Gardening on the Edge
Want to grow your own but don't have room in the backyard? Use the space out the front! YFMer Brianna Sharp tells of how she and her flatmates did just that, starting their own veggie patch on the nature strip of their Randwick abode:I have been dreaming of a proper vegetable garden for years! I had always thought of myself as a bit of a green thumb with a degree in environmental science, but when it came down it, it has always been more of a dream than any sort of reality. So when I found out my new flatmates were equally inspired and shamefully guilty of our combined lack of garden prowess we stuck our heads together and decided to start growing our own edible garden.
Finding space was a bit limiting, we live in a rental and although we have set up a worm farm and compost bin in our backyard (which we got for free from our Randwick City Council) we were pretty sure our landlords would not be getting out the champagne if we decided to tear up their backyard. So with space at a premium we headed out to our front verge to do some 'Guerilla Gardening' of our own.Although we had been growing some seedlings for a couple of weeks everything did not really take off until one of my flatmates found a bunch of hardwood out for verge-side collection, score! So with materials in hand and a few tools (easily sourced from Open Shed if you don't have any) we got about building a small raised garden bed on the verge. And one week later we returned to put the seedlings in and start the growing process.
The whole thing has been pretty flexible, this is our first shot at gardening so it has been fairly experimental, although there are a few principles that we are going to try and stick to including: go organic; use recycled goods; and share it round. Right now, though, I think we would be over the moon if we managed to grow some herbs and few tomatoes, there is always next years crop to push for more. The response from our neighbours has also been really heart-warming with presents of wine already received for improving the streetscape! And where to next? Well, we have plans in the pipeline for a 12m-long vertical palette garden in the lane next to our house which I think should keep us busy for a while.