We are well into our 2025 growing season at the Transition Gardens. Many of the crops were in the ground by late May, with planning already happening for second crop succession plantings. We’re been harvesting spinach, arugula, spring turnips, radishes, chives, kale, chard and leaf lettuce. The tomatoes and peppers are well on their way in three of our greenhouses.
The Transition Gardens can be described as a ‘Co-operative Teaching Centre Micro-farm.’ Co-operation is the key to our success – the gardens are managed co-operatively. We meet weekly, usually on a Friday morning. There are about twelve people on the active list, and five to eight of us gather each week to get the work done. We share the harvest at the end of the morning. Sometimes, we end with a potluck farm lunch.
The benefits of gardening in a neighbourhood, co-operative manner are many. Most of the Transition Co-op members have been coming regularly for years, as they are very dedicated to the gardens and the community it has built up. You could say that our garden community is as important as the fertile soil – each built up over years of careful nurturing. We learn from each other, with many managing gardens at home as well.
We continue to bring in new people. For example, Anna joined us as a garden intern for about 2 weeks. She is from New Zealand and traveling through Canada. It was important for her to take advantage of the learning opportunity. Later in June, we will have a student joining us from the local Bayview High School. She is interested in continuing her studies in environmental science, and would like to gain a strong knowledge of gardening before she goes to university.
Consider starting your own co-operative garden. It an start simply – invite the neighbours over to help expand or start your garden and share the knowledge and harvest along the way. You will be building community, and it will be a community with a strong sense of where good food comes from and how to grow it.