Motueka Community Garden

Each Sunday, volunteers could join the community garden. Food from the communal garden would be donated to the local food bank. And more plots in the back were available for people to grow organic food for themselves.

When we arrived, we were put straight to work. Manure and compost needed to get worked into the soil. And afterwards we did some watering. We also transplanted a few lettuce and pepper plants.

The main lady in charge gave some practical tips. For example, working backwards when tilling the soil ensures that you don't compact the soil that you already worked. And filling a hole with water before planting lets the roots settle in place better. Drainage has to be good though. We also got some good ideas from walking through the private gardens. To keep netting up with posts, put a pot on the top of each post to prevent the post from poking through the net. In hindsight it's obvious, but without having seen it we would probably have come up with a more complicated solution.

Just like the community garden in Holland, this community garden was struggling to attract young people. Most people on the organizing committee were in their 60s and 70s and were hoping to retire from the physical work. They appreciated the few hours we contributed and our interest. To thank us for our help, we got as many veggies as we could carry. A head of lettuce, rhubarb, leek, silver beet and more. It was nice to be a small part of the community, even for just a few hours.Read more