The Community Garden Network submission to Community Participation Funding NSW for an additional water tank and an irrigation system has been successful, with a grant of $5,200. It's the best Christmas present the Garden Network could have wished for and committee members will be planning the purchase and installation of equipment in the coming weeks.
This means that water is not likely to run out during the dry periods and additional water will be available in the event of a fire. Gardeners can plan more perennial crops and fruit trees. An irrigation system will also take some of the workload out of watering, which is currently done by garden network members on a roster system using a long garden hose.
So thank you Santa (in the guise of Craig Baumann, Local Member for Port Stephens NSW, who was the bearer of the good news).
If you haven't visited the garden yet, now is a good time to check it out. Harvesting right now are beans, curcumbers, squash, rhubarb, peppers, spinach, chillies and herbs. The garden is also a great place to share ideas and problems. To determine what will grow well in your veggie patch, why not use the community garden to assess the viability of different herbs and vegetables.
A Christmas get together is planned for 28 December at the Community Hall from 5pm. Cove residents are welcome to join us for a cook-up in the Pizza Oven and some games.
On Australia Day, Sunday 26 January the Garden Network will again host a community breakfast. We'll be firing up the Pizza Oven again to produce some gourmet style cooking using produce straight from the garden
