‘Incredible Edible’ is a successful community led urban food growing scheme which began in the market town of Todmorden in the north of England. From humble beginnings in 2007, the scheme has spread far and wide resulting in numerous Incredible Edible food growing sites across the globe.
In January 2017 we joined forces with Ealing Transition in an attempt to bring Incredible Edible to west London. We were delighted to have Pam Warhust from Incredible Edible as our keynote speaker on Thursday 26th January at the Dominion Centre in Southall.
You can learn more about Incredible Edible at http://incredibleediblenetwork.org.uk/
‘Incredible Edible Southall’ launched at Southall Community College
On 7th October 2017, we officially launched ‘Incredible Edible Southall’ when we planted Southall’s first roadside edible garden outside Southall Community College on Beaconsfield Road.
This garden acts as a pilot for the scheme in Southall. It is hoped that community interest and involvement will continue to grow, resulting in many more Incredible Edible sites throughout the town.
In addition to planting the garden, more than 50 volunteers helped with litter picking and general tidying along the front of the college and Southall Sports Centre.
The newly transformed site was opened by Cllr Simon Woodroofe (the Mayor of Ealing), Virendra Sharma (MP for Ealing Southall), Cllr Tejinder Dhami (the Deputy Mayor of Ealing) and Charles Nelson (Southall College’s Director of Inclusive Learning).
Launching the new garden, Councillor Simon Woodroofe, the Mayor of Ealing said:
“I would like to thank everybody who came along to this event as it is just the type of project we need for Southall. I hope people will latch onto it and support the people who are working on it. Thank you to all the people who organised it!”
Mani Dhanda, Southall Transition’s current Lead on this project said:
“This is the first garden of its type in Southall and we are hoping people will take inspiration from this. People can start their own gardens like this at home and share them with the community.”
This event was run in collaboration with Southall Waterside/ Berkeley Homes, Southall Community College and Everyone Active/ Southall Sports Centre.
Also in attendance were:
The Metropolitan Police, Police Cadets, Hope for Southall Street Homeless, Southall Community Alliance, Ealing Council, Amey, local students and residents. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of this event.
If you would like to start an Incredible Edible garden in Southall, please contact Southall Transition on info@southalltransition.org
‘Incredible Edible Southall’ at Recreation Road
Having received permission from the Council’s Highways department to build a new raised bed on the public highway on Recreation Road, in 2020 Southall Transition entered into partnership with Greenfields Nursery School and Children’s Centre. Funding from Ealing Council, The Transition Network / The National Lottery Community Fund and Southall Lions Club enabled us to proceed with the project.
Proposed site of new Incredible Edible raised bed
Project Delivery
Following discussions with our partners and contractors, the design of the raised bed was finalized in March 2021. Construction work commenced on 6th April. The old paving was removed to allow the foundation to be laid. Engineering brick was selected to match the existing walls.
Once the brickwork was complete, it was in-laid with a damp proofing course to protect the existing wall.
The bed was filled with over 2,500 litres of compost over several days. Once topsoil was in place the landscaping and planting could begin.
Volunteers planted the bed with a wide selection of edibles. Slate markers were installed to make it easy for people to identify the various plants.
A solar powered water feature was secured into place using stone slabs and concrete. Decorative pebbles and child friendly garden décor was also installed. Stepping stones were added to enable easy access to all the plants.
On 25th April 2021 we installed some signage.
On 14 May 2021, children from the nursery planted nasturtiums with help from Varindra Sharma MP before officially ‘unveiling’ the bed.
In addition to the nasturtiums, the completed bed also contains a selection of fruits, vegetables and herbs which include leeks, kale, raspberries, strawberries, thyme, rosemary and sage. The public should be able to begin harvesting some of the edibles from June 2021.
We are grateful to all the volunteers that worked on this project and to all our partners that helped with funding or contributed in kind.
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