HA Environment Challenge: Gardening for the Planet

The Humanists Australia Environment Challenge continues in this month of June.

Today, on **World Environment Day**, we launch into our focus for June, on **gardening and growing food** for the benefit your family, your community, and the planet.

You may already grow your own fruit and/or vegetables. You may already have a community garden nearby, or at least be aware they are out there. Even so, we hope this month’s challenge will enhance your knowledge of what is possible and help cultivate (pun intended!) your gardening skills.

As HA member Elizabeth Dangerfield writes, the evolution of community gardening has a long and fascinating history. “The detailed knowledge that Indigenous people had of the plants in their areas helped them not only obtain food but also medicines and other useful products.” Read more

In carrying on its history, there are many ways community spaces can be turned into green spaces for growing and sharing food resources.

**Community gardens can also be a great way to nurture bee populations, and the working bees, in turn, can help maintain the common areas of the garden.**

*Photo: plants to provide food for bees in early spring – Crace Community Garden 2022.*

Outside of community gardens, there are even ways to forage for food safely and respectfully in urban areas.

If any of this sounds like something you would like to try or contribute to, we have put together these useful tips in getting you started to enhance your skills!

Growing healthy vegetables by rotating your crops

If you change where you grow your vegetables each year you will prevent the build-up of disease and pests. This sample rotation plan requires two vegetable beds each divided into four sections. It allows plants that have similar requirements to be grown together...

Growing, Preserving and Using Grapes

Once you have tasted your own home grown grapes you will never want to eat those travesties of taste – supermarket grapes that have been kept in cold storage for months and months. Read our tips on growing grapes and surprising ways you can use them aside from eating them!

Using the best of your garden bounty to its full potential!

You can eat your home or community grown vegetables fresh, or use them in ways you can eat them throughout the year.

Making the most of what you grow

There are also useful strategies to help extend the period that you can harvest and use your home and community grown vegetables and fruit.