LFC News January 17

Jan 172024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Amanda Wheeler, Ann Stanley, Christine Sammut, Norie Neumark, Robin Gale-Baker and Sam Holman.

Don’t be deceived by the downpour! (by Robin Gale-Baker)

Last week on Monday and Tuesday the skies opened and around 63mm of rain fell on Melbourne. Two days of steady, intense rainfall might suggest that the ground would be sodden. But this is not actually the case.

Several days later at the Sustainable Macleod Community Garden, in a bed open to the skies, those carrying out new planting found that, whilst the soil was moist on the surface, it was very dry beneath. While there were patches that were moist to a decent depth, most of the bed (which has had plenty of compost over time and was harvested just over 3 weeks ago and then prepared for a new crop) was quite dry. After the new planting, the bed required hours of drip irrigation.

This is not an uncommon occurrence. Soil can quickly dry out and become hydrophobic in hot, dry weather. To be certain that your soil is moist, you must regularly dig down to the root zone to ascertain the moisture content. Alternatively, use a moisture meter – a prong that you insert into the ground which gives a reading of moisture content. (The more expensive these are the more likely they are to be accurate – it is worth avoiding the cheaper ones). Keep in mind that roots absorb 97% of the water that a plant needs so the root zone is where water needs to be.

In its December statistics, the Melbourne Bureau of Meteorology reported that, in Viewbank (which is near me in Macleod), it rained on 16 days but that only 2 of these exceeded 10mm. In terms of watering, anything less than 10mm simply does not count – it is simply not enough to penetrate the ground – so effectively there were only 2 days of rain that could be considered adequate in December.

To summarise, you could be forgiven for thinking that 16 days of rainfall in December, plus 2 days of heavy rain last week, would render the soil well and truly moist to a reasonable depth but the proof is in the pudding – or in this case, in digging down to a spade’s depth and discovering for yourself whether or not your soil has received the benefit of recent rain.

Another local cheese maker – Stone & Crow Cheese

Stone & Crow Cheese, who are based in Warrandyte South, make a range of unique cow and goat cheeses, from soft to hard. Head Cheese Maker Jack Holman has been making cheese for more than 20 years, first at Yarra Valley Dairy (where he rose to become their head cheese maker) and then at Stone and Crow (which he founded). You can buy their cheese at a variety of local shops, including Rob Dolan Wines, which is where they are physically located (21-23 Delaneys Road). Read their Local Food Directory page. Welcome Sam and Jack!

There are now 7 cheese makers in our Local Food Directory. Collectively, they cover wide range of cheeses, from hard to soft, from stinky to non-stinky, from goat to cow, and from Italian to uniquely Australian.

I’ve also updated my guide to local cheese. Here’s a table from that guide.

 
Name		  
Base		 What do
they sell?		 Where do they sell?
Own shop? Other shops? Online? Markets?
AVS Organic Foods Watsonia North vegan . yes yes .
Pantalica Cheese Thomastown Italian yes yes yes .
Stone & Crow Cheese Warrandyte South goat and cow . yes . .
That’s Amore Cheese Thomastown Italian, mainly soft yes yes yes .
The Cheese Rebels Epping . . . . .
Wholemilk Continental Cheese Company Heidelberg West Italian, mainly hard yes yes . .
Yarra Valley Dairy Yering goat and cow, mainly soft yes yes . .

 

Some more food swaps have ceased

Rosanna (was at Rosanna Fire Station Community House) and – unless someone tells me to the contrary – Mernda (was at Carome Homestead).

That brings the total down to 30 regular, local food swaps.

Want a job?

Garden Educator at the Fitzroy Learning Network

The Fitzroy Learning Network is seeking to recruit a Garden Educator to run their Introduction to urban gardening classes. These 2 hour classes will run each week in 2024 during term times and will cover such subjects as garden planning, what to plant where, setting up garden beds, propagation, pest control and vocational pathways. Hours: 3 hours per week during term times. Pay rate: $52 per hour. Closing date for applications: Sunday, 28th January. Read the position description, which includes the selection criteria and how to apply.

Strategic Communications Coordinator at Sustain in Preston

Sustain is seeking to recruit a Strategic Communications Coordinator to help lead the development and implementation of their communications strategy. Hours: 0.8FTE for 12 months. Pay rate: around $80,000 per annum pro rata. Based in Preston. Closing date for applications: Thursday, 25th January. Read the position description, which includes the selection criteria and how to apply.

At Oakhill Food Justice Farm in Preston

Sustain is seeking to recruit a Corporate Volunteer Coordinator and Oakhill Community Farmer. The volunteer coordination part is about running their education and corporate volunteer program. The Oakhill Farm part includes the day-to-day management of the farm. This position would suit someone interested in market gardening, building community and a fairer food system. Hours: 0.7FTE, with 0.4FTE on the volunteer coordination and 0.3FTE on Oakhill Farm. Closing date for applications: Thursday, 25th January. Read the position description, which includes the selection criteria and how to apply (scroll down to the second job on page).

More on food waste dehydrators

Last week, when talking about SEEDs communal garden’s new food waste dehydrator, I commented that it was “not clear exactly what is being produced“. In reaction, Norie Neumark, via Amanda Wheeler, has sent in a link to an article entitled The pros and cons of dehydrating food waste which, in turn, references an article by the Californian State Government.

Here is one of the paragraphs from the latter article: “Dehydrated food waste is not compost … Dehydrated food may need to be re-hydrated to be effectively composted and should be blended with other compostable materials, such as green waste, and then be composted.”

Putting this another way, food waste dehydrators do what they say on the tin, namely produce dehydrated food waste.

Want to buy some food-related art?

As per the photo right, Bulleen Art and Garden currently has some paintings of pumpkins by Lynne Foard for sale.

Megan is taking a break

When the pandemic lockdowns started in 2020, I assumed that these newsletters would have to stop because of lack of material. But Megan Goodman jumped to the rescue with her weekly Meg’s social isolation week articles and recipes. Then, once face-to-face activities resumed, she moved to a monthly contribution entitled Meg’s garden this month. That’s a total of 60 articles and 57 recipes. Megan is now taking some well-deserved long service leave. Thanks for all your contributions, Megan!

Potential use of coffee grounds as a fertiliser

Those of you with long memories may remember the debate in this newsletter during 2021 about the potential use of coffee grounds as a fertiliser. Jian Liu was a fan, whilst Sarah Hardgrove and Duncan Cocking were more sceptical.

Angelo Eliades has now waded into the discussion with a typically comprehensive analysis.

Read more of Angelos’ food-related articles.

Fun facts – growing pineapples

One of the overall points that Louis Glowinski made in his 1997 classic The complete book of fruit growing in Australia is that you can grow just about any fruit tree in Melbourne so long as you look after it appropriately. One of the fruits that I have been trying to grow is pineapples, which I grow in pots that I move into the greenhouse during Winter. I grow these pineapples by cutting off and planting the tops of organic, shop-bought pineapples.

One of my pineapples is currently in flower. Who would have guessed that pineapple flowers are small, purple and grow out of scales of the incipient pineapple?

Pineapple flowers are apparently usually pollinated by hummingbirds and hummingbirds don’t live in Australia. Luckily, however, pineapples are not technically fruit and apparently grow better when the surrounding flowers have not been pollinated.

Pineapple plants are monocarpic (i.e. they only flower once, then die).

Despite its common name, a pineapple plant is a bromeliad, not a pine nor an apple.

Read more food fun facts on our website.

Another video for you to watch

Chloe Thomson has visited Ting and Hannes’s garden in Coburg North. Their garden includes raised veggie beds, a two-bed composting system, a chook run and various DIY tee-pees and upcycled structures. They allow plants from the homegrown compost to grow in the garden, turning footpaths into mazes of cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchinis during summer.

We now have a total of 19 home garden videos on our website.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (21st January), Ann Stanley will interview Jaimie Sweetman and Louise Ward about the Edible Forest in Dixons Creek. Listen on 3CR (855 AM), 10-10.30am, by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, with the latest being interviews with Claire Smith on permaculture principles on 31st December and Henri Muniz on Downs Community Farm in Seaford on 7th January.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was The Veggie Empire’s new online shop.

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

I decided to have scrambled eggs this morning … immediately after thinking “I’ll just flip this omelette.”

Read more food-related jokes.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

If you are planning to go to a food swap or community garden over the next week, it would be prudent to check with them first that the event is actually happening because some of the regular activities don’t actually take place during January.

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Urban foraging 101; 5 occurrences, each 10am-12.30pm, on Saturday, 20th January, Sunday, 21st January, Saturday, 10th February, Sunday, 11th February and Saturday, 2nd March; $90 ($36 per hour); Forest Hill.

Anna, the Urban Nanna, will help you find and identify a range of edible fruits, greens and flowers found in ‘wild’ urban spaces across Victoria. You will learn about the basic principles and protocols of foraging, and then move on to plant specifics. You will observe and interact with many types of fruit trees, edible green weeds and useful flowers. You will be shown the physical features you can use to correctly identify useful trees even when they’re not fruiting. You will discuss the types of locations where you can hunt for wild edibles in the future, and finally how to safely prepare and enjoy eating many of the foods we find. At the end you will have an outdoor picnic of hot and cold foraged foods. Overall, there will be around 1-2km of walking over grassy terrain involved.

Introduction to beekeeping (2 sessions); Saturday, 2nd March, 9.30am-4.30pm and Saturday, 9th March, 10.30am-12.30pm; $225 ($24 per hour); Blackburn North.

This all day program is highly interactive and includes a live hive opening on the following Saturday (9th March, 10.30am-12.30pm) as well as other hands-on skill building exercises. The background instruction includes equipment selection and bee biology in addition to details of the Apiary and Biosecurity Codes of Practice. Included in the course fee are a comprehensive handbook and a copy of the textbook The Australian Beekeeping Manual, 2nd Ed. (which retails at $60). Organised by The Beekeepers Club.

Companion planting and mini market; Saturday, 2nd March, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; Montrose.

Pat will discuss how plants can support each in the garden. Following the talk, the Montrose Community Cupboard will have a mini market. Those attending the talk will enter the market first.

Potato fest; Saturday, 2nd March, 4-7pm; free; Bellfield.

Help them eat all of the 72kg of potatoes that were harvested in January 2024. Create your own jacket potato with BYO toppings. Organised by Bellfield Community Garden.

Food waste solutions – Bev Middleton; Sunday, 3rd March, 12.30-1.45pm; free; Edendale.

This outdoor session will explore practical solutions you can use for your food waste. There will be lots of other climate-related events at the same venue on the same day. See their event list. Presenter: Bev Middleton. Organised by the Nillumbik Climate Action Team.

In January
In February
In March
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Tea blending workshop; Sunday, 21st January, 11am-12.30pm; $60 ($40 per hour); Brunswick East.

You will be given a quick history of tea and a tea tasting of some of the most unique teas from around the world. Learn about the intricacies of creating balanced tea blends from various types of teas, herbs, flowers and spices. You will then make a personalised tea blend to take home from a chosen tea base (green, black, rooibos or herbal) plus floral, citrus and native ingredients. Presenter: Amy Freund, from Crafternoon Tea.

Cook Indian by the creek; Wednesday, 24th January, 6.30-8pm; $55 ($38 per hour); Diamond Creek.

Menu: butter chicken and flatbread.

Mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella with Kristen Allan; Saturday, 10th February, 11am-4pm; $345 ($69 per hour); Fitzroy North.

You will learn how to make mozzarella, burrata and stracciatella cheese. They will discuss the story of milk, beginning with life in the soil, how different seasons and types of animal influence it’s composition and how to source and select the best quality, local milk for making cheese. You will take home around 1Kg of cheese. Lunch will be served.

Goat – soft cheeses with Kristen Allan; Saturday, 9th March, 11am-4pm; $345 ($69 per hour); Fitzroy North.

You will learn how to make goats curd chèvre, soft ripened cheese and cream cheese fromage frais. They will discuss the story of milk, beginning with life in the soil, how different seasons and types of animal influence it’s composition and how to source and select the best quality, local milk for making cheese. You will take home around 1Kg of cheese. Lunch will be served.

Sri Lankan Banquet; Friday, 15th March, 6-8pm; $35 ($18 per hour); Kinglake.

Learn how to prepare traditional Sri Lankan street food with fresh produce and lots of spice. The menu will comprise two curries and rice. Then share the meal in the company of others. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

In January
In February
In March
Regular classes

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