This garden is open to the public, but only 9-11.30am on Monday mornings and 3.30-6pm on Wednesday afternoons.

Oakhill Food Justice Farm came into existence in September 2021 and is a demonstration of how you can turn a disused 800sqm block into an urban farm. It is a ‘food is free’ initiative, utilising skills of local food-growers and farmers to produce vegetables, herbs, salads for community members. Food is harvested weekly in partnership with DIVRS and distributed through DIVRS emergency food relief program.

People can sign up through Oakhill’s website to become a volunteer at the farm. The volunteer sessions run on Monday mornings (9-11.30am) and Wednesday afternoons (3.30-6pm), where the volunteers can learn about all aspects of food growing as well as chat over fresh farm tea breaks.

Oakhill runs a number of programs throughout the week. Preston Primary School students walk to the farm weekly to design and grow their own ‘Preston primary passata patch’, where they learn how to grow and take care of soil, produce compost and worm farms, grow crops, sow and save seeds, pot-up tomatoes, plant them, manage water, trellis them, grow beneficial plants such as herbs and flowers and eventually harvest and make passata.

Oakhill also runs a paid-internship program for youth converting lawn to food; works in partnership with Bridge Darebin to create and facilitate their gardening programs; and organises various workshops.

The gardening space (but not the house) is accessible for wheelchairs. There are toilet and kitchen facilities available on site.

This garden is open to the public.

The Railway Garden comprises 10 large garden beds, 6 wicking beds, a citrus bed, a fruit tree area and an indigenous plants bed. Read their technical manual.

The garden was first established in 2020, the vision being of a collectively managed, open and inclusive garden and community meeting place where people gather to connect with one another, either through gardening activities or simply for the pleasure of being there. They strive to ensure a positive impact on the environment, for example, no pesticides, use organic gardening methods, recycle waste and nutrients where possible (eg through composting) and save seeds. Read their operational manual.

There are gardening groups on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. If you would potentially like to get involved in the garden, fill out an enrolment form and they will get in touch with you.

There are regular on site information sessions, workshops and courses on gardening practices.

This orchard is open to the public.

Renown Street Community Orchard was first established in 2018 and comprises numerous fruit trees plus some spots for annual veggies and plenty of herbs and flowers. Over the years, they have transformed the space from an unloved patch of weedy grass to a thriving, productive organic garden where a community of gardeners of diverse backgrounds and skill levels can learn and grow together.

The orchard sits on a parcel of Melbourne Water-owned land on Wurundjeri country, with the piped Merlynston Creek flowing underneath.

The orchard is open to the public and they are always looking for more people to join their orchard community, with the aim that lots of people will feel a sense of shared ownership of the orchard and feel comfortable to go along to do some gardening whenever they feel the desire. They have working bees from time to time, as publicised on their Facebook page.

This group is membership-based.

The group’s aim is to create more opportunities for gardening throughout Richmond, both for growing food and for bringing people together to share and learn from each other. Membership is $10pa.

The group leases an area in the Burnley Backyard community facility at 49 Tudor Street, Richmond. This comprises 25 individual plots for rent plus some shared communal beds. They have also established 3 planter boxes on the nature strip in Tudor Street so that passersby can pick a variety of herbs and teas.

There is currently a waiting list for the individual plots. Members without a plot can still join in tending and sharing in produce from the communal beds. Members can also access a composting system, a worm farm and a supply of coffee grounds.

This garden is allotment-based, for people who reside in, or pay rates to, the City of Whitehorse.

The garden was first established in 1982 and was one of the first community gardens in Melbourne.

It comprises around 50 individual plots plus a few communal areas for herbs. Each plot is around 35 square metres (e.g. 9 metres by 4 metres) but some have been divided into half plots. The total size of the garden is around 1 acre. Most of the plots are in-ground, with a few raised beds.

Collectively, the plot holders are culturally diverse, with the vegetables being grown therefore also being diverse.

There is some communal equipment, such as wheelbarrows and tools. There are also four large water tanks which are fed by the large roof of a nearby stadium (mains water is connected but only used if the tanks run dry).

The garden is one of two overseen by Nunawading Community Gardens, the other being Jolimont Community Garden in Forest Hill. The Nunawading Community Gardens committee is responsible for both setting overall policies (e.g. no pesticides or herbicides) and for maintenance of the communal areas (e.g. some of the pathways).

They have a number of get togethers each year, to which plot holders from both of the gardens are invited. They order various products in bulk for members to buy, including seed potatoes. They also hold regular working bees.

All plots are currently allocated and there is a waiting list. Read more about joining the waiting list and potentially apply. As of 2024, the cost of a plot is $30 pa (or $20 pa for half a plot) and the cost of being on the waiting list is $5 pa.

This garden is membership-based, with partly communal beds and partly allotments.

Situated at Salt Creek’s meeting with the Yarra River, this sustainable food garden is a joint venture between the Banyule Anglican Church and the local community. Both individual and community plots are available and new members are very welcome. A gardening get-together occurs each month where seedlings are shared, compost is made, fascination is felt about the latest vegetables appearing and members always feel comfortable to try new planting experiences and see what happens. Workshops conducted have included building wicking beds, liquid fertilisers, pruning fruit trees and making hot compost.

A food swap is held at the garden on the 4th Saturday of every month, 10-11am.

In August 2019, Judy Vizzari visited the garden. Read her writeup of the visit.

Gardening in the cool evening riverside air is refreshing!

This garden is membership-based. Membership is a $50 one-off fee plus a yearly subscription fee depending on the size of the garden beds you have access to.

The garden is located in Yarra Bend Park in Kew – the largest area of natural bushland near the heart of Melbourne. It was started in 2017 as a collaboration between a group of residents from the neighbouring Willsmere Estate and Parks Victoria and provides a place to share a vision of growing our own food, strengthening community bonds and sharing gardening knowledge. They welcome everyone in the community to enjoy the garden, but ask that you respect the produce of individuals.

The garden’s first stage is designed to pay homage to the formal gardens of the neighbouring asylum and the site’s previous history as a kitchen garden that supplied food for the inmates and staff of the asylum. It features a central talking circle surrounded by seats that are designed to encourage conversations and community. Above-ground beds were donated by Bunnings Hawthorn in November 2018 and smaller community herb beds around the inner circle were created with recycled local materials.

Future possible developments include a second set of above-ground beds mirroring the first, a heritage fruit orchard, a garlic farm, more in-ground beds, grapevines, and communal spaces with paving, chairs & tables.

This garden is open to the public, but only 9-11am on Wednesday mornings.

This community garden is a space where students, parents and members of the local community can gather and grow fruit and vegetables.

The aim of the garden is to share fresh, nutritious produce with the school and local community, while educating and advocating for growing food locally and promoting community well being. The hope is also to strengthen ties between the school and the local community.

Established in 2019, the garden has several wicking garden beds, a fruit orchard, a compost & recycling centre and hügelkultur beds.

The garden is open 9-11am on Wednesday mornings and all local residents are welcome.