit
It is soft, black and gooey. It looks past its prime. It is all these things and it is delicious. I am talking about Black sapote, a tropical fruit that could find a place in the larger community garden in warmer climates.
Midyim berry — an Australian bush food ready to eat
Midyim berry, an Australian bush food eaten by Aboriginies.