LFC News February 8 2023

Feb 072023
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Ann Stanley, Camilla Walker, Melissa Houselander, Rob Body and Vicki Jordan.

Meeting some of Farmer Incubator’s popup garlic farmers (by Ann Stanley)

[Farmer Incubator’s Pop Up Garlic Farmers 2023 program starts on 18th February and is still open to new applicants, with spaces available at Bolinda, Bundoora and Wesburn. In late 2022, Ann Stanley met with one of the 2022 participants (Dania), together with her ‘mentor’ (Siobhan) and the overall coordinator of the program (Lizzie). Read Ann’s full interview writeup, with a summary given below.]

Dania – the would be farmer

Garlic is a good crop for Dania to grow because, as a mother and high school teacher of Japanese, she already has plenty to do and growing garlic doesn’t take much effort. Dania joined the program because “I have always been interested in growing food and I wanted to see something through from start to finish.“. She grew 5 different varieties of garlic and explained to me (Ann) how it is important to pick the scapes (tender stems and flower buds) for some varieties so that the plant’s energy can go into growing bigger bulbs. These shoots look and cook a bit like beans but have a mild garlic flavour.

Siobhan – the farmer

Siobhan grows garlic at her 9 acre Wild Wren Farm in the Dandenong Ranges. She says “The first year of the experience with the Farm Incubator pop-up garlic program exceeded my expectations.”

Lizzie – the coordinator

Lizzie became the coordinator of the 2022 program after having participated as a pop-up garlic farmer herself in the 2021 program and learned a lot. During the pandemic, she gave up her job to study horticulture and says “I sacrificed income for time and happiness and found in the local food, urban agriculture and horticultural world a great supportive environment that shares knowledge and resources.”

Read Ann’s full interview writeup.

Want a job?

A horticulture teacher to teach Certificate I in Agrifoods to a group of VCAL students with special needs at the Concorde school in Watsonia. $65 per hour for 7 hours per week (on Wednesdays). Read the position description. To discuss or to apply, contact Karen Fitzsimons, Chief Executive of Olympic Adult Education, by phone (0434 236311) or email (manager@oae.vic.edu.au).

Do you know?

Vicki Jordan wants to know what is causing the damage to her tomatoes (pictured right). They are in raised beds so she does not think it is rabbits. Possums or grubs or both? Email your replies.

Maybe you know but just haven’t told us yet?!

Last week, Joanne Van Eeden asked for a good book or article on hot house growing for her to read. No one responded. Can anyone respond this week? Email your replies.

Panton Hill Community Garden weekly workshops

Every Tuesday, 9-11am, horticulturalist and newsletter reader Melissa Houselander is at the Panton Hill Community Garden at Panton Neighbourhood House and will talk about some aspect of edible gardening. Everyone is welcome to join this group and participate.

The best vanilla slices in North East Melbourne

Urban List has published a list of the best vanilla slices in Victoria. These sorts of lists often seem rather arbitrary but in this case the list includes the best vanilla slice that I have ever tasted, namely those from Briar Hill Traditional Bakehouse. They also highlight Le Croissant in Camberwell.

A double headed zucchini flower

Rob Body has sent in this photo of a double headed male flower on one of his zucchinis.

Not food-related but interesting

I recently wanted a list of the indigenous plants in my municipality. My local indigenous nursery publishes a list but it is only the ones that they sometimes grow and I wanted a more comprehensive list. Eventually, I found three related, amazing resources, namely The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), The Australasian Virtual Herbarium (AVH) and The Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA). These websites list many more indigenous plants than does my local indigenous nursery; in my case, 951 compared with 187.

The ALA website provides similar functions to the AVH website, but uses a more limited set of data, and is not discussed further here.

The AVH and VBA websites largely use the same data and both, for any given municipality, provide the ability to download a list of the species that have been found growing naturally somewhere in that municipality. The AVH website is more user friendly but does not distinguish between those plants which are indigenous to the area and those which have been introduced. The VBA website is more primitive but does categorise each plant as either native or introduced.

To download a list from the AVH website: go to the advanced search page; choose your ‘botanical group’ (e.g. ‘plants’) and your ‘local government area’ (e.g. ‘Nillumbik’); click the ‘search’ button bottom left; click the ‘download’ button top right; select ‘species checklist’, select your download reason; and click the ‘next’ button bottom right. The website also has an additional searching facility, whereby you can enter an address and it will give you a list of the plants observed within 1km , 5km or 10km of that address.

To download a list from the VBA website: go to the website; log in as a guest; click the ‘search’ button top left and select ‘species and surveys – species lists & maps’; in the ‘type’ dropdown box top left, select ‘LGA’ and then your LGA of choice (e.g. ‘Nillumbik’); choose your ‘discipline common filter’ (e.g. ‘flora’); click the ‘search’ button and wait for the results to be returned; then click the ‘export’ button bottom left (or the ‘print’ button and then copy/paste if the ‘export’ button doesn’t work).

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the article about restoring native grasslands.

b33e661f-c100-4ebe-9ffa-847952e0da4e.jpgJoke (or pun) of the week

Submitted by Olaf Falafel: Steaming vegetables may well keep in more of the goodness but it’s ruined my ironing board.

Read more jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Natural wine explained; Saturday, 18th February, 3-5pm; $53 ($27 per hour); Northcote.

They will take you through the unique wine making techniques behind this traditional wine making process.

Compost and worm farm workshop; Saturday, 25th February, 10am-midday; free; Brunswick.

Learn the ins and outs of making the most of your compost and worm farms as well as prepare a garden bed and plant some seedlings. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Mushroom growing 101; Wednesday, 15th March, 6.30-9.30pm; $160 ($53 per hour); Collingwood.

You will learn the practical skills to grow a never-ending supply of mushrooms yourself, gaining the knowledge to create a self-sufficient, closed-loop ecosystem. You will also learn the 4 step lifecycle of mushroom cultivation, tips for harvesting and alternative applications for different growing mediums and species. Tutor: Eric Fenessy from Uncle Steezy’s Hot Sauce.

Mead making workshop; Saturday, 18th March, 9am-1pm; $100 ($25 per hour); Doncaster East.

The $100 fee does not include any equipment but an equipment kit is available for purchase at $160. Steve Walker will discuss: the different types of meads; importance of cleaning/hygiene; recipe and the processes; making a yeast starter; aerating the must; pitching the yeast; adding staggered nutrient additions during fermentation; and bottling. Organised by The Beekeepers Club.

Food and mood (age group 50-64) (2 sessions); Tuesdays, 21st and 28th March, both 10.30am-1pm; $20 ($5 per hour); Fawkner.

If you have a balcony, a courtyard or a patio, there are ways you can maximise space to create your own little oasis. In this course, you will learn about how to grow food in pots or containers, what plants to grow and when.

Bio Gro tour; Thursday, 23rd March, 9am-midday; free; Doncaster.

Bio Gro is the facility which will recycle Manningham’s food and garden waste (FOGO) into compost. See first-hand how your food and garden waste will be processed and ask any questions along the way. The tour will include bus transport to and from the Bio Gro organics facility in Dandenong South.

Kevin Heinze GROW Autumn Fair (Coburg); Saturday, 25th March, 9am-3pm; free; Coburg.

There will be many plants for sale. Plus site tours, cake and coffee.

Kevin Heinze GROW Autumn Fair (Doncaster); Saturday, 25th March, 9am-3pm; free; Coburg.

There will be many plants for sale. Plus site tours, cake and coffee.

DIY mushrooms; Saturday, 25th March, 10am-4pm; $175 ($29 per hour); CERES.

Presenter: Buttons Mira from The Mushroomery. You will be shown the secrets to successfully growing mushrooms at home. You will learn the growing methods for oyster and shitake mushrooms, including inoculation and sterilisation, and be introduced to basic mycology. You will undertake practical sessions and learn how to start master cultures.

Ricotta festival; Sunday, 26th March, 10am-4pm; $8; Thomastown.

This event will feature vats of fresh hot ricotta, Italian food and drinks pop-ups, a local producer marketplace and live entertainment. For the children, there will be a petting farm and a mobile play centre. The ready-to-eat food vendors will be Boca Gelato, Cannoleria, Curly Spuds, Primo Street Pizza, Senza Wellness Food and That’s Amore Cheese. The drink vendors will be: Imbue Distillery, Pizzini wine bar and Stomping Ground. The other food stalls will be Backyard Honey, Barkly Smokehouse, Battisti, Bippi, Il Baronello and Puopolo Artisan Salumi.

Tea and chocolate pairing experience; Sunday, 26th March, 2-3.15pm; $75 ($60 per hour); Brunswick.

Taste around 10 different types of teas and chocolates. Discover how you can pair tea and chocolate according to a flavour tea wheel by contrasting, complementing or enhancing. Match teas with chocolates and brownies from Ratio Cocoa Roasters.

Growing herbs for health; Thursday, 30th March, 7-8pm; free; Thomastown.

Kaye, from Blue Bee Garden Design, will tell you how to care for your herbs, some unusual herbs to try and their interesting culinary and medicinal histories. Organised by Thomastown Library.

Preparing your winter harvest; Saturday, 1st April, 9.30-11.30am; free; Kilsyth.

Optimise your soil conditions, watering schedule, pest control and learn tips and tricks to ensure a bumper veggie crop. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

Australian Distillers Festival; Saturday, 1st April, midday-7pm; $70; Abbotsford.

There will be around 35 distilleries from around the country plus live demonstrations, food and music. The ticket includes unlimited tastings plus a tasting glass.

Setting up a worm farm; Saturday, 1st April, 2-3.30pm; free; Edendale.

This workshop will cover both the theory and practice of worm farming in a household setting. It will be useful for those wishing to recycle household food waste in order to produce worm products for use in the improvement of soil in gardens and pot plants.

Introduction to growing microgreens; Sunday, 2nd April, 10am-midday; $80 ($40 per hour); Preston.

You will learn: how CERES produces certified organic microgreens for wholesale in Preston; how to grow pea shoots, radish, and sunflower sprouts at home; and how to plan for a continuous supply of these. Presenter: Jess Holland.

In February
In March
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Pizza masterclass with Antonio; Sunday, 19th February, midday-3pm; $81 ($27 per hour); Eltham.

You will learn: how to make dough by hand; stretching techniques; how to use a pizza paddle; and pizza classico (classic style pizza in the oven) & pizze fritte (fried pizza). You will make both savoury and sweet pizzas, and you will get to cook and eat the pizzas.

Middle Eastern cooking; Thursday, 9th March, 6.30-9.30pm; $65 ($22 per hour); Balwyn North.

Try out some vegetarian Persian recipes and cook together with Shella in a hands-on Middle-Eastern cooking class experience. You will learn the fundamentals of Middle Eastern cooking with traditional ingredients and flavours, The menu: Persian summer salad with fresh herbs and vegetables; golden buttery crispy saffron rice cake layered with vegetables and aromatic spices; and pleated sheets of filo pastry, soaked and flavoured with sweetened condensed milk and topped ground cinnamon and a sprinkle of nuts. Organised by Trentwood at the Hub.

Dumpling making workshop; Friday, 24th March, 6-8.30pm; $75 ($30 per hour); Park Orchards.

Make Chinese dumplings from scratch. The dough you will prepare can be used for either boiled dumplings (shui jiao) or potstickers (guo tie). Then make vegetarian dumplings. Facilitator: Miki. Organised by Park Orchards Community House.

Preserving the seasons; Saturday, 25th March, 10am-1pm; $165 ($55 per hour); Mount Evelyn.

Learn preserving so you are able to safely preserve and pickle at home. You will go through proper canning techniques and in the process make a tomato chutney and a cucumber pickle, which you will get to take home. Organised by The Food School Yarra Valley.

Veggies in desserts; Saturday, 25th March, 10am-3pm; $120 ($24 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: foods which make your brain brighter; how to incorporate brain powering foods easily into your daily diet; and foods that can build and protect your gut microbiome and clear brain fog. Presenter: Melanie Leeson, from Mettle + Grace. Learn how to create healthier versions of your old favourites. The desserts are dairy-free and gluten-free using a variety of ingredients: nuts, seeds, vegetables, whole grains, fats, spices, legumes and unrefined sugars. The menu will include: chocolate kidney bean slice; spiced pumpkin donuts; rich chocolate beetroot truffles; lime + spinach cake; strawberry + cauliflower cheesecake; and sweet veggie mousse.

Authentic Mexican; Sunday, 26th March, 10am-3pm; $120 ($24 per hour); CERES.

What you will learn: Mexican cuisine; improve your culinary skills; and work with seasonal ingredients. Presenter: Matt Baker from Whe-Eat. Menu: blackened chicken thighs with quinoa; Mexican corn on the cob; Mexican white bait fritters tortillas with salsa crude; cactus and tomatillos salsa; crispy pulled pork carnitas; and dark chocolate mole.

Hot cross buns; Tuesday, 28th March, 6-9pm; $65 ($22 per hour); Hawthorn.

Learn how to make your own hot cross buns, with organic ingredients and free from preservatives and artificial additives. Organised by Hawthorn Community House.

Ladies day in the kitchen; Thursday, 30th March, 9.30am-midday; $35 ($14 per hour); Yarra Glen.

Jill Bowen Hess will discuss tasty snack type meals, with seasonal and affordable ingredients, plus salads. Organised by Yarra Glen Living & Learning Centre

Kitchen basics; Saturday, 1st April, 10am-1pm; $165 ($55 per hour); Mount Evelyn.

Learn knife skills and cooking techniques like blanching, roasting and sauteing. You will cook a menu of saag aloo (lightly spiced potatoes) and a pea, basil and goat’s cheese omelette. Organised by The Food School Yarra Valley.

Sausage making with Frank; Sunday, 2nd April, 10am-1pm; $165 ($55 per hour); Mount Evelyn.

Frank will show you how to make sausages. Organised by The Food School Yarra Valley.

Cake decorating using coloured fondants; Sunday, 2nd April, 1-5pm; $99 ($25 per hour); Surrey Hills.

$99 if you bring your own cake or $109 if you want them to supply the cake. Amanda will show you the basics of cake decorating using coloured fondants, teaching you how to cover a cake in fondant icing and decorate it with exploding stars. You will: level your cake; cover it in ganache and fondant; colour the fondant using your choice of colour(s); cut out shapes to use in your decoration; and wire up decorative elements. Organised by Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre.

Men in the kitchen; Tuesday, 4th April, 6.30-9pm; $35 ($14 per hour); Yarra Glen.

Jill Bowen Hess will discuss tasty snack type meals, with seasonal and affordable ingredients, plus salads. Organised by Yarra Glen Living & Learning Centre.

In February
In March
Regular classes

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