2018 - 2019

With infrastructure in place and word spreading, the garden continued to thrive throughout 2018 and 2019. Members built more garden beds, grew a range of crops, held Bunnings sausage sizzles and straw/manure sales to raise funds, extended the compost system, ran educational sessions for children and constructed a grassy knoll for them to play on, and continued engaging with new members of the community.  

The garden continued to be supported by various groups and organisations including Shayher, Bunnings, and Reground (an organisation that donates coffee grounds to community gardens). 

One of the many benefits of having communal plots is that people can meet others with similar interests. The garden certainly isn’t just about growing food; it has facilitated friendships between people from different age groups and walks of life, creating connections throughout the community that otherwise likely wouldn’t have formed. 

“I love the camaraderie and little community that exists at PCG.  I’ve met neighbours and made friends over the years.” (Jo Stavers, garden member and former OC member, 2020)

In 2019, Andrew got in touch with Honeyfingers, an organisation with bee hives in backyards all around Melbourne. In exchange for a location to store two of their hives, they take care of the bees and give some of the honey to members. This has been a great way to utilise the area on the northern side of the garden, which is not suitable for growing crops. The bees benefit from access to the flowers in the garden, and they assist with pollination. 

The compost has continued to be a central feature of the garden:

“Having the compost is one of the things that’s attracted people to the garden. Having a community compost that people who live nearby can just come and put their kitchen scraps in, and not have to put them in the bin, that caused a lot of people to come down and talk to us.” (Andrew Ogbourne 2021)

The ‘Friend of Pentridge Community Garden‘ membership type is a great option for people who just want to drop off their kitchen scraps without actively gardening.