LFC News February 10 2021

Feb 102021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Hanh Truong, Helen Simpson, Merrin Layden, Robyn Patton, Stuart Rodda, Tori Scholten and Vasundhara Kandpal.

Stuart’s small hand tool of the week – digging tools

Each week for the next few weeks, Stuart Rodda is going to discuss some of the small hand tools that he uses and favours. Here’s how he introduces the topic: “Hands are great ‘tools’ but are so much more effective with the right gardening tool in them. To dig holes, make furrows, remove weeds, turn over soil, etc, a huge variety of tools have been invented (I have most of them!). However, some are too specialised, don’t work so well or break easily, so I am mentioning a few of my favourites which I use all the time and recommend for someone starting out.” Stuart’s first discussion is on digging tools.

Digging tools are small shovel-like tools for digging out plants/weeds or transplanting. They can be plastic, steel or aluminium, with or without a secure contoured hand grip. My favourite is a solid alloy tool with a rounded grippy handle. Being alloy, it won't rust (like steel) or snap or break down in sunlight (like plastic), is light in weight and can be used for long periods without giving you blisters. Wooden handles are ok but many eventually split or rot, depending on quality, so I prefer a rubberised moulded handle.

Rob Dolan Wines

Rob Dolan Wines are not new but they are new to our Local Food and Drink Directory. They are based in Warrandyte South and make a full range of wines including Arneis, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot, Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. Their cellar door is open 7 days a week, 10am-5pm and you can also buy their wine online. Or buy from the Dark Horse Produce Store in Watsons Creek or Nillumbik Cellars in Diamond Creek. Read their Local Food and Drink Directory page. Welcome Rob, Tori and colleagues!

Calling all Manningham residents

3000acres want to organise a community olive harvest in Manningham later in the year, whereby local olive trees are harvested and turned into free olive oil for the local community. But they need to interest the Council in the event and this, in turn, depends on them demonstrating that there is sufficient local interest. You don’t need your own olive tree to be involved, 3000acres will provide resources on how to get harvesting. Register your interest.

A new community garden in Brunswick

A new community garden (Bulleke-bek Park Community Garden) is being developed on the corner of West Street and Breese Street in Brunswick. On Sunday (14th February), 10.30-11.30am, they are meeting for a chat to share ideas and plan next steps. Everyone welcome. Feel free to take along any seeds or baby plants that you think might survive (and your tools) to plant and experiment. Here is their Facebook page.

Do you know – composting vs worm farms vs bokashi?

Hanh Truong has written in: “I have used bokashi before and I just don’t like the idea of pouring chemicals back into the garden. I remember tipping the waste into my compost bin and the worms wiggle like they don’t like it so I stopped using the bokashi bin. What are your thoughts on pouring chemicals into kitchen waste and then back into our garden? Also, is composting better to have than a worm farm?” Email your thoughts.

No, you didn’t know – potato problems

Last week, Pauline Webb asked what was eating her potatoes and how should she control it. See photo right. No one answered. Anyone willing to answer this week? Email me.

More on the cost of ginger

Helen Simpson has written in: “I believe that ginger is particularly expensive this year because many of the ginger growers up Bellinger and Byron Bay way didn’t harvest in June last year because of Covid-19 issues. I’m not sure if this was due to a lack of people to harvest or because it was thought that the distribution network wasn’t there. Anyhow, it has now created the current shortage and hence cost.”

More on my mate Costa

Last week’s video about tomatoes not ripening by ‘my mate’ Costa was by far the most popular link in last week’s newsletter. I presume that this was because of the subject matter (green tomatoes) but just possibly a few people watched it because of my supposed relationship with Costa (mates) so I have decided to admit that our mateship is actually limited to me watching him on TV. I did, however, once take a photo of him that I’m rather proud of (see right).

More on what to do with old style netting

Robyn Patton has written in: “I’ve been building up an area to put my chook pen. I’ve been digging old mesh and netting generously around the boundary to try and stop foxes, feral cats, rats and snakes from digging in to eat my chooks and their eggs.”

Vasundhara’s recipe of the week – dairy-free mac and cheese

Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews or macadamias
1 medium peeled carrot, steamed or roasted
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
½ cup water, plus more for soaking
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 servings macroni

Method

Completely cover the nuts in a bowl with water. Let soak for 2-6 hours, or refrigerate and soak overnight.

Combine all the ingredients (including the ½ cup water) and blend in a blender or with an immersion blender until completely smooth.

Transfer to a small pot and mix in the cooked pasta.

Taste and add extra seasonings (onion, salt, nutmeg, pepper) as desired (Vasundhara likes to add another ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch more nutmeg).

Read more of Vasundhara Kandpal’s plant-based recipes on our website. Vasundhara is a professional cook who operates a meals delivery service called Green Karma in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North and Montmorency. Read her menu and order.

The history of this newsletter and the website – part 1

I thought that it might be interesting to say a few words about how the website and newsletter have evolved over the last 8 or so years. In so doing, I will talk a bit about the main sections of the website and how and when they came to be, plus some of the philosophies underlying some of the material. I will split this discussion over a number of weeks. This week, I’m going to focus on the first half of 2014, which is effectively when I first became involved.

I took over the management of the LFC website in late 2013, at which time it comprised only 15 pages and received only around 7 visitors per day. The obvious immediate task was to review the organisation of the existing material, moving things around and changing some aspects of the technical platform. In my opinion, WordPress is the obvious technical platform for just about every local website and the key to a good WordPress site is effective use of plugins, the vast majority of which are free. The main initial plugin decision was a choice of calendar (All-in-One Event Calendar) and this is still used on the current website. Hence the calendar was born.

In early 2014, Nillumbik Council completed a survey of the local food producers around Nillumbik and they and we agreed that the LFC website should be the vehicle for publishing the results of that survey. Again this required a choice of plugin (Business Directory Plugin) and again that plugin is still used on the current website. Hence the Local Food Directory was born.

We started Eltham Farmers’ Market in April 2014 and decided that its website should be part of the LFC website. That required yet another plugin for the lists of stallholders (TablePress) and again this is still in use.

By mid 2014, the website comprised a few hundred pages and received around 60 visitors a day. The material focused on local food swaps and food producers in Nillumbik and Banyule. I hadn’t yet started to generate any material myself.

Joke (or pun) of the week

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what does garlic do? Keeps everyone away.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Free.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

When looking at a calendar, remember that you can:

  • Filter the list of events by suburb or suburbs using the green ‘location’ button top left.
  • Show all the event descriptions using the ‘expand all’ button top right.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
February
March

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
February
March

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