Harvest Corner - Grey Community Garden Palmerston NT

Organic gardening in the tropics

Gardening in the tropics is a lot of fun with a variety of unusual and exceptionally tasty foods to experiment with. Many people, however, find it somewhat daunting as often these are foods we have not encountered in our everyday living in Australia. It doesn't take long to learn a few new ideas, methods and recipes before you're off and away on your discovery of amazing tropical foods.
At Harvest Corner we have 40 different species of fruit trees, 2 large banana circles, a rain garden full of taro, huge amounts of sweet potato, numerous types of herbs and scores of vegetables at all times of the year....and we are still planting more! We showcase many different aspects of gardening including wicking beds, raised beds, the aforementioned banana circles, native foods, seed raising, swales, worm farms, composting, sheet mulching and hugelkultur. And there's plenty of room for more ideas too. So come along and join us. There are plenty of things to learn and new friends to meet. Our garden is one for the whole family - children are especially welcome.

What is permaculture?

Permaculture (a word derived from permanent + agriculture) is based on a set of principles and ethics that we use to guide us in creating intelligent designs for sustainable communities. It is modelled on nature and aims to work with nature, rather than against it, to create abundant systems that provide for all our needs (food, energy, shelter, community) whilst producing no waste. Permaculture designs seek to ensure harmonious interactions between all aspects of a system, both living and non-living. By careful observation we come up with ways to mimic this same harmony in nature in our own systems - consciously and carefully thought out designs that give maximum abundance on all levels.

There are 3 core ethics that guide all permaculture design:

 

Cultivating community

Our garden is in the heart of Palmerston and right on the doorstep of the brand new Gray Community Hall. We are passionate about our local community and seek to become an informal hub of community activity. We invite any and all local community groups to contact us if they would like to use the garden for gatherings or events. Over the years we have had the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Alzheimers Australia, the Landcruiser Club, Roseberry Middle School and Gray Primary School all utilising the space.

Downloads

How to create your own no dig garden How to sheet mulch This is a fantastic catalogue from our favourite local supplier of fruit trees. A guide to the least toxic pesticides to use (we prefer garlic spray) A comprehensive calendar for growing vegies in the Top End A great guide to some of our local bush tucker foods How to get started with worm farming A fantastic gardening guide for the beginner through to experienced gardener including some classic permaculture designs Soils are everything! Healthy soil = healthy people. Check out this great article for more A comprehensive guide to native plants of the Darwin Region A step by step guide to the wonderful banana circle! Keyhole and spiral garden designs Try some of these great mandala garden bed options A simple pond made from a tyre How to make gardens from old pallets A brief history of permaculture A short intro to permaculture Russ Grayson explains permaculture Another explanation of how permaculture works All about permaculture principles Looking into social permaculture An in depth chapter from Bill Mollinson on permaculture design

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