gardening

Right, so my last post was in December in the middle of drought.

Since then, we had major fires, then major rains and some associated flooding. And then COVID-19 came along and all of a sudden everyone wants to garden!

Anyway, I didn't really plan to tout this here, because it was originally limited by physical location. However, socially isolating changed the game.

So, forthwith, I present the Sydney Edible Garden Trail!

The original idea was 65 Sydney gardeners opening up their gardens to ticket-holders to show how they grow their own food and supplement their household diet, how they deal with waste and reuse and water restrictions in what was, at the time, a massive drought in the Sydney basin.

When COVID-19 arrived and restrictions to gatherings began, the plan was originally to continue to hold it. But by the week leading up to the open gardens, everything was slowing down, closing down, and the restrictions were growing.

So they took it online - they made it the Virtual Sydney Edible Garden Trail. Instead of physically attending gardens, garden owners liveblogged on a Facebook group so the ticket-holders could see their gardens and what was in them without having tobe physically present.

It was a hit. People all over the world bought a ticket and watched the videos, hopefully learning the possibilities available even in a suburban or urban setting.

An Australian gardening personality led the charge - Costa Georgiardis - and visited about 15 gardens th original weekend and the next, talking to the owners about the features, and asking them about the issues they faced and how they solved them.

Yes, I was one of those gardeners. Yes, I had Costa visiting my garden. Yes, we social distanced. It was heaps of fun.

There were also interviews, workshops, and demonstrations: making sourdough bread, building wicking beds, wastes and composts, and how to grow gardens on an apartment balcony. It wasn't just landowners and homeowners, but renters negotiating their temporary situation, people living in tiny two bedroom apartments, and people who had no space but still utilised community and school gardens.

The Virtual ticket costs about $6 AUD. You can be anywhere in the world, but you will need an FB account.

There's a lot of advice, help, and info in there. And some really spectacular gardens! All of it was designed and operated by ordinary, everyday people like you and me, working jobs, trying to survive in the world as we know it, well aware that the system is broken but unable to do more than resist in our own small way and hoping that if enough of us resist, maybe the people in power will sit up and take notice of the possibilities instead of the money. We can hope!