This post for the Sanctuary Community Garden blog is dedicated to the memory of Sarah's beloved son Max.
All of the usual suspects (Jan, Abbie, Mort, Sarah and Dimitri) were hard at work preparing cardboard boxes for use as the underlayer, before the bark mulch, in the food forest.
A load of prepared boxes on its way to the food forest being expertly driven by Jonas, Birte's husband, with Judy looking on.
The chain gang of bark workers:
Robbie returning with an empty barrow for the next load.
Claire working hard with yet another wheelbarrow load of bark mulch.
Aaron forms yet another link in the chain of bark movers.
Riley, with Stephanie and Brendan doing a great job of helping spread the bark out on top of the prepared cardboard boxes.
The engine room (Jenny and Sarah) reloading Brendan's wheelbarrow.
Jenny and Sarah reload Marita.
Meanwhile,
John continues to prune the trees along the newly reinstated fenceline.
Mike, Masa and Judy clear the Tradescantia from underneath the Avocado tree.
Birte helps pull out the final pieces of Tradescantia.
Carla with Judy working to clear Tradescantia whilst discussing grafting onto food trees. The tree crop association, located beside Western Springs, has monthly meetings where it's possible to find out all sorts of information about tree crops including grafting different species onto each other. It's possible to graft any stone fruit onto another stone fruit tree. December is the time to do this work.
The COMPOSTERS
Trevor, Clement and Arthur do the hard lifting, turning the wintery compost heaps. Heavy work but the compost is coming along well.
Karl refurbishes the paths.
Patrick came along to help out at the working bee while waiting for a plot to become available at the Sanctuary Garden.
Patricia and Gabriel weed around the intersown carrots.
Fiona, Anne and Jackie weed the beetroot.
Christine and Alison weed the garlic.
Liz and Sarh planning.
Marita and Aaron with a final load of bark destined for the greenhouse entrance.
Fiona and Bev (still trying to avoid the paparazzi!)
Katya and her Mum Kathryn, who have recently moved up to Auckland from Wellington, start on the weeding.
A delicious lunch followed with sweet citrus grown at the gardens. Delicious!
Thanks to everyone for another hugely productive mornings work.
Thanks to everyone for another hugely productive mornings work.
