Preliminary Community Garden Designs

Sorenson Architects

December 2015

Witchcliffe Eco Village Community Garden Bed Design The provisions of Scheme Amendment 28 require the Witchcliffe Ecovillage to provide the means for future residents to “achieve a high level of self sufficiency in fresh food produce,” and requires the Witchcliffe Ecovillage Structure Plan to provide details of how land use expectations will address “agricultural and related food production, including the provision of infrastructure to enable community gardens for the growing of fresh food produce.” The ecovillage has been designed so that residents will be able to produce a large proportion of their fresh vegetable, fruit, honey and egg requirements within the community gardens, whilst dairy products, wine, aquaculture products and staples requiring larger production areas will be grown within the agricultural lots available for small scale organic businesses. Olives and nuts for each strata will be grown and harvested communally within the irrigated silvicultural buffers, and streetscapes and parks will feature edible as well as indigenous plantings. It is not expected that the ecovillage community gardens will be able to provide 100% of residents food, nor will it be mandated that they must use their community garden plots, however, the infrastructure will be provided to enable all residents to participate and produce fresh vegetables and fruit. According to vegetable gardening experts John Jeavons and Robert Kourik, a 20 to 25 m2 vegetable plot under intensive organic horticulture can produce enough vegetables to feed one person for a year, however, these figures are based on northern hemisphere growing conditions. Diggers Garden Club (a well regarded Australian edible growers resource) books and Gardening Australia factsheets both recommend a 45 m2 plot to feed a small family with fresh vegetables, berries and soft fruit. The growing beds in the cluster community gardens are intended to grow just vegetables, as space has been allocated within the gardens for communal orchards, herbs, fruiting vines and herbs, so a figure of 20 m2 per person was chosen as a starting point for space allocation. As there was no local data available to help determine the optimal size of a garden plot which would supply a large proportion of a household’s fresh vegetable requirements, the proponents developed and maintained a fresh food demonstration garden in Margaret River over a 12 month period to supply a family of 3. The garden provided daily salad greens, green vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and kale, root vegetables, seasonal vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, beans, pumpkin, okra, peas and corn, as well as herbs and small fruits such as strawberries, passionfruit and pepino. It was determined through this exercise that an approximately 20 m2 intensive garden bed is required per person to feed a family with fresh vegetables, with seasonal excess to swap and preserve. The requirement for chickens per person was set at 1 per person. This is an arbitrary amount as over 5m per bird has been allocated in the design, leaving room for flexibility according to the future residents’ requirements.

Preliminary Community Garden Design for strata cluster (see Figure 1.) Notes to accompany garden plan:

• The approximate resident population of this cluster was calculated 55 people, therefore the total vegetable growing bed space allocated in the design is approx. 1200m2, which equates to over 20 m2 per occupant. The beds have been deliberately placed directly outside the private garden gates for easy accessibility, but they have been shaped so it is not obvious which beds exactly are allocated to which lot. This is to encourage communication and sharing. For the same reasons, most of the seating and meeting points have been placed in positions in between lots so neighbours can meet and chat. Ideally, half of the beds will be raised and the others contained at ground level. This will be determined by budget constraints.

• The affordable housing complex has received an optional extra of 124m2 growing space, as these lots may house the people who may benefit most from cost savings by growing vegetables for storage and preserving. If this is not desired, it could be converted into orchard, berry patch or open space.

• Fruit trees: There is room for approx. 210 fruit trees, with varieties to be selected. Where trees are in the direct vicinity of vegetable beds, variety and size is to be considered so overshading and tree roots in beds can be avoided.

• The productivity of the fruit trees will be dependent on species and varieties chosen, so it is impossible to ascertain how many trees per household will be required, however, the shared orchards will provide a substantial contribution to each household’s fresh fruit requirements, particularly if excess fruit is preserved by the community.

• Growing containers on the plan indicate a flexible space where things like strawberries can be grown in wine barrels or herbs in pots. This is also where bird baths, frog bowls, compost bins/tumblers and containers for ameliorants can be placed.

• Perennial herbs, shrubs and hedges: These can be things like highly productive passionfruit grown along fence lines, clumps or hedges of berries or guava shrubs, culinary and tea herbs or attractive beds and borders of medicinal herbs and bee attracting flowers. Attention is to be paid to containment of potentially invasive species.

• Chook runs: Based on one chicken per occupant (=55) the chook run is centrally located between the larger lots as to minimise the noise factor and provides in excess of 5 m space for each chicken. It has a small securable night run and 4 sections of orchard runs to be used in rotation. The fence lines are best planted out with medicinal herbs for chooks. There are 2 extra orchard runs to the south and the northwest. These are meant for seasonal day use and the chooks will need to be manually ‘taxied’ to and fro.

• The children’s garden could either be designed as a plant-based playground or as a place where children can learn in a playful way about growing eatables and flowers.

• The smaller lots have been allotted any extra growing space and not the larger Family lots, as their higher amount of occupants may include children and their private garden spaces are larger.

• There is no growing space allowance for occupants of ancillary buildings as these will be developed (or not) at purchasers’ discretion, but there should be plenty of surplus production to accommodate any arising needs.

Table 1. Calculation of vegetable bed space: Lot Type Space required Space provided 4 x Western Cottage lots x 1.545 occupants x 20m2

123.60 m2 146 m2

7 Eastern Cottage lots x 1.545 x 20m2

216.30 m2 274 m2

6 Western Family lots x 3.2 x 20m2

384 m2 386 m2

4 Eastern Family lots x 3.2 x 20m2

256 m2 259 m2

5 Affordable Housing lots x 1.2 x 20m2

120 m2 137 m2

Total (54.9 occupants) 1100.50 m2 1202 m2 Average per occupant 20 m2 21.89 m2

Witchcliffe Eco Village Preliminary Community Garden Design for Mixed Use lots in Village Square. Notes to accompany garden plan:

• As per the previous garden design for cluster strata, 20m2 is assumed as the

optimal growing space required per person for fresh vegetable production. • Beds for growing seasonal vegetables: Total veg bed space as per plan is

approx. 330m2, which equates to just over 20m2 per occupant (8 dwellings=16 occupants).

• Fruit trees: There is room for approx. 52 fruit trees, varieties to be determined. Where trees are in the direct vicinity of vegetable beds, variety and size is to be considered so overshading and tree roots in beds can be avoided.

• Some growing beds have been deliberately placed right next to the shared driveways for easy accessibility, but also to encourage communication and sharing. For the same reasons most of the seating/meeting points have been placed in positions so neighbours can meet and chat. The remainder of the beds are in the communal area accessible by a little shared path. Ideally, half of the beds will be raised and the others contained at ground level. This will probably be determined by budget constraints and the personal requirements of the occupants.

• Growing containers on the plan indicate a flexible space where things like strawberries can be grown in wine barrels or herbs in pots. This is also where bird baths, frog bowls, compost bins/tumblers and containers for ameliorants can be placed.

• Perennial herbs, shrubs and hedges: these can be things like passionfruit grown along fence lines, clumps or hedges of berries or guava shrubs, culinary herbs or attractive beds and borders of medicinal herbs and bee attracting flowers. Attention is to be payed to containment of potentially invasive species.

• Chook runs: Based on one chicken per occupant (=16) it has a small securable night run and 3 sections of orchard runs to be used in rotation. The fence lines are best planted out with medicinal herbs for chooks.

• At planning stage, families are not anticipated as occupying the mixed use ‘makers’ houses’. If this changes, the pond and rock garden in the centre of the communal area could be converted to a playground or as a place where children can learn in a playful way about growing eatables and flowers.

• For space reasons, a drainage wetland has not been included in this cluster. A swale at the northern fence could catch the water and lead it to a wetland south of the tourist accommodation on the other side of the road. Those buildings will not have productive gardens and could benefit from wetland landscaping.

• Path widths are drawn at 2m for major paths and 1.5m for secondary paths. • The street verge areas to the west could also provide additional fruit trees for

this cluster.

REFERENCES Blazey, C. (2006). The Australian Fruit and Vegetable Garden. “Fact Sheet: Designing a Vegie Garden.” Gardening Australia.

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s3006176.htm Jeavons, J. (2002). How To Grow More Vegetables. (Eighth Ed.) Kourik, R. (1986). Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally.