Using the garden
Here are some guidelines to help ensure that we all benefit from the garden!
Who is allowed to use the garden?
Only residents of LUMINA at 26 Lord Sheffield Circuit are allowed to use the garden and its produce.
Residents means owner-occupiers and tenants.
However, guests are allowed to visit the garden, and help the resident pick their produce, if accompanied by a resident.
Please don’t allow children or dogs to climb in the garden beds - for both health reasons and their own safety.
Accessing the garden
The garden is on Level 7, at the western end of Tower C. You can either take the lift to Level 7 from any Tower and walk through the common areas until you reach the garden. Or, you can take the Tower C lift from the Ground floor or carpark areas.
If you take the Tower C lift, turn left and left again after exiting the lift.
When you reach the garden door, use your swipe on the left hand side of the door to access the garden. Please be careful to close the door behind you when entering and exiting the garden for security and safety reasons.
Please also remember to be quiet so as not to disturb the residents who live next to the garden!
Harvesting crops
As Joan Baez sang in The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down:
Take what you need but leave the rest.
~ ~ ~
The main rule of the garden is sharing - please don’t be greedy! However, sometimes you will be the person to take the last of something - and that’s better than leaving it to rot on the vine.
The thing is to think about what you’re taking. If there are four lemons on the tree and you need three, then leave the fourth one - they take a little while to go off. But if there are four tomatoes on the vine and you need three, but could probably use four, then take all four. It’s better than leaving that fourth one to rot.
Using the compost bin
If you find that you have a few leaves or a bit of other produce that you don’t want, or they’ve started to go off, then please pop them in the compost bin (see the garden plan above).
The compost bin has two chambers - the one with the white cross on the lid is the ‘current’ chamber. Please slide that open to put fresh plant waste in there, then slide the lid closed, grab the composter with two hands and rotate the tumbler towards you to toss the waste around and help mix it up.
Please be careful:
to check for water in the divots at the top of the bin if it’s been raining - you will wear that water when you rotate the chamber!
to rotate the chamber by pushing the barrel down towards your feet - don’t pull the whole thing towards you!
not to put in woody sticks etc - only put softish waste that will rot easily
to not let children hang off the compost tumbler or try to turn it themselves
The Garden Committee will keep an eye on the compost and use it on the garden when it’s ready.
Washing your herbs, fruit or veges
If you need to wash your produce before taking it back inside, feel free to use the garden sink. However, we’d ask that you remember to do the following:
Please brush any soil or dirt off the produce and back into one of the garden beds before placing the produce in the sink.
Please keep the strainer in place while rinsing or washing produce.
Please remove any debris (leaves, etc) from the strainer and place in the compost tumbler. Remember to place it in the chamber with the marking on it!
Remember - please only pick what you need!
Level 7, Tower C,
26 Lord Sheffield Circuit,
Penrith NSW 2750
© 2022 LUMINA Garden Committee
