In an ever more dysfunctional world that feels like it's sliding towards dystopia, the two of us behind this project do what we can to keep our sanity. As some of our regular readers may be aware, we volunteer at our local community vegetable and fruit plot which is in the park in Keynsham where we live. It's us getting involved in practical, community based work that makes a difference. We reproduce the post about this activity below which was originally published on our sister blog, At the Grassroots:
In our previous post - As we were saying… 7.8.24 - we wrote about the importance of de-centralising and localising our food production:
Also, if you’re involved in a community garden, as well as the obvious gains from growing your own fresh vegetables and fruit, getting exercise and being out in the fresh air, there’s the boost to neighbourhood cohesion and solidarity from being involved in a collective project. In these troubled and divided times, anything that can help re-build trust between people has to be welcomed.
Where possible, we like to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Which is why we're closely involved with the Keynsham Community Vegetable Plot in the Park. It's an involvement that has its ups and downs as documented in this report on a work session we had today (21.8):
Some sad news - when we got to the plot today, the wigwam supporting the runner beans had been flattened and the crop was pretty much unsalvageable. Given that one of the canes was missing, we had to conclude that it was vandalism. This is the second summer in a row a wigwam supporting runner beans has been attacked so, in future, we'll be growing dwarf beans instead of runners. The patch where the runner beans were has been dug over, with comfrey leaves placed on top to help fertilise the soil for any future crops.
Other than that, it was a very fruitful and productive session. The usual weeding and tidying up was undertaken. As mentioned in the previous post, it's harvest time and will be for some weeks to come. As you can see from the attached photos, we harvested some potatoes, courgettes, a marrow, the last of the sugarsnap peas and, a mix of raspberries and blackberries. The next scheduled Dig In at the plot will be on Saturday 7th September, starting at 2pm. As we enter the autumn, there will be a lot to harvest. There will also be a fair bit of tidying up to do. If you can spare an hour or so, you can share in the harvest. We hope to see you then:)
There's no gain without some pain, whether that's dealing with the aftermath of the occasional act of vandalism, or the aching muscles after a particularly hard work session. One of the gains is the joy of donating surplus produce to the community fridge based in the town. Another is making the occasional random donation of surplus produce to an interested passer by. After all, it is a community plot. One of the major gains is that no supermarket or corporations have been involved in the production of this food. We're showing that food production can be brought down to the local level. Now, if there could be a community vegetable and fruit plot in every neighbourhood, as well as a plentiful supply of allotments, we really would be getting somewhere:)
Resources
In The Directory there’s a list of all the grassroots community projects across Bath, Bristol and the surrounding settlements that we’re currently aware of who, each in their own way, are doing their best to make the world a better place to live in. These include a fair number of food growing projects and also, resources on how to organise your own project.
The Directory is a work in progress that is constantly being added to. Any help in doing this or suggestions as to how we can improve The Directory will be greatly appreciated:) Each of these projects has a different story and background we can all learn from. One of the aims of setting up At the Grassroots is to encourage these groups to talk to each other to exchange experiences, ideas and skills with the hope that what emerges is considerably greater than the sum of its parts.
We've been harvesting potatoes this week too and holding on to the hope of some last minute sunshine so that I might get a very small pumpkin.