Good to Grow 2024

Good to Grow 2024 came at a perfect time for our projects at Benfieldside Community Garden. We have done a huge amount of work to clear the site, after years of neglect, and in April we found ourselves ready to plant. As part of the Good to Grow 2024, we were grateful to have a whole host of volunteers involved. The work included, digging out the large beds, ready for planting new flowers and shrubs, building another two fabulous oak planters, and filling them with top soil. Plus, we created our very own herb growing zone, and completing our 'Fruit Zone'.

What are we growing?

Our first stage in the 'growing'  process was to create  a new herb garden our 'Herb Zone'. We have used some of the kerbside space to add some herbs. So far we have, sage, mint and rosemary and lavender- with more to come. This is a fabulous and effective use of what was a difficult space to manage, 

Bearing Fruit

Luckily, we could preserve some of the old fruit bushes and we used these as a starting point for our 'Fruit Zone'. As part of Good to Grow, we have added two new blueberry bushes, two blackberry bushes and three fruit trees; two apples and a plum tree. We can't wait for them to bear fruit! The final addition to the Fruit Zone was 7 tonnes of mulch. Clive Rudd delivered the mulch and also gave us a hand to distribute across the area. His company also donated two sliver birch trees - beautiful trees that will be a fabulous addition to the community garden. He has promised us more trees if we need it- this is what is so amazing about community work, once word gets around, we get all kinds of support!

Ready to Bloom

We have spent weeks clearing two huge plots of invasive shrubs - the bamboo was an absolute nightmare to clear! Now they are clear, we added new topsoil, and now we have a two fabulous flower beds, all ready to bloom. 

Working in Partnership

An element that makes our projects at he garden extra special is being part of the extensive support networks across the North East. I was delighted to have the opportunity to record a podcast with Katie Baggott from Durham Community Action. 

Here is some extra information from Katie about their work across Durham County:

"We have a Community Growing and Food Network that is facilitated by Durham Community Action to bring together like-minded organisations with projects or an interest related to growing and food.

It enables community groups and organisations from all sectors with similar visions to connect, communicate and collaborate, supporting each other and sharing good practice.

Network sessions are held bi-monthly, either online or in person and there is a different theme for each session and they focus on:

• Meeting with other community groups and organisations
• Discussing topics of interest
• Sharing experiences and updates

We also work closely in partnership with Food Durham (County Durham’s Food Partnership) hosted by OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists). The Food Partnership raises awareness of the importance of food and how it relates to the economy, environment, health and wellbeing and issues of social justice.

Organisations can keep up to date with updates about our community growing and food network by joining our Facebook page -  or on our website."

Our podcast with Katie will be published very soon!

Get Involved

If you would like to work with us at the garden, please get in touch. We are always looking for volunteers, all ages and experience are welcome!