Know and Grow in the west

maple community gardens, originally uploaded by Flo's Diner.

I love spring and I love living in Melbourne's inner west!

It was much to my delight after moving to next door to Maidstone, after spending three years in Footscray, to discover the Maidstone Community Centre & Garden. I attended 2 free workshops there last Spring, met some friendly locals and learnt in a hands on fashion how to make a no-dig veggie garden and make a wood fire oven and cook pizzas in it, using the produce from the community garden. All this, just a few metres from my home.

And now the sun is back, so are the workshops in both Maidstone & Braybrook, and this time they're even better. Check this out:

Upcoming Activities in Maribyrnong:

The FREE 2008 gardening workshop program will present eight workshops in October and November at Maidstone and Braybrook community gardens. (Click to download for full programme)

Held at both Maidstone Community Centre and Braybrook Community Garden - everything from growing your own veg, growing stuff in containers, mosaic classes, sustainable veggie gardening, water wise gardening and also making a wood fire oven - hands on and MAKING one from mud and straw! and then cooking up pizzas in one.

Fruit, Vegetable and Herb Swap Meets are held on the first Saturday in October, November and December. Come along, meet other local gardeners and swap your home grown produce. (Click to download details)

I know when we manage to get a crop going, we always end up with way too much of it - we're still going through our frozen pots of basil pesto, I have a ridiculous amount of dill and parsley at the moment and last year we had so many cucumbers they gave me a tummy ache! And let's face it - some of us are just better at and have better gardens suited to growing certain produce - so why not swap produce AND advice on how to grow them?

Open Veggie Garden Day. Come and see some fantastic local back yards –organic gardens, water wise gardens, gardens with chooks – all with lots of fruit, herbs and vegetables. Saturday 25 October 2008, 1.00–3.30pm. Registrations are essential. (click here to download details)

I think this is SUCH a brilliant idea - often when we take our dog Elliott for a walk down the street, we'll come across a large fence that we can just barely peep through and spy veggies growing on the other side but can't really see properly. I get so excited when I see my neighbours growing their own veggies too. I can't wait to see them properly!

I suspect all of these programmes are going to book out quickly so if you're in the area be sure to get the details and contact them to put your name down. I can't wait. I love a free workshop! Even if it's going over stuff I basically already know, you can always learn a new tip or two, a different method of doing something, and meet your like minded locals.