creating connections

My Smart Garden has been a boon for Shotaro Kanetaka, who was introduced to the program when he was helping to set up a local community garden. “We were supported by Kat Lavers and the My Smart Garden team very much,” he says.

While Shotaro’s family background gave him a solid grounding – his grandfather was a vegetable grower, his father a gardener of native plants – My Smart Garden proved invaluable when he started his own garden in Altona 11 years ago. “The website and online and hands-on workshops are a great way to be inspired and connect with others,” he says. “There are resources for individuals and community gardeners. We had a great cross-pollination of ideas and garden knowledge.”

Shotaro’s modest (about 8m x 10m) south-facing backyard yields an astonishing array and quantity of produce. “Because of my limited budget, I had to be creative with resources, so I worked out a simple but efficient garden design,” he says. He made a wicking bed out of an IBC tank from the community garden. “It’s water-efficient, and the raised bed height gives more sunlight to the plants.” Elsewhere, there are espaliered fruit trees, four raised vegetable beds, and “lovely free-range chooks whose pen is located on one of the raised beds to neutralise the soil”.

While his Japanese background still influences much of what he grows, Shotaro’s involvement with My Smart Garden has broadened his output, and he now harvests 4–15kg of herbs, vegies and fruit a month, much of it shared with his community. “I learnt about so many multicultural plants,” he says. “I recommend this program to people beginning to garden, and to experts to share their knowledge.” Visit mysmartgarden.org.au and sustainability.vic.gov.au for more.