For years a small group of inner city Melbourne wannabe farmers have worked hard to satisfy their inner craving for some dirt under their fingernails, and fresh fruit and vegies for all. In the forbidding shadows of Pentridge’s haunted past — and a friendlier, more open space in West Brunswick — they are achieving their dreams. ANDREW MOLE shares their story.
If you were considering a competition to find the smallest small farmer in Victoria, forget it.
The race has been well and truly run — and won.
And in the most unlikely of places, about as far as you could possibly get from regional/rural Victoria.
These small farms, some an infinitesimal two square metres, have been set up in the shadows of what could well be considered Victoria’s most notorious address.
Her Majesty’s Prison Pentridge (as it was when it closed in 1997, 146 years after it opened).
This forbidding pile of bluestone housed many of Victoria’s most infamous criminals — Ned Kelly did time there (and was rumoured to have been buried there for a while).
Squizzy Taylor was also a guest and the prison saw the last woman hanged (there and in Australia) in 1951 and, in 1967, the last man (also there and in Australia).
It is a chilling and stark piece of our history, but has been much softened since 2016 by the establishment, and thriving development, of the Pentridge Community Garden.
This little agricultural enclave — of about 1600 square metres — is one of three remarkable pastoral-type projects being run out of Moreland City Council.
The others are the West Brunswick Community Garden and its cousin, and next-door-neighbour, the Food Forest. These are located in Dunstan Reserve and have both endured some ups, and occasionally serious downs, in their evolution.
Libby Harper has been part of the Moreland Community Group since 2011.
New to the city she was drawn there for a connection to her local community. And she got that in spades. Literally.
“The gardens have also been great for my two kids; both have grown up with a third space where they feel safe and free (sometimes a little too free),” Libby said.
“They both have a strong feeling of connection to the area and have great skills in engaging different people in conversation.
“I currently work in an organisation supporting women in environment work. In entering this space I felt like community gardening wasn’t really part of the environment movement.
“I’ve been really pleased and surprised with how my view has changed and my understanding of community, working together, food security, carbon and biodiversity has grown.
“Now I’m excited by how much community gardening contributes to a more sustainable environment.”
In this metro agrarian movement, the space is roughly split into:
– One third of the plots allocated to an individual or household.
– One third shared but managed communal growing space.
– One third shared facilities, for example, compost bays, propagation area, equipment storage, learning/teaching/gathering space and paths.
Libby said the great thing about this division was there were no limits to how many people could be involved.
No matter how you are involved, “the whole garden is for everyone”.
“The personal plot-holders get involved with communal gardening, and everyone is interested in what is grown by plot-holders,” Libby said.
“And the food from the communal plots is shared by those who share the fun of growing. Even the personal/household plots share some of their bounty, too.
“We’re striving for a culture that is welcoming and embraces sharing. Sharing of knowledge, food and companionship.
“So, get involved, meet your neighbours, get your hands dirty and help build something.
“Bring a friend with you. Bring your kids. There’s room for everyone.”
While not an exact science, over the years the community gardens have developed something of a member demographic. Pentridge tends to attract a crowd aged in the 40s to mid-50s, while West Brunswick has proved popular with those late in their careers or retirees.
Libby said although there was no “X person” — no standard gardener — those who took part tended to be “more mature” with an “ongoing understanding of the time involved, and take joy in the process, as there is so much learning involved”.
“It’s always interesting when you see the penny drop, when someone looks at something they have grown and suddenly say ‘oh, that’s why a lettuce costs that’,” she added.
“If you are committed you can produce so much more than you would imagine — even though the Pentridge plots average two to four square metres and West Brunswick from 2.7 to 10 square metres.
“In the communal gardens we do a lot of staples, such as corn and potatoes, but across the board we have such amazing variety, from mini-cucumbers to zucchinis.
“We also have people who specialise, in anything from carrots to beets, and the working bees we run each week see us picking whatever is ready to go and it gets put on the table and members take whatever they want/need.”
Across the two sites the gardens have around 200 paid-up members — with about 30 at each site classified ‘active’.
Membership also gives every mini-farmer access to not just the large communal gardening space, but also use of all tools and materials at any time.
The garden supplies seeds, fertiliser, mulch, compost and everything else needed to make the garden thrive.
“Our more experienced members will be happy to help you develop your skills and all gardening members share the harvest that comes from our hard work — there’s always plenty to go around — and once you are a garden member, you can also apply for a personal plot,” Libby explained.
Locals can even get involved, without reaching for a single shovel or rake.
Instead of dumping things in landfill, Libby said if people want to contribute their kitchen or garden waste to the garden composting systems, without participating in other gardening activities, you just need to be a Friend of the Garden member.
“After paying your membership fee, you will receive a briefing on the garden, including the operation of the composting system and be given the combination to the gate lock and you are welcome to come to the garden to deposit your scraps at any time,” she said.
“We have weekday meet-ups every Friday between 10am and 12pm and you are always welcome.
“There’s no need to come every week or stay the whole time or even do any gardening — you can just come along, say hello and sit about, and enjoy the view and have a cuppa.
“Everyone (including kids) welcome, so come down and enjoy.”
Libby said today’s city farming had its origins out of Sustainable Gardening Australia, which ran a pod program for Moreland City Council in 2009-10, attracting an enthusiastic core group.
After the initial funding expired, Libby said one of the group then said “let’s do more, let’s start a country garden”.
“In the background there had been a community garden of sorts in West Brunswick, next door to the Food Forest we also now care for.”
She said a plan was put forward for this community garden to be a hub for the community, providing residents with an opportunity to:
– Grow healthy, safe, affordable, organic food.
– Share companionship, skills and knowledge.
– Participate in, and feel a part of, their community.
– Enhance their mental and physical wellbeing.
– Learn to lead a more sustainable life.
– Importantly it must be financially, environmentally and socially sustainable.
Libby said the gardens were also becoming accomplished fundraisers.
“As with most things, the biggest cost we have is people cost, so we rely very much on our volunteers, and we are dab hands at running a Bunnings sausage sizzle and staging straw/manure sales — extra money that comes in handy for projects such as irrigation systems.”
In parallel with the emergence of the community gardens, it seemed almost inevitable the Food Forest at Dunstan Reserve, which had been slowly chugging along since the early 1990s, would end up part of the group.
Supporters/local residents wanted it to become a publicly-accessible orchard, which would be designed using permaculture principles and provide not only food for the community, but also a place for people to visit and enjoy.
“Its first trees were planted in 1994 and approximately 70 people attended, planting dozens of fruit and nut trees,” Libby said.
“Sadly, after the first trees were planted, theft became an issue. To combat it volunteers painted the trunks with acrylic paint so trees would be more easily recognisable if planted in people’s yards, and that more or less resolved the problem.
“Then water supply became an ongoing issue, largely due to the millennium drought from 1997 to 2009, and also due to many instances of the water being cut off because of nearby works, and despite the best efforts of the volunteers, many plants did not survive this period.
“For a variety of reasons, by around 2010, the Friends of the Food Forest had disbanded and the site was not being maintained in any kind of formal way, beyond mowing by council.”
In September 2012, Karen Sutherland from Edible Eden Design lent her skills to develop a permaculture planting plan for the site. This plan included a number of new fruit trees, as well as the introduction of extensive understorey plantings across the site.
The original surviving fruit trees, by this point well established and productive, were being regularly harvested both by volunteers and other members of the community, as well as by the local wildlife.
Libby said throughout 2020 and the majority of 2021, community garden attendance was restricted in line with government COVID-19 regulations.
She said although the garden could remain open for the ‘essential purpose of growing and harvesting food’, the compost system was shut down for several months, and new members could not be accepted for some time.
“During the most severe restrictions only one person could visit the garden at a time, for one hour maximum, based on a strict booking system.
“This removed the social element of gardening, and so we made an effort to engage members through online avenues including digital workshops, members’ Facebook group, virtual meetings, a ‘meet our members’ series of profiles on Facebook, and a virtual induction incorporating a number of instructional videos for new members.
“It took extra effort to coordinate the garden during lockdowns.
“Tasks needed to be posted online or written up at the shed, and large jobs had to be coordinated between different people across multiple visits.
“Despite the challenges, there was still someone at the gardens for approximately 4.5 hours per day throughout Melbourne’s lockdowns, highlighting its importance during a difficult time.”
Perhaps the experience of being Victoria’s smallest small farmers is best summarised by some of the landholders themselves, who posted the following about their time on their plots:
“Surely, we would be better off if we have more people ... having less personal space and more shared space. Doesn’t that make a healthier community in so many ways, psychologically and socially ... it’s just a more efficient way to grow food too.”
And:
“I live in a little apartment, so I am grateful to have an open space for me and the monster (dog) to run. It was a tough year last year, and this year has been weird. The people at Pentridge Community Garden CG are part of my sanity.” (Erin Kirby, garden member and former OC member, November 2020.)
The West Brunswick Community Garden and Food Forest are located at 49 Everett St, Brunswick West (enter via Everett St through the car park beside the Moreland Child Care Centre).
The Pentridge Community Garden is at 1 Stockdale Ave, Coburg.