Cranbrook Community Food Garden

We'll be closing our X-Twitter profile at the end of May. But the garden is still here and growing strong! Be sure to follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/cranbrook_comm… or sign up for our monthly newsletter on our website: cranbrook.garden

@CranbrookCCFG @EdibleSE16 @OctopusCN Winner of our #UrbanHarvest2023 competition for best ‘Climate-friendly Community Meal’ is @CranbrookCCFG! 🍴They had a feast mostly made by their members: locally-grown freshly-made salads, tabbouleh, chilli-smashed cucumber & more! Photo credit: Lizzy Mace & Aleksandar Genov

Congrats to all the winners!

More photos of our @Capital_Growth #UrbanHarvest2023 climate-friendly community feast. Plates piled high with locally-grown freshly-made salads! Including Middle Eastern tabbouleh & Asian chilli-smashed cucumber, reflecting diverse members. Photos by Lizzy Mace & Aleksandur Genov

Our @Capital_Growth #UrbanHarvest2023 Harvest Feast! Most dishes made by members from locally-grown food, low-or-no cooking, and mostly vegan (just some eggs and cheese on the side!), it was not only a joyful community meal but climate-friendly too! Photos by Aleksandur Genov

Busy Saturday as usual a couple of weeks ago during @Capital_Growth #UrbanHarvest2023! Here are some harvest action shots from the gloriously sunny day ☀️ Photos by Aleksandur Genov for Cranbrook Community Food Garden

To other local community-run gardens, have you had a sign suddenly appear on your fence today? @garden_poets @BgGrowers

What was behind the choice not to contact us and involve us in the process of approving and creating the sign? How does this fit with your commitment to working in partnership with communities?

Buff- or white-tailed bumblebee drinking nectar through a hole in a comfrey flower. We use the leaves to make organic fertiliser. We also use nettle tea, banana peels, and wormeries to feed our beds with nutrient-rich natural goodies. #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Honey bee covered in pollen. One of the things we do to help protect and restore nature is allow some of our herbs and greens to flower, providing nectar for pollinators. #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Mint moth on rosemary. After building bee habitats and planting flowers for moths, butterflies and hoverflies, we replaced all our netting with nets with wider holes, to allow pollinating insects through. The garden teems with life 💚 #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Common carder bee drinking from apple blossom. We were so proud that our efforts to protect & restore nature were recognised with 1st prize in the "Best Garden for Wildlife (Group)" category at the Tower Hamlets in Bloom Awards 2022 💚 #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Male common darter dragonfly in the garden. As well as making space for wildlife, planting flowers for insects, and timing our tasks to work with nature's needs, we also use natural pest-control and produce almost all our own compost! #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Female ruddy darter dragonfly in the garden. We've added spaces for insects & birds, and changed some of our gardening methods to help protect and restore nature - like letting leaves lie till late spring and allowing crops to flower. #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

A willow emerald damselfly using our apple tree as a hunting spot one evening. We think they might have been attracted by the frog pond, just one of the spaces we've made to help protect and restore nature in the garden. #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Just a few months after we built our bird bath and feeding station, we had lots of birds nesting in the garden, including this family of wrens in the roof of our pergola! #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Male brown hawker dragonfly on lal shak. We've made lots of changes to help protect and restore nature in the garden including bug hotels, flowers for pollinators, a bee mound, a bird bath and feeding station, and a frog pond! #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth

Poplar hawk-moth on aubergine leaf. Some of the things we're doing to help protect and restore nature: * planting flowers for pollinators * building a bee mound * making a bird bath and feeding station * digging a frog pond #MyWildSpace #GoodToGrow2023 @Capital_Growth