SO far in 2025 in West Belfast alone we have donated around 50 tonnes of New Leaf peat-free compost to the following community gardens: Gairdín an Phobail, St James’ Community Farm, Colin Community Allotments and Colin Men’s Shed.
Gairdín an Phobail is a community garden at Whiterock Leisure Centre run by dedicated volunteers on a Wednesday and Friday. They have used their donation of compost to top up beds, fill new planters and work on their tree nurseries to support the Black Mountain Rewilding project. It has also been used to support the many youth groups who attend Gairdín an Phobail. Running the community garden and supporting local community projects in an area of multiple deprivation requires a lot of resources mostly made up from donations. The compost helps to preserve their budget to continue to support the community needs.
Using their donation St James’ Community Farm (SJCF) have raised up flower and vegetable beds to a more suitable height for volunteers with mobility issues. SJCF began in 2015 as a community hub of gardening, learning and sustainable agriculture. Today, they also have hands-on animal care experiences with friendly farm animals. Volunteers are vital at SJCF, and they are training opportunities for volunteers to further advance their skills and knowledge. Gardening is at the heart of what STCF do; there are opportunities for community members to grow their own vegetables, there is a focus on education on the benefits of home-grown produce and most importantly, it’s open to everyone.
Colin Men’s Shed had a new raised allotment plot built this year to enable their members to grow more food outdoors. They have been using their New Leaf compost donation to fill these up, which has allowed them to kickstart their new growing project.
Working alongside Natural World Products’ community outreach team, the Colin Community Allotments continue to rejuvenate and transform neglected allotment plots using New Leaf peat-free compost donations and the no-dig gardening method. You can join Sharon and Biruk on the last Friday of every month from 10:30-12:30 at Colin Community Allotments for a free gardening workshop.
Spring has well and truly sprung! In this season of growth and new life, what can we be doing in our community gardens and at home? Here are some top tips for April growing, based on questions from local gardeners:
“What should I be sowing in my home garden or allotment?”
In April, you can sow almost anything that you want to grow in your vegetable garden this season. This could include lettuce, scallions, peas, cabbage, cucumber or courgette. If you missed your chance to sow tomatoes, chillies, peppers, onion and garlic, you can find them as plants in many garden centres. Keep these in mind for sowing early next year!
“I don’t have a garden but I’d like to help the bees. What can I do?”
A window box planted with some herbs such as thyme and lavender and some flowers such as nasturtiums and marigold are easy to grow and attractive to pollinators.
“What is a good activity for children this time of year at our local community garden?”
It’s not too late to plant potatoes in sacks, which is a great activity for kids. Harvesting potatoes later in the season has always been a favourite when working with children as it’s almost like a treasure hunt! Growing in bags also saves space and is suitable for at-home growing as well.
