A cycle to be thankful for

Greenwich Gardens resident Jan Knight.

A group of gardeners at Greenwich Gardens are delighting residents with fresh produce, something the village community is incredibly thankful for.

The process is a cycle: seeds are sown, crops are harvested, residents donate a gold coin to purchase, which is used to buy more plants.

It was kickstarted by resident and keen gardener Jan Knight, who has launched a range of conservation initiatives at the village, introducing individual and community gardens, worm farms, composting, and stream regeneration.

I love gardening, it’s what I do. I might as well use my expertise here, as I’ve been gardening for 30 years now,” says Jan.

Another key contributor to the work being undertaken is Jan’s first co-worker, resident Bob Fairburn. Bob did the supplementary watering over the dry summer months and has a large part to play in the worm farms and compost bins.

Community garden plots at Greenwich Gardens

The community gardens have been a huge success. They began with Jan posting a notice on the village noticeboard which attracted ten residents, who now help Jan on a weekly basis to sow, harvest, and sell the planted crops. With experience in conservation work, future thinking is at the forefront of the work Jan is doing.

The climate’s changing, and the same when thinking about gardens. What you would put in five years ago you have to rethink, because you need crops that aren’t going to need as much water.”

The new Greenwich Gardens greenhouse

The harvesting happens once a week; Jan emails her group the day and time, the group pick the plants that are ready, and they’re taken up to Jan’s apartment, spread out on her bench, and made into bundles.

The bundles – including highly-popular salad bags featuring greens and herbs – are then taken down to the community centre to be sold to residents for a gold coin donation. That money is used to buy more plants, and the cycle continues.

People are very appreciative of the produce because they know that once it’s on sale, it was only picked an hour ago or so,” says Jan.

As word gets around, the bundles are often snapped up within a few hours. Because the produce isn’t the same as what you’d buy from the supermarket – it’s unsprayed, handpicked, and looked after by residents from start to finish.

In a single day, the gardening group can replant 80 new crops, meaning there’s always fresh produce making its way to residents.

The group also wishes to acknowledge the help and support of Greenwich Gardens’ Head Gardener, Renee from Bark, as well as the Maintenance team.