Helpers at Trinity’s community garden are reaping what they sowed.
The community garden, in front of the Trinity Community Centre on College Rd, got under way at the start of summer, with vegetables ripening in time to help ease the pain of fresh produce shortages.
Timaru Presbyterian Parish minister Rory Grant said with planting beginning in December, he was ‘‘a little concerned we’d left it too late’’.
Rev Grant said while the project was in its infancy, it was more successful than he had ever imagined.
(4) with a handful of freshly picked beans. PHOTO: SHELLEY INON
The garden gave people who were renting or had no garden somewhere to get their hands dirty, he said.
Alternatively, it was also for people with gardens at home, who just wanted to come and learn from others.
Rev Grant said he had learnt a lot over summer.
‘‘What is still a bit of a mystery to me is scheduling when to plant and when to harvest.’’
But with plenty of keen gardeners at the gatherings, there was a lot of knowledge to go around.
For residents with stubbornly pink fingers who needed fresh produce, the church hoped to set up a sharing shelf.
They were also delivering bags from Eat Well, a fruit and vege co-op that has been running for five years.
Eat Well helped to make healthy food affordable and accessible, with recipe cards placed into orders in case customers needed inspiration. Organisers ordered in wholesale produce, which they sold on in priced bundles. The co-op allowed clients to customise their orders to suit their family’s needs. They had between 20 and 30 orders a week. Orders are made on Thursday and delivered on Tuesday.
‘‘Our goal is to be a blessing to the community.’’
The community garden is open to anyone in the community who wants to engage, churchgoers or not.
