2025 at Empty Common

 We're excited to start a new year with a new poster to advertise our Sparky Sunday meetings!

Drop in every Sunday at 10:30am or 2pm, and stay as long or as short as you like. This is a great way to visit the garden for the first time. If you can't see anyone at first, walk right to the end and look inside the hut with the aquamarine door, in case everyone is sitting in there drinking tea.

Right now it's time to start potting tomato seedlings, so if you'd like to grow some baby tomatoes at home, ask Charlotte, Meg or Yvon how to get started. Let's get this tomato kindergarten growing!

Another project for the coming months is replacing the worn-out containers of the raised beds. There'll be plenty of chances to paint and assemble the new containers. We're hoping to grow a "Tea Ceremony" garden in one of the raised beds this year.

We have an Intro to Gardening Course coming up, starting on March 23. You can come to one or all of the four days, and get a great hands-on introduction to some essential gardening skills. We will also host an Intro to Permaculture Workshop on 26-27 April - what a great opportunity!

Here's a beautiful photo of how the garden vegetable beds look right now, taken by Meg.

This Sunday at 10am we're hosting a special event, "Nestbox Making for Palestine." Make and decorate your own nestbox from kits made by YMCA Woodskills Community Service Group. Nestboxes suitable for Robins, Wrens, Great Tits & Blue Tits. Suggested minimum donation £10, email to book ontheevergecambridge@gmail.com.

Our next committee meeting and permaculture group meeting is on Sunday March 2nd. Committee meeting plus shared lunch is at 12 noon, and permaculture meeting is at 2pm. Everyone is welcome!

Meetings and Bonfires and Sinks, Oh My!

December has been a rich and fun month at Empty Common Community Garden, even if much of the soil and plants are in a peaceful restorative sleep at the darkest time of the year.

Planning Meetings

Earlier in December we had an open meeting to discuss the future of the garden and plans for 2025. We brainstormed some new projects, and we are in the process of working out a new structure for management. The wonderful Charlotte is keen to get more and more people into the running of the garden, so that when she steps away, it can continue to evolve and thrive.

Some ideas include holding a beginner's gardening course, building a pizza oven, fruit tree pruning workshops, and even cracking out a paddling pool in summer! The garden is a co-creation, and it's in a fertile time of change and expansion. If you'd like to be more involved and contribute your gifts, we'd love to have you.

We're having another meeting to continue the conversation and planning this Sunday, January 5th at 12 noon.

Please do come and join us, whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned Empty Commoner, to contribute your longings, your questions and your expertise, or just to share a warm lunch and a cup of tea. Bring along vegetarian food to share if you want, or just bring your lovely self. Wrap up warm!

Bonfires

Then we had a bonfire to celebrate the winter solstice in touch with the earth! Drinks were drunk, music was danced, potatoes were cooked, prayers were sent up, stars were gazed at, coats were singed with wood smoke, new friends were made, and much, much more!

We are planning to hold bonfires more regularly in 2025 (perhaps as often as once a month...!) Look out for the next date at the end of January/start of February.

The final excitement of 2024 was the creation of a luxurious new sink for handwashing at the compost toilet! It's going to be joined by a sink friend in the hut for easy dishwashing in early 2025.

Have a very happy new year, and we hope to see you at Empty Common soon.

Love, Helena (a.k.a. ECMoF, Empty Common Ministry of Fun)