Vegmead, the veg garden we created in a circular flowerbed in Hedgemead Park in 2011, is now being looked after by a different group and is thriving. Earlier in the year, the Council’s Parks department asked us to improve the look of Vegmead and we replanted it, using plants we’d raised from seed or dug up from our allotments and others donated by Bath Organic Group and Alice Park Community Garden. Parks gave us permission to continue on the site until the end of this year, pending a review. They had suggested a move to Kensington Meadows, which we rejected.
A young couple with experience of managing a similar project in London offered to look after Vegmead and we transferred the project over to them at the beginning of August. Although the Parks’ review suggested that a heritage park wasn’t a suitable location for growing vegetables, Jodie and Adam have successfully persuaded the Council to allow them to continue cultivating Vegmead until the end of 2017. They’ve collected team of new helpers and we fully expect Vegmead will be acknowledged to be an asset to the park over the next 12 months.
To follow Vegmead’s progress, catch them on Twitter @vegmead, on Facebook as Vegmead Community Garden and on their website.