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A Green Corps team works in the
integrated permaculture orchard in the gardens.
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growing together
Community gardens covering 0.3 hectares were established in 1998
to encourage more visitors to City
Farm and to give them a greater awareness and appreciation of the surrounding wetlands. Built largely by volunteers,
the gardens provide a stimulating and safe work environment, where
social interaction and friendly, stress-free atmosphere are as important
as the production of healthy, chemical-free food. The gardens incorporate:
Permaculture design: Food, energy, shelter and other needs for
people are being produced in a sustainable way that is in harmony
with the surrounding landscape.
Organic gardening:
We use only natural materials such as manure and compost to nourish
the soil, and comfrey and garlic sprays to help manage insect populations.
These methods, unlike the use of manufactured chemical fertilizers
and pesticides, are sustainable in the long term.
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Crops of mixed flowers and vegetables
flourish in the community gardens.
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Composting:
Organic matter is placed in aerated heaps where it is broken down
by organisms such as bacteria, fungi and worms. The freed nutrients
from old plant matter make compost a ‘natural’ source of nutrients
(fertilizer) for new plants.
Integrated pest management:
Both biological controls such as native
pest predators and cultivational controls, such as companion planting
and crop rotation, play a major role in pest management on City
Farm.
Companion Planting: Various combinations of plants are grown together
for specific benefits. Some plants such as garlic and marigolds
repel pest insects, while others such as dill and coriander produce
pollen that attracts predator insects. In our orchard we grow tansy
which repels fruit flies.
Crop Rotation:
Different crops are attacked by different pests.
By rotating the type of crop grown in a particular area, there
is less chance of pest species building up large populations.
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Composting plant material ensures there
is plenty of organic fertilizer for the gardens.
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What use is comfrey?
Comfrey is grown in beds and along garden edges to limit intrusion
by grass and weeds. It accumulates specific nutrients such as
nitrogen, magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Comfrey is
added to our compost heaps and to water to make a foliar spray
which is used as both a fertilizer and pest deterrent. |
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