Kitchen Garden: Patchwork Urban Farm a flourishing community

A vote of thanks was given by Tim Hollo, executive director of the Green Institute and it included a stirring quote from Joelle's book on love, nature and Kintsugi. That prompted me to speak to Tim and also to ask if he was a food grower.

He said, "I'm not practically a grower, but I have given over a big chunk of my front yard to be part of the Patchwork Urban Farm, run my friends Karina Vennonen and Michael Fairlamb. They grow food across five landsharers and verge spaces and sell it through a cooperative Community Supported Agriculture scheme."

Last week the collective of four workers, Karina and Michael, Kristina Whitley and Kim Carter, met at Tim's inner north plot and he rode in from a meeting on his bike. The workers came together in June 2021, as they were passionate about growing food in an urban setting to build community resilience for climate change and each wanted to make farming a bigger part of their lives.

They use practises that minimise soil disturbance and try to increase the rich biodiversity that makes a healthy ecosystem. This is done through the use of interplanting, organic and agri-chemical free methods so, to assist with carrot germination, discarded hessian coffee sacks are used to cover the seeds. Crops are grown from seeds or seedlings that they raise from their own saved seed or from Canberra Seed Savers.

Karina explained they supply weekly vegie boxes to 40 members every week from November to May. Landsharers also receive a free weekly veggie box. The team had been out for two hours during the morning harvesting the first produce for this season from Campbell to Griffith. The broad beans were planted in April and Kristina likes to double pod them for use in a bright green dip.

Members subscribe to get a veggie box for a minimum of eight weeks and up to the whole season. The risks and rewards of farming are shared more equally with their members, so they are supported through unexpected events and also benefit from unexpected abundance of crops.

CSA subscriptions are sold on a sliding scale, so that lower income households can be supported by higher income households, thus reducing the barriers to fresh and nutritious food. To find out more, visit Patchwork Urban Farm on Facebook or Instagram and for a membership form email at patchworkcbr@gmail.com.

Tim and his family moved into their house 10 years ago when their family of four outgrew the tiny ex-govvie they had been in. They fell in love with the house and the rambling, ramshackle garden but wanted to turn it into a food-growing space. After an early childhood in Turner, Tim grew up in inner Sydney but always craved nature and the bush. He moved back to Canberra 17 years ago.

Tim met Karina through the ANU Food Co-op some years ago, not just getting groceries there but also organising events, gigs and political conversations. When Karina said she was starting an urban farm, his family leapt at the chance to join.

They have grown peas, potatoes, leeks, shallots, carrots and lots of herbs. As quite a shady space, it is limited what can grow well. The family eats lots of vegie-based pasta sauces and bakes and stir-fries, but sushi and tacos are the favourites.

They have met some of the other folk involved, through working bees and the weekly box pick-up and they introduced some other landholders to it. For Tim, building deeper connections with people "is as important as the local food and good land use." See the chapter Knowing Nature in his book Living Democracy (New South 2022).

Karina shared her salad recipe.

Ingredients

Method

1. Blanch the peas in boiling water for 30 seconds then transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. Combine the peas, mint, radishes, salad leaves in a bowl. In a small jug, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice. Pour the dressing over the salad and sprinkle the cheese on top. Season with salt and black pepper.

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