NEW! (May 2010) GROWER'S PACK
How to Get a Community Garden Going
We have been working on this community growing guide for some time and it is finally finished. To those involved in its production, apologies for the delay, we have had difficulties with file formats. Many thanks to Chris Rodier for sorting this out for us. We recognize that some of the information will change from time to time, so if you find any errors or have anything to add, please email your comments to ttbfood@gmail.com. Thanks.
INTRO
A Bit of Background to Brixton Growing
Guide to Food Growing Projects on Lambeth Estates - note this only relates to residents living on Lambeth Living or United Residents Housing estates Lambeth Food Growing Guidance.doc
LAND
Landshare Landshare is to become a UK wide initiative to make British land more productive and fresh local produce more accessible to all.
Capital Growth The London wide campaign to offer practical and financial support to communities around London to help more people grow more food, and to have greater access to land and food growing spaces for community benefit. It can help pair growers with people who have land.
Garden Share The excellent Transition Town Totnes' webpage on how they set up and run their Garden Share project, complete with document templates and advice.
Landfit A London initiative for bringing would-be gardeners together with gardens. You could call it garden sharing. Or open allotments. This project is inspired by America's Sharing Backyards
- Lambeth Council's Guidelines (inc. Licence and Constitution) from groups wanting to start projects on Lambeth Living or URH estates.
SOIL TESTING
Both Captial Growth and Lambeth Council are leaving soil testing to the discretion of the gardeners because it is an expensive proceedure. There is nothing legally binding you to testing your soil, but it is still advised, especially if you are growing straight into the ground.
We are hoping that soil testing will become a lot easier in the near future. A standard common contaminants test of one sample might cost about £90 with a further £75 being charged for full explication and analysis of the findings. It is recommended that three samples should be taken from three seperate points on a site - so if it's done by the book it soon tots up! At this price it probably isn't feasible for most projects, so discretion has to be exercised. In addition to this standard tests often only look for regular contaminates and so desk studies are advisable to determine what activity has previously gone on on sites.
Cities are polluted places with long histories of industrial development so most sites will have some degree of contamination but it is only likely to be serious if there is a high level of heavy metals from some previous industrial process on the site; you can find out if your site might have previously been used for a contaminating activity by doing some research in the Minute Archives. If you are worried it may be contaminated you could start by taking a little soil from different parts of your site, mixing it up and having just one test done. If it comes back clean you can rock on, but unfortunately if it doesn't you'd be silly to carry on without having more tests done on seperate soil samples from differnt areas to see which bit is off limits. That being said, the proportion of your diet which your own vegetables will comprise is likely to be quite small, so the risk of absorbing danergous amount sof heavy metals from your plot produce is minimal. Also some plants are more likely to concentrate contaminates in their bodies than others and some can even be used to remove contaminates from the soil - but then you have to do something with them! no one want to think they are growing their veg in a heavy metal plot, but then again we probably wouldn't want to eat most suermarket beg if we really new what they were sprayed with either!
If you are looking for a soil tester Bailey’s Of Norfolk (Nigel Fahey, lab@baileysofnorfolk.co.uk) did the soil tests for the ABUNDANCE project. (any good? ask Sarah)
Even if you aren't going to do a contaminates test on your soil it is still good to know what you are working with and you can test your soil in other ways. OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) have a section on soil and they are running a country wide survey of soil types and worms types http://www.opalexplorenature.org/?q=taxonomy/term/56 or if it doesn't work go to their website and search soil.
Most community growing projects we know seem to be making raised beds in some form or another and filling them with soil and compost from off site. This means that the ground itself doesn't need soiling testing if the soil and compost come from certified sources.
Even if you aren't going to do a contaminates test on your soil it is still good to know what you are working with and you can test your soil in other ways. OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) have a section on soil and they are running a country wide survey of soil types and worms types http://www.opalexplorenature.org/?q=taxonomy/term/56 or if it doesn't work go to their website and search soil.
Most community growing projects we know seem to be making raised beds in some form or another and filling them with soil and compost from off site. This means that the ground itself doesn't need soiling testing if the soil and compost come from certified sources.
SOIL & COMPOST
Capital Growth has a few suggestions of places to get soil and compost, one of these is Rockinghams of Windmill Road, Croydon (www.rockinghams.co.uk, 020 86656789) who are able to supply a certified soil and compost mix at £45 per tonne inc. VAT and delivery. Please mention Capital Growth when placing an order. This is a very good price...
PLANTS & SEEDS
PAN/Garden Organic/Soil Assocaition/Gardeners World/Eat the Seasons all have info on what to grow and eat each month
GREEN ROOFS
ORCHARDS
Tree O'Clock
London Orchards Project. They offer great training for people wnting to plant and care for their own fruit trees and also have an apple juicer for hire at low rates. Contact Carina Dunkerley carina@thelondonorchardproject.org or Rowena rowena@thelondonorchardproject.org
Local Apple varieties (Iain and Ida's lists) Brogdale Common Ground
Trees For Cities/Groundworks funding for Mayors Tree Planting programme. Also money in COucnil for tree planting - Better Neighbourhoods.
Protecting Out Orchard Heritage: Sustain's good practice guide for managing orchard projects
from Abundance in Sheffield
BEES HIVES
London Bee Keepers Association - looking for hive sites on roof tops and in enclosed gardens. Contact john.chapple@lbka.org.uk
Check out Beehaus
FUNDING
Check out all the [[http://transitiontowns.org/Brixton/FOODFUNDING|funding links and community awards we know about.
SKILLS/TRAINING
City Leaf info@cityleaf.co.uk / 02074859262
Spahill Allotments www.spahill.org.uk
Spitalfields City Farm www.spitalfieldscityfarm.org
Walworth Community Garden
Roots & Shoots
Bankside Open Spaces Trust
Capel Manor
Hadlow College
Garden Organic
London Permaculture Association (also active Permaculture Associationi Brighton)
Chelsea Physic Garden
Food Up Front - you'll be paired up with a nearby Street Rep who can give you all the advice you need, and then you become part of the big happy FuF family of growers and all thier events and gardeing activities. It's a really great south London orgnanisation, operting in Southwark, Wandsworth and Lambeth.
Trees for cities - free courses for unemployed under 30s.
More localised projects include Hyde Farm CAN in Balham and Brixton Transition Town,
See also Royal Horticultural Society.
http://www.back2earth.org.uk/ - To establish environmental improvement projects and centres which offer a range of green skills training, environmental education and employment for local people, in deprived and disadvantaged inner city communities.
USEFUL ORGANISATIONS
Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens
Sustain - Urban Agriculture Round Up
Capital Growth
Soil Association
Garden Organic
Groundworks
Lambeth Horticultural Society
South London Botalic Institute
London Orchards Project
Can We Dig It - Croydon
SHIFTING PRODUCE
How you divide the produce depends on how your project is set up. Does every one have a plot and grow their own, or is it gardened communally or with children? You might want to consider having a communal feast, an honesty-box stall for surplus or finding an outlet locally for fruit and veg, jams and pickles.
As long as any money earned goes back into the project there shouldn’t be a problem. Organic Lea Community Growers have published an article about the legalities of selling allotment produce called Selling Allotment Produce: Is it Legal? Is it Right?.
If you have too much produce you might consider donating food to the Brockwell Park Midsummer Feast (mid June; contact: shane@gn.apc.org) or the Tooting Foodival (end of Sept, contact: giles@cen.org.uk). Or you could approach stall holders on Brixton Market, Brixton Wholefoods, The People’s Supermarket, chefs at the Bonnington Café, or see if TTB can help you shift some surplus through a stall on the Brixton Farmer’s Market.
INSURANCE
the space.
Captial Growth have just set up a partnership with Tennyson Insurance
to ensure their projects receive comprehensive public liability
insurance cover at minimal expenditure. Tennyson Insurance are charity
specialists who work with Zurich Insurance. There is a contact
specifically dealing with these not-for-profit growing projects and
those under Capital Growth receive a 20% discount and a guaranteed 48
hour turnaround, so cover is pretty much immediate. The contact is
David Sincock (01243 832072 david.sincock@tennysoninsurance.co.uk).
This deal is specifically for Capital Growth projects but as a rule of
thumb it might be useful for you to know their rough costings:
£180.42 will cover community gardening activities for public liability
for a year - i.e. all injuries resulting from possible negligence. It
also includes, as part of the package, cover for contents (i.e. tools)
that are used out in the open or are being moved from place to place.
Obviously it doesn't cover their loss if they are left unsecured
outside overnight etc. This does not include personal accident cover
(injuries which are your own fault!) but this could be included for a
further £53... Tennysons does not consider this to be essential for
this sort of project.
GETTING PEOPLE INVOLVED
CONTACTS
LOCAL PROJECTS
The ABUNDANCE PROJECT, Guinness Trust Estate
BLENHEIM GARDENS EDIBLE ESTATE One of the first Capital Growth funded projects, started in December 2008.
Cowly Gate, Vassall Ward Caldwell Gardens, Vassall Ward Caleigh Gate, Vassall Ward
Raleigh Hall Garden
Tulse Hill Edible Estate
Loughborough Estate
Josephine Avenue
Caldwell Gardens
Lorn Road Allotments
Windmill Allotments, Lyham Road
Food Up Front supports people in South London to grow food in their unused outdoor space. Whether it’s front gardens, balconies, windowsills or back gardens. Some members also communal garden a plot in Streatham.
Mencap Garden - Streatham
(See Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens)
Roots and Shoots is a charity providing vocational training for young people from the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. They have an amazing premises with greenhouse, garden, education facilities etc.
Vauxhall City Farm
Abundance Project on Guinness Trust Estate, Brixton (more allotment format) - Louise Jordan (overtondown@gmail.com).
Streatham Community Garden - jenniferbanks@hotmail.co.uk
07729214168 or Toni Ann Scott 07985 566753
Blenheim Gardens Edible Estate – Capital Growth funded; see Bonnie’s blog on Project Dirt charting the development (bonnie.hewson@gmail.com (07816858053)
Susan Sheehan
Green Community Champions Officer
London Borough of Lambeth
phone: 020 7926 6210
SSheehan@lambeth.gov.uk
Caldwell Gardens estate ward-purse funded project
Georgina Scheuller (gksch@btinternet.com) or
Eleanor Purser (eleanorpurser@yahoo.co.uk 07903 502 187
Cllr Bradley supporting
Housing contact – Stockwell & Vassall- Tim Fairhurst
TRA hotline on 07944 078125 or
e-mail:caldwellgardens@live.co.uk
Loughborough Junction Estate
Loughborough EMB Ltd Featley Road SW9 7LJ – Eddie Greenslade x 68802 (v. helpful – recommended)
URH Housing 105 Angell Road SW9 7PD – Nilavra Mukerji, Chair
Startup projects
Some neighbours and I are talking about the possibility of turning a disused network rail site on our road (it's over a railway track) into allotments or something similar. in Streatham
Nicola Burt
Finishing Touch Ltd
Interior Design & Decoration
Tel: 07766 133 727
www.finishingtouchlondon.com
- Ameena.Berkowitz@dft.gsi.gov.uk
I live on a small estate in oval – there’s a patch of waste land that was ear marked for an all weather football pitch but I have my eye on it for food. I did grow tomatoes on it one year but the “gardeners” cut them down. I have two neighbours who are very active food growers but I don’t think others are really into it. It just seems such a shame when there is the opportunity for cheap food.
Calais Gate,
Teri Bullen, Chair, teribullen@msn.com, Tel: 020 7582 2616,
Zena Maddison, Sec 020 7582 2616
Caldwell Gardens TRA – ward purse funded
Tulse Hill???
Camberwell - Will Campbell-Clause
Windmill Allotments
OTHER LONDON COMMUNITY GROWING PROJECTS
Let's Go, Let's Grow, Noth Paddington, using builders bags Camley Street, Kings' Cross, using builders bags Vacant Lot, What If? roject platning in builders bags Global Generation, planting in skips near St Pancras
Sustain and WEN's Growing Round the Houses briefing paper This paper highlights a number of successful examples across London (pdf)
Growing Communities based in Hackney. Growing Communities wants to help other groups to follow in their footsteps (and adopt their ethical local ethos) to start their own local food supply projects. Click here for some Growing Communities Resources
OTHER UK COMMUNITY GROWING PROJECTS
Urban Farming project in Middlesborough
OTHER INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY GROWING PROJECTS
Growing Power in Chicago There are lots of really good short films on the web. Google 'growing power YouTube'
A Canadian food project run by volunteers that grow food on roof top gardens and then convert the produce in to home made meals and deliver them round to elderly people on foot and bike.
Guide to Setting Up Your Own Edible Roof Top Garden published by Alternatives and Roof Top Garden project, Montreal