Park Plaza resident Peter Lewis, President of the Coffs Regional Community Gardens Association, told News Of The Area his main goal for the beginning of 2024 at the Combine Street community garden is “to work on design elements of the entire garden to reinstate permaculture principles”.

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“Ideas include creating public access outside the fenced garden, ways to incorporate local community food waste into the creation of valuable compost, a food excess swapping stall, a public accessible food forest and ways to engage kids and adults in healthy fruit harvesting,” he told News Of The Area.

With his own flourishing garden in the city, he is a passionate promulgator of pearls of wisdom for gardeners of any level.

Here Peter shares some lived-experience ideas to encourage a fruitful relationship with your yard.

“Remember it’s your garden, put in food you like to eat, things that grow well in your area.

“You can’t modify the aspect but can put raised beds onto swampy ground or build beds up on clay or rocky subsoils.”

If you have a shady south facing side, investigate what grows there, such as coffee or Davidson plums, he suggests.

“Can you grow something that eventually gets above the shade like a tall banana or an avocado?”

Peter recommends you Google the height of plants and incorporate ‘stacking’ so that northern trees let light into taller southern trees.

“Use the special features of deciduous trees that let light in in winter but crest shade in summer.

“Use trellises and fast-growing nursery trees to protect plants that prefer part shade.

“A trellis with a grapevine can provide shade in summer to sit and read a book or sunshine in winter.”

Other elements are how you make compost that is the food replacement for all the crops you harvest.

“Have you got space for a worm tub, or chooks or a seaweed brew barrel?”

Most garden problems can be solved by just adding more compost, Peter reckons.

“Expand your design by knowing where fruiting street trees are.

“My grandkids know where the midgen berries and Lillypillys grow in Coffs Harbour and when they’re fruiting.

“They know where wild raspberries and strawberry guavas are growing.

“Notice feral bush lemons or places that a Davidson plum might grow.”

Peter advocates for joining community gardens to plant varieties of trees that may be too big or slow-growing for your home yard.

“The three ethics of permaculture are ‘fair share’, ‘people care’ and ‘earth care’, which work with community gardens.”

Various courses, free and paid-for, are available at the Coffs Regional Community Gardens.

Visit www.coffscommunitygardens.org.au or Coffs Community Regional Gardens Facebook.

By Andrea FERRARI