THE Glasshouse Mountains Community Garden is celebrating a year of remarkable growth, with volunteers harvesting fresh produce and inviting the community to mark its first birthday next month.
Over the past 12 months, the once-bare site at the Glass House Mountains Community Hall has been transformed into a thriving community garden producing a colourful range of vegetables, herbs and fruit using organic growing methods.
After a hot, dry summer, volunteers revitalised the garden in early May by enriching the soil with compost before planting seedlings from the garden’s own seed bank. The result is an abundant harvest of cos and curly lettuce, bok choy, carrots, cherry tomatoes and a wide variety of herbs.
Volunteer Linda said current conditions were ideal for growing snow peas and green beans. “They are snap fresh and so irresistible that the gardeners usually prefer them raw, straight from the vine,” she said.“We apply organic methods throughout the garden.”
The garden’s orchard is also beginning to bear fruit, with volunteer Chris recently turning home-grown rosellas into homemade jam. “It took a few batches to get it right, but it’s very rewarding as it’s our genuine paddock-to-plate rosella jam,” she said.
The community garden has also become a place for families to learn and connect. During a recent family gardening morning, local children planted purple cabbage and bee-friendly flowers to brighten the garden maze ahead of the anniversary celebrations
The Community Garden will celebrate its first birthday on Saturday, August 8, from 10am to 2pm.
The free event will feature outdoor games, face painting, a talk by a local native bee expert, a Rotary barbecue, birthday cake, garden stall bargains and raffles. Everyone is welcome to attend and celebrate the volunteers’ efforts in creating a productive community space For more info visit the Glasshouse Mountains Community Garden Facebook page.
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