Summary

Nov 302013
 

Join a vibrant food culture, growing and eating local

Covering all matters food across North East Melbourne

Whether you are a local food producer, want to eat local food, grow veggies in your garden or just want to meet like-minded folks, Local Food Connect is for you. Join now.

Eltham Farmers’ Market, a Local Food Connect initiative, is held every Sunday.

The purpose of this website and associated newsletter is twofold: to promote all aspects of local food around North East Melbourne and to make people around North East Melbourne feel part of a local food community.

The material is centred on 5 databases:

  1. Upcoming local food-related events: all the upcoming events of various types, around 200 per month.
  2. Local food producers: pages on each of around 140 producers, both farmers and makers.
  3. Local community gardens: pages on each of the 70 community gardens in the area
  4. Local food swaps: details of the 30 food swaps in the area.
  5. Local food justice organisations: including ‘food is free’ sites, free food distribution organisations and free community meals.

These databases are brought together into an overall Local Food Directory which contains pages for each of 320 or so local food organisations.

In addition, there are articles written by a variety of local people on:

LFC News February 5

Feb 052025
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Alexander Zurawski, Almari van der Merwe, Anna Sanders, Belinda Lock, Bruno Tigani, Chris Kent, Clare Harvey, Doris Glier, Dorothy Kwak, Ellen Easton, Emma Hemsley, Jennie Ramage, Jo Buckle, Julie French, Julie Merlet, Karen Olsen, Leon O’Connell, Maria Ciavarella, Mark Connell, Merri Cheyne, Pam Jenkins, Penny Smith, Shea Vaughan, Spencer Nash, Susan Palmer, Teresa Day and Virginia Solomon.

Elana Berton (re uplifting a green space) and Rosemary Snowden (re her vegetable drum) have both written in to thank those newsletter readers who wrote to them with suggestions for resolving their issues.

Wattleseeds (Acacia genus) – by Julie Merlet

[The material below is a shortened version of material from the NATIF website which was written by newsletter reader Julie Merlet. NATIF (which is an acronym for N=Native, A=Australian, T=Traditional, I=Indigenous and F=Foods) sell a wide range bush food products online (including wattleseed and wattleseed damper mix).]

Wattleseeds are the edible seeds from any of around 100 species of wattle (i.e. plants in the genus Acacia). As there are around 1,000 species of wattle, most are not edible. The most commonly eaten wattle seed is that from Acacia victoriae, with others including Acacia longifolia, Acacia murrayana, Acacia provincialis and Acacia pycnantha.

The hard, raw seeds have to be processed before being eaten. One option is to roast them whole and then grind them into a powder. Other options include soaking, boiling or pan frying (so that they pop like popcorn) .

Depending on the species, the powder has an aroma of coffee, chocolate, nuts or other earthy notes and the flavour is of roasted coffee, chicory, chocolate, nuts or slightly bitter notes. Soak in hot water and then add to either sweet or savoury dishes as a spice. Or use to make damper/bread, as a flavour enhancer for drinks or as a thickener for soups. It can also be used as a coffee substitute without the caffeine.

Wattleseed is rich in both protein and fibre and also contains a variety of trace elements. It has a low glycaemic index and is therefore suitable for incorporation into diabetic foods.

Read about other bush foods on our website.

The Yuka phone app

Dorothy Kwak has written in to tell you about a phone app that you might be interested in: “The Yuka phone app is a free app which allows you to scan the barcodes of the food you will potentially put into your body as well as those of the things you put onto your body (like cosmetics and personal care products). It then gives you an overall rating between good and bad together with a numerical score out of 100 . In the case of a poor rating, it will also offer you alternative product options with their ratings [editor’s note: it also lists the precise reasons for any poor rating]. I like knowing about what I’m purchasing and suspect that, if enough people were making informed decisions about what they were purchasing, it could make manufacturers a bit more careful about what they put in their products.”

Yuka’s stated mission is to help consumers make better choices for their health. In so doing, it aims to drive manufacturers to offer better products. It states that its scores and recommendations are obtained independently, with no influence from outside brands or manufacturers. It does not process or sell user data and all user data remains strictly confidential.

I (Guy) also use this app. It is interesting partly because it is so specific in its results and partly because it tells you exactly why it’s ratings are what they are. For example, vegemite is rated as ‘poor’, with a score of 27 out of 100. The main reason for this poor rating is the presence of the food colouring 150c ammonia caramel, which Yuka considers to be high risk partly because it can be contaminated by a substance called 4-Methylimidazole which, in turn, is classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency For Research on Cancer. Stimulated by this, I went to the relevant Wikipedia page, where I found that there are legal limits to the amount of 4-Methylimidazole allowed in 150c ammonia caramel and that, according to something called the Food Chemicals Codex, “carcinogenic doses of 4-Methylimidazole exceed estimates of exposure from the consumption of caramel colouring by several thousand-fold” (in other words, don’t be worried about the health risks of vegemite!). Clearly, deciding whether or not something should be classified as ‘high risk’ is a matter of judgement/opinion rather than of fact but, equally clearly, Yuka’s judgements are informed rather than random. In my case, my judgement about Yuka’s vegemite judgement doesn’t matter as I don’t like the taste of it(!) but I do actually feel much better informed.

Another reason that I find the Yuka app interesting is that its results are often unexpected but behaviour changing. For example, I used to use two different deodorants. Then I discovered that Yuka rated one highly and the other one poorly. So I now use only the highly rated one. After all, why not?

Another impressive aspect of the Yuka app is the breadth of the Australian barcodes that it covers, including the vast majority of non-perishable foods. This is despite it originating in France.

A final word of caution: whilst the interpretation of ingredients into scores and ratings is done by humans employed by Yuka, the ingredients in the products themselves are apparently often crowdsourced. This can obviously lead to errors if there are typos in the data input, such as decimal points being in the wrong place (as I found in one case which was rated badly because of high salt levels when it was actually low salt).

Get the Yuka app, which is totally free.

The great tomato survey – the results are in!

We had 20 or 21 responses, depending on how you count “I planted some tomatoes but I have no idea what they were“. That’s a response rate of ½%. Not bad!

Between them, the 21 people were growing 68 different varieties, with people on average growing around 5 varieties. That’s a large number of different varieties to choose from, although my impression is that most of the respondents have now settled on the varieties that they grow, which they repeat each year.

The most popular varieties being grown (by 6 people) were Black Cherry and Tommy Toe, so one cherry tomato and one standard sized.

The next most popular (3 or 4 people) were Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, Jaune Flamme, Money Maker, Roma, San Marzano, Tigerella and Tiny Tim, so two saucing tomatoes, one cherry, one beefsteak, one standard sized and two unusual colour (green, orange).

The final varieties being grown (1 or 2 people) were Adelaide Festival, Ananas Noire, Angora Super Sweet, Aunty Rubys German Green, Azoychka, Banana Legs, Barry’s Crazy Cherry, Beam’s Yellow Pear, Beauty King, Big Pear, Black Russian, Blueberry, Burnley Surecrop, Casa d’Apulia, Casady’s Folly, Cheery Cherry, Cherokee Purple, Costoluto Genovese, Dancing With Smurfs, Debaroa, Deko Ox Heart, Dwarf Fred’s Tie Die, Dwarf Geranium Kiss, Eltham Champion, Evergreen Indi, Green Grape, Hungarian Heart, Indigo Rose, Jaune Flamme, Kumato, Lemon Drop, Marbonne, Marnero, Mary’s Cherry, Mortgage Buster, Mortgage Lifter, Orange Banana, Orange Cherry, Orange Plum, Petra Roma, Pink Passion, Principe Borghese, Principe Borghese, Purple Heart, Red and Black, Red Plum, Roima Cherry, Rouge de Marmande, Santorini, Saucy Mary, Siberian, Sneaky Sauce, Stupide, Sugar Lump, Tigerella, Uluru Ochre, Velvet Night, Violet Jasper, Wapsipinicon Peach, Yellow Cherry and Yellow Pear Drop.

Not surprisingly, most people thought that the varieties that they were growing were tasty, with Black Cherry, Black Russian and Green Zebra getting particular praise. Less obviously, some people were growing varieties because of their interesting colour or shape, with Dancing With Smurfs, Dwarf Fred’s Tie Die, Dwarf Geranium Kiss and Indigo Rose getting particular mentions (I would add Tigerella). A few people said that their choice was because the variety is prolific, including Money Maker and Tommy Toe.

Several people mentioned that tomato growing seems to be getting more problematic because of pests; for example “Fruit fly and rats have made growing tomatoes challenging in recent years.” (Jennie Ramage). Maximising the chances of success can also influence choice of variety; for example “I’m growing more small-fruited varieties as they seem to be less susceptible to fruit fly.” (Merri Cheyne) and “Green Zebra ripens green so birds are not such a problem.” (Leon O’Connell). Also, as I presume everyone knows, tomatoes are climacteric and therefore continue to ripen after they have been picked so you can pick them as soon as they start to develop a little colour and leave them on your kitchen bench to ripen, thus lessening the chances of other animals getting to them first.

Finally, “The Siberian tomato variety works especially well in a garden with limited direct sunlight and longer periods of shade because it is an early cropping variety.” (Doris Glier).

Anna Sanders’ tomatoes.
 
Top row: Dwarf Fred’s Tie Die.
 
Bottom row: Dwarf Geranium Kiss, Beam’s Yellow Pear, Black Cherry and Eltham Champion.
Bruno Tigani’s tomatoes.
 
Top row: Marbonne, Marnero, another Marbonne and Deko Ox Heart.
 
Bottom row: Petra Roma, Red Plum and Orange Plum.
Pam Jenkins’ tomatoes.
 
Top row: Black Russian, San Manzano, Money Maker and Jaune Flamme.
 
Bottom row: unknown, San Manzano and Cheery Cherry.

How to save tomato seeds according to Anna Sanders

  1. Squeeze the seeds from one of your favourite ripe tomatoes into a small glass of water.
  2. Label the glass with the date and name of the tomato.
  3. Put the glass on a warm windowsill for 3 days – give it a swirl every day if you remember.
  4. On the third day, a fine white mould will appear on the surface of the water. This indicates that the coating of the seeds has fermented off making them easier to germinate.
  5. Tip the seeds and water into a sieve and rinse.
  6. Spread the seeds onto kitchen paper and leave for a week to dry.
  7. Remove the seeds from the kitchen paper and store in an envelope ready to plant next year.

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Understanding the scoville scale: a guide to chilli pepper heat levels.

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens)

The left hand photo (from Spencer Nash’s garden) is of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens in family Stratiomyidae) and the right hand one (from the Internet) is of an adult of the same species.

    

Whilst the adults mostly don’t eat at all (and can only consume liquids such as flower nectar), the larvae eat large amounts of (just about any) organic waste. As such, they are attracted to household compost bins and worm farms, where they are generally considered to be beneficial. This is for several reasons: 1. The larvae’s large size relative to those of other flies helps to deter the latter because they get eaten; 2. Because the adults don’t eat, they don’t carry pathogens or diseases; 3. They are not attracted to human habitation or foods; 4. The adults do not fly around very much and are easy to catch and re-locate; and 5. They quickly reduce the volume and weight of waste.

The larvae start at around 1mm in length but, over a period of up to a month, reach around 25mm before pupating.

If you have any interesting photos of critters from your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (9th February, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview Robin Koster-Carlyon and Peter Carlyon about their farm in Fingal – Transition Farm. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Angelo Eliades on guerilla gardening (12th January).

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Peels website, which aims to replace the now defunct Sharewaste website.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was Connie Cao’s upcoming presentation on growing Asian vegetables in Doncaster on 26th March.

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

Apple pie costs $2 in Cuba, pumpkin pie costs $3 in Jamaica and banana pie costs $2.5 in Puerto Rico. These are the PieRates of the Caribbean.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

North East Region Permaculture (NERP) will have a stall at the Eltham Farmers’ Market where their theme will be preserving the harvest. There will be some tastings of some summer preserves and pickles. If you have any relevant recipes, they would love to share them on their website.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Not local but interesting

Wine & Cheese Fest; Saturday, 1st March, midday-7.30pm; $64; Port Melbourne.

Your ticket includes unlimited tastings, a wine glass, a tote bag and some masterclasses. There will be around 10 cheese stalls, 30 wine stalls and 30 other food & drink stalls. There will also be a grape stomp competition. Gouda see it to brie-lieve it.

Not food-related but interesting

Lantern Festival; Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd, March, each 5-10pm; free; Heidelberg West.

Walk around the Malahang Reserve as it is transformed into a colourful, illuminated dreamland featuring a canopy of glowing multi-coloured trees. Wander between large-scale roving puppets and around 50 suspended and ground lanterns featuring a wide range of animals. At 9pm, watch and listen to a celebration of Kulin Nations dance and songs. On the corner of Southern and Oriel roads. No need to book – just turn up.

Not face-to-face but interesting – Sustainable Gardening Australia

Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) have organised a series of one hour, online classes during February with the overall theme of summer gardening skills. You can book individual sessions for $30 each (see the details below).

Upcoming face-to-face events – for pets

Unless someone notifies us of some events that are not pub crawls for dogs, we are probably going to drop this section!

Oodles puppy pub crawl; Sunday, 30th March, 3-6.30pm; $40; Abbotsford

Three pubs/bars will be visited. The dog treats will include treats made by the Puppy Pub Crawl crew, sugarless cakes and doggie cocktails.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Jam-packed British delights; Wednesday, 5th February, 2-4pm; free; Richmond.

This is a 1-hour gardening workshop followed by a 1-hour cooking class. The gardening: blackberry harvesting and herbal infusions. The cooking: British delights, including scones, and herbal tea. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Cheese and riesling workshop; Saturday, 8th February, 2-3.30pm; $110 ($73 per hour); Brunswick.

6 cheeses will be matched with 6 rieslings. Presenters: Matt Steele from Cornelius Cheesemongers and Carl Wiesner from Weinköpfe Grape Escapes.

Veggie Empire farm tour; Thursday, 13th February, 11am-midday; $5; St Helena.

Take a tour of The Veggie Empire’s urban farm. Then, if you wish, buy a bunch of seasonal flowers and foliage. Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Highett harvest and Italian alfresco; Friday, 14th February, 11am-1pm; free; Richmond.

This is a 1-hour gardening workshop followed by a 1-hour cooking class. The gardening: a guided tour of Highett Community Garden and seed saving. The cooking: fresh pasta with rooftop garden sauces. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Cheddar masterclass; Saturday, 15th February, 2-3.30pm; $60 ($40 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn all about what is a cheddar, cheddered, chedder style, and crumbly. Five chedders, and cheddar imitators, will be matched with four booze options. Presenter: Matt Steele from Cornelius Cheesemongers.

Garden structures and French feasts; Wednesday, 19th February, 2-4pm; free; Richmond.

This is a 1-hour gardening workshop followed by a 1-hour cooking class. The gardening: soil health/testing and garden structures. The cooking: French niçoise salad. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Bio Gro organics facility tour; Thursday, 20th February, 9am-1pm; free; Doncaster.

Bio Gro is the facility which recycles Manningham’s food and garden waste (FOGO) into compost. See first-hand how your food and garden waste is 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. Adults only.

Composting for beginners workshop; Sunday, 23rd February, 10am-midday; free; Fawkner.

Learn how to recycle your food scraps, manage waste like meat and dairy, and even create your own DIY composting systems using materials you already have. Discuss everything from basic composting methods to more advanced techniques like worm farming and Bokashi fermentation. Plus, discover how community gardens and other platforms can help you connect with others to compost and reduce landfill waste together. Jointly organised by Fawkner Food Bowls, Compost Community and Merri-bek Council.

Lunar New Year flavours; Friday, 28th February, 11am-1pm; free; Richmond.

This is a 1-hour gardening workshop followed by a 1-hour cooking class. The gardening: herbs for Asian dishes and upcycled planters. The cooking: rice paper rolls and a Lunar New Year dish. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Fawkner Farm School (6 sessions); on Saturdays, starting 1st March, 9am-midday; $210 ($12 per hour); Fawkner.

Elevate your skills in growing cool-season produce. The topics will include: bed preparation; propagation, sowing & planting; irrigation basics; soil & plant health; and harvesting & feasting. Organised by Growing Farmers.

Bee-ing sustainable and spending less; Wednesday, 26th March, 5-7pm; free; Watsonia.

As they navigate each household room, they will talk about ways you can make simple changes to day to day items to not only reduce your waste, but also bring down those costs or get more for your money. You will also make some beeswax wraps to take home. Organised by Watsonia Neighbourhood House.

Permaculture workshop; Saturday, 29th March, 10am-3.30pm and again at Sunday, 30th March, 10am-3.30pm; $92 ($17 per hour); Brunswick East.

Learn about the principles and techniques of permaculture plus and ways to live ecologically in frugal abundance. Participate in some hands-on gardening activities, composting, tending the soil, planting seeds & seedlings and foraging edible & medicinal weeds. Presenters: David Arnold, Leila Alexandra, Grace Arnold and Andreas Alexandra.

Small space gardening; Sunday, 30th March, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn: how to maximise your small space to create an abundant oasis of food, herbs and ornamentals; and container gardening techniques and principles. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Ricotta festival; Sunday, 30th March, 10am-4pm; $20; Thomastown.

There will be around 30 ready-to-eat food, drinks and other food vendors plus live music and children activities. There will also be a series of cooking demonstrations. Organised by That’s Amore Cheese.

Edible weeds; Sunday, 30th March, 10.30am-12.30pm; $76 ($38 per hour); CERES.

Learn about the seasonal edible weeds that thrive in Melbourne’s inner north and gain knowledge about the plants’ culinary, medicinal and ecological uses. There will be a CERES site tour to identify local weeds as well as a demonstration and sampling of prepared edible weeds. Presenter: Lauren Mueller.

In February
In March
Regular events

During 2025, there will be a monthly Box Hill food tour, usually on the 3rd or 4th Friday of each month, 10.30am-1.30pm. Each month will have a different theme but will cover dishes from China, Korea, Japan and Thailand. $29 ($10 per hour).

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Hetty McKinnon – Neighbourhood; Tuesday, 18th February, 6.30-9.30pm; $127 ($42 per hour); Richmond.

The February cook book is Neighbourhood by Hetty McKinnon, which provides salad and sweet recipes from around the world. They will chat about the book and cook three courses of dishes from the book for you to enjoy over supper.

Curry cook-up; Wednesday, 19th February, 1-2pm; free; Greensborough.

Enjoy a free curry workshop demonstration and shared hot curry to follow. Presenter: Nellie. Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Passata making workshop; Saturday, 1st March, 9.30am-2.30pm; $195 ($35 per hour); Donvale.

Put your apron on and start coring boxes of tomatoes until the sauce is bottled. Then enjoy a shared lunch of pasta and antipasto. Finally, boil the bottles and clean the equipment. You will take home at least 12 bottles of passata. Organised by Maria Ciavarella from My Green Garden.

Cook Indian by the creek; Friday, 14th March, 6-8pm; $69 ($35 per hour); Diamond Creek.

Menu: palak chicken (chicken cooked in spinach sauce) – veg option available – and flatbread paneer.

Pasta making demonstration; Monday, 17th March, 11am-12.30pm; free; Thomastown.

Olio e aglio (garlic and olive oil) is an Italian dish that is quick, straightforward and full of flavour. Made with fresh pasta, it is appealing to those wanting to learn classic Italian cooking methods. Presenters: Hilda and Laurie Inglese.

Mexican cooking; Saturday, 29th March, 10.30am-12.30pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Bayswater North.

Learn how to make a variety of quesadillas and a flavourful one-pot chicken and rice dish. Take an apron, knife, chopping board and container to take home leftovers. Presenter: Oddie. Organised by Arrabri Community House.

Learn the art of Sicilian sausage; Saturday, 29th March, 10.30am-2.30pm; $220 ($55 per hour); Brunswick East.

Alfredo La Spina will teach you the traditional art of Sicilian sausage making, curing, and cooking. The session will end with a sit down 3 course lunch where you will eat the sausages made on the day, paired with Sicilian wines.

Gnocchi masterclass with Chef Dario D’Agostino; Saturday, 29th March, 11am-2pm; $153 ($51 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn how to make gnocchi from scratch using traditional Italian techniques, shaping your own gnocchi under guidance. Then eat gnocchi Napoli paired with a glass of Italian wine. Finally, take home your handmade gnocchi along with a goodie bag.

In February
In March
Regular classes

The list of regular events, almost by definition, remains similar from week to week and, for space reasons, we don’t include the list in every newsletter. You can find the latest list in our 22nd January newsletter.

LFC News January 29

Jan 292025
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Antoinette Ciavarella, Chris Kent, Connie Cao, Elana Berton, Eve Fraser, Fay Bridge, Jo Buckle, Olivia Petrovska, Pam Jenkins and Robin Gale-Baker.

Our long term contributor Robin Gale-Baker is taking some well deserved long service leave. As I discussed in our 4th December newsletter, Robin has been contributing articles every month since 2018 and her contribution to both our newsletter and our website over the period has been enormous in terms of both quantity and quality. She has truly earnt her long service leave. Thanks, Robin! (and I hope the break is only temporary).

Eggplant (by Connie Cao)

[Connie writes about Asian veggies, covering both growing and eating. In October 2024, she published a book entitled Your Asian Veggie Patch, which you can buy online.]

I (Connie) love growing eggplants as they are such an ornamental plant in the garden and there are lots of different varieties to choose from – as you can see from the photo right. Eggplants come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with Ping Tung Long, a popular Asian variety, being my favourite. It is long and slender, making it easier to prepare in the kitchen – I simply cut them in half lengthways.

When growing eggplants, give them a warm, sunny spot and lots of organic matter.

A simple way to prepare a bunch of small eggplants is to steam them, then drizzle a sauce on top. My personal favourite is a sauce made of soy sauce and vinegar, with a bit of sugar, ginger and spring onions mixed in.

Watch this video on Instagram.

Read Connie’s other articles about Asian veggies on our website.

What tomatoes are you growing?

Chris Kent has suggested that it would be interesting to conduct a little survey of what tomato varieties people are growing. So, here is a two question survey:

1. What varieties of tomato are you growing this year?

2. Are there any unusual varieties that others should consider growing next year (and why)?

Email your responses. Also, feel free to include any photos of any of these varieties.

All responses will get acknowledged and thanked in a future newsletter.

As well as the responses themselves being potentially interesting, it will also be interesting to see what response rate we get. For example, a 10% response rate would be 428 people, a 5% response rate would be 214 people, a 1% response rate would be 43 people, and a 0.1% response rate would be 4 people.

For the record, Chris told me that he is growing adelaide festival, angora super sweet, cherokee purple, green zebra, hungarian heart, tommy toe and wapsipinicon peach.

A possible replacement for ShareWaste

As you will know if you were a member, ShareWaste closed down at the end of 2024. As you may not know, however, a possible replacement, called Peel, has just started up. Go to their website. Obviously, as a new start up, it doesn’t have many members yet (but hopefully will have soon).

For those of you who don’t know, Peel is a non-commercial community resource for connecting folks with food scraps to others who compost.

Thanks for the heads up, Jo Buckle!

Yet more on Rosemary’s vegetable drum

In our 15th January newsletter, Rosemary Snowden asked what she could put under her vegetable drum to stop the roots from nearby plants entering it via the base. Jeremy Mather suggested geotextile and Pauline Webb suggested physically moving the drum. Robin Gale-Baker has now weighed in to say that: “I think the only solution is to place the drum on a piece of metal such as flat tin sheeting. Roots will permeate any fabric, including geotextile.”

Do you know?

Peter Roumpos' tomato plant has turned from a green stem to a brown stem. Why is this happening and what should he do about it? Email me with your suggestions.

Can you help?

Elana Berton has written in to say that she and her husband are, with some other residents, trying to uplift a green space in Watsonia called Elder Street Reserve. It is in desperate need of some amenities and vegetation. They are trying to find someone with landscape and/or horticulture skills who could volunteer a small amount of time to help them visualise and/or plan the space out so that they have something more concrete when applying for grants and having follow-up conversations with the council.

Could you possibly help or suggest some other groups or people who could potentially help? If so, email Elana (elana.berton@gmail.com).

Mindful Cacao and Ceremonial Cacao

Mindful Cacao, who are based in Preston, make Ceremonial Cacao, which is a nutritious healthy drinking chocolate which comes in small granules. There are two varieties, one being 100% Peruvian single origin cacao and the other being 98% Peruvian single origin cacao plus 2% panela and vanilla bean extract. The suggestion is that you mix this cacao with water, milk of your choice and (optional) a sweetener of your choice at low heat (read more).

You can buy packets of Ceremonial Cacao from their online shop (www.mindfulcacao.com.au/shop).

Mindful Cacao combines Ceremonial Cacao with meditation to create a daily wellness ritual. Free, daily meditations are available via a QR code on the packets. They recommend the following four stage process: 1. breathe deeply; 2. prepare the cacao mindfully; 3. set an intention; and 4. then meditate.

They also sell various accessories for use with the cacao, including frothers (to help with the cacao preparation) and ceramic cups.

Read their page in our Local Food Directory.

Welcome Antoinette and Olivia!

Some recent photos from our local community gardens

    

The left hand photo, taken by Graeme Johanson, is of a bok choy harvested at Croxton / Marra Guwiyap in Northcote. What a whopper!

The middle photo is from the first social evening of 2025 at Sylvester Hive in Preston.

The right hand photo is of a bee covered in pollen at Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre.

Some more new articles from Angelo Eliades

Pumpkin growing guide.

How to hand-pollinate pumpkin plants.

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Something for you to listen to

Newsletter contributor Conne Cao was recently interviewed by the American InfatuAsian podcast about growing Asian fruits and vegetables. Listen to the interview on Spotify (55 minutes).

Something for you to read

Designing a medieval herb garden for modern living starts by stating “A medieval herb garden was essential to European households … during the Middle Ages. These gardens were designed for practicality, beauty, and spirituality, often arranged in geometric patterns with pathways for easy access. They included a variety of plants with specific functions: culinary herbs for cooking; medicinal herbs for healing; aromatic plants for scent and strewing; and symbolic flowers for religious or cultural purposes. Typically enclosed by low hedges or fences, these gardens offered protection and order, reflecting the medieval worldview. The layout often featured a central focal point, such as a sundial, fountain, or sacred plant, surrounded by symmetrically planted beds.”

It includes 10 suggested design principles:

  1. Use geometric designs.
  2. Create defined borders.
  3. Incorporate a central focal point.
  4. Layer plants by height.
  5. Incorporate pathways.
  6. Group by function or aesthetic.
  7. Use vertical features.
  8. Incorporate seating.
  9. Balance with wild and formal elements.
  10. Add decorative elements.

What seeds to plant in February

Here is a list (see the planting guide for more detail):

Warm season veggies

Beans
Sweetcorn

Cool season veggies

Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower

Leafy greens

Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard greens
Silverbeet

Roots

Beetroot
Carrot
Onion
Radish

Other

Chives
Fennel
Leeks
Parsley

 
In principle, you can start planting some of the brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, etc) but perhaps it would be better to wait until March.

Critter of the week – shield/stink bugs

The two photos are both of shield/stink bugs in family Pentatomidae. The shield bug name comes from its supposed resemblance to a heraldic shield, whilst the stink bug name comes from the critter’s ability to release a pungent defensive spray when threatened.

The left hand photo (from my garden) is of an acacia shield/stink bug (Alcaeus varicornis). Like most other shield/stink bugs, the acacia shield/stink bug is a sap sucker, often on acacias.

The right hand photo (from Pam Jenkins’ garden) is of the eggs of a predatory shield bug (Oechalia schellenbergii). As the common name suggests, the adults are predatory, feeding on caterpillar and grubs.

Watch this video of some predatory shield bugs hatching from their eggs.

If you have any interesting photos of critters from your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

Bonus critter of the week – marbled gecko

The two photos are of the marbled gecko (Christinus marmoratus), the left hand one being from Fay Bridge’s garden and the right hand one being from within my house.

Fay says that the gecko in her photo is a baby and that she also saw an adult twice the size. She saw both when getting the hard rubbish together, the lesson being that one should always be careful when doing things outside to avoid hurting such creatures.

The marbled gecko reaches about 5cm in length and around 2.5g in weight. It stores fat in its tail and, like many other geckos, can ‘drop’ its tail when feeling threatened, only for it to re-grow over the next 6 months or so.

They are insectivorous and mostly nocturnal.

Like many other geckos, the marbled gecko can stick to, and climb, vertical surfaces. It can do so because of attractive intermolecular forces between molecules of their setae (tiny foot hairs) and molecules of the surface it is on. This phenomenon is called the Van der Waals force.

Our articles over the last month

Here are some of the articles from our newsletters over the last month that you might have missed:

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (12th January, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview Wayne Rankin about building neighbourly connections and soil. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Angelo Eliades on guerilla gardening (12th January).

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the article in the Guardian about why Americans use volumes, rather than weights, when cooking.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was (of course!) the upcoming sausage dog pub crawl in Brunswick East on 2nd March.

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

What do you get when you divide 355 jack o’lanterns by 113 jack o’lanterns? Pumpkin Pi.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – for pets

Yes, I found another local pet-focussed, food-related event, again centred on pub crawls for dogs!

Preston/Reservoir puppy pub crawl; Sunday, 16th March, 3-6.30pm; $40; Preston

Take your pooch out for a Sunday arvo bar hopping in a casual setting at dog-friendly venues. The ticket includes a pot of beer and various dog treats, including cocktails and pup cakes.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Connie Cao – your Asian veggie patch; Wednesday, 19th February, 10.30-11.30am; free; Nunawading.

Learn to grow 40 Asian vegetables, herbs and fruits, and explore Connie Cao’s 50 home-style recipes inspired by her Chinese heritage. Discover gardening tips, cultural insights and dishes like pork and chive dumplings and winter melon tea. Presenter: Connie Cao, author of Your Asian Veggie Patch.

Every ingredient has a story to tell; on Friday, 21st March and again on Saturday, 20th March, both 6.30-11pm; $136 ($30 per hour); Abbotsford.

FareShare chefs and Wonki mixologists will take you on a journey, transforming rescued ingredients into a three-course meal, all made from surplus food that would have otherwise gone to waste. Beyond the food and drink, you will learn about food waste and insecurity in Australia.

The Autumn productive garden with Jaclyn Crupi; Saturday, 22nd March, 10.30-11.30am; free; Abbotsford.

Jaclyn Crupi will discuss what to do in your veggie patch in Autumn, including how to replenish the soil and organise your seed bank.

Mushrooms growing; Sunday, 23rd March, 10am-4pm; $195 ($33 per hour); CERES.

In this hands-on introductory workshop, you will learn: the secrets to successfully growing oyster mushrooms at home; inoculation, sterilisation and basic mycology; and how to start master cultures. Presenter: Buttons Mira from The Mushroomery.

Traditional wooden spoon carving; Sunday, 23rd March, 10am-4pm; $179 ($30 per hour); CERES.

Learn the traditional craft of carving your own kitchen utensils using specialised carving knives and your hands. From a piece of sustainably sourced native timber, carve spoons, butter spreaders, spatulas or spurtles from a piece of wood. You will learn: an age-old craft; the sense of meditation and slowness to be found in whittling life’s essential objects; sourcing sustainable materials; the basics of traditional tool use; and how to safely turn a log into your favourite wooden utensil. Presenter: Alma Arriaga.

Growing Asian vegetables; Wednesday, 26th March, 6.30-8pm; free; Doncaster.

Connie Cao will discuss how to grow, care for, harvest and cook with Asian herbs and vegetables.

In January
In February
In March
Regular events

The list of regular events, almost by definition, remains similar from week to week and, for space reasons, we are not going to include the list in every newsletter from henceforth. You can find the latest list in our 22nd January newsletter.

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Farm to ferment – fermenting with farm fresh produce; Saturday, 1st February, 11am-1pm; $52 ($26 per hour); Bellfield.

See photo right. Learn the basics of fermenting soft and hard vegetables using imperfect produce from the farm, concoct your very own recipe and go home with two jars of ferments. Take two 500g jars. Organised by Farm Raiser.

Let’s get cooking (8 sessions); on consecutive Mondays, starting 3rd February at midday; $80 ($5 per hour); Epping.

Healthy eating tips and practical cooking skills. Tutor: Daniela Calcagno.

Community cooking class – Lebanese; Thursday, 6th February, 10am-1pm; $6; Epping.

Learn new ways to cook Lebanese food. Take a food container with you. Organised by Creeds Farm Living & Learning Centre.

Valentines Day tea blending workshop; Friday, 14th February, 6-7.30pm; $65 ($44 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. Presenter: Amy Freund, from Crafternoon Tea.

Lacto-fermentation 101; Sunday, 2nd March, 10.30am-2.30pm; $140 ($35 per hour); Collingwood.

Learn about the world of fermentation and how to make three delicious and gut-friendly ferments, namely kimchi, hot sauce and fermented pineapple soda. You will get hands-on experience with every step of the process. Presenter: The Fermented Mumma.

Sourdough bread workshop; Sunday, 16th March, 10am-1pm; $140 ($35 per hour); Panton Hill.

Learn about starters and sourdough. Make a pizza base, cook a pizza with homemade toppings and eat together in class. Make a bread dough to take home to bake the next day. Take an apron, tea towel and large sealable container. Presenter: John. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Fermenting at home; Saturday, 22nd March, 10am-1pm; $124 ($41 per hour); CERES.

You will learn: the basics for successfully start fermenting vegetables at home; how to brew your own kombucha; and how to use fermented products in day-to-day life. You will take home your own jars of vegetables to ferment at home plus a kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Presenter: Lauren Mueller.

Pizza masterclass with Antonio; Sunday, 23rd March, 11.30am-2pm; $107 ($43 per hour); Brunswick.

You will learn about: how to make dough by hand; balling & stretching techniques; how to use a pizza paddle & peel; pizza turning in the oven; fermentation & the process of making dough; and pizza classico (classic style pizza in the oven), pizze fritte (fried pizza), donuts, focaccia and bread. You will make both savoury and sweet pizzas, and you will get to cook and eat the pizzas together with a complimentary drink. You will take home two dough balls.

In January
In February
In March
Regular classes

The list of regular events, almost by definition, remains similar from week to week and, for space reasons, we are not going to include the list in every newsletter from henceforth.

LFC News January 22

Jan 212025
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Cathie Nederveen, Janine, Jeremy Mather, Pam Jenkins and Samantha Patterson.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Just a random picture from the Internet that I happen to like.

Is it better to bake by weight or by volume?

The simple answer is that it is better to use weights rather than volumes (particularly for baking, where precision is important). This is for two main reasons:

  1. The volume of a given amount of something can vary significantly depending on how it is packed. For example, a cup of flour can weigh anywhere from around 110 grams to 170 grams, a difference of 50%.
  2. You only need one measuring device (i.e. scales) rather than multiple (e.g. cups and spoons), and that device also doesn’t need cleaning.

Clearly, using weights requires accurate scales which cover the weight range in question. My wife tells me that she would only trust our kitchen scales down to around 5 grams which is why she bought a second set of scales for measuring smaller amounts.

If it is better to use weights in baking rather than volumes, why do so many recipes use volumes? One reason is that it is a hangover from the past when, before the advent of accurate electronic scales which you can also cold zero (tare), measuring by volume was arguably easier. A second reason is that Americans (who, almost uniquely in the world, have never converted to metric measurements for either weights or volumes) have mostly never got into the habit of using weights. Read this article in The Guardian newspaper.

A somewhat related question is, when using volumes, why use informal measurements (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons, etc) rather than formal measurements (i.e. millilitres)? This can be particularly problematic as some of the informal measures are not uniformly agreed. For example, whilst it is generally agreed in Australia that 1 tablespoon = 20ml, just about every other country in the world converts 1 tablespoon into 15 ml, so any Australian using a non-Australian recipe will, in principle, use 33% ((20-15)/15) too much of each ingredient where the amount is given in tablespoons. And, whilst 1 tablespoon = 20 ml in Australia, very few tablespoons sold in Australia actually hold anywhere near 20 ml, so using actual tablespoons to do the measuring will give the wrong answers anyway.

The reasons why informal measures of volume are still often used rather than formal measures are perhaps the same reasons as to why volume measures are still used at all: first, it is a hangover from the past; and, second, Americans are, at heart, a bunch of hicks.

When substituting one ingredient for another, neither substituting equal weights nor substituting equal volumes will necessarily give the right answer. For example, honey is around 60% denser than sugar but around 20% less sweet. So, substituting 1 gram of honey for 1 gram of sugar would result in a decrease of around 20% in the level of sweetness, whilst substituting 1 tablespoon of honey for 1 tablespoon of sugar would result in an increase of around 40% in the level of sweetness (an increase of 60% due to the higher density less a decrease of 20% due to the lower sweetness).

Note that one of the beauties of the metric system is the way that weight, volume and size measurements are linked. More specifically, 1 litre of water weighs 1 kilogram and is 1,000 cubic centimetres (0.001 cubic metres) in size; similarly, 1 millilitre of water weighs 1 gram and is 1 cubic centimetre in size.

And, in a completely different sense, one of the beauties of the imperial system is the way that nothing is logical. For example, how many smidgens are there in a dash?

Finally, here are conversions between some ‘informal’ measures of volume and metric volumes (see Wikipedia):

  • 1 cup = 250 ml (Australian recipes only; 235 or 240 ml in America and varies in the UK).
  • 1 tablespoon = 20 ml (Australian recipes only; 15 ml in most other countries; also most physical tablespoons are closer to 15 ml than to 20 ml).
  • 1 teaspoon = 5 ml (common across the world).
  • 1 dash = 0.46 ml.
  • 1 pinch = 0.23 ml.
  • 1 smidgen = 0.12 ml.
  • 1 drop = 0.05 ml.

Read more of my articles about baking.

Queensland fruit fly is still around

Pam Jenkins has written in to say that, of her grand harvest total of 2 nectarines after the parrots had feasted, both were infested by Queensland fruit fly.

“Sting marks and exit holes. There were loads of maggots in the rotting fruit but they wriggle out of sight really quickly. Time to replenish the traps, check the nets over the rest of the fruit for rat holes and repair any damage, and spray more calcated kaolin on the all of the fruit trees and fruiting vegetables. Tomatoes, eggplants and capsicums seem to be popular with them.”

Yes, you did know! (maybe)

In last week’s newsletter, Rosemary Snowden asked what she could put under her vegetable drum to stop the roots from nearby plants entering it via the base.

Jeremy Mather has written in to say that some geotextile should do the trick. Available from all good DIY stores. For example, the Pillar grey geotextile drainage membrane mat.

However, Pauline Webb says that the subject is problematic because any fine hair-like roots that enter can, over time, grow to be large. She gives an example of one of her wicking beds where some roots from a neighbour’s tree went under her house, up the inside of the wicking bed (but on the outside of the plastic lining), then over the top of the plastic lining, down thru 30cm of soil through the felt between the soil and scoria, and into the scoria. The roots then grew in the water well and started sucking up the water. Her solution involved removing all the soil and scoria, re-doing the plastic lining so that it went completely to the top of the bed (not just to the top of the soil), and sealing the bed with capping timber. In Rosemary’s situation, Pauline worries that any impervious solution will risk the bed becoming waterlogged on occasions and she therefore suggests that the best way forward is to move the bed to another position.

More on how to remove the bitterness from a cucumber

In last week’s newsletter, Pam Jenkins gave a method for removing any bitterness in cucumbers: after cutting the cucumber near the stem end, rub the two cut ends together in a circular fashion to draw out the bitter whitish substance out from under the skin of the cucumber. Cathie Nederveen has now written in to confirm that this method works.

Fire cider vinegar (by Janine)

[The recipe below is from Glen Park Oaks Community Garden volunteer and herbalist Janine.]

Ingredients

Apple cider vinegar. Ensure that you use unpasteurised and unfiltered apple cider vinegar 'with the mother'. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar is an example that is stocked in most mainstream supermarkets.

Equal parts chopped:
Horseradish root.
Ginger root.
Turmeric root.

You can also add:
Chilli or cayenne pepper.
Garlic cloves.
Lemon – zest and/or juice.
Rosemary.

Method

Place all the ingredients into a glass jar, cover to brim with apple cider vinegar and put the lid on. Shake well.

Store in a dark cool place for 4-6 weeks, shaking every few days.

Strain the vinegar with a fine sieve ensuring that you squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Store in a clean airtight glass container for up to 6 months at room temperature in a cool dark place or up to 1 year in a fridge. Make sure to label with the date.

When feeling the start of any illness, take one shot neat or diluted in water. You can add honey or agave for sweetness.

Critter of the week – enamelled spider

The two photos are of an enamelled spider (Plebs bradleyi in family Araneidae), the left hand one being from my garden and the right hand one being from Samantha Patterson’s garden.

They are called enamelled spiders because they look their bodies are covered in enamel. The ones in the photo have mainly white enamel but they also come in greens and yellows.

As an orb-weaver spider, it creates webs. It waits for prey in its sloping web at night and often retreats to surrounding vegetation in the day.

If you have any interesting photos of critters from your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the list and map of the gardens in the upcoming Creative Harvest in West Gippsland.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Starting your low-waste journey presentation in Doncaster on 27th February.

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

In a farmers’ market, farmer A sells pumpkins and farmer B sells strawberries. What does farmer C sell? Medicine.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps

Note that some food swaps don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

Community gardens

Note that some community garden meetups don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

Upcoming face-to-face events – for dogs

This is a new section. If you know of any food-related events specifically for dogs (or any other animals), email them to us.

Sausage dog pub crawl; Sunday, 2nd March, midday-3.30pm; $37; Brunswick East.

Join fellow dachshund owners and dog lovers for an afternoon of drinks, snacks, doggie cocktails and doggie treats. The crawl will span 3 bars and around 1km. At each bar, there will be free food & drink for the dogs and discounted food & drink for the humans.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Wildcrafting foraging course (5 sessions); Tuesdays, starting 4th February, 6-7.30pm;$359 ($48 per hour); Coburg.

You will learn about: the importance of wild foods; medicine as food; the difference between cultivated foods and wild food; sustainable wildcrafting; safe foraging; identification, nutrition and properties of several plants; and recipes for each of the plants. You will also share some condiments, foods and beverages made from the plants. Presenter: Taj Scicluna (aka The Perma Pixie).

Therapeutic horticulture garden tour; Wednesday, 12th February, 3.30-4.30pm; $30 ($30 per hour); Doncaster.

Have a guided tour of Kevin Heinze GROW’s therapeutic gardens in Doncaster. Learn about how their practice is delivered to ensure sustainable outcomes for people with disabilities. Also learn about how their approach to maintaining the garden focuses on promoting urban biodiversity, organic food growing, zero waste and effective hot-composting. Tour leader: Patrick Wain.

Urban wine walk (Collingwood); Saturday, 15th February, midday-4pm; $82; Collingwood.

This is a self-guided wine tasting experience, where you choose the order in which you visit the various venues. The ticket includes 30 complementary tastings, a $10 food voucher, a $25 voucher for wine orders and a tasting glass. The participating venues and winemakers: Glou with Parley; Goldy’s Tavern with Babo Wines; Hotel Collingwood with Glenhope Vineyards; Jollygood with Konpira Maru; Molly Rose Brewing with Pacha Mama Wines ; Paradise Alley with Das Juice; and The Bendigo Hotel with Doom Juice.

The Herb and Chilli Festival; Saturday, 15th March and Sunday, 16th March, both 10am-5pm; $28; Wandin.

This festival will celebrate all things related to herbs and chillies. There will be stalls, demonstrations, talks, tastings, music and dance. There will be around 100 stalls.

Organic vegetable growing; Sunday, 16th March, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

The workshop will be a mix of classroom presentations and practical exercises, giving you a chance to get your hands dirty on a real working farm. You will learn to: build healthy soils; work with the seasons; and grow a productive garden, including vegetables, fruits and herbs. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Beginners backyard beekeeping; Sunday, 16th March, 10am-3pm; $220 ($44 per hour); CERES.

Learn everything from the inner workings of a beehive to the healing properties of raw honey. You will learn how to maintain a healthy hive, discover the wonders of swarms and how to keep them in check. Weather permitting, they will also open a hive and have a hands-on demonstration. Presenter: Ashton Edgley.

Complete urban farmer (12 sessions); weekly starting Monday, 17th March, 9am-3pm; $1,250 ($17 per hour); CERES.

The topics to be covered will include: permaculture principles; fruit production; soil preparation; composting, worm farming and fertilisers; vegetable growing; propagation; seed collection; pest & disease management; bushfoods & berries; chooks & bees; and community gardens. Presenter: Justin Calverley.

In January
In February
In March
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Preserving summer fruits; Saturday, 22nd February, 10am-12.30pm; free; Whittlesea.

Marie Vassallo, from Rie’s Kitchen, will explain how to preserve your summer fruits for jams and marmalades.

Vegan pierogi; Thursday, 6th March, 6-8.30pm; $110 ($44 per hour); CERES.

Learn how to make vegan versions of the pierogi (the Polish dumpling) using 3 types of fillings and starting with making the pierogi pastry from scratch. Two of the fillings will be pierogi ruskie (savoury with potato) and pierogi z jagodami (sweet with blueberries). Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

A trio of vegan curries; Saturday, 15th March, 10am-1pm; $85 ($28 per hour); Fawkner.

Learn how to make chole chickpea curry, pumpkin masala curry and potato spinach curry. Pair these curries with turmeric rice infused with fragrant curry leaves. As you cook, delve into the rich history of Indian curries and discover the nutritional and health benefits of the spices and herbs used in these dishes. Organised by Fawkner Neighbourhood House.

An Asian breakfast; Sunday, 16th March, 9am-1pm; $170 ($43 per hour); Panton Hill.

Learn how to make an authentic Thai congee (rice soup) and a stuffed Thai omelette (kai yat sai). Team this with a Vietnamese or Thai coffee and sit down to breakfast on the veranda. Finally, learn how to make Thai coconut pancakes. Presenter: Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree.

Vegan desserts; Sunday, 16th March, 10am-3pm; $154 ($31 per hour); CERES.

You will learn a variety of vegan sweet treats from different backgrounds and different techniques. The menu will include: baked cheese cake; raw fruit tart; fruit pierogi; Portuguese tarts; coconut jelly; and tiramisu. Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

In January
In February
In March
Regular classes

LFC News January 15

Jan 142025
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Bianca Lyndon, Chris Chapple, Felicity Carr, Katrina Philip, Paul Gale-Baker, Rosemary Snowden, Sue Dyet and Virginia Ruchel.

A story about St Johns Riverside Community Garden in Heidelberg (by Katrina Philip)

[Last Summer (see the 21st February newsletter), this newsletter invited local community gardens to work with the University of Melbourne’s Community Engagement for Disaster Risk Reduction (CEDRR) project, the deal being that the community garden would receive some monies whilst CEDRR would receive some data. St Johns Riverside Community Garden in Heidelberg were one of the gardens that decided to participate and, as shown in the photo right, they received $1,575 for their efforts. In the article below, Katrina Philip, coordinator of the garden, discusses how the project went (and it went well!).
 
[In addition to the story told below by Katrina, there is a second story to be told, which is about Katrina and her colleagues. First, they were alert and active enough to respond positively to our 21st February article. Second, they then worked together for a common cause, learning together. And, third, they earned some monies to further improve their garden. They are an exemplar of what an active community group should be like and, not surprisingly, their community garden is wonderful. Ps. Katrina is 5th from the left in the photo (in a blue shirt and shorts).]

 
St Johns Riverside Community Garden have been very fortunate to recently participate in Melbourne University’s Community Engagement for Disaster Risk Reduction (CEDRR) project. Not only did it help us to engage with lowering risk in our own current and future lives plus improve our connections within our community network but it also helped us to raise significant funds for the garden.

Participation was via two phone surveys some months apart in which household preparedness to cope with disaster at home or in the environment was questioned. It gave us an opportunity to think of ways to reduce risk in our present living. For each phone conversation, a financial donation was given to the garden. It was also lovely to meet the CEDRR project people when they visited our gardeners for a chat.

We were encouraged to involve our community garden members and their networks of friends, family and neighbours. This led to a ripple effect of people talking about the worthwhileness of the ideas and the community taking more ownership of risk.

This is a totally different way of raising funds for a community project compared with the usual grant application process – instead of 1 or 2 people slogging away on a grant application ( which may or may not be granted), this spreads the work, in a manageable way, across the whole organisation’s network, empowering the group as a whole.

It was great to hear that the CEDRR project was recently short-listed for the National Research Impact Award by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.

We are so grateful to the LFC newsletter as this is where we first heard about the project.

If you ever get the chance to be involved in a similar CEDRR project, I would obviously recommend that you say “yes” !

[Dr. Peter Kamstra, who led the work for CEDRR, added: "Guy, thank you for sharing our work with your community. We had around 250 members of community groups / gardens across Melbourne participate in follow-up interviews. Your readers contributed to a total sample of around 1,000 participants, helping us generate a world-leading sample of community engagement participants in the context of flood risk reduction research."]

 

Are you proud of your food/produce garden and/or one of your local community gardens?

In last week’s newsletter, we asked people to offer their food/produce garden and/or a community garden to be an open garden for Open Gardens Victoria in the autumn. Unfortunately, no one came forward so we are asking again.

Open Gardens Victoria have an ongoing program of open gardens and they want to have a number of food or produce open gardens in the Autumn, some individual home gardens and some communal community gardens. Via this newsletter, they are hoping to get some leads.

So, would you potentially be interested in your food/produce garden being an open garden for Open Gardens Victoria in the Autumn? Or, do you have any suggestions for other gardens that might be suitable? Or, are there any community gardens that you would suggest as potential candidates? If the answer to any of these questions is either ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’, contact Felicity Carr by phone (0419 578 916) or email (feliss.carr@yahoo.com.au) to discuss.

Before you contact Felicity, there are two things that you need to think about. First, the average standard of their open gardens is very high and there is no point offering your garden if it is simply a veggie patch plus a few fruit trees. Second, they need to be able to control the flow of people in and out of the garden, so it needs to be fenced off except for a gate, entrance or similar. This latter issue is particularly relevant for community gardens as many of them are more open than this.

Yes, Paul Gale-Baker did know!

Anna asked: We’re using IBC containers as the foundation for our wicking beds. We’ve cut them quite high to help with the battle against rabbits (800mm and sitting on a stand) and wondering if it’s okay to have scoria to a depth of 400, then soil to 300 plus mulch.”

Paul replied: “Those wicking bed proportions should work fine. 300mm soil is standard and if your pond is deeper than normal it shouldn’t affect the bed’s performance, so long as you don’t let the water drop too low.”

Do you know?

Rosemary Snowden has a vegetable drum which sits on her brick paving. It has an open base and roots from nearby plants keep entering it via the base. What can she lay flat on the brick paving under the drum to stop this happening? Send me your answers by email.

    

How to remove the bitterness from a cucumber

As discussed later, the most popular link in the last newsletter was Angelo Eliades’ article on the causes and solutions for bitterness in homegrown cucumbers. Angelo’s proposed solution is to cut the cucumber near the stem end and then remove some of the skin going up the cucumber, the idea being that the chemicals causing the bitterness (cucurbitacins) are more concentrated in the skin and stem end of the cucumber.

Pam Jenkins has written in with a variant on the theme: after cutting the cucumber near the stem end, rub the two cut ends together in a circular fashion. This will draw the bitter whitish substance out from under the skin of the cucumber. Just rinse it off when you are done.

Has anyone tried either of these methods and, if so, did they work? Email me.

Macleod Market is no more

The organisers, Diamond Valley Community Support, have announced that the Macleod Market will no longer happen.

A list of all Angelo’s growing guides

With the latest flurry announced in last week’s newsletter, Angelo Eliades has now published 34(!) growing guides to various vegetables. Here are the links to all 34.

Amaranth.Broccoli.Celery.Garden cress.Potatoes.
Angelica.Brussels sprouts.Chilli.Garlic.Radish.
Asparagus.Bush beans.Chives.Kale.Silverbeet (swiss chard).
Basil.Cabbage.Climbing beans.Leek.Spinach.
Beetroot.Capsicum.Coriander (cilantro).Lettuce.Tomato.
Borage.Carrots.Cucumber.Onion.Zucchini.
Broad beans.Cauliflower.Eggplant.Peas. 
 
Coincidentally, we have exactly the same number of growing guides on our website. Here are the links to all of ours.
 
Basil.Coriander.Kohlrabi.Other herbs (Robin).Rosella/roselle.
Brassicas.Cucurbits.Lettuce (and other salad greens).Parsnip.Tarragon.
Broad beans.Eggplant and capsicum.Mint.Peas.Tomato (Robin).
Cauliflower.Garlic (Helen).Mustard greens and mizuna.Pineapple sage.Tomato (Helen).
Celeriac.Garlic (Robin).Oca.Potatoes.Turnip.
Chamomile.Ginger and turmeric.Oregano and marjoram.Pumpkins (harvesting).Zucchini (pollination).
Chilli.Green beans.Other herbs (Helen).Red-veined sorrel. 

 
Whilst Angelo and we have some growing guides in common, a surprising number are only on one or other of the lists. More specifically, the 68 growing guides above collectively cover a total of 55 vegetables and herbs.

The 2025 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

If you want a food experience in the CBD in the latter part of March (21st to 30th), you might want to have a look at the 2025 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival program.

The 8th Creative Harvest in West Gippsland

If you want to visit some edible gardens, and fancy a trip to West Gippsland, you might want to go to the 8th Creative Harvest on 25th-26th January. Here’s a list and map of the gardens. The cost is $12 per garden or $37 for all 12 gardens.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

American Ann Wood makes paper mushrooms. As she says, “I capture the ethereal quality of things that appear in the natural world, but disappear very quickly. Mushrooms have that quality, a magic that is particular to their ethereal form.”

The first names of our newsletter readers

Sue Dyet has written in to ask “how many Sues are newsletter readers and what proportion of the total readership are they?”

Well, Sue, there are 39 newsletter readers called Sue and they represent around 1% of the total readership.

‘Sue’ is the third most common name amongst the readership, preceded by Michelle (46) and Sarah (42). However, if one includes variants (e.g. Su, Susan, Susanna, Susanne, Susie, Susy, Suzane, Suzanna, Suzannah, Suzanne, Suzie and Suzy), then ‘Sue’ moves into a clear first place, with 78 newsletter readers (2% of the total).

Around 75% of the newsletter readers are female. The most common male name is David (36) followed by Peter (31).

In total, there are around 1,700 different first names represented by the readership.

Sue Dyet goes on to ask how these results compare to those of another organisation that she belongs to, namely Nillumbik University of the Third Age (Nillumbik U3A).

Like this newsletter, around 75% of Nillumbik U3A’s membership is female. Unlike the newsletter, however, the most common name by far is a male name, namely John (3% of the total membership). The most common female name, and second most common name overall, is Anne. Sue is the fifth most common name (1% of total membership) but, if one includes variants, then it just moves past John into first position.

More on Sue Ruchel’s fruit jelly (by Virginia Ruchel)

[In (last week’s newsletter), we gave a recipe for fruit jelly from Sue Ruchel’s book Windfalls: preserves and other country kitchen secrets. Sue’s daughter, Virginia, has now written in with some comments.]

 
I (Virginia) used to think that jelly making was labour intensive (seeing my mum make it) but now I don’t bother using the muslin, etc to strain the fruit. Rather, I just use a sieve. This is much easier, quicker and less messy. I don’t worry about a bit of fruit pulp in the jelly as it kind of cooks out anyway and just adds to the flavour and colour. I think that there used to be lots of focus on very clear jellies for putting into country shows etc but if you are only interested in yummy preserves then it doesn’t matter.

Jellies are such a great way to use up imperfect fruit, or fruit left in the fruit bowl. I used up all my excess Christmas berries this year plus a couple of imperfect apples and a bit of lemon to make a Christmas jelly this year.

I now use the jelly method for marmalades too. Just soak overnight any surplus, washed, cut up citrus in a saucepan. You don’t need more than 1-2kg and there is no need to de-pith or seed. Before you cut it up, peel or cut a few bits of the best looking skin off for the peel element and cut up/soak separately. If you like lots of peel in your marmalade, add lots!

The next day, cook the pulp until it is soft and just a little mushy, then strain through a sieve (it is ok to press a bit to make sure that you get all the goodness), measure the amount of liquid and return to a saucepan with the sliced, soaked peel and cook a bit till the peel is soft. Then add your sugar ratio (I often use an amount equivalent to the liquid, or just slightly less for more flavour bite). Boil gently as per usual until setting point is reached then bottle in sterilised jars.

Virginia still has a number of spare copies of her mum’s book, Windfalls: preserves and other country kitchen secrets. If you would like to buy a copy for $5, email Virginia (vruchel@gmail.com)

 

Critter of the week – blue garden flatworm

The photo is of a blue garden flatworm (Caenoplana coerulea) from my garden.

Despite a superficial similarity of appearance and name, flatworms are not closely related to earthworms. They do not have a specialised respiratory system and this restricts them to a flat shape to allow them to breathe through their skin. They are not segmented and move on a slime track (like snails and slugs). They have only one body cavity through which they both eat and excrete waste.

Like other flatworms, the blue garden flatworm in the photo is a predator (on slaters and other invertebrates) and it uses its viscous slime trails to trap its prey.

The adult length is around 8cm. Its upper and lower surfaces are somewhat different colours, with a narrow creamy stripe running down the centre of the upper surface.

If you have any interesting photos of critters from your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Angelo Eliades’ article on the causes and solutions for bitterness in homegrown cucumbers.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the Really Really Free Market in Coburg.

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

Why was Cinderella so bad at footy? Because she had a pumpkin for a coach.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps

Note that some food swaps don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

Community gardens

Note that some community garden meetups don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

The jobs at the Bundoora Agriculture Hub working bee on Sunday will include tying up plants, harvesting, fertilising and weeding.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Learn about food labelling; Friday, 17th January, 10-11.30am; $5; Wonga Park.

This session will help you navigate the often confusing world of food labels, empowering you to make healthier food choices with confidence. Learn how to interpret nutritional information, ingredient lists and key labelling claims to better understand what’s in your food. Presenter: Dr. Mitra Zarrati. Organised by Wonga Park Community Cottage.

Gardening for beginners; Wednesday, 19th February, 6-8pm; free; Doncaster.

To help you start growing your own edible plants, Justin Calverley will discuss: the basics of plant choice and care; planting seedlings and seeds; soil and growing media; and basic design techniques.

Grow your own mushrooms; Wednesday, 19th February, 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.

Edible weeds; Thursday, 20th February, 6-8pm; $76 ($38 per hour); CERES.

Learn about the seasonal edible weeds that thrive in Melbourne’s inner north and gain knowledge about the plants’ culinary, medicinal and ecological uses. There will be a CERES site tour to identify local weeds as well as a demonstration and sampling of prepared edible weeds. Presenter: Lauren Mueller.

Unwrapped – food and beverage quick bites; Thursday, 20th February, 7.45-9.30am; free; Epping.

Discuss the contemporary challenges, synergies and opportunities within the food and beverage industry. A light-standing breakfast will be provided. The event will include a panel Q&A featuring Ed Campion from Turosi Food Solutions Group and Aida Golneshin from Edlyn Foods, who will discuss the role of advanced manufacturing and AI in achieving labour and energy/sustainability efficiencies and improving food safety and quality traceability / ESG reporting.

The importance of fibre; Saturday, 22nd February, 11am-midday; free; Thomastown.

Learn about the importance of gut microbiome and how it impacts your physical and mental health. Beck O’Farrell will talk about the latest research and show you ways to improve your gut health with fibre-rich foods. She will also bring a few treats for you to try.

The Prosecco Festival; Saturday, 22nd February, 11am-10.30pm; $64; Abbotsford.

There will be around 50 different proseccos to taste and all tastings are included in the ticket price, as will a tasting glass. There will also be other beverages, food and music.

In-depth mushroom cultivation workshop; Sunday, 23rd February, 10am-4pm; $161 ($27 per hour); Alphington.

You will learn the growing methods for oyster mushrooms, including inoculation & sterilisation, and be introduced to basic mycology. You will undertake practical sessions and learn how to start master cultures. You will also be given a tour of the mushroom farm. Take a clean 5-10L bucket with a lid and some gloves. Presenter: Buttons. Organised by The Mushroomery.

Crop rotation and companion planting; Thursday, 27th February, 10am-midday; free; Whittlesea.

Learn how to use crop rotation and companion planting techniques to extend your soil life, reduce pest & disease problems, and save water, time & money in the garden. Presenter: Kathleen Tants. Organised by Whittlesea Community House.

Introduction to horticulture and permaculture (15 sessions); 15 sessions over 17 weeks, starting Thursday, 27th February, 10am-3pm; $1250 ($17 per hour); CERES.

This course is designed as a taster for those who are unsure as to whether accredited training is for them, or whether horticulture and/or permaculture is the right pathway, or who are simply not able to commit to a full course at this stage. The three units offered (recognise plants; assist with soil or growing media sampling and testing; and plant and maintain permaculture crops) have been selected from the Certificate II in Horticulture and Certificate II in Permaculture. Presenter: Abigail Jabines.

Starting your low-waste journey; Thursday, 27th February, 7-8.30pm; free; Doncaster.

Anna, The Urban Nanna, will discuss simple, budget-friendly ways to help reduce your waste and lower your environmental impact through simple everyday actions.

Create your own worm farm; Saturday, 1st March, 10am-midday; $10; Lower Templestowe.

Learn all about how to create a worm farm from a Bunnings expert. Organised by Living And Learning @ Ajani.

Composting and mini market; Saturday, 1st March, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; Montrose.

Pat will discuss composting, the different types and the ways that we can use it. Following the talk, the Montrose Community Cupboard will have a mini market. Those attending the talk will enter the market first.

The herbal apprentice (8 sessions); over a 10 week period, starting Friday, 7th March, 10am-3pm; $995 ($21 per hour); CERES.

The course will include the following topics: medicinal plant cultivation; introduction to plant identification and botany; understanding common ailments; herbal language and terminology; patterns of traditional western herbalism; plant chemistry basics; introduction to medicine making; botanical animism; and community supported herbalism. Presenter: Taj Scicluna, aka The Perma Pixie.

Introduction to beekeeping (2 sessions); on Saturday, 8th March, 9.30am-4.30pm and Saturday, 15th 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 (15th 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.

In January
In February
Regular events

The list of regular events, almost by definition, remains similar from week to week and, for space reasons, we are not going to include the list in every newsletter from henceforth. You can find the latest list in our 8th January newsletter.

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Youth ramen noodle cooking workshop; Saturday, 15th February, 11am-midday; free; Fairfield.

For people aged 12 to 18. Learn how to make ramen from scratch.

Beginner cooking and meal planning (6 sessions); starting Monday, 17th February, 11am-2pm; $151 ($8 per hour); Preston.

Learn how to create nutritious and wallet-friendly meals in this beginner-friendly course designed for aspiring home cooks. Trainer: Shawn Hickman. Organised by Bridge Darebin.

Home baking (6 sessions); on Wednesdays, starting 19th February, 6.30-8.30pm; $234 ($20 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn both sweet and savory recipes including dishes such as homemade bagels and fresh loaves of sourdough. Tutor: Cass. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Intro to kombucha; Friday, 21st February, midday-1.30pm;$25 ($16 per hour); Greensborough.

Learn how to brew your own kombucha, including the fermenting process, how to flavour your soda and how to feed & care for your scoby. Take home both a jar of kombucha and a scoby. Presenter: Sarah. Organised by Greenhills Neighbourhood House.

Gnocchi making; Friday, 21st February, 5-7pm; $50 ($25 per hour); Kinglake.

Learn how to make gnocchi. Enjoy a light dinner of gnocchi with sugo, fungi, crispy bread and salad. Take an apron. Presenter: Clara. Organised by Kinglake Ranges Neighbourhood House.

Sushi rolls – a world of flavours; Saturday, 22nd February, 1-3pm; $70 ($35 per hour); Kilsyth.

Learn how to make a diverse range of sushi rolls, with options to suit various dietary requirements. This is one of three Japanese cooking sessions on consecutive Saturdays from 15th February. Book all three sessions for $180. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

Food for mind and gut; Saturday, 1st March, 10am-2.30pm; $154 ($31 per hour); CERES.

You will learn about foods that can help you to build and protect your gut microbiome and clear brain fog. You will also learn how to incorporate brain powering foods easily into your daily diet. All the recipes centre on nutritionally dense vegetables and are both gluten- and dairy-free. The sample menu includes: vegan cream cheese; oat + mesquite crackers; beet sauerkraut; chickpea salad with orange tahini; coconut + turmeric pie; and miso puffed balls. Presenter: Melanie Leeson, from Mettle + Grace.

Japanese mains and desserts; Saturday, 1st March, 1-3pm; $70 ($35 per hour); Kilsyth.

Learn how to make fusion mains and miso tiramisu for dessert. This is one of three Japanese cooking sessions on consecutive Saturdays from 15th February. Book all three sessions for $180. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

Indian cooking; Sunday, 2nd March, 10am-2pm; $154 ($39 per hour); CERES.

Learn how to prepare traditional Indian dishes to celebrate the Hindu festival Holi, learning step-by-step techniques for each dish, from mastering spice blends to balancing flavours. At the end of the workshop, you will sit down together for a shared feast of your own making. The menu: besan ki burfi, palak paneer, vegetable biryani, daal tadka and vegetable pakora with mint-coriander chutney. Presenter: Savita.

Indian cooking – Punjabi (2 sessions); on Wednesdays, 5th and 12th March, both 6.30-8.30pm; $118 ($30 per hour); Hurstbridge.

Learn how to cook a healthy North West Indian vegetarian meal from scratch using authentic ingredients. At the end of the session, eat what you have made or take it home. Trainer: Taariq Hassan. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Indian cooking demonstration; Friday, 7th March, 5.30-7.30pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Blackburn North.

Learn how to make butter chicken and naan. Then enjoy the feast with the other participants. Presenter: Usha. Organised by Blackburn North Neighbourhood House.

In January
In February
Regular classes

The list of regular events, almost by definition, remains similar from week to week and, for space reasons, we are not going to include the list in every newsletter from henceforth. You can find the latest list in our 8th January newsletter.

LFC News January 8

Jan 062025
 

Happy New Year to everyone. Here’s hoping that all of you have a brilliant 2025.

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Felicity Carr, Judy Vizzari and Olwyn Smiley.

2024 saw something of a falling off in the number of people who contribute to this newsletter and it would be really good if we could reverse that trend. Any bits of news, tips, photos or questions would be more than welcome. Just email them to me (Guy). If you want to discuss any possible articles or regular contributions, give me a ring (0411 520850).

Have you got a really speccy edible garden? Or know of one?

As you hopefully know, Open Gardens Victoria have an ongoing program of open gardens, some of which we promote in this newsletter from time to time. To date, very few of the gardens have had a food or produce focus but they recently contacted me to say that they want to have a number of food or produce open gardens in the Autumn, some individual home gardens and some communal community gardens. Via this newsletter, they are hoping to get some leads.

So, would you potentially be interested in your food/produce garden being an open garden for Open Gardens Victoria in the Autumn? Or, do you have any suggestions for other gardens that might be suitable? Or, are there any community gardens that you would suggest as potential candidates? If the answer to any of these questions is either ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’, contact Felicity Carr by phone (0419 578 916) or email (feliss.carr@yahoo.com.au) to discuss.

Before you contact Felicity, there are two things that you need to think about. First, the average standard of their open gardens is extremely high and there is no point offering your garden if it is simply a veggie patch plus a few fruit trees. Second, they need to be able to control the flow of people in and out of the garden, so it needs to be fenced off except for a gate, entrance or similar. This latter issue is particularly relevant for community gardens as many of them are more open than this.

An interesting statistic

Question: how many kilograms of fruit, vegetables, and pantry staples did Foodbank Victoria provide to food relief agency DIVRS to give away to the Darebin community in 2024?

Answer: 28,000!

Hurstbridge Market is no more

The organisers, Diamond Valley Community Support, have announced that the Hurstbridge Market will no longer happen on the grounds that it was financially unsustainable.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (12th January, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview Wayne Rankin about building your house and growing your food. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Patrick Wain on mindful gardening (29th December).

Some new articles from Angelo Eliades

Capsicum growing guide.

Leek growing guide.

Onion growing guide.

Why do my cucumbers taste bitter?

What is the difference between compost worms and earthworms?

The permaculture guide to covert guerilla gardening.

Angelo has also published a review of newsletter reader Connie Cao’s book, Your Asian Veggie Patch. Here is his summary: “A delightful book that opens up a new world of Asian produce for gardeners of all skill levels, guiding readers through a horticultural and culinary journey of discovery in a fun, friendly and informative way. Offering both practical growing advice and inspiring ideas for the kitchen, it’s an enjoyable read that’s hard to put down for any curious gardener or food enthusiast. From the outset, Connie Cao’s passion for gardening and her deep knowledge of Asian food plants shine through. The book is written in an accessible and friendly style that’s effortless to read, while also being very comprehensive and detailed, striking a nice balance indeed. The comprehensive guidance is complemented by stunning photographs of plants, gardens, and prepared dishes, which not only illustrate the subject matter but also showcase the author’s creative eye and culinary artistry.”

Angelo gives the book 5 out of stars. You can buy it online at all good book stores.

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Fruit jelly (by Sue Ruchel and Judy Vizzari)

[A month or so ago, we gave away quite a lot of copies of Sue Ruchel’s book Windfalls: preserves and other country kitchen secrets. I invited each recipient to send me some words and photos for this newsletter about one of the recipes that they had made. Here is Judy Vizzari’s response.]

“In my [i.e. Judy’s] garden there are several apple and plum trees (green apples and greengage plums/wild red plums). Their fruit is small and astringent and great wild bird plunder but, through reading Windfalls, I discovered that they are a perfect source of ingredients for some of Sue’s recipes. I committed to some jelly-making and, as soon as our trees were laden with fruit (and before the birds took first pick), I harvested our ‘wild’ crops. Jelly making is a slow process but, as Sue says in her book, ‘it’s a breeze’. It’s easy because the pectin in the fruit pectin performs the jelling. The result is a jelly which is both sweet and sharp.”

In Judy’s photo, the sideways jar on the right shows how viscous the jelly is once it has set.

Ingredients

Fruit (e.g. apples and plums)
Sugar
Water

Method

Cut any large fruits (e.g. apples) into halves, but leave the small fruits whole. There is no need for any peeling or coring.

Wash the fruit and cover with water.

Boil the fruit until it is soft but not mushy.

Pour through a jelly bag (e.g. a suspended piece of cheesecloth), leaving it all to drip thru overnight (or for 24 hours).

Add 1 cup of sugar for every cup of extract. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then boil until it is set.

Bottle and seal while still hot.

The setting test is the same as for jam. Place a little bit of the jelly on a saucer and put in the freezer for a few minutes. If the jelly wrinkles when the saucer is tilted, then it will set. This is when you remove the mixture from the heat.

Critter of the week – yellow admiral butterfly

Thanks to Olwyn Smiley for this week’s photos.

The photos are of the various stages of the life cycle of a yellow admiral butterfly (Vanessa itea in family Nymphalidae), all from Olwyn’s garden. Clockwise from top left: an adult, with the upper surface of the wings showing; an newly emerged adult, with the lower surface of the wings showing; a chrysalis; a caterpillar; a folded nettle leaf sheltering a caterpillar; and an egg.

  

  

Unlike many other butterflies, the adults are long-lived (up to several months) and eat (on nectar, and sometimes sap).

The caterpillars eat nettle leaves and the adults therefore lay their pale green eggs on nettle leaves. As Olwyn says, “this is the reason that I always have some nettle plants in the garden (preferably not in amongst the salad greens!).”

The caterpillars fold nettle leaves to make a shelter. As Olwyn says, “when returning to this home, they carefully turn around and ‘reverse park’!”

The chrysalises are a soft metallic gold colour with three pale metallic blue ‘spikes’.

Olwyn often bring eggs, caterpillars or chrysalises into her house to see what emerges. Although she missed the actual emergence of this butterfly, she could see the wings filling out and gaining colour as she moved it outside.

A final comment from Olwyn: “On a couple of occasions, one of the butterflies has alighted on me while I was out in the garden; such a privilege and delight!”

If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

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

Why did the orange stop rolling down the hill? It ran out of juice. (submitted by Google)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

Farm Raiser currently has a special: pick your own basil for $30 per kg.

Food swaps

Note that some food swaps don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

Community gardens

Note that some community garden meetups don’t always happen during January so you might want to check before going.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Sake master class; Sunday, 12th January, midday-2pm; $73 ($37 per hour); Brunswick East.

Kana Aoyama will guide you through the history, production and tasting of this traditional Japanese beverage. She will teach you all the basics, let you try 5 different styles, and show you how to pair sake with cheese, cured meats and chocolate.

Harvesting and Lebanese dips; Friday, 17th January, 11am-1pm; free; Richmond.

Discover how to harvest and save seeds, followed by a Lebanese dips and pickling workshop. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Food cushion – ages 5+; Wednesday, 22nd January, 10.30am-midday; $45 ($30 per hour); Camberwell.

Draw, paint and decorate your own food cushion. You could make a cute ice cream, yummy strawberry or tasty hamburger to sleep on. The cushion will be sewn by the instructor.

Seeds to plate and Italian cooking; Wednesday, 22nd January, 2-4pm; free; Richmond.

Explore the journey from seeds to plate in 7 weeks, then make Italian pizza and bread. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Grow it yourself gardening program (10 sessions); on Wednesdays, starting 29th January, 9.30am-12.30pm; $70 ($2 per hour); Fawkner.

Learn how to grow food in any space, big or small. The topics will include: growing in pots, raised beds, wicking beds; seasonal planning; making compost and worm farms; what plants need; propagating from seeds and cuttings; natural weed and pest management; and planting for insects and wildlife. Organised by Fawkner Neighbourhood House.

Urban food gardening (10 sessions); on Wednesdays, starting 29th January, 9.30am-1.30pm; $70 ($2 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn how to grow nutrient-dense food using regenerative gardening practices. Gain knowledge and learn hands-on skills to plan and maintain a biodiverse, productive garden. The cost of $70 is subject to ACFE eligibility. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Seeds to plate and Italian cooking; Friday, 31st January, 11am-1pm; free; Richmond.

Create an edible flower garden and learn to extend produce shelf life, followed by a session on creative ways to use excess produce. Organised by Cultivating Community.

Pruning and care of fruit trees – summer; Saturday, 1st February, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn about: general care and maintenance tips; and hands-on pruning instruction and techniques.

Traditional wooden spoon carving; Saturday, 1st February, 10am-4pm; $179 ($30 per hour); CERES.

Learn the traditional craft of carving your own kitchen utensils using specialised carving knives and your hands. From a piece of sustainably sourced native timber, carve spoons, butter spreaders, spatulas or spurtles from a piece of wood. You will learn: an age-old craft; the sense of meditation and slowness to be found in whittling life’s essential objects; sourcing sustainable materials; the basics of traditional tool use; and how to safely turn a log into your favourite wooden utensil. Presenter: Alma Arriaga.

Companion planting and mini market; Saturday, 1st February, 10.30am-12.30pm; free; Montrose.

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

Urban wine walk; Saturday, 1st February, midday-4pm; $82; Richmond.

This is a self-guided wine tasting experience, where you choose the order in which you visit the various venues. The ticket includes 30 complementary tastings, a $10 food voucher, a $25 voucher for wine orders and a tasting glass. The participating venues and winemakers: Attria Wine Bar with Vinteloper; Klae with Pizzini Wines; Maeve Fox with Payten & Jones; Public House with Rouleur Wine Co.; The Blacksmith Bar with Yering Station; The Precinct Hotel with Rob Dolan Wines; and Waygood  with Vino Intrepido.

Introduction to permaculture; Sunday, 2nd February, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn about permaculture by exploring its ethics and design principles and how we can create resilient, sustainable systems that work with nature and the natural limits of our planet. You will learn how the permaculture principles can be applied to your life and land. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

Urban food gardening (8 sessions); on Mondays, starting 3rd February, 10am-2.30pm; $155 ($4 per hour); Edendale.

This course is for people who love gardening and the outdoors, are considering a career in horticulture, would like to learn more about growing their own food successfully or who would like an introduction to aspects of working in the industry before choosing a specific course/study pathway. To be eligible for the government subsidised fee, you need to be either a permanent resident and/or an Australian Citizen/New Zealand Citizen and not enrolled in mainstream secondary school. Tutor: Justin Calverley. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Introduction to permaculture and garden design (9 sessions); on Tuesdays, starting 4th February, 10am-midday; free; Pascoe Vale.

Learn practical food growing skills while transforming the neighbourhood lawn into a thriving, edible ecosystem. The course will cover: the philosophy of forest gardening; site assessment and design considerations; biodiversity in gardens and soil; no-dig techniques to build healthy soil; plants for food and medicine, including weed; how to grow fruit trees, berries, vegetables, herbs, flowers and bush foods; seed saving and propagation; plant care, including pest and disease management; water systems; seasonal planting, companion planting and crop rotation; and ways to eat and cook unusual and medicinal foods. Presenter: Leila Alexandra. Organised by Sussex Neighbourhood House.

Introduction to permaculture (4 sessions); on consecutive Tuesdays, starting 4th February, 10am-2.30pm; $90 ($5 per hour); Edendale.

This practical, hands-on course will give you an understanding of what permaculture is and how it can be applied in both a home garden setting and a commercial setting. To be eligible for the government subsidised fee, you need to be either a permanent resident and/or an Australian Citizen/New Zealand Citizen and not enrolled in mainstream secondary school. Tutor: Justin Calverley. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik

Whiskey and gin experience with Imbue Distillery; Friday, 7th February, 5.30-8.30pm; $139 ($46 per hour); South Morang.

Learn how to cook BBQ dishes while also discovering the perfect pairings to the whiskeys and gins of Imbue Distillery. Be taken through the BBQ process, from meat selections to grilling techniques, while sharing insights into the complexities of the spirits. Enjoy the tastings.

Permaculture Design Course (100 hours); starting Saturday, 8th February, 9.30am-4.30pm; $2,470 ($25 per hour); CERES.

The course will comprise a combination of Wednesday evenings (6.30-9.30pm), weekend days (9.30am-4.30pm) and weekend visits. It is a classroom-based, theoretical course with site visits, not a gardening course. Participants will develop: an appreciation of the fundamentals of permaculture and the historical context in which it was developed; an ability to incorporate ecological and energy literacy/understanding in the design process; an ability to read patterns in landscapes and understand how they influence design choices; an understanding of the design processes and the conceptual design tools used in permaculture, as background for later application topics; an ability to design food production and other agricultural systems in appropriate landscapes; an understanding of how communities function and how permaculture concepts can be used to build functional communities; an understanding of how trading functions and how permaculture concepts can be used to build more equitable economic systems; an understanding of how settlements can be designed to meet human needs on a sustainable basis; an understanding of how buildings can be designed to meet human needs on a sustainable basis; an appreciation of the technologies that are available to assist in building sustainable lifestyles – renewable energies and conservation of non-renewable resources; and a confidence in one’s ability to make a difference at the individual level. Trainers: Adam Grubb, Beck Lowe, Joel Meadows and Kat Lavers.

Small space gardening; Saturday, 8th February, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn: how to maximise your small space to create an abundant oasis of food, herbs and ornamentals; and container gardening techniques and principles. Presenter: Donna Livermore.

What’s the environmental impact of our food?; Wednesday, 12th February, 7-8.30pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Join a discussion exploring how our food systems and choices can drive meaningful climate action, including the environmental impacts of meat and dairy production, biodiversity loss and deforestation. The speakers, who will share practical ways to shop, eat and advocate for planetary health, will include Dheepa Jeyapalan (from Regen Melbourne), Jess Abrahams (from Australian Conservation Foundation), Adele Chasson (from the Wilderness Society) and Karen Kiang (from Doctors for the Environment).

Complete urban farmer (12 sessions); weekly starting Thursday, 13th February, 9am-3pm; $1,250 ($17 per hour); CERES.

The topics to be covered will include: permaculture principles; fruit production; soil preparation; composting, worm farming and fertilisers; vegetable growing; propagation; seed collection; pest & disease management; bushfoods & berries; chooks & bees; and community gardens. Presenter: Justin Calverley.

Summer fruit tree pruning; Saturday, 15th February, 9am-1pm; $65 ($16 per hour); Edendale.

Learn about winter versus summer pruning and how to shape and improve fruiting with summer pruning. Facilitated by Justin Calverley. Take your gardening gloves, a hat and a pair of secateurs.

Permaculture garden design group (8 sessions); on consecutive Saturdays, starting 15th February, 9.30am-12.30pm; $120 ($5 per hour); Coburg.

This course is for people with small backyards or balconies, or anyone wanting to grow food, no matter how limited the space. Learn how to create a productive, sustainable garden using permaculture principles. What you will learn: how to design efficient and beautiful gardens in small spaces; techniques for vertical gardening, container gardening and maximising food production; water conservation; soil health; organic pest management; creating mini food forests; and attracting beneficial wildlife. Each week, there will be practical exercises and teamwork. To be eligible for the government subsidised fee, you need to be either a permanent resident and/or an Australian Citizen/New Zealand Citizen and not enrolled in mainstream secondary school. Presenters: Angelo Eliades, Liz Morrigan and Nathacha Subero. Organised by Reynard Street Neighbourhood House.

Soils and composting; Saturday, 15th February, 10am-3pm; $149 ($30 per hour); CERES.

Learn what you need to know about soil structure and biology, to deepen your understanding of gardening. Also, learn how to create thriving ecosystems of microbes by making compost and have all your compost questions answered. Presenter: Taj Scicluna.

Italian cheese and wine masterclass; Saturday, 15th February, 2-5pm; $135 ($45 per hour); Thomastown.

Begin with a cheese-making demonstration by Giorgio Linguanti, founder of That’s Amore Cheese. Watch as he creates warm whey and stretches curd to produce fresh, artisanal cheese right before your eyes. Then explore a handpicked selection of That’s Amore cheeses (such as Lavato, Stella Alpina, Diavoletti and Cacio) paired with Italian cheeses (Mauri Taleggio, Grana Ambrosi and Grana Padano), all perfectly matched with Aussie wines.

Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Chai blending workshop; Wednesday, 15th January, 1-2pm; free; Diamond Creek.

Learn how to blend your own chai tea. All materials, including spices, will be provided.

Cooking with induction; on Sunday, 19th January, at 9-10am and again at 11am-midday; free; Camberwell.

Open Table who will demonstrate how easy it is to cook nutritious, healthy, low emissions meals on an induction cooktop. A specialist from Specialized Electrical will be on hand to answer your questions about the requirements and the process of installing an induction cooktop, potential costs and other things to consider.

Lacto-fermentation 101; Sunday, 19th January, 10.30am-2.30pm; $140 ($35 per hour); Collingwood.

Learn about the world of fermentation and how to make three delicious and gut-friendly ferments, namely kimchi, hot sauce, and fermented pineapple soda. You will get hands-on experience with every step of the process. So if you’re ready to transform your kitchen into a fermenting powerhouse, join them for this session. Presenter: The Fermented Mumma.

Healthy lunch box ideas; Thursday, 23rd January, 10.30-11.30am; free; Croydon.

A team from EACH Population and Prevention Health will show a range of nourishing lunch box ideas, demonstrate a range of lunch box tools and discuss age-appropriate ways to get kids involved in making their lunch box. This session is designed for one adult with 1-2 primary-aged school children. Please confirm dietary requirements at the time of booking.

Winter Shelter community cooking (12 sessions); fortnightly from Tuesday, 28th January until Tuesday, 1st July, each 1-4pm; free; Croydon Hills.

Prepare meals for the Winter Shelter community meals program and learn hospitality and catering skills at the same time. Organised by Yarrunga Community Centre.

Creative kitchen program (10 sessions); on Thursdays, starting 30th January, 9.30am-1.30pm; $70 ($2 per hour); Brunswick.

Boost your culinary skills and confidence by making meals and sharing them with fellow foodies. The focus will be on minimising food waste and maximising your grocery haul. Plus, learn how to cook for a crowd during their monthly community lunches. The cost of $70 is subject to ACFE eligibility. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pasta shapes with Piera Pagnoni; Saturday, 1st February, 10am-1pm; $150 ($50 per hour); Thomastown.

Learn how to make the dough from scratch and how to shape the pasta. You will learn how to make balanzoni and ravioli di pesce. You will also learn how to make two sauces (alla norma and quattro formaggi). Presenter: Piera Pagnoni. Organised by That’s Amore Cheese.

The art of French crepe making class; Saturday, 1st February, 3-6pm; $158 ($53 per hour); Thornbury.

Learn a little about the history of French crepes and the tools of the trade. Learn how to make crêpes from scratch, including preparing and spreading the batter and experimenting with different folding methods. At the end, enjoy a shared meal with your fellow participants, savouring your creations at the table with an array of toppings. Then take home a stack of freshly made crepes to enjoy later.

Plant-based cooking; Sunday, 2nd February, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Forest Hill.

Learn how to prepare traditional Chinese New Year plant-based dishes. Alongside the cooking, enjoy some themed art and craft activities, including traditional Chinese ‘window flowers’ and hui-chun (a traditional calligraphic art form that conveys blessings for the new year). Organised by Strathdon House.

Pizza masterclass with Antonio; Sunday, 2nd February, 11.30am-2pm; $107 ($43 per hour); Brunswick.

You will learn about: how to make dough by hand; balling & stretching techniques; how to use a pizza paddle & peel; pizza turning in the oven; fermentation & the process of making dough; and pizza classico (classic style pizza in the oven), pizze fritte (fried pizza), donuts, focaccia and bread. You will make both savoury and sweet pizzas, and you will get to cook and eat the pizzas together with a complimentary drink. You will take home two dough balls.

Introduction to cake decorating (5 sessions); on consecutive Tuesdays, starting 6th February, 10am-2.30pm; $80 ($8 per hour); Eltham.

Learn how to make cupcakes, including different types of icing and decorating techniques. The icings covered will include glace, ganache, Russian, royal and buttercream. Every week you take home your creations. Take an apron, a tea towel, a container to take home your cakes and (after the first session) cupcakes or cakes ready to decorate. To be eligible for the government subsidised fee, you need to be either a permanent resident and/or an Australian Citizen/New Zealand Citizen and not enrolled in mainstream secondary school. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Sourdough for beginners; Saturday, 8th February, 10am-1pm; $63 ($21 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn how to make sourdough bread, including both sourdough culture care and the processes of sourdough fermentation and baking. You will sample some freshly baked bread plus take home some sourdough culture (starter). Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Classic Vietnamese salads; Saturday, 8th February, 10am-2pm; $180 ($45 per hour); Panton Hill.

Learn how to: poach chicken for a Vietnamese chicken salad; make spring onion oil; grill tiger prawns on charcoal for a green mango salad; make bo la lot (beef in Vietnamese betel leaf with pickled vegetables); and make Vietnamese nuoc cham dressing two ways. Presenter: Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree.

Gnocchi masterclass with Chef Dario D’Agostino; Saturday, 8th February, 11am-2pm; $153 ($51 per hour); Brunswick.

Learn how to make gnocchi from scratch using traditional Italian techniques, shaping your own gnocchi under guidance. Then eat gnocchi Napoli paired with a glass of Italian wine. Finally, take home your handmade gnocchi along with a goodie bag.

No waste cooking with Open Table; Saturday, 8th February, 2.30-4pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Watch a live cooking demonstration, enjoy a taste test, learn how to pickle, and take home your jar of pickles and a free no waste cookbook. Presenters: Open Table.

Make daifuku mochi; Saturday, 8th February, 4-5.30pm; $40 ($26 per hour); Camberwell.

Daifuku mochi is a traditional, soft and chewy Japanese sweet made from glutinous rice. Learn how to make daifuku mochi from scratch. At the end, eat what you made together with some hot, green tea. Teacher: Hiro Mikami. Organised by Camberwell Community Centre.

Vegan cheese making; Sunday, 9th February, 10am-3pm; $154 ($31 per hour); CERES.

Learn how to create your own array of vegan cheeses, milks, creamy spreads and dairy-free desserts. Limitless options for flavours and styles. Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

Winter Shelter community cooking (9 sessions); fortnightly from Monday, 10th February until Monday, 30th June, each 11am-2pm; free; Croydon Hills.

Prepare meals for the Winter Shelter community meals program and learn hospitality and catering skills at the same time. Organised by Yarrunga Community Centre.

Fermented sodas; Wednesday, 12th February, 6-8.30pm; $110 ($44 per hour); CERES.

You will learn the art of fermenting your own probiotic beverages, working with different yeasts and flavours. You will make kombucha, sweet-beet kvass and lemon and ginger soda. Presenter: Lauren Mueller.

Catering for community (18 sessions); on various Thursdays throughout 2025, starting 13th February, 9-11am; free; Whittlesea.

Learn to cook for a crowd, expanding your cooking skills and serving lunch to our community. Organised by Whittlesea Community House.

Cooking for one (5 sessions); on 5 consecutive Thursdays, starting 13th February, 11am-1pm; $50 ($5 per hour); Lilydale.

Learn how to cook easily just for one person. Make the meals each week and eat together what you have made. Presenter: Sarah. Organised by Lilydale Community House.

Blokes in the kitchen (2 sessions); on Fridays, 14th February and 14th March, each 9am-midday; $92 ($15 per hour); Surrey Hills.

Learn how to prepare simple meals with other blokes under Shawn’s guidance. Enjoy a shared meal and conversation to finish the session. Organised by Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre.

Soup and sides – miso magic; Saturday, 15th February, 1-3pm; $70 ($35 per hour); Kilsyth.

Learn how to make miso soup and sides. This is one of three Japanese cooking sessions on consecutive Saturdays from 15th February. Book all three sessions for $180. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

Make daifuku mochi; Saturday, 15th February, 4-5.30pm; $40 ($26 per hour); Camberwell.

Daifuku mochi is a traditional, soft and chewy Japanese sweet made from glutinous rice. Learn how to make daifuku mochi from scratch. At the end, eat what you made together with some hot, green tea. Teacher: Hiro Mikami. Organised by Camberwell Community Centre.

Sourdough bread baking; Sunday, 16th February, 9am-5pm; $220 ($28 per hour); CERES.

You will: make a variety of different breads, gaining the skills and confidence to make your own at home; enjoy some of your own handmade pizza for lunch; and take home some leaven to get you started baking bread at home. Presenter: Ken Hercott.

Cooking with ancient grains – quinoa; Sunday, 16th February, 10am-midday; $60 ($30 per hour); Forest Hill.

With a focus on quinoa, learn about the health benefits of ancient grains and why they are sustainable. Learn how to cook quinoa and how to incorporate it into a meal. Presenter: Natalie. Organised by Strathdon House.

A trio of Asian delights; Sunday, 16th February, 10am-1pm; $85 ($28 per hour); Fawkner.

Learn how to make Japanese gyoza, Korean yapchae and Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Organised by Fawkner Neighbourhood House.

How to make wild drinks; Sunday, 16th February, 2-4pm; $180 ($90 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Learn how to make kombucha & jun, mead discovery, water kefir, beet kvass and whey soda. You will go home with 3 large jars full to be nurtured and ferment at home in your own kitchen of beet kvass, kombucha or jun and water kefir (your choice of SCOBY) plus a bottle of second fermenting water kefir that will be ready the next day and a jar of raw honey ready to turn into mead.

Regular classes

LFC News December 4 2024

Dec 032024
 

This is the last newsletter for 2024. Seasonal greetings to everyone. Normal service will resume in early 2025.

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Choy Lai, Connie Cao, Jan Saunders, Julie Cabrol, Louise Webster, Nancy Mills, Nathacha Subero, Vanessa Veldman and Virginia Solomon.

The year in review

This newsletter

The newsletter is now in its 13th year, with me (Guy) as its editor for the last 10 years. That’s a total of 460 newsletters with me at the helm.

We began the year with around 4,200 subscribers. 44 newsletters later, we now have around 4,300 subscribers, an increase of 100.

So, the number of subscribers increased but at a slower rate than in previous years. This slowing is actually the result of some simple arithmetic. Both the number of new people subscribing to the newsletter (450 per year) and the proportion of existing newsletter readers who unsubscribe (8-9% per year) remain very stable from one year to the next. But, as the total readership increases, a constant 8-9% unsubscribe rate results in an increasing number of unsubscriptions and, in 2024, these reached around 365 (i.e. one a day), leading to a net increase of around 100 (450-365). Crunching through the numbers, the implication is that the readership will probably continue to increase but at an ever slower rate, reaching about 5,000 in 10 years’ time!

Incidentally, I try and contact many of the unsubscribers to ask why they unsubscribed and the two most common answers are “I’ve moved out of the area” and “My inbox has got out of control and I am clearing it down”.

10% of the new subscribers live in Banyule, 10% in Darebin, 10% in Merri-bek, 10% in Nillumbik, 20% in the other municipalities of North East Melbourne and the final 40% from further away (ranging from the rest of Melbourne to the Netherlands, Italy and Morocco). The graphic shows the geographic distribution of newsletter recipients in the various suburbs of North East Melbourne, where the size of each red blob is proportional to percentage of the population in that suburb who are newsletter recipients.

The most clicked links in 2024 in various categories were as follows:

Although the number of subscribers has almost doubled since before the pandemic (i.e. since 2019), the number of clicks of the event-related links in the newsletter is now actually lower than in 2019 (in other words, people are, on average, clicking around half the number of event-related links than they used to). Furthermore, the trend is still downward, with 15% fewer event-related clicks in 2024 than in 2023. Given that, for booking reasons, you have to click on an event if you potentially want to go to it, it seems that many fewer people are considering going to events as a result of reading about them in this newsletter. Read into this what you want but my impression is that behaviours were changed either permanently or semi-permanently by the pandemic such that many people have become more home-based and less interested in events outside of their home.

Just about every newsletter contained at least one article on a food growing or food eating subject. This was only possible because of the regular contributions from Connie Cao, Hayden Marks, Jaimie Sweetman, Julie Merlet and (most of all) Robin Gale-Baker. Thanks to all of them! Robin’s contributions, in particular, have been truly extraordinary: her regular, monthly articles have now continued unbroken for 6 years and have collectively covered most aspects of how to grow a full range of vegetables and fruit trees. She is an original thinker who always has something interesting to say. She always submits her articles on time and understands how journalists (like Robin) and editors (like me) should work together to improve the product.

Contributions from newsletter readers continue to greatly enrich the newsletters. Over the years, around 630 readers have made contributions. Again, thanks to all of them! Particular thanks to Angelo Eliades, who often answers other people’s questions and whose answers are invariably comprehensive.

Finally, during 2024, I received around 120 emails saying nice things about the newsletter. Such comments are (obviously) much appreciated and it is one of the things that makes writing this newsletter so worthwhile. Here are three of my favourites:

  • “I just want to thank you for the extraordinary information I receive in your newsletters. They are phenomenal. I’m learning so much about gardening and have met the most wonderful people through attending some of the events you’ve listed. You’re a true champion of the people, Guy.“
  • “The newsletter is simply brimming with articles, recipes, interesting links and calendars of events covering everything to do with food – whether it be growing, making or teaching – across Melbourne. The amount of excellent general information shared is incredible. The newsletter is wonderful. Thanks for all the work you do for our community.“
  • “Thanks so much for the newsletters. They are such a great read and I often refer back to them. I’ve really enjoyed reading articles either by, or about, people that I know, often revealing things I wouldn’t have known about them otherwise.“
The website

The Local Food Connect website is closely intertwined with the newsletter, with any new articles on the website being included or summarised in the newsletter and with most of the material from the newsletters also being somewhere on the website.

There were around 450,000 unique visits to the website in 2024, similar to the previous year. Around 40% of the visitors are from Melbourne, 40% from elsewhere in Australia and the final 20% from the rest of the world. In total, the website was visited by people from all the countries in the world except for North Korea and 10 very small ones. Most of the visitors find the website by google searching and going to particular pages as a result.

The most popular page was, somewhat surprisingly, Robin’s article on harvesting, curing and storing pumpkins (with the number of visits up threefold since 2023), just relegating the perennially popular planting guide of what veggies to plant when down to second place (with the number of visits down by a third since 2023). Our page about food-related proverbs was also very popular. These results all show, I think, both the importance and unpredictability of where pages rank in Google searches.

In part because of her prodigious output, by far the most popular section of the website was Robin Gale-Baker’s growing guides.

There are now 135 producers in our Local Food and Drink Directory, 71 gardens with pages in our Community Gardening Directory, 28 swaps in our Food Swap Directory and 33 organisations with pages in our Food Justice Directory. All of the material has been approved by the relevant organisation and organisations are added as and when I (Guy) become aware of them and they respond positively to my communications with them.

Local events

There continue to be literally hundreds of local food-related events every month. For example, in November there were 430 events in our website calendar (I counted). These cover a wide range of subjects, at a wide range of costs and at a wide range of locations.

Many neighbourhood houses organise numerous food-related events and courses, including (but not limited to) Ajani (in Lower Templestowe), Arrabri (in Bayswater North), Brunswick, Greenhills (in Greensborough), Japara (in Kilsyth), Kinglake, Living & Learning Nillumbik, NECCHi (in Coburg), North Ringwood and Reynard Street (in Coburg).

Many of the free food-related events are organised by councils and libraries. However, I (and therefore maybe others) am finding these increasingly difficult to find on the relevant websites because the classification systems used don’t help identify them. For example, if I choose the most relevant seeming categories for my local libraries (i.e. creative minds, creating connections, growing healthy lives, and life skills), then just about all their events get listed and I have to plough through everything to try and find the food-related events. In other words, the filtering doesn’t help.

Local community gardens

Community gardens are at the core of many of the community food-related activities across North East Melbourne and, as stated earlier, 71 of them now have pages on our website. See the graphic right for their geographic distribution.

The following were added to our website in 2024:

Many of the established community gardens continue to organise numerous events to which everyone is welcome, including (but not limited to):

Local food swaps

In contrast to the vibrancy of many of the community gardens, local food swaps seem to be in something of a decline. During 2024, no new ones started and 6 existing ones ceased (Collingwood Yards, Greensborough, Joe’s Market Garden, Macleod, Mernda and Rosanna), leaving 28 carrying on.

Local food producers and markets

3 of the 4 main local farms now sell their produce at their farm gate (Caring Farms Coop / The Veggie Empire, Farm Raiser and CERES / Joe’s Market Garden), with the 4th (Sugarloaf) continuing to have a stall at Eltham Farmers’ Market.

The various farmers’ markets continue.

Chocolate creators, bakers and other makers come and ago.

Local food justice organisations

This is a vibrant and ever changing space. Because of this, I (and therefore our website) am perhaps not completely up-to-date with what is, and is not, happening. I will spend some time over the seasonal period rectifying this situation, with the plan being to defer my 2024 review until early 2025.

In the meantime, we have 33 local food justice organisations with pages on our website.

Loofah (by Connie Cao)

[I’m delighted to announce that Connie Cao will be a regular contributor to this newsletter in 2025. As you may know from her previous contributions, Connie writes about Asian veggies, covering both growing and eating. In October 2024, she published a book entitled Your Asian Veggie Patch, which you can buy online. The material below on loofahs is an example of the type of thing she will be writing for this newsletter.]

Who doesn’t want to grow a shower sponge that you can also eat! Many of us grow loofah plants because of the novelty of making your own shower sponges, but did you know that loofahs can also be eaten as well? In Asian cuisines, it’s a popular squash and summer veg.

If loofahs are harvested when they’re young, they have the texture of zucchini and can be used in much the same ways, two of my favourite options being in stir fries and curries. When they are left on the vine to mature and dry, they dry out inside and become fibrous – that’s when you use them to make sponges.

If you are growing loofahs, note that there are two distinct types. One is the angled loofah, which has ridges down the side and is more commonly eaten as the shape doesn’t lend itself to making sponges. The other is the smooth loofah, which can also be eaten, but is more popular for making sponges.

Watch this video on Instagram.

Mitcham Community Meal is ceasing

In news that is sudden, shocking, surprising and (most of all) sad, Mitcham Community Meal has just announced that it will be closing its doors permanently at the end of 2024. Their stated reasons are “the cost of food has risen, we are outgrowing our donated space and we are no longer able to staff our service in a way that allows us to continue running effectively.” Read their closure announcement plus people’s comments on this announcement.

Panton Hill Community Garden

[In May, the Panton Hill Community Garden was doubled in size, to around 10 raised beds. I was told that a video was being produced about the expansion and we (the garden people and I) jointly agreed that I would defer announcing the expansion in this newsletter until that video was published. The video has now been published, hence this belated announcement.]

Watch this video about the garden.

This garden is open to the public. Joining the associated gardening group is free but requires registration.

To register, or to discuss any aspect of the garden, contact them by phone (9433 3744) or email.

At 18 Bishops Road, Panton Hill.

The Panton Hill Community Garden is part of the Panton Hill Living & Learning Hub. It was extended in 2024 and now comprises around 10 raised beds. There are also a few fruit trees.

The garden grows produce to share with the community, helps participants learn and provides a fun and friendly opportunity for social connection.

The garden is managed by a coordinator who runs a weekly volunteer garden group, as well as workshops and hosting visiting groups to the garden.

The gardening group meets every Friday, 3-5pm.

As announced from time to time in this newsletter, there are also regular workshops on different aspects of food gardening.

Read their page on our website.

A bit more on edible veggie leaves

Last week’s article about the edibility or toxicity of various vegetable leaves didn’t mention sweet potato leaves and Jan Saunders has written in to ask about them. Sweet potato leaves can be eaten either raw or cooked. You can either sauté them like spinach or boil them. They contain vitamins A and C, fibre, calcium and magnesium.

Sustainable Living Champion – Kenton Johanson, Nunawading

Whitehorse Council occasionally publish articles on local ‘sustainability living champions’. The latest is on someone called Kenton Johanson from Nunawading. I rather liked Kenton’s phrase “values are caught, not taught“.

Read about their previous sustainability living champions.

Some videos for you to watch

Both produced by Yarra Ranges Council.

Mooroolbark Community Garden.

Using biochar.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (8th December, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview
Sian Kavanagh about local government sustainability planning. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being The Black People Union’s community kitchen (24th November).

Critters of the week

Thanks to Choy, Julie and Nancy for the various photos below.

Read about our previous critters of the week on our website..

Golden stag beetle

The photo is of a golden stag beetle (Lamprima aurata in family Lucanidae) in the garden of Julie Cabrol. Whilst the males are typically metallic golden green or yellow with colourful legs, the females may be blue, blue-green or dull brown.

The bright colours of the beetles are not the product of pigmentation but produced by the interference and reflection of light by the nanostructure in the beetle’s exoskeletons. This is

The golden stag beetle is native to Australia and ranges from 1½ to 2½ cm in length.

The adults drink the nectar of flowers, particularly eucalypts, and fruit. The larvae feed on rotting logs.

Green vegetable bug

The left hand photo is of the 5th instar of a green vegetable bug (Nezara viridula in family Pentatomidae) as taken by Nancy Mills at CERES. The right hand graphic illustrates the various life stages of the bug, including the 5th instar.

Unlike beetles, which they sometimes resemble, true bugs, such as the green vegetable bug, do not pupate and do not undergo complete metamorphosis from juvenile to adult. Rather, they moult as they grow, and each stage between moultings before the adult form is called an instar. As you can see, all the instars of the green vegetable bug have a similar shape but rather different colours and patterns.

Green vegetable bugs are sap suckers and feed on many vegetables, including legumes, brassicas, cucurbits and solanums.

As a type of stink bug, they can emit a noxious smell when disturbed.

They over-winter as adults.

Green vegetable bugs can be found over much of the world.

Pantry moth

I am including this moth in this newsletter because the adults are currently appearing in large numbers, at least in my house, so it is topical.]

The photo is of an adult pantry moth (Plodia interpunctella in family Pyralidae), aka Indian meal moth, grain moth or flour moth. These various common names are derived from the eating habits of the larvae (see below).

They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

The adults are small (up to 1cm in length), short-lived (around 2 weeks) and do not eat. They are usually seen indoors flying around seemingly aimlessly (but actually seeking a mate).

The larvae (sometimes called waxworms) grow to just over 1cm in length. They eat grains and many other plant-based human food products, including dry pet food, bird seed, cereal, bread, pasta, rice, flour and dried fruits.

The larvae can even chew through plastic bags and thin cardboard to reach their food, so even unopened packages may become infested.

The eggs are usually laid in a location where grain or similar is present.

The larvae move away from their food sources before pupation, sometimes travelling considerable distances. Pupation sometimes occurs in clothing.

Longhorn beetle

The photo is of a longhorn beetle (genus Pentacosmia in family Cerambycidae) in the garden of Choy Lai.

Longhorn beetles are so-called because they have long antennae, at least as long as their body. These antennae are used to sense chemical cues, including alkaloids (to help find a host plant) and pheromones (to help find a mate).

Both adults and larvae feed on plant tissue. In so doing, the larvae can bore into wood, potentially causing extensive damage to either living trees or untreated lumber.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Angelo Eliades’ tomato growing guide.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the Caring Farms Coop farm gate.

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

There’s an old man, and every year, he and his son plant a tomato garden together. This particular year, however, the son is in jail, and so the old man writes him a letter. “My son, it is regrettable that you can’t be here to plant the tomato garden with me this year. The soil is too hard for me to dig myself. I look forward to the day you come home so we can continue this tradition together.”

The son writes back, “Father, don’t dig up the tomato garden, that’s where the bodies are buried.”

That night, the police show up at the old man’s house with a warrant to search the ground for bodies. After several hours of digging around, they find nothing, apologise to the man, and go on their way.

The next day the man receives another letter from his son, “Father, given the circumstances, this was the best I could do. You should be able to plant the tomatoes now.”

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

At Sunday’s market, Eltham will welcome occasional visitors Cham Cham Sauce, Long Paddock Cheese and Snowy River Biltong. North East Region Permaculture (NERP) will also have a stall where, from a waste wise perspctive, they will be sharing ideas for gifts, decorations, wrapping and New Year’s resolutions. They will also have some window plants in terra cotta pots for sale as water-wise gifts plus some feed bag market totes.

In terms of the markets over the Christmas period: Alphington will not have a market on Sunday, 29th December; Carlton and Coburg will not have markets on Saturday, 28th December; and Eltham will have a market every Sunday.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Integrated pest management and companion planting; Saturday, 14th December, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Coburg.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a step-by-step approach to managing pests sustainably. You’ll explore how to: prevent pests through proper garden care and planning; monitor for early signs of pests to avoid outbreaks; and use natural solutions like beneficial insects and homemade sprays to control pests effectively. You will also discover how pairing the right plants together can: naturally deter pests using scents and trap crops; attract beneficial insects to your garden; and improve plant health and yields through strategic combinations. Presenter: Angelo Eliades from Deep Green Permaculture. Organised by Reynard Street Neighbourhood House.

Sake master class; Sunday, 22nd December, midday-2pm; $73 ($37 per hour); Brunswick East.

Kana Aoyama will guide you through the history, production and tasting of this traditional Japanese beverage. She will teach you all the basics, let you try 5 different styles, and show you how to pair sake with cheese, cured meats and chocolate.

Sake master class; Sunday, 29th December, midday-2pm; $73 ($37 per hour); Brunswick East.

Kana Aoyama will guide you through the history, production and tasting of this traditional Japanese beverage. She will teach you all the basics, let you try 5 different styles, and show you how to pair sake with cheese, cured meats and chocolate.

In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

The art of French crepe making class; Saturday, 7th December, 3-6pm; $158 ($53 per hour); Thornbury.

Learn a little about the history of French crepes and the tools of the trade. Learn how to make crepes from scratch, including preparing and spreading the batter and experimenting with different folding methods. At the end, enjoy a shared meal with your fellow participants, savouring your creations at the table with an array of toppings. Then take home a stack of freshly made crepes to enjoy later.

In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 27 2024

Nov 262024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Doris Glier, Erin West, Eve Fraser, Julie Merlet, Lynn Wallace, Rachel Bishop and Robin Gale-Baker.

Vegetable leaves and stems – edible or toxic? (by Robin Gale-Baker)

With the advent of artisan butchers and fishmongers featuring using the animal or fish top to toe, there’s a temptation to also do this with vegetables. Beware, however, that not all vegetable leaves or stems are edible and some are quite toxic.

Let’s start with a few edible ones:

  • Carrot tops are edible and can be used as a substitute for basil in pesto.
  • Turnip tops likewise make good pesto. Also, the young leaves can be added to salads.
  • Radish leaves can be used in the same way as turnip tops.
  • Beetroot leaves can be used as a substitute for spinach or silverbeet. They also make good pies (e.g. spanakopita) and soups.

Non-edible vegetable tops include:

  • Parsnips. Parsnip leaves emit a compound called furocoumarin from their stems. This is a white, liquid that, when exposed to the sun, becomes caustic and can cause anything from blistering to burning of the skin, mouth or throat.
  • Anything in the Solanaceae family, including potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chillis and eggplants. Whilst the fruits of all these can obviously be consumed, the leaves are dangerous when ingested because they contain high concentrations of a compound called solanine.
    • Potato leaves are highly toxic and should never be ingested. As most people are aware, green potatoes are an absolute no-no too. Potatoes exposed to light or cold (as in the fridge) develop solanine in sufficient quantity to potentially cause stomach problems.
    • Tomato stems and leaves are now served in some restaurants as part of roasted tomatoes on the vine. Perhaps chefs get away with the very small quantities on the plate but they are toxic, containing a compound called tomatine.
    • Peppers, chillis and eggplants likewise have toxic leaves from solanine concentration.

When we think about the solanaceae family, it should perhaps be no surprise that the leaves are not edible. This is the deadly nightshade family after all.

Just because one plant in a family is edible does not mean that similar looking plants are. In the carrot family (Apiaceae), for example, Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota) is edible whilst hemlock (Conium maculatum) is highly poisonous.

Bitterness is often an indication of poisonous alkaloids so the more bitter tasting a leaf is the more suspicious you should be.

Some final points:

  • Both sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) and everlasting peas (Lathyrus latifolius) are toxic.
  • Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid in sufficient quantities to cause a range of serious symptoms, often requiring a trip to hospital.
  • Fig roots and stems, like parsnip stems, contain furocoumarins and, particularly when weeding, gloves and safety glasses should be worn to avoid burning of skin and eyes.

Boab (Adansonia gregorii) by Julie Merlet

[The material below is a shortened version of material from the NATIF website which was written by newsletter reader Julie Merlet. NATIF (which is an acronym for N=Native, A=Australian, T=Traditional, I=Indigenous and F=Foods) sell a wide range bush food products online (including boab powder).]

The boab (Adansonia gregorii), traditionally known as larrkardiy, is an Australian native tree. Some of the trees are more than 1,500 years old and they are only found in the Kimberley regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The trees have been used for thousands of years by the Indigenous people of Australia for food and medicine. Almost every part of the tree can be eaten, from the young leaves and tubers to the internal fruit pods and seeds. In addition, the hard outer casing of the fruit can be used to make ornamental engravings and some children like rattling the nut and hearing the clucking of the fruit pod inside.

The tree is easily recognisable by its bulbous trunk and they stand bold and strong in the landscape, each with their own character.

The tree is deciduous, with its leaves on in the wet season (November-April) and only the fruits in the dry season. The flowers are large, fragrant and white or yellow. They are pollinated by the convolvulus hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli).

The fruit is inside a pod and naturally dries on the tree itself, being the only fruit in the world to do this. The seeds inside are surrounded by the pithy edible dried fruit. When you touch it, you can break it apart and it turns to powder.

The fruit powder tastes like mildly sweet, lemon sherbet and it can be mixed with water to make a paste.

The boab nut can stay intact many months after it has fallen but also often cracks open upon hitting the ground.

Read about other bush foods on our website.

The Caring Farms Coop new farm gate

[As you may remember from our 13th November newsletter, the Caring Farms Coop and the Veggie Empire have started a weekly farm gate on Wednesday mornings, 10am-1pm, at their farm in Wickham Place, St Helena. Their first farm gate was last Wednesday and Rachel Bishop has written in about how it went.]

  

“We’d like to send a huge shout out to everyone who came along to our first ever farm gate stall last week. There was a real buzz in the air as people came along to shop for some veggie and herb staples grown on our farm plus some surprise additions like local cherries and beetroot from Farm Raiser.

“As well as interesting food conversations, there were some sneak peeks at our market garden and the grow tunnels.

“We asked many of the customers how they found out about the farm gate. There were locals who read our sign in the paddock as they walked along the open space near the farm, people who found out through word of mouth and our social media posts, plus those who found out about it through the LFC News.

“We are grateful to everyone who came along and supported the beginnings of what will become a more permanent farm gate shop in 2025 that will be open more often throughout the week.

“We will be open every Wednesday from now until Christmas and hope to see many newsletter readers there.”

Local Food Connect’s 2024 annual report

View/download (pdf).

Another week, another food justice organisation seeking donations

Hope City Mission is seeking non-perishable items to support families in need this Christmas. They are at 5-15 Kent Avenue, Croydon, which is near Coles, and they are open 7 days a week from 10am to 5pm. The graphic right lists the items that can be donated.

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Tomato growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

‘Crowd harvest’ – seeds for Christmas

Gardeners with excess seeds are invited to send them in a Christmas card or holiday card to one of the not-for profit organisations listed below who will, in turn, either germinate the seeds, store them or distribute them to people facing crisis yet know how to start seeds. Please package the seeds in individual and labelled packages so that food relief recipients can easily take them home. The program runs from 1st December to 15th December.

DIVRS in Preston; Liberty Church at 25 Miller Street in Epping; Odyssey House Victoria at 28 Bonds Road,
Lower Plenty; or STREAT in Collingwood. Alternatively, Tiny Trowel, PO Box 4076, Box Hill South, 3128.

Mitcham Community Meal

Mitcham Community Meal provides a free community dinner every Sunday evening, where each meal is cooked by a different local community group. During November, the cooking teams were Belmore Road Church of Christ, Mitcham Baptist Church, Rangeview Primary School (see photo right) and Team Turning Point. Look at some photos of these teams, plus those of previous teams.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (1st December, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview Charlotte Harrison from Sustainable Gardening Australia. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Maree Dellora on Cuban food justice and resilience (17th November).

Bruschetta (by Julia Busuttil Nishimura)

Serves 8.

Ingredients

350g fresh shelled peas or frozen baby peas
2 garlic cloves
juice of ½ lemon, plus extra juice and finely grated zest to serve
handful each of mint leaves and parsley leaves
30g pecorino romano, grated, plus extra to serve
80ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
sea salt and black pepper
4 slices of sourdough
2 × 100g buffalo mozzarella balls, roughly torn, at room temperature
8 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

Method

Blanch the peas until tender, drain and refresh under cold water. Reserve 50g (⅓ cup) of the peas and set aside.

Finely grate one of the garlic cloves and place in a food processor with the peas, the lemon juice, mint, parsley and pecorino romano. Process to a fairly smooth mixture, scraping the side of the bowl if needed. Stream in the olive oil, process again to combine and season to taste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the reserved peas. Set aside.

Grill both sides of the bread on a grill plate until golden and slightly charred on both sides. Halve the remaining garlic clove and rub one side of the grilled bread with the cut side of the garlic. Place the bread on a serving plate and drizzle with some extra olive oil. Top with some mozzarella, follow with a spoonful of the pea mixture and finish by draping over an anchovy fillet. Top with some lemon zest and extra lemon juice, another drizzle of olive oil, a scattering of extra pecorino romano and season with salt and pepper.

Cut each slice in half to serve as a snack.

Critter of the week – smooth flower wasp

The photo is of a male smooth flower wasp (genus Catocheilus in family Thynnidae) in the garden of Lynn Wallace.

Whilst male smooth flower wasps have wings, the females (as with many other species of flower wasp) do not. Each Spring, the adult wasps emerge from the soil and the males fly around looking for females. Meanwhile, the females emit chemical attractants (i.e. pheromones) and perch on low vegetation waiting. When a male finds a female, he carries her away before courtship and mating.

The female then relies on the male for food. In most species, the male feeds his mate a sugary liquid from his mouthparts or from a storage area just beneath his head. He then returns her to near where he found her.

The female then searches underground for a scarab or similar grub, which she paralyses and lays a single egg on. She repeats this mating-feeding-egg laying cycle about 3 times, over a week or two.

The wasp larva feeds on the grub’s body fluids followed by its internal organs, then pupates before emerging as a fully-developed adult.

Thanks to Lynn for the photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website..

Bonus critter of the week – yellow-shouldered ladybird

The photo is of an adult yellow-shouldered ladybird (Apolinus lividigaster in family Coccinellidae) in the garden of Doris Glier.

The yellow-shouldered ladybird is a small (3-4mm long) ladybird native to Australia and New Zealand.

It has just the two yellow spots, one on each shoulder.

Its main prey is the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii).

Thanks to Doris for the photo.

What seeds to plant in December

Here is a list (see the planting guide for more detail):

Warm season veggies

Beans
Cucumber
Gourd
Pumpkin
Sweetcorn

Leafy greens

Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard greens
Parsley
Silverbeet

Roots

Beetroot
Carrot
Potato
Radish

Perennial

Asparagus
Chives

 
December is not a very good planting month: arguably too late for many summer veggies and, although you can plant leafy greens such as lettuce and mustard greens, they are likely to go to seed pretty quickly.

Our articles over the last month

Here are some of the articles from our newsletters over the last month that you might have missed:

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the Eltham Wine Show results.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was gift in a jar with Marie Vassallo on 4th December in Whittlesea.

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

Why did the students eat their homework? Because the teacher said that it was a piece of cake.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

Melbourne Farmers Markets has produced the useful graphic right which lists what vegetables, fruit and herbs you might expect to see at farmers’ markets over the summer.

The cherry season has started and Cathedral Cherries will be at all of Alphington, Carlton, Coburg and Eltham farmers’ markets.

DownUnder Mushroom, who sell a range of mushroom products, will be a new stallholder at Carlton Farmers’ Market on the Saturday and will also be at Eltham Farmers’ Market on the Sunday.

Eltham Farmers’ Market will have a rare visit from gin makers, Bancroft Bay Distillery.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

On farm garlic braiding workshop; Saturday, 30th November, 10.30am-12.30pm; $88 ($44 per hour); Bellfield.

Learn how to craft a garlic braid using organically grown garlic and dried flowers, all sourced directly from Farm Raiser’s farm, then take your creation home. You will receive: 1Kg of organically grown garlic (retail value $60), plus the opportunity to purchase additional garlic at a discounted rate; a selection of dried organic flowers grown on the farm to embellish your braid; and refreshments (tea, coffee and light snacks). You can also have a tour of the farm. Organised by Farm Raiser.

Weed and herb workshop; Sunday, 1st December, 10am-midday; $20; Macleod.

Join Marina Bistrin as she shows you her garden, discussing both wild weeds and cultivated culinary and medicinal herbs. Cost $20 or 1 hour of weeding at a time suitable for you or LETS points.

Herbal medicine and food growing in small gardens workshop; Saturday, 7th December, 9am-midday; $64 ($21 per hour); Mill Park.

Practical tips on growing a diverse range of medicines and foods in an urban (terrace house) setting. Working with the seasons, harvesting and using your produce. Demonstration of how to build your own wicking garden beds large and small. Guides: Dr Teaine O’Brien and Dr David de Vries.

Open day herbal medicine and food growing in small garden; Saturday, 7th December, midday-5pm; $10; Mill Park.

Tour this urban garden and ask questions. Completed wicking garden beds and an array of food and medicine plants will be available for purchase. Guides: Dr Teaine O’Brien and Dr David de Vries.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 20 2024

Nov 202024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angelo Eliades, Chris Chapple, Delldint Fleming, Doris Glier, Jaimie Sweetman and Susan Palmer.

Chinese lantern (Abutilon spp.) by Jaimie Sweetman

[Jaimie is part of the Edible Forest located on the Yarra Valley Estate in Dixons Creek. There are regular tours of the Edible Forest – read more and book your place on a future tour.]

There are lots of species and variants of Chinese lanterns (Abutilon) spp.) and all have edible flowers. Just remove the green calyx and put the rest of the flower in your mouth. Or put the petals on anything from sweet to savoury. They actually taste a bit like lettuce only better and with a bit more sweetness.

The taste varies a bit from species to species and the best tasting ones are probably the orange hybrids (Abutilon x hybridum), as shown in the photo. Others range from yellow to red.

As well as chinese lanterns, plants in the Abutilon genus are sometimes called lantern-flowers, indian mallows or velvetleaves.

The plants flower for much of the year, starting in Autumn. They therefore provide edible flowers when not much else is flowering. This is great if you want to show off to your guests!

The plants grow to around 2 metres high. They are hardy and cope with little water and in most Melbourne conditions, although they will look better and flower more with some compost and mulch.

Read about more of Jaimie’s unusual edible plants on our website.

Spirli Strawberries – thank you for 10 years of strawberries (by Chris Chapple)

Strawberry season is a highlight of the Eltham Farmers’ Market year. The local season starts in mid or late October and runs until the end May or early June.

Spirli Strawberries has been Eltham Farmers’ Market’s strawberry supplier since 2014, making it a decade of service the market’s strawberry lovers!

  

They are based in Wandin in the Yarra Valley and the Spirli family have farmed there since 1973. Dominic (Dom) Spirli grew up with farming in his veins and he and wife Angela acquired their 3-acre farm in 1994. Initially, they grew vegetables but moved to strawberries in 2006 and, in 2017, made the important addition of hydroponics.

Angela (Ange) is also the Spirli ‘face’ at the market, sometimes assisted by her sister Teresa. Son Sam is also involved in the business from a distance; having chosen a career as an agronomist, he gets to sleep in on Sundays and keeps his fingernails clean, but provides advice on matters like hydroponics.

The Spirlis currently have about 52,000 strawberry plants. The original farm of 3 acres is now all hydroponics and a second leased farm is used for in-ground cultivation.

They grow three main varieties of strawberries: Albion (which are particularly sweet), Monterey and Petaluma (both of which are hydroponic varieties). Tutored by Sam, Dom is regularly testing new varieties.

Spirli Strawberries is a member of Ausberry, which is a group of 7 local growers who jointly supply supermarkets.

Ange loves her time at the market and really appreciates her market ‘family’, both customers and fellow stallholders. If there is ever any criticism, it is that she doesn’t bring enough so, in 2024, she has invested in a bigger van.

Read more Eltham Farmers’ Market tales.

A suggestion when growing Brussels sprouts

As briefly discussed last week, Brussels sprouts should be grown over summer and now, November, is the best time to plant the seedlings. In reaction, Susan Palmer has written in to say that, once the sprouts start forming (where the leaves meet the plant’s trunk), the plant should be extensively pruned so that it focuses more on growing the sprouts than on growing the leaves. More specifically, cut off all the leaves from the bottom half of the plant, in each case leaving around 2cm of stalk (which effectively provide a shelf for the sprouts to grow on). See the photo right. Watch this video.

Also, snails quite like the seedlings so it is best to protect them in the early days, for example using copper tape as in the photo (the pots with the copper tape were properly planted in the soil when the Brussels sprouts were young and vulnerable). And, because they are brassicas, the cabbage white butterfly likes to lay its eggs on them so netting or similar is good.

Yes, you did know! (or, at least, Angelo knows)

Last week, Jen Chellew asked whether or not the worms in her compost are a different type of worm than the earthworms found elsewhere in her garden. Angelo Eliades has responded.

“Jen is correct: earthworms in compost bins are typically common garden earthworms. These earthworms emerge before rain to avoid drowning in their burrows and often end up in compost bins or pots on hard surfaces. They lay eggs in soil, so adding garden soil to a compost pile can introduce them. They can survive in compost if it doesn’t become too hot.

“The confusion arises from people not understanding that the term ‘compost worms’ does not refer to the worms that appear in your compost actually Rather, ‘compost worms’ refers to specific species of worm (such as tiger worms – Eisenia foetida) that are used in vermicomposting systems such as worm farms. These worms are quite different from common earthworms and have different habitat preferences, diet and roles in soil ecology. Earthworms are soil-dwellers that burrow deeply into the soil, prefer cool, moist conditions, feed primarily on soil with organic matter mixed within it, and play a vital role in soil aeration, nutrient cycling and improving soil structure. Compost worms live in environments rich in decaying organic matter and are found in the upper layers of compost, manure and leaf litter, thriving in environments with high microbial activity, where temperatures are warmer and food is plentiful. Compost worms do not burrow deeply and do not survive for long in mineral soil. They feed on a variety of decomposing plant materials, and don’t aerate the soil like earthworms do.”

Thanks, Angelo!

The results from the 2024 Eltham Wine Show

At the last minute, last Sunday’s show was cancelled because the required tasting licence hadn’t been issued. Obviously that is very disappointing and I apologise to everyone who tried to go based on my recommendation.

Anyhow, the judging still took place and you can find the results on Eltham and District Winemakers Guild website. There were around 500 entries, of which around half were awarded medals (gold, silver or bronze).

As you know from last week’s newsletter, my wife and I entered our metheglin in the mead section. We were awarded a silver medal and the judges’ comment was: “Floral honey and lifted spice on the nose. This is complemented by a well balanced sweetness on the palate. It runs the danger of being too sweet, but is saved by acid and flavour. It finishes a little short for the intensity of flavour.” There were a total of 12 mead entries, none of which were awarded gold and 3 of which were awarded silver.

In passing, the language of wine commentary is a world all of its own. I particularly liked this phrase about one of the red wine gold medal award winners: “… pencil shavings on the nose”. I immediately searched for a pencil, sharpened it, smelled the shavings and tried to imagine what the wine might have tasted like.

FareShare’s Christmas appeal

FareShare has launched its annual Christmas appeal. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

As well as one-time donations, they are seeking regular donations. As they say, ““regular donations make the biggest difference and help FareShare plan our meal support to frontline charities.”

The 2025 National Sustainability Festival

The 2025 National Sustainability Festival will take place during February and applications are now open.

Some articles you might like to read

Delldint Fleming suggests that you might be interested in this two part article entitled The coming hunger (part 1 and part 2) by someone called Sharon Astyk. They are about the possible implications of climate change on food production.

Another new repair cafe

Kilsyth. At Japara Neighbourhood House, 54-58 Durham Road, Kilsyth. On the 3rd or 4th Saturday of each month (during school terms only), 2.30-4.30pm (look at their Facebook for precise dates).

That makes a total of 13 local, repair cafes on our website map.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (24th November, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Amy and Ann will interview the Black Peoples’ Union about their community kitchen. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being Nick Rose on Urban Agriculture Month (10th November).

Critter of the week – convergent lady beetle

All the photos are from Doris Glier’s garden and are of a convergent lady beetle (Hippodamia convergens in family Coccinellidae). The left hand photo is of some eggs, the middle photo is of a larva and the right hand photo is of an adult.

    

Doris says: “The larva might be freshly hatched as the head and legs are still almost transparent.”

The adult has two white lines that meet or converge behind the head, hence the common name. It has 13 or fewer spots on the bright reddish-orange or red forewings.

As with most other ladybirds, both adults and larvae are predators, feeding on aphids and the like.

Although native to North America, it can also be found in Australia (obviously!) and parts of Europe.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was my article on how to make mead.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming tour of the Bundoora Urban Agriculture Centre and Community Hub on 23rd November.

Word of the month – Bonne bouche

‘Bonne bouche’, meaning a tasty morsel, often something sweet eaten at the end of a meal.

Read about previous words of the month.

Proverb (or phrase) of the month

One for the road. Meaning: a final drink taken just before leaving on a journey.. Despite fashionable Internet folklore about prisoners in the Middle Ages having a final drink on their way to the gallows, this phrase actually only dates back to the 1930s when it was said in the UK Parliament. At that time, most people leaving pubs would have been travelling by foot so having an extra alcoholic drink was ok.

‘One for the road’ is also the title of multiple stories (including by Stephen King), plays (including by Harold Pinter), albums (including by the Kinks), songs (including by Arctic Monkeys), films (including by Hywel Bennett) and television episodes (including by Alfred Hitchcock).

Read about more food-related proverbs.

Gardening quote of the month

“If a tree dies, plant another in its place.” by Carolus Linnaeus.

Read more gardening quotes.

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

Why didn’t the fig go to the prom? He couldn’t get a date!

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Enviro Fest 2024; Saturday, 30th November, midday-4pm; free; Doreen.

There will be hands-on craft with Eco Explorers, a live butterfly display and a wildlife show by Animals of Oz. There will also be a range of stalls about different aspects of the environment. In addition, they will be hosting the Circular Fashion Market next door, with around 40 stalls offering a wide range of pre-loved fashion items.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Panel discussion – local food systems and the people who create them; Thursday, 28th November, 5-9pm; $27 ($7 per hour); Abbotsford.

Listen to the thoughts of industry experts as they discuss connecting with where our food comes from, to learn more about the pleasures, anecdotes and challenges facing them as they strive to provide products for consumers in an ethical and conscious manner. Panelists: Rachel Rubenstein (from CERES) and Thuch Ajak (from United African Farm). Moderator: Chris Williams (from the University of Melbourne).

Gift in a jar with Marie Vassallo; Wednesday, 4th December, 7-8.30pm; free; Whittlesea.

Marie Vassallo, from Rie’s Kitchen, will show you how to make a special Christmas treat/gift in a jar. Take a suitable size jar to create your gift.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Cooking demo and community lunch; Friday, 22nd November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Fawkner.

Learn how to cook a delicious meal with minimal waste. Following the demonstration, you will be invited to a community lunch.

Cupcake decorating workshop on Monday, 25th November, at 11.15-11.45am and again at 3.30-4pm; $5; Ivanhoe.

Each child will design and decorate their own cupcake to take home. They will get hands-on with icing, sprinkles and fun toppings to turn plain cupcakes into their own sweet masterpieces. Organised by Livingstone Community Centre.

Gingerbread house decoration on Sunday, 8th December, at 10.30-11.30am and again at 1-2pm; $46 ($46 per hour); Camberwell.

This workshop is for children aged 7+. Create your own Christmas scene by decorating a gingerbread house. Use icing to attach a variety of sweets, lollies and sprinkles.

Make your own brownie and granola gift jar; Wednesday, 11th December, 4.30-5.30pm; $22 ($22 per hour); Kilsyth.

Make a brownie and granola gift jar. Brownie and granola gift jars are a way to share your love of baking (or snack-making) with friends and family. Plus the jars can be easily customised with different mix-ins or flavours to suit anyone’s taste. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre.

In November
In December
Regular classes Continue reading »

LFC News November 13 2024

Nov 132024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angela Harridge, Ann Stanley, Holly Gallagher, Jen Chellew, Lee Hirsh, Pam Jenkins, Rachel Bishop, Sue Dyet and Tracy Gillard.

Another mead recipe – spiced metheglin

[My wife and I have entered our mead to the upcoming Eltham Wine Show, which will be judged on Saturday (i.e. 16th November). The results will be announced on the following day (i.e. Sunday, 17th November) at the public show at the Veneto Sports and Entertainment Centre, 191 Bulleen Road, Bulleen, which will be open to the public for tastings from 10.30am to 2.30pm. So, when you read this newsletter, the results won’t be known but it will be known that they will soon be known (to misquote erstwhile United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld). Whatever the result, good or bad for the Palmer household, I will announce it in next week’s newsletter! Incidentally, the Sunday show is a great event to go to because the range of wines and other drinks available for tastings is both varied and huge.]

A few months ago, I published an article on how to make mead, which is fermented honey and an alternative to white wine. Subsequently, newsletter reader Sue Dyet gave me the notebooks of her late husband, Harry Gilham. In his notebooks, Harry, who was the longtime President of Eltham and District Winemakers Guild, had written lots of recipes for various wines plus a few meads. Many of these recipes were amended versions of recipes that he had attributed to ‘G. Mann’. I spoke to Angela Harridge, current Vice President of the Guild and another newsletter reader, and she told me that ‘G. Mann’ was Gladys Mann, who wrote a book called Home Wine & Beer Making (published in 1975) which, inter alia, contained a good recipe for a spiced mead called metheglin. So, I acquired the book and made the metheglin. It’s really yum so I thought that I would share the recipe.

The table below shows Gladys Mann’s ingredients in the left hand column compared to those of the Joe’s ancient orange mead discussed in my original article. The methods that I use are the same.

Metheglin
Joe’s ancient orange
1.8Kg honey (raw)
230g demerara sugar		1.6Kg honey (raw)
water (chlorine free)
0.2 litres cold tea		water (chlorine free)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
28g raisins
juice and rind of 1 lemon
14g bruised ginger
some grated nutmeg		1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
15g raisins
1 orange
1 small packet sherry yeast1 teaspoon bread yeast

 
Whilst the two meads share most ingredients, they actually taste rather different, perhaps because of the ginger and nutmeg. I don’t know whether the demerara sugar changes the taste but it certainly gives the mead a lovely amber colour. And I know from experimentation that bread yeast (which is easily obtainable) can be used in place of sherry yeast (which is somewhat specialised).

If you are a wine maker or beer maker, why not have a go at making mead? It’s pretty easy to make and also pretty easy to drink. Read my article on how to make mead.

The free, local community meals

I have spent much of the past week updating our map of community meals, deleting ones that no longer seem to happen and adding ones that I have only recently found out about. The end result is a total of 26 regular meals, comprising 15 lunches and 11 dinners. Three types of organisation stand out as being active in this space:

  • Neighbourhood houses (Brunswick, Coburg, Hawthorn, Lilydale, Reservoir, Rosanna and Thornbury).
  • Churches (Brunswick, Croydon, Greensborough, Lilydale, Fawkner, Mill Park, Mooroolbark and Preston).
  • Activist organisations (Food Not Bombs, Open Table).

A news update about The Veggie Empire

[The information below has come from Rachel Bishop.]

The Veggie Empire are farming duo Josh and Scott, who live with disabilities. Long term friends, they have been supported over many years, recently culminating in the establishment of Caring Farms Co-Op.

Caring Farms Co-Op is a non-for-profit urban farming co-operative that collectively manages both a market garden and a food plant nursery in St Helena. Its mission is to alleviate marginalisation, disadvantage and social exclusion amongst people living with disabilities by providing a place of work and agency in an urban farming enterprise.

Josh and Scott, under their original name of The Veggie Empire, are in their 15th year of working together in urban agriculture. They started out veggie gardening in a disability service then moved on to Edendale Community Environment Farm, where they engaged in ACFE courses in horticulture and became volunteers in the nursery to learn skills. You might know them as the growers of seedlings sold at Edendale or maybe from their starring performance on Gardening Australia with Costa!)

Over the past 10 years, they have been establishing an urban farm (Beales Road Farm) on leased Department of Transport land in St Helena alongside their specialist support workers (that they call supphorticulturalists).

Josh, Scott and their support workers have now collectively established the recently registered Caring Farms Co-Op. Following a period of transition, Caring Farms Co-Op will be the sole name used for their business, community and charitable activities.

Caring Farms Co-Op will be opening a farm gate shop in early 2025(!). This is being supported by grants from NELP Fund (for the shop itself) and Banyule City Council (for power and solar set up).

In the lead up to the permanent shop, they will be setting up a weekly farm gate stall on Wednesdays, 10am-1pm at Wickham Place in St Helena. They will be selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants. In addition, they will be selling some veggies grown by Farm Raiser in Bellfield.

The first stall will be on Wednesday, 20th November, 10am-1pm. Follow their signs and look for their yellow top marquee in the paddock next to their grow tunnel.

Do you know?

Jen Chellew wants to know whether or not the worms in her compost are a different type of worm than the earthworms found elsewhere in her garden. “Gardening Australia and others have told me that the worms in my compost are different to the worms in my garden. But I doubt this. The abundant worms in my compost have come from somewhere, presumably the soil on which I’ve placed the bin. I certainly haven’t added them. I reckon they wriggled up, enjoyed the medium and multiplied liberally. Then I return them as part of the compost to the garden. I know that worm farms require a specific worm, but my compost isn’t a worm farm.”

If you know the answer to Jen’s question, send us an email.

Want some Brussels sprouts seedlings?

Ever wondered where the Brussels sprouts that you see in your supermarkets were grown? The answer is quite likely to be the Adams Farms based in Coldstream, where they grow around 120 acres of Brussels sprouts each year.

Ever wondered when you should plant Brussels sprouts seedlings? Contrary to received wisdom, the Adams Farms will tell you that now, November, is the best time to plant them and that, even though most brassicas are grown in Melbourne over winter, Brussels sprouts should be grown over summer.

Ever wondered where you can get Brussels sprouts seedlings from? For a lucky few of you, the answer is me! I went to the Adams Farms last week and they gave me 24 seedlings to give away to newsletter readers. That’s 6 for each of the first 4 people to email me to say that you want them. Pick up from my house in Eltham.

Thanks to the Adams family, Bruce, Daniel and Jeremy for welcoming me onto their property and giving me their seedlings!

It’s the season for community garden open gardens

Last Sunday, it was the turn of Fairfield. See photos below. Thanks to Judi and Kay for showing me round!

  

Next Saturday (16th November), it will be the turn of Bellfield.

Then, next Monday (18th November), it will be FINBAR in Richmond.

The Brunswick Multicultural Festival

Brunswick Neighbourhood House are holding a Multicultural Festival on Sunday, 24th November. As well as cultural performances, music and food vendors, it will include 4, free, food-related workshops, namely:

Want to see some urban agriculture in City of Yarra?

The City of Yarra Council have put together two self-guided tours.

The Yarra North tour is a 3Km walk, starting at the Rushall Community Garden in Fitzroy North and ending at the Railway Garden in Princes Hill.

The Yarra South tour is a 1Km walk, starting at St Stephen’s Anglican Church Community Garden in Richmond and ending at Finbar Neighbourhood House in Richmond.

Some regular activities at Mooroolbark Community Garden

Mooroolbark Community Garden have just started a picnic on the 2nd Friday of each month, starting 5.30pm. Take your own food, listen to music and play board games. They will provide the tables and chairs.

This is in addition to their regular market, which happens on the last Sunday of each month, 9am-2pm, and mainly features local craft stalls. Here are some photos from their last market.

The DIVRS festival season appeal

As you will know from previous newsletters, the Darebin Information, Volunteer and Resource Service (DIVRS), based in Preston, do lots of things in the food justice space, and in the support space more generally. In 2024, they provided support to around 6,300 people. But, of course, it all needs to be funded one way or another. In this context, they have just launched their festival season appeal. As they say, “Your donation can make a real difference for families and individuals at this time of year.”

Warrandyte Food Swap’s 9th birthday (by Ann Stanley)

[Warrandyte Food Swap celebrated its 9th birthday last Saturday. Ann Stanley has reported in on how it went.]

One lucky visitor, Sayf, won our birthday raffle and is shown below posing with his basket of seeds, garden tools and other goodies.

  

Our new prominent position in the carpark outside the Warrandyte Community Garden in Police Road has meant that we are growing, with regular visitors who drop off their surplus garden produce, whether it be a bag of lemons, some saved seeds or new seedlings from seeds previously swapped with someone else.

We swap our surplus on the first Saturday of every month (except January) at 9-10am. It’s the same day as the Warrandyte market and we are near the entrance to that market. If you see us, come and say hello. No money is exchanged but you won’t leave empty-handed! We’d love to give you some greens, a bag of seeds or a jar of relish to take home, all in the spirit of community sharing and home-grown food.

See you on Saturday, 7th December!

Some recent stalls by food-related organisations

Per the left hand photo below, Karen from Olympic Neighbourhood House in Heidelberg West and Lucie from Watsonia Neighbourhood House, both of whom are active in the food space, were at the Ageing Well Expo in Macleod on 26th October.

Per the right hand photo below, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden at Eltham Primary School was at the Eltham Rotary Festival on 9th November.

  

If your organisation ever has a stall at any festival or similar, send us a photo together with a few words and we will include it in a future newsletter.

Cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Diary

A few days ago, I went to a cheese tastings at the Yarra Valley Dairy in Yering. The options were $5 for 4 cheeses or $15 for 10 cheeses, in either case being given a guided tastings by a member of their staff. I did the 10 cheese option, which is therefore the one in the photos below. I think that you can just rock up for the tastings.

  

Baked cheesecake (by Sharee from Yarra Valley Dairy)

[When I was at Yarra Valley Dairy for the cheese tastings, I noticed that they had a number of printed recipes on the counter. I asked which was their best recipe and they nominated this baked cheesecake one.]

Ingredients

250g packet of plain sweet biscuits
125g butter, melted
750g cream cheese or curd cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup (180g) sour cream
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice

Method

Using a food processor, process the biscuits until fine. Add the butter and process until combined.

Press the mixture over the base and sides of a 24cm springform pan. Place on an oven tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 160degC (140degC fan-forced).

Beat the cream cheese, lemon rind and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the sour cream and juice.

Pour the filling into a pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until just set in the centre. Turn off the oven and cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Critter of the week – two-tailed spider

The left hand photo (from Pam Jenkins’ garden) is an egg sac of a two-tailed spider (genus Tamopsis in family Hersiliidae) whilst the right hand one (from the Internet) is of an adult spider from the same genus.

  

Pam found the egg sac dangling from her letterbox. It was around 5mm wide. Whilst all spiders lay egg sacs, their colour, size and position vary widely depending on the species.

Adult two-tailed spiders are small to medium-sized spiders. They live in trees (rather than on the ground) and are often well camouflaged against the bark. They do not make complex webs.

The common name of two-tailed refers to their two elongated spinnerets at the rear of their bodies (which you can see in the right hand photo).

Thanks to Pam for the photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was SGA’s article on managing rats with IPM.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Greensborough repair cafe on 16th November.

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

Why did the ice cream truck breakdown? There was a rocky road. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

The Caring Farms Coop farm gate, 10am-1pm, at Wickham Place in St Helena, is a new farm gate, selling their locally grown and freshly harvested plus seedlings and herb plants.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Varroa Development Officer presentation; Sunday, 17th November, 11am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick East.

Victorian Varroa Development Officer will lead a practical discussion on keeping bees happy and healthy, and the realistic changes that you can make in your apiary now to prepare for varroa.

Summer planting masterclass; Sunday, 24th November, 11.30am-12.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Discover the ins and outs of summer seedlings and how to prepare your own garden. Work together to plant out one of their garden beds. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops.
Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pot and plant your own seedling; Sunday, 24th November, 1-2pm; free; Brunswick.

Pot up your own summer seedlings to take home, learning about what to plant, how to care for your seedlings, and tips on organic pest and disease management. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Laurel Coad. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Julius Roberts – The Farm Table; Tuesday, 19th November, 6.30-9.30pm; $127 ($42 per hour); Richmond.

The November cook book is The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, which shows how cooking seasonally can be both fun and delicious, and also celebrates the English countryside and the slower pace of rural life. They will be cooking three courses of dishes from the book for you to enjoy over supper.

Kombucha and jun, M.O.B.; Thursday, 21st November, 6.30-8.30pm; $40 ($20 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Kombucha is traditionally made with black tea and sugar, and jun with green tea and honey. Learn how to feed your mother/SCOBY (choose between kombucha or jun) and then flavour their your own batch ready for second phase fermentation using fruits, herbs and spices that they will provide. M.O.B. stands for ‘mingling over bacteria’.

Pizza dough cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 11.05am-12.05pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to elevate your pizza-making skills at home, with plenty of tasting along the way. Also includes a tour of the community garden and small harvest. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Pandan crepe cooking demonstration; Sunday, 24th November, 12.30-1.30pm; free; Brunswick.

Learn how to make Indonesian pandan crape. Part of the Brunswick Multicultural Festival, which will include cultural performances, music and food vendors, as well as workshops. Presenter: Cass Hogan. Organised by Brunswick Neighbourhood House.

Shannon Martinez – plant-based chef unveils vegan Italian food; Tuesday, 26th November, 6.30-8pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Shannon Martinez will discuss her new cookbook, Vegan Italian Food. She will share some of her favourite dishes, discuss the benefits of getting more plant-based foods into our diets, and offer her top tips for creating plant-based meals at home. You can buy a signed copy of the book.

Christmas cookie swap; Saturday, 14th December, 10am-midday; $55 ($28 per hour); Richmond.

Bake 20 cookies using your favourite recipe (nothing too fancy, just bring the Christmas vibes). They will set them all out, and everyone gets to fill a box with 20 different cookies from other bakers to take home. There will be drinks, snacks and chatting along the way.

Gingerbread house workshop with sparkling wine; on Thursday, 19th December, 7-8.30pm and then again on Friday, 20th December, 7-8.30pm; $60 ($40 per hour); Wandin North.

Build your own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

Christmas gingerbread house family workshop; Saturday, 21st December, 10.30am-midday; $50 ($33 per hour); Wandin North.

Work with your teenage child or grandchild to build and decorate your family’s very own gingerbread house. What’s included: gingerbread house kit, baseboard, lollies to decorate, icing, and cellophane & ribbon to wrap it up.

In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News November 6 2024

Nov 042024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Choy Lai, Fay Loveland, Katrina Philip, Lee Hirsh, Paul Morland and Vicki Jordan.

Every newsletter needs a good picture

Kathleen Ryan, from New York, makes mouldy fruit out of beads and semi-precious stones. The fruit pictured right is called Bad lemon (creep), was created in 2019, and is decorated with around 10,000 beads and stones. There is a similar lemon, entitled Bad lemon (lichen), at the Art Gallery of NSW. Read this article in the New York Times.

As art critic Sophie Kazan said about Kathleen’s mouldy lemons: “It’s a metaphor for the exorbitant consumption and superficiality of the contemporary art market but she is also exploring aspects of beauty that can be found in the repulsive, grotesque or decomposing.“

Look at some more food-related art on our website.

Flours: whole grain vs wholemeal vs white

Let’s start with some definitions.

Flour is technically any powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts or seeds. The word ‘meal’ can be used as either a synonym for ‘flour’ or as having a slightly coarser particle size than flour.

Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread.

Historically, cereal flour comprised all parts of the grain, namely the germ (the seed embryo), the endosperm (the nutrition for the embryo) and the bran (the hard layers that hold the grain together). Nowadays, the germ is usually removed as that substantially increases shelf life. ‘Whole grain’ is where the germ has not been removed. ‘White’ or unspecified flour is essentially where the bran is also removed, whilst ‘whole meal’ flour is where the bran has not been removed. Note that bleaching of flour is not legal in Australia (unlike in the USA).

 
Whole grain flour
Wholemeal flour
White or unspecified flour
Endosperm
XXX
Bran
XX 
Germ
X  

 

‘Self-raising’ flour (as opposed to plain flour) is where a leavening agent, usually baking powder, has been added. What the Americans call ‘all-purpose flour’ is the same as what we call plain flour.

Wheat flour is usually made from common wheat (Triticum aestivum). Semolina is made from durum/pasta wheat (Triticum durum). Spelt flour is made from hulled wheat (Triticum spelta).

Flours labelled as ‘baker’s’, ‘bread’, ‘pizza’ or ‘strong’ are typically made from varieties of wheat (sometimes termed ‘hard’ varieties) which contain comparatively high levels of protein.

Except for corn/maize, wheat and other cereal flours contain gluten. It is the gluten which gives dough its elasticity, helping it to rise and keep its shape. Essentially, it traps the carbon dioxide bubbles created by the leavening agent during cooking, causing the dough to rise. And it coagulates when heated, giving the dough shape.

Up to 15% of the population have some level of gluten intolerance and this has created a demand for gluten-free flours. Here are some of the gluten-free flours that my local shops sell: almond, banana, buckwheat, cassava, chick pea, coconut, flax seed, hazelnut, oat, potato, rice and sweet potato. Because these flours lack the very product (gluten) that gives dough its elasticity, both their suitability for various types of baking and their ingredients will differ from flour to flour. Most flour labelled as simply gluten-free is made from rice together with various starches and other ingredients.

Finally, at least in Australia, corn flour is rather different than the other flours and is usually used for thickening.

So, what flour to use when baking?

Most recipes will specify which of plain or self-raising flour to use. If not specified, plain flour can be assumed. If self-raising flour is specified but, for one reason or another you don’t want to use it, you can in principle create your own by adding baking powder to plain flour, but this is non-trivial.

Wholemeal flour can be used whenever plain flour is specified. Because it contains more fibre, the end result is a bit closely textured and a bit darker in colour, plus it has a few more nutritional elements.

For those with some gluten intolerance, gluten-free flour can be used as a substitute for standard flour but the end result may well be a bit different in terms of both rise/shape and taste/texture. Also, gluten-free flours often contain starches (which absorb liquid) so a gluten-free recipe may well call for more liquid and produce looser batters. Finally, different gluten-free flours can be very different than others and thus personal experimentation may well be required to find one that suits you.

Read more of my baking articles on our website.

Sylvester Hive’s Halloween celebration

The Sylvester Hive community garden in Preston had a Halloween celebration on Thursday last week. Have a look at the photos that they posted on Facebook.

Hurstbridge emergency relief

Diamond Valley Community Support (DVCS) have a new outreach program at the Hurstbridge Community Hub. It is only open one day a month, with the next day being Tuesday, 26th November. To secure your spot, ring them on 9435 8282.

The BANSIC Christmas hamper appeal

The Banyule Support and Information Centre (BANSIC) is seeking your support to fill our Christmas hampers, which are distributed to individuals and families in need. Each hamper will provide a complete Christmas meal for a family of four, including tinned ham, tinned vegetables, Christmas pudding or cake, custard, festive decorations & sweets, Christmas biscuits, gravy and bonbons. Items can be dropped off at their Foodhub (Shop 48, The Harmony Centre, The Mall, Heidelberg West, Monday-Friday, 10am-3pm).
Alternatively, you can donate here.

The 2024 Australian Food Awards

Melbourne Royal’s 2024 Australian Food Awards have been announced for the categories of dairy, preserves and smallgoods. Three organisations from North East Melbourne won best in class awards, namely:

  • Alot of Good Stuff, from Bulleen, for their mandarin marmalade.
  • Floridia Cheese, from Thomastown, for their pecorino pepato.
  • Yarra Valley Dairy, from Yering, for their Persian fetta.

There is a new bar in Eltham

Bar Conexao; Shop 4, 10-18 Arthur Street. Open Wednesday to Saturday, 4pm-late. Sells cocktails, wine, beer, cider and bar snacks. Owned (I think) by the same people at the Little Drop of Poison.

This makes a total of 12 bars in Eltham – see the map on our website. I think that there was only one bar a decade ago when I moved to Eltham. Read what you want into this 1,200% increase since my arrival!

To repeat an offer that I made some time ago: if you would like to work with me to map the various eateries in your suburb, drop me a line.

Some recent articles from Sustainable Gardening Australia

Vicki Jordan has written in to suggest that you might like to read the following articles from Sustainable Gardening Australia’s (SGA’s) recent newsletter:

Another new article from Angelo Eliades

Chilli growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

Got any tools that need sharpening?

Fay Loveland has written in to say that the Greensborough Repair Cafe has someone who is good at sharpening tools, including secateurs, spades and scissors. Their next cafe is on Saturday, 16th November, 12.30-2.30pm at Greensborough Christian Book Centre, 14 Church St, Greensborough Victoria 3088. Book your place.

Greensborough is one of at least 12 repair cafes in North East Melbourne – see the map on our web site.

Critter of the week from my garden – earthworm

The photo (from Choy Lai’s garden) is of an unknown species of earthworm. We (or, at least, I) tend to assume that all earthworms are basically the same but there are actually around 6,000 different species of earthworm worldwide, of which around 1,000 are native to Australia.

As shown in the photo, Choy’s earthworm is a whopping 18cms long. Depending on species, earthworms can range from around 1 cm long to over 1 metre (or much longer in the case of the Gippsland giant worm).

Most earthworms are scavengers that feed on dead organic matter. They feed by passing soil through the gut, from which nourishment is extracted, or by eating organic debris, including leaves accumulated on the surface of the soil. These methods of feeding do not require highly developed sense organs (e.g. eyes) or food-catching structures. Hence their simple shape.

All earthworms are hermaphrodites (that is, a single individual can produce both male and female gametes, the eggs and sperm). During mating, both earthworms become pregnant. They both lay eggs, which then hatch into baby earthworms.

Charles Darwin spent many years studying earthworms and, in terms of their impact on our planet, considered them to be one of the three most important groups of animals (the other two being corals and humans).

Thanks to Choy for sending in this week’s photo. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was Angelo’s coriander growing guide.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming Fairfield Community Garden open day on 10th November.

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

You are the coffee to my expresso. And I love you latte. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

North East Region Permaculture (NERP) will have a stall at Sunday’s Eltham Farmers’ Market where they will be holding a plant, seedling and seed swap.

Food swaps
Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Over the weekend of 16-17 November, 10am-5pm, 23 professionally designed home gardens around Melbourne are having open days as part of something called Garden designfest. Of these 23 gardens, 11 are in North East Melbourne, namely:

Book your tickets for individual gardens. Alternatively, buy a weekend pass to all the gardens ($70) or book your place on a bus tour to some of the gardens ($245-$280).

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Growing food in small spaces; Saturday, 9th November, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Coburg.

Learn how to maximise your growing area and produce fresh, healthy food right at home. You will cover: benefits of growing your own food; the challenges and solutions for small space gardening; choosing the right containers for different plants; soil mixes and drainage considerations; vertical gardening (e.g. trellises, wall planters); selecting plants suitable for vertical growth; and companion planting and succession planting. Facilitator: Angelo Eliades. Organised by Reynard Street Neighbourhood House.

Kevin Heinze GROW Coburg site and program tour; on Saturday, 16th November, at 10.15-10.45am and again at 11.15-11.45; free; Coburg.

Kevin Heinze GROW is opening its new Coburg nursery. You will be guided through a variety of spaces and how they are used in their programs. The spaces and programs to be explored include: their core Grow Program; their therapeutic program offerings (including occupational therapy and speech therapy); the nursery space; and the therapeutic horticulture space. The tour is recommended for people interested in attending any of the programs, support coordinators and potential volunteers, as well as other community members.

FINBAR garden party; Monday, 18th November, 10.30am-3pm; free; Richmond.

Celebrate the opening of their refurbished food recycling depot. Learn how it works, what you need to do when you deposit your scraps and find out how you can get compost to take home for your garden. Kath Jones will be holding a workshop from 1-3pm on ‘why grow organic?’ Learn about the soil food web, and how you can feed the soil that feeds us. Tour their community garden. Click here to read about the garden. Organised by Richmond Neighbourhood Centre.

Organic pest and disease management; Saturday, 23rd November, 1-2pm; free; Fitzroy North.

Learn how to minimise pests and disease in your garden by making some simple changes that are completely organic. Learn how using chemical fertilisers and insecticides can actually cause more pests. Learn how to increase the health and resilience of your plants and soil to reduce the occurrence of pest and diseases in your garden. Presenter: Bridget Kuch, from Cultivating Community. Organised by My Smart Garden.

Dalmore Whisky masterclass; Wednesday, 27th November, 6-10pm; $60 ($15 per hour); Croydon.

John Raphael will provide a guided tasting of 6 Dalmore Whisky whiskies, paired with cheese and charcuterie. You will receive a cocktail on arrival.

In November
In December
Regular events

There is a new regular coffee brewing event: Brewing coffee, various; Saturdays, 12.30-1pm (free) and Sundays, 1-4pm ($150); Brunswick East.

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Induction cooking demonstration; Tuesday, 12th November, 6.30-8pm; free; Ivanhoe.

Join Open Table for a cooking demonstration of how to reduce food waste and cook meals on induction.

Healthy cooking class (2 sessions); Wednesday, 13th November and Thursday, 14th November, both 10am-1pm; free; Kilsyth.

Make cupcakes and learn about alternative ingredient choices. Organised by Japara Living & Learning Centre

Kimchi M.O.B.; Thursday, 14th November, 6.30-8.30pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Make your our kimchi under the guidance of Sharon Flynn and take it home to finish fermenting. M.O.B. stands for ‘mingling over bacteria’.

Sake x fermented food pairing; 2 occurrences on Sunday, 24th November, at midday-1.30pm and again at 2-3.30pm; $107 ($71 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Discover how different types of sake enhance the flavours of various fermented dishes. There will be 3 kinds of fermented food paired with 3 types of sake. Presenters: Kana Aoyama, Rieko Hayashi and Sharon Flynn.

St John’s Christmas gingerbread house making event; Friday, 29th November, 7-9pm; $45 ($23 per hour); Diamond Creek.

Create a gingerbread house complete with an abundance of lollies, gingerbread people and snow. Tickets are for two people, sharing one gingerbread house. Then partake in a light supper with cold drinks, followed by a short Christmas talk from a guest speaker. Organised by St John’s Anglican Church.

A flavourful night with Nana Africa and ReWine; 2 occurrences on Saturday, 30th November, at 1-3pm and again at 4-6pm; $65 ($33 per hour); Brunswick East.

Nana Africa will showcase the versatility of her spice rubs. There will be two courses: pizza topped with Nana Africa’s Ghana stew; and fettucine & ravioli with a bolognese sauce, including Nana’s spice rubs. Both will be paired with a wine from ReWine.

Festive cooking with Natalie; Wednesday, 4th December, 6-8pm; $48 ($24 per hour); Forest Hill.

Learn how to prepare healthy and fresh Middle Eastern salads and dips. Presenter: Natalie. Organised by Strathdon House.

In November
In December
Regular classes

There is a new regular cooking activity: The art of French crepe making class; Wednesdays 10am-1pm and Saturdays, 3-6pm; $120 ($40 per hour); Thornbury.

LFC News October 30 2024

Oct 302024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Carol Woolcock, Choon Yeok, Julie Merlet, Judi Castagnini, Lee Hirsh, Robin Gale-Baker and Toni Espiritu.

Olives and oranges (by Robin Gale-Baker)

Travelling through Morocco and Spain by train this September, my husband Paul and I were struck by two landscapes: the olive landscape and the orange landscape. Trees proliferated from train line to horizon, row after row, monoculture at its most obvious. In both Spain and Morocco, olive trees predominated. In Spain, olives gave way to oranges in some regions while, in Morocco, they tended to be on smaller parcels of land. We concluded that olives and oranges require similar soil and climatic conditions.

Both oranges and olives require well drained soil and neither will grow well in clay or water-logged soil. They prefer acidic-neutral soil and, as long as the soil is well endowed with minerals, they are not further fussy. If deplete, fertilising with an organic fertiliser containing 10% nitrogen is recommended. To grow well, especially as young trees, and when flowering and fruiting, both need regular water. Mature olives, older than 5 years, can withstand several weeks without water as they prefer to dry out between soakings. Oranges, however, need more regular water as their roots are shallow and the juiciness of their fruit can be compromised. Inadequate rainfall and a lack of ability to irrigate are significant risk factors for both crops in Mediterranean countries.

Both olives and oranges thrive in hot, dry summers and cold winters. Both need full sun, preferably 8 hours a day, but high temperatures can burn the fruit and ruin the harvest. In 2023, the orange crop was damaged in this way resulting in higher prices for oranges and orange juice in many countries that import from Spain and Morocco. Olives suffered a poor harvest, with a resultant price rise in olive oil putting it out of reach for many Spanish and Moroccan locals.

Spaniards now often buy local sunflower oil because it is so much cheaper. Spain is in fact the third largest consumer of sunflower oil and is increasing its hectarage by 4-5% annually. It is also the largest producer of olive oil, outstripping Italy.

To plant an olive tree, dig a hole wider than the root ball and plant it without adding compost or organic material, so that the top of the root ball is slightly above the soil. Oranges require a hole about twice as wide as the root ball all round, and the root ball surface should be in line with the soil surface. Digging a furrow around the dripline is wise as this allows water to soak through to where the roots extend. As the trees’ dripline fans out, you need to carefully create another furrow for water without damaging the shallow roots and it’s best to do this by hand.

A problem in both countries is that weeds are removed beneath and between the trees by mechanical means, supposedly to preserve moisture in the soil. Essentially, the trees are growing in bare soil which is prone to erosion and the soil structure is constantly being destroyed. Rainfall then runs off, does not soak into the soil or reach the root zone. Mulching to inhibit weed growth is recommended by some agronomists but we saw no evidence of this. It was perturbing to see so much bare soil.

Our observations in Spain and Morocco led us to reflect on what is happening in Australia. No doubt most people who use olive oil will have noticed a steep increase in price over the last few years and might also be aware of the tonnes of oranges that are destroyed in Australia annually because of slight skin blemishes or odd sizes that do not meet supermarket requirements. Buying local is a sensible response to these issues and, where possible, from local markets and suppliers rather than supermarkets. Local olive oil will be less expensive and our olive and citrus farmers need all the support they can get. After all, if we grow our own we eat odd sizes and don’t worry about a blemish or two.

Riberry (Syzygium luehmannii) by Julie Merlet

[The material below is a shortened version of material from the NATIF website which was written by newsletter reader Julie Merlet. NATIF (which is an acronym for N=Native, A=Australian, T=Traditional, I=Indigenous and F=Foods) sell a wide range bush food products online (including riberry fruit, riberry powder and riberry chocolate).]

The riberry (Syzygium luehmannii) tree is native to the tropical areas of Queensland and NSW, where it can grow up to 30 metres in height.

Riberries were, and still are, used by Indigenous people as both food and medicine.

The fruit is a small (13 mm long) pear-shaped red berry. It has a tart, apple-like or cranberry-like flavour, with a hint of cloves.

It can be eaten straight from the tree or made into jams, confit, sauces or marinades. I (Julie) like them added to breakfast bowls, Buddah bowls or raw food desserts. I also make a brew to flavour water with ice and chopped fruit.

The fruit is a good source of both folate (vitamin B-9) and the antioxidant anthocyanin. They also contain zinc, potassium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus.

Read about other bush foods on our website.

Recent and upcoming open days at our local community gardens

Last week

Many of our local community gardens are having open days this Spring. Last Sunday, I went to three of them: Croxton / Marra Guwiyap in Northcote, West Brunswick and Willsmere Station in Kew East. All three had good turnouts, activities and food. I listened to live music, tasted some cheese & wine, looked at a variety of interesting stalls and got my face painted.

Live music at Croxton / Marra GuwiyapCheese and wine tastings at West BrunswickAn example stall at Willsmere Station
Croxton / Marra GuwiyapWest BrunswickWillsmere Station
The audience at Willsmere StationYour intrepid reporter after face painting

 
Assuming that one of the purposes of these open days was to recruit new people to the garden, I was a bit surprised that no one at any of the three gardens welcomed me on arrival, introduced themselves, or tried to argue why I should potentially join their garden.

Upcoming

Here are three more upcoming community garden open days that you might wish to consider going to:

Halloween after party at Sylvester Hive; Thursday, 31st October, 5-7pm; Preston.

3rd birthday party at Oakhill Food Justice Farm ; Saturday, 9th November, 10am-3pm; Preston.

Open day at Fairfield; Sunday, 10th November, 10am-3pm; Alphington.

ShareWaste is closing down

ShareWaste is closing down at the end of 2024. Read their announcement. If you don’t know what ShareWaste is, ignore this announcement!

Team volunteering at Farm Raiser urban farm

These events, which can occur on a Friday of your choosing, 1-4.30pm, are for teams of 5 or more people. Your team will get hands-on at their urban farm, contributing to their mission to provide high quality food relief to locals and vocational training and education for students with disabilities. $72 per person. Read more and potentially book your team’s place.

Mitcham Community Meal

Mitcham Community Meal provides a free community dinner every Sunday evening, where each meal is cooked by a different local community group. During October, the cooking teams were Anna & her family (see photo right), Barry Plant Eastern, the Lions Club of Blackburn and Vermont Primary School. Look at some photos of these teams, plus those of previous teams.

Some articles about local food producers

These two articles are both from the Melbourne Food & Wine website:

La Villa Salumi, who make sausages, etc and are based in Montrose.

The Good Brew Company, who make kombucha, etc and are based in Brunswick.

Some more new articles from Angelo Eliades

Coriander (cilantro) growing guide.

Eggplant growing guide.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

The best bar in North East Melbourne

A website called the world’s 50 best bars has recently published a list of what they consider to be the world’s 100 [sic] best bars. And sneaking in at number 100 is Above Board in Collingwood, down the laneway just off Smith & Perry Street, directly behind Beermash. It is apparently a small bar (16 seats) with no bookings and walk ins only, 6pm-1am, 7 days a week

Incidentally, I am currently compiling a list of the world’s 20 worst websites for my new website entitled the world’s 10 worst websites and the Above Board website is on my list for potential inclusion. It comprises precisely two pages. The home page comprises precisely one photo and zero words. The info page gives the address and says “For up to date information about our hours of operation please check google“.

Kevin Heinze GROW is opening a nursery in Coburg

The nursery is opening on Saturday, 16th November and will be at 2A Station Street, Coburg. This was previously the site of Ilma Lever Gardens.

This will be Kevin Heinze GROW’s second nursery, the first one being at 39 Wetherby Road, Doncaster, open Monday to Friday, 9am-2.30pm.

What seeds to plant in November

Here is a list (see the planting guide for more detail):

Warm season veggies

Beans
Cucumber
Gourd
Okra
Peanut
Pumpkin
Sweetcorn

Leafy greens

Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard greens
Parsley
Rocket
Silverbeet

Roots

Beetroot
Carrot
Potato
Radish
Sweet potato

Perennial

Asparagus
Chives
Globe artichoke
Jerusalem artichoke

 
Compared with October, the list gets a bit shorter, with some summer veggies dropping off (e.g. rockmelon, watermelon and zucchini) and with nothing added. But there’s still lots that you can plant during November. Or, of course, you can buy seedlings for any of the summer veggies.

Our articles over the last month

Here are some of the articles from our newsletters over the last month that you might have missed:

Another free recipe book

Download a free e-book of recipes using native food ingredients. The book is entitled Native Harvest Kitchen and has been written by two academics from the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences at The University of Melbourne. It contains around 20 recipes, each centred on a different bush food.

Here, as an example, is the first recipe in the book.

Wilted warrigal greens

Serves 4. Preparation time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients
200g warrigal greens leaves
30g butter
30g macadamia nuts
¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
2 tablespoons sea celery (4-6 stems with leaves finely chopped)
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Method

Strip the warrigal greens leaves from the stalks and wash.

Blanch the stripped leaves in boiling water for 5 minutes. Refresh them with cold water and drain in a colander.

In a frying pan, add the butter and heat over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble.

Add the macadamias to the pan and fry until they turn golden. Season with salt.

Add the sea celery to the pan and heat through to release the savoury aroma.

Add the blanched greens to the frying pan.

Lightly combine all the ingredients in the pan, then arrange them on a serving dish.

Optionally, sprinkle sesame seeds over.

Critter of the week – crab spider

The two photos (from Choon Yeok’s garden) are both of a crab spider (Australomisidia pilula in family Thomisidae) and an apple-root borer (Leptopius robustus in family Curculionidae).

In the photos, the spider is attacking and subduing the borer.

Crab spiders are ambush predators and do not spin webs (although they can produce silk for drop lines). They have been given their common name partly from the shape of their bodies and partly because they often move sideways.

The apple-root borer is a type of weevil (family Curculionidae) which, in turn, are a type of beetle (order Coleoptera). They have been given their common name because the adults eat the foliage of apple trees (and other fruit trees) whilst the larvae damage the roots of apple trees (and other fruit trees).

Thanks to Choon for the photos. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (27th October, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), as per the current schedule, Ann and Amy will interview Sian Kavanagh on
Local Government sustainability planning. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the photos from Doncaster Hill Community Garden’s recent visit to Melbourne Skyfarm.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was Farm Raiser’s upcoming workshop on fermenting with farm fresh produce on 9th November.

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

Where do you learn how to make ice cream? Sundae school. (submitted by Lee Hirsh)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets

Sustainable Macleod will be having a plant sale at Eltham Farmers’ Market. They will be offering 15 types of heritage tomatoes, various spring vegetable seedlings, strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant plants, herbs, ginger, turmeric and galangal. They will also be selling Queensland Fruit Fly supplies.

Food swaps

The Warrandyte Food Swap will be celebrating its 9th birthday. There will be a birthday cake and free tickets for the door prize of a basket of garden goodies. Everyone is welcome.

Community gardens

Not food-related but interesting

Peaceful Heart (open garden); Saturday, 9th November and Sunday, 10th November, both 10am-4.30pm; $10; Ringwood.

The Peaceful Heart garden is a unique landscape with cloud topiary, trimmed boxballs, bonsai and succulents with added contrasts of weeping trees, ponds and large pots of cycads.

Banool (open garden); Saturday, 9th November and Sunday, 10th November, both 10am-4.30pm; $12; Ringwood North.

Banool is a historically significant stone home with a park-like garden, graced by mature trees and designed by Paul Bangay.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Permaculture garden design group (7 sessions); on consecutive Saturdays, starting 2nd November, 9.30am-12.30pm.; $105 ($5 per hour); Coburg.

This course is for people with small backyards or balconies, or anyone wanting to grow food, no matter how limited the space. Learn how to create a productive, sustainable garden using permaculture principles. What you will learn: how to design efficient and beautiful gardens in small spaces; techniques for vertical gardening, container gardening and maximising food production; water conservation; soil health; organic pest management; creating mini food forests; and attracting beneficial wildlife. Each week, there will be practical exercises and teamwork. Organised by Reynard Street Neighbourhood House.

Therapeutic horticulture in practice; Saturday, 2nd November, 10am-4pm; $225 ($38 per hour); Doncaster.

This workshop is for anyone starting, developing or expanding on their skills and knowledge relating to therapeutic horticulture practice in the disability sector. It will include: Kevin Heinze GROW’s model of therapeutic horticulture practice; an overview of different programs and structure; key outcomes for participants of all abilities; and a hands-on practice facilitating an accessible therapeutic horticulture activity. Facilitator: Patrick Wain.

Fairfield Community Garden open day; Sunday, 10th November, 10am-3pm; free; Alphington.

Look round the garden. There will also be workshops, a plant stall, a CWA cake stall, Reground soft plastic collection and children’s activities. The workshops are: attracting pollinators (at 10.30am), propagating natives (at 11am), composting Q&A (at 11.30am) and re-purposing spring onions (at midday). The garden is a bit difficult to find. Its official address is 1 Hamilton Street, Alphington but it is more obvious if you go to the end of Hanslope Avenue – which is the next road along – and then cross the walking track to the entrance just in front of the railway line. Click here to read about the garden.

Seed exchange and the art of nurturing local resilient seed; Friday, 15th November, 4-5pm; $11; Coburg North.

Learn about the seven simple questions to ask when saving seed, to ensure strong seed and plants. This workshop is part of the two-day Buarth Gurru (Grass Flowering) and Community Food Growing Festival. Presenter: Annie Bolitho, who was a founding member of the Australian Seed Savers Network. Organised by NECCHi (Newlands and East Coburg Neighbourhood Houses).

Growing community through seed stewardship – sharing corn culture; Saturday, 16th November, 9.30-10.30am; $11; Coburg North.

First Nations communities in the USA, Mexico, Central America and South America have stewarded maize seeds and stories for thousands of years. Meg Kimber grows corn across a network of urban growing sites and communities in Naarm Melbourne. She holds corn parties with locals and those with cultural links to maize so that they can feast together. Hear about the relationships that have grown and what Meg has learnt from maize. This workshop is part of the two-day Buarth Gurru (Grass Flowering) and Community Food Growing Festival. Organised by NECCHi (Newlands and East Coburg Neighbourhood Houses).

CERES bee group – annual extraction day; Saturday, 16th November, 10am-midday; free; Brunswick East.

Join their annual extraction day where they plan to harvest from their CERES hives.

Curds and chardonnay; Saturday, 16th November, midday-3pm; $59 ($20 per hour); Warrandyte South.

The ticket price includes 5 x 50ml tasting pours of wine plus 5 matched cheeses. You will explore 4 vintage chardonnays from Rob Dolan Wines’ plus 4 matched cheeses from Stone & Crow Cheese Company. Jack Holman and Meg Brodtmann will handle the pairings.

Fitzroy urban agriculture walk; Wednesday, 27th November, 2.15-3.30pm; free; Fitzroy.

Learn about urban agriculture activities in and around Fitzroy. Meet the instigators, teachers and growers of the community and how the different sites and organisations work. Hear about the challenges of growing and composting in the public, supporting children to eat well and teaching members of our community about growing food in Melbourne. You will visit Fitzroy Learning Network, Condell Growers and Sharers and Cubbies Adventure playground. Organised by My Smart Garden.

Create your own beeswax wraps; Thursday, 28th November, 6.30-7.30pm; free; Eltham.

Learn how you can reduce single-use plastic in your home by creating your own beeswax wraps. All materials will be provided.

In October
In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Make garden onigiri and warrigal green miso soup; Friday, 15th November, 5-6pm; $11; Coburg North.

Onigiri is an easy to make Japanese rice ball that was originally made as a way to use and store leftover rice. Learn how to make onigiri using produce from local farms such as Farm Raiser and Sun Patch. This workshop is part of the two-day Buarth Gurru (Grass Flowering) and Community Food Growing Festival. Presenter: Mifumi Obata. Organised by NECCHi (Newlands and East Coburg Neighbourhood Houses).

Plant-based cooking; Sunday, 24th November, 11am-1pm; $25 ($13 per hour); Forest Hill.

Learn, share and savour the flavours of plant-based cooking as you get taken through a number of recipes. Take a container so that you can take the food you create home with you. Organised by Strathdon House.

Italian Xmas treats (2 sessions); on Tuesday, 10th December and Wednesday, 11th December, both 6-8pm; $79 ($20 per hour); Fawkner.

Learn how to make 4 traditional Italian Christmas treats, namely pistachio shortbread, piparelli biscotti, almond brittle and a buccelato Xmas wreath. Organised by Fawkner Neighbourhood House.

In October
In November
In December
Regular classes

There is a new regular cooking activity: The art of French crepe making class; Wednesdays 10am-1pm and Saturdays, 3-6pm; $120 ($40 per hour); Thornbury.

LFC News October 23 2024

Oct 242024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Catrine Berlatier, Emily San, Eve Fraser, Jaimie Sweetman, Jaye Morey, Olwyn Smiley and Robin Gale-Baker.

Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) by Jaimie Sweetman

[Jaimie is part of the Edible Forest located on the Yarra Valley Estate in Dixons Creek. There are regular tours of the Edible Forest – read more and book your place on a future tour.]

There are several hundred species of hawthorn (genus Crataegus). They are all shrubs or small trees, and most have thorns. All have edible fruit (but don’t eat the seeds because they contain cyanide!).

The fruits are small berries and they taste a bit like applies, although more tart and tangy. Whilst they can be eaten raw, they are more commonly made into jellies, jams or syrups. They are meant to be good for heart health (and also to mend broken hearts!).

The petals and (when young and tender) the leaves are also edible.

As well as having only small fruit, the common hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is considered to be an environmental weed in Victoria so we don’t grow it at the Edible Forest. Rather, we focus on the species which have both bigger fruit and are non-weedy.

One species that we grow is the scarlet hawthorn (Crataegus ellwangeriana). Its berries grow to around 15mm and, as well as making preserves, we dehydrate them for teas. Unusually, this species is pollinated by midges.

Another species that we grow is azarole (Crataegus azarolus), which is the most common hawthorn growing in Arab countries.

[Watch this video, where Jaimie discusses hawthorns.]

Read about more of Jaimie’s unusual edible plants on our website.

Some news from Farm Raiser

As many of you will know, Farm Raiser is a small, farm in Bellfield. They have written in to say that they will be organising a series of workshops and events over the coming months, including drawing workshops, garlic braiding and crafting for kids. “All proceeds from these activities will go towards supporting their mission of providing subsidised high quality food relief, and meaningful education and vocational training for students with disabilities.”

First up are a farm tour and working bee on Saturday, 2nd November and a fermenting workshop on Saturday, 9th November.

Madeleine Butter

A few months ago, we published an article about ‘slow’ butter coming to Eltham Farmers’ Market. The article focussed on Jack Gaffney and Madeleine Butter. Madeleine Butter now have a page in our Local Food Directory.

Madeleine Butter, who are based in Lilydale, make a range of cultured butters, including salted, unsalted, smoked salt and seaweed. Cultured butter is created by fermenting the cream before churning it to create the butter (read more about cultured butter). Starting with grass-fed, Jersey-cow cream from Gippsland, they ferment, churn, ‘malax’ and then shape each individual portion by hand.

‘Malaxing’ is done using a ‘malaxar’, a historic machine which separates the buttermilk from the butter. A malaxer fundamentally comprises a flat table and a corrugated rolling pin and the butter is kneaded, massaged and folded as it passes under the pin. Using a malaxer is labour intensive and time consuming, so most dairies don’t use one – they instead squeeze their butter within a churn. Madeleine Butter believes, however, that the hands-on practice of a malaxer produces superior flavours and texture. Because malaxers are now only available as antiques, Madeleine Butter have built their own. Read more about malaxers.

Founder Jack Gaffney is inspired by historic and contemporary butter making techniques and the complex and diverse small-batch butters of France. Having fallen in love with butter, he moved to Brittany to study his passion, before returning to Melbourne to set up Madeleine Butter.

You can buy Madeleine Butter’s butter at Alphington Farmers’ Market, Carlton Farmers’ Market or Eltham Farmers’ Market (1st Sunday of the month).

Re their page in our Local Food Directory. Go to their website. Have a look at their Facebook page.

Melbourne Skyfarm

Melbourne Skyfarm is a half acre rooftop car park in Docklands that has been turned into an urban farm. It apparently includes 275(!) Foodcubes. The volunteers at Doncaster Hill Community Garden were recently given a guided tour of the skyfarm. Have a look at their photos.

Community Gardens Australia’s 2024 Community Gardens awards nominations are now open

The categories are community champion, community gardener of the year, young community gardener of the year, bush tucker garden, sustainability champion, biodiversity champion and permaculture champion. Closing date: 4th November. Online nomination form.

DIVRS’ 10th birthday

Last Saturday, the Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service (DIVRS) celebrated its 10th birthday at Alphington Food Hub. Watch a short video of the site. Around 100 people attended and a good time was had by all.

As with many good events, there was free food. As per the righthand photo, some of this food was served in an unusual way, namely large flatbread crackers dangled on pieces of string from the plant climbing frames plus wheelbarrows of cheese and veggies underneath, the idea being that you broke off pieces of cracker as required.

Congratulations to Christina, Holly and Vanessa for both organising the event and for running the DIVRS Urban Food Program.

One important element of the program is growing leafy greens to include in the 200 food parcels that they share with people experiencing food insecurity each week. They have 4 parcels of land where they do this. One of those parcels of land is at Alphington Food Hub and, as illustrated in the lefthand photo, it comprises getting on for 50 raised beds.

A second important element of the program is harvesting leftover fruit from people’s backyards (the Darebin Fruit Squad). Having more backyards to do this means more fruit to share. If you have a fruit tree or two which you would be potentially happy for them to harvest and live in the Darebin area, register your tree(s) online.

Spreading the Christmas care

This is the title of a recent article in the Warrandyte Diary about the CareNet organisation based in Templestowe. CareNet provides food relief from multiple locations around Manningham, including via both fixed and mobile food pantries. As discussed in the article, they run an annual reverse advent calendar, where members of the public give an item daily throughout November, with the subsequent hamper being given to a family in need in December. In 2023, CareNet distributed 760 hampers.

Read more about CareNet on our website.

Live near Eltham, like weeding and want some money?

Susan, who lives in Eltham, is looking for someone to help her hand weed her garden on a regular basis. Would best suit a young person. Normal rates of pay. If potentially interested, email Susan.

Yes, Robin did know!

Sioux asked: “One of my harvested pumpkins has mould growing on stalk. What may have caused this? How can I salvage the fruit?”

Robin Gale-Baker answered: “Any number of things may have caused your mould – insect damage to the stalk, mould that was already on the leaf but bloomed late, disease, etc. The mould will spread to the pumpkin itself and cause necrosis (rotting) so it would be best to process the pumpkin now and turn it into food that can be frozen. One thing to be aware of is that some moulds on pumpkins can cause respiratory problems so wear a mask and dispose of the skin and stalk either deep in the compost or in the green bin. ”

Some more Sustainability Victoria guides

A few weeks ago, we provided a link to Sustainability Victoria’s guide to setting up a repair cafe (pdf). Here are two more of their guides:

Some more new articles from Angelo Eliades

Garlic growing guide.

What is side dressing with fertiliser?

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

Blueberry jam (by Sue Ruchel)

[A month or so ago, we gave away quite a lot of copies of Sue Ruchel’s book Windfalls: preserves and other country kitchen secrets. As I gave away each copy, I requested that, if and when the book’s recipient made any of the recipes, they send me some words and photos for this newsletter. Here is Emily San’s response.]

Says Emily: “It is a great book. The jam turned out not too sweet, but a bit lumpy/fleshy (which I liked).”

Ingredients

500g blueberries
500g sugar
juice and grated rind of 3 lemons
200ml water

Method

Put the blueberries, water, lemon juice and rind into a saucepan. Simmer until the berries are soft. Add the sugar, stirring till it is dissolved. Boil briskly until the setting point is reached.

Bottle and seal.

The easiest way of testing the setting is ‘the saucer test’. Place a spoonful of the jam on a saucer and cool it rapidly in the freezer section of your fridge for around a minute. Then tilt the saucer and, if the jam wrinkles like the skin of hot milk, then it is ready.

Note from Emily: While simmering, I crushed the blueberries with a spoon and ladle. I also added the sugar slowly bit by bit (used raw sugar) to dissolve it easier.

Critter of the week – orange assassin bug

The photos (from Olwyn Smiley’s garden) are of an orange assassin bug (Gminatus australis in family Reduviidae). Clockwise from top left: mating; the eggs; the larvae; and the adult. What stunning photos! Thanks, Olwyn!

Says Olwyn: “I first became acquainted with these insects when I found a bundle of quaint eggs that looked like tiny brown milk bottles (the old fashioned sort that used to be delivered to one’s doorstep by the milkman). I kept these inside until a crowd of tiny, leggy creatures emerged.

“The assassin bug is, as the name suggests, a predator. Its weapon is a curved, scimitar-like stabber (known as a rostrum) which injects a potent chemical into its victims to turn their innards into a liquid. That stabbing weapon then becomes a ‘straw’, sucking up the liquid. Gruesome!

“Apparently if you inadvertently frighten an assassin bug and it retaliates by turning its stabber onto you, the resultant wound can be extremely painful. A good reason for wearing gardening gloves … I regularly find these bugs in our garden, though, and have never had a problem.”

If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about our previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

More on the caper white butterfly

In last week’s newsletter, we talked about the caper white butterfly and how it sometimes inadvertently migrated to Melbourne. Jaye Morey, from Hawthorn, has now written in to say she has seen them flying around in her back garden, including laying eggs on her caper bush. And she has sent in this video to prove it.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (27th October, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), as per the current schedule, Ann and Amy will continue to interview permaculture elders Mal and John. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was the interview in the Warrandyte Diary of Derek Bradshaw, founder of the Now and Not Yet Cafe.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming veggie seedling propagation workshop by Caring Farms Coop in St Helena on 14th November.

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

The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from eating too much pi. (from, with their approval, the Villages Voices newsletter of Leith Park in St Helena)

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Upgrades to the community garden fundraiser; Saturday, 26th October, 9am-5pm; free; South Morang.

This is a sausage sizzle to raise funds to upgrade Parade College’s community garden. Organised by Parents of Parade.

PCA Professional Latte Art Championship; Saturday, 26th October, 6-10.30pm; $14; Nunawading.

Watch a competition of latte art.

Terrine and wine pairing with City Larder; Wednesday, 30th October, 6-7.30pm; $26 ($17 per hour); Preston.

Join Audacious Monk Cellars and City Larder for an evening of terrine and wine. Learn about the process of terrine making at City Larder and discuss how to pair wine with 5 of their terrines.

Tomatoes; Wednesday, 13th November, 10am-midday; free; Reservoir.

Learn about propagation, potting up, plant care, trellising, pests and diseases. There will be something for everyone, including a plant or two to take home. Jointly organised by DIVRS and East Preston Community Centre.

In October
In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Nukazuke – Japanese lactic fermentation pickles workshop; Saturday, 2nd November, 11am-1.30pm; $116 ($46 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Discover the traditional art of making nukazuke, a time-honoured Japanese method of pickling vegetables using rice bran (nuka). This process is a form of lactic acid fermentation, where vegetables are submerged in a bed of fermented rice bran, creating tangy, probiotic-rich pickles. Nukazuke also embodies the Ichibutsu Zentai philosophy, which emphasises the importance of consuming whole, unprocessed foods. In this workshop, you’ll learn the basics of making and maintaining your own nukadoko, explore the health benefits of nukazuke for digestion and gut health, and understand how it fits into macrobiotic principles – a diet focused on whole, natural foods to promote wellness. Presenter: Rieko Hayashi.

A little bit fancy cooking class; Tuesday, 5th November, 10.30am-2pm; $102 ($29 per hour); Kew.

Learn some flavour combinations for plant-based wholefoods. The menu: cheela (Indian vegetable pancake), green zesty soup, beetroot salad with chimchurri, sweet potato salad with relish, quiche using tofu with a potato crust, chocolate mousse, and stuffed dates. Presenter: Gita Larissa.

Farm to ferment – fermenting with farm fresh produce; Saturday, 9th November, 11am-1pm; $77 ($39 per hour); Bellfield.

Learn the basics of fermenting soft and hard vegetables using imperfect produce from the farm, concoct your very own recipe and go home with two jars of ferments. Take two 500g jars. Organised by Farm Raiser.

Christmas cupcakes; Saturday, 14th December, 1-4pm; $60 ($20 per hour); Ringwood North.

Learn how to swirl, pipe and accessorise pre-baked cupcakes. Then take home your creations. Presenter: Arzu. Organised by North Ringwood Community House.

Gingerbread cookie house workshop; Sunday, 15th December, 1-2.30pm; $65 ($44 per hour); Forest Hill.

Decorate your own holiday gingerbread house. Tutor: Erika Dunca-Horner. Organised by Strathdon House.

In October
In November
In December
Regular classes

LFC News October 16 2024

Oct 152024
 

Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Connie Cao, Julie Merlet, Melissa la Porte and Pam Jenkins.

Davidson plum (Davidsonia genus) by Julie Merlet

[The material below is a shortened version of material from the NATIF website which was written by newsletter reader Julie Merlet. NATIF (which is an acronym for N=Native, A=Australian, T=Traditional, I=Indigenous and F=Foods) sell a wide range bush food products online (including davidson plum powder and davidson plum and rivermint tea).]

The three trees in the Davidsonia genus are all called davidson plums and all have edible fruit. They grow in tropical north-east Queensland and northern NSW.

The fruit is dark blue/purple on the outside and reddish-pink flesh on the inside. It has a sour taste with an aroma that, depending on species, has been likened to either beetroot (Davidsonia jerseyana) or stewed rhubarb (Davidsonia pruriens) .

The sourness can be balanced out when mixed with your favourite juice, smoothie or dessert. And, because it is low in sugar, it can be used in jams or sauces.

The fruit is a good source of antioxidants, including vitamin E, anthocyanin and lutein. It also has high levels of zinc, calcium and potassium. It has low levels of sugar.

Your Asian veggie patch

Connie Cao’s new book, Your Asian veggie patch, was launched at Bulleen Art & Garden (BAAG) nursery last week. There were book signings (you chose the colour of pen for Connie to use and I chose green), a Q&A session, free food (my favourite was kuih dada, which was a rolled crepe filled with grated coconut and flavoured with various juices) and some competitions (my wife won some snake bean seeds).

  

You can buy the book online from (as they say) all good retailers.

Chilli (by Connie Cao)

[To celebrate her new book, Your Asian veggie patch, Connie has been providing some material for this newsletter about some of her favourite Asian veggies that you can grow during the summer. This week’s subject is chilli and is the last in the series for the time being. You can read her previous veggie contributions on our website.]

Chilli is a prominent ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Places such as Southeast Asia, Korea and Sichuan and Hunan provinces in China (just to name a few) love to add a bit of heat to their dishes.

The plants are compact and happily grow in pots, so are highly suited to small spaces. I grow all my chillies in pots so I can save my garden space for other plants. A 30-40cm wide pot is best. I like to grow my chillies with a western aspect, as they thrive in the heat. My best container grown chillies have given me more than 100 fruits per season!

Watch this video on Instagram, where I make two additional points:

  • Grow chillies in full sun.
  • Be patient – chillies sit green on the plant for ages and usually don’t ripen until near the end of summer.

[Editor: although most people grow chilli plants as annuals, they are actually short lived perennials if not killed by frost. If you grow your chilli plants in pots, you can move them during winter to somewhere protected from the frost, such as a greenhouse or indoors, and they will come back to life the following spring.]

Naturli’ Organic Spreadable is back!

It is certainly not the purpose of this newsletter to try and influence what foods you should buy but occasionally, very occasionally, I come across a food that is so good that I feel that I should tell as many people as possible about it. This is such a rare event that it has actually only ever happened to me once, namely today!

After a long hiatus, Naturli’ Organic Spreadable is back in Australia! It is a vegan alternative to butter and is made from rapeseed, coconut oil, shea butter and almond butter. It tastes really yum, without the yuckiness that an excess of butter can sometimes have. It spreads really well, even straight out of the fridge. And it lasts forever if stored in the fridge. If you have ever had it, then you already know all this but if you have never had it, then go get it and treat yourself!

I buy my Naturli’ Organic Spreadable from Organic Fix in Eltham. Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods in Balwyn also sell it. And their website says that it is available at selected IGA stores.

Some more new articles from Angelo Eliades

Garden cress growing guide.

The essential guide to chill hours for growing currants and gooseberries.

Read more of Angelo’s articles about food growing.

Do you know?

Michelle asks: “I have garlic planted at the base of my orange tree and it’s growing nicely, will be ready in summer. How can I fertilise the orange tree for Spring without affecting my garlic?” Email me with your thoughts.

10 years of the Now and Not Yet Cafe

The Now and Not Yet Cafe in Warrandyte has a unique ambience. To celebrate its 10th birthday, the Warrandyte Diary recently interviewed its owner, Derek Bradshaw.

Critter of the week from my garden – caper white butterfly

The two photos are of a caper white butterfly (Belenois java in family Pieridae) in the garden of Pam Jenkins. As you can see from Pam’s photos, the upper (dorsal) and lower (ventral) surfaces of the wings are differently coloured, with the upper surface being white with a black border (see left hand photo) and the lower surface being patches of white, yellow and black (see right hand photo). Pam says that the butterfly was attracted to the blue flowers of her coastal rosemary (Westringia fruticosa).

  

The caterpillars feed exclusively on caper bushes (genus Capparis), hence the common name. They are presumably viewed by caper growers in the same way that we brassica growers regard the cabbage white butterflies.

The butterfly mainly lives in inland southern Queensland and northern NSW but is migratory. They can sometimes be blown off course during their migration and end up as far south as Melbourne, hence its presence in Pam’s garden.

According to the Australian Museum website, this species regularly migrates to areas where there are no food plants for its caterpillars. “It is not understood why this behaviour has evolved.”

On the subject of butterflies whose upper and lower surfaces are different, here are some photos of an orange oakleaf butterfly (Kallima inachus) that once landed on my hand. Its upper surface was relatively normal, albeit a bright mixture of blue and orange, but its lower surface (which I could see whenever it closed its wings) looked just like a dry leaf!

  

Thanks to Pam for sending in this week’s photos. If you have any interesting photos of critters in your garden, email them to me.

Read about my previous insects (or other critters) of the week on our website.

The Melbourne ‘Local Food Connections’ community radio show

On next Sunday’s show (20th October, 10-10.30am) on 3CR (855 AM), Ann and Amy will continue to interview permie elders John and Mal. Listen by tuning into either the station (855 AM) or its livestream.

Podcasts of all previous episodes are available on their website, the latest being
Jessica from Breadline on anti-glyphosate campaigning.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link in the last newsletter was EML ART Cookies’ online shop.

The most popular event link in the last newsletter was the upcoming veggie seedling propagation workshop by Caring Farms Coop in St Helena on 14th November.

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

I’m in a pickle and I don’t know how to dill with it.

Read more food-related jokes on our website.

 

Regular activities over the coming week

Farmers’ and other food markets
Food swaps
Community gardens

Not (quite) local but interesting

Mulberry Community Garden Spring Festival; Sunday, 27th October, 10am-2pm; free; Glenroy.

The festival will include food & other market stalls, live music, guest speakers and plant sales. At Mulberry Community Garden, 120 Glenroy Road, Glenroy.

Neither food-related nor local but interesting

CSSA spring show and cactus and succulent sale; Saturday, 26th October, 10am-4pm and Sunday, 27th October, 9am-3pm; $7; Skye.

Enjoy a large array of cacti and succulent plants, displays, the Cactus and Succulent Society of Australia (CSSA) members’ specimen competition and Victoria’s largest gathering of sellers and growers. At KCC Park (State Dog Centre), 655 Western Port Highway, Skye.

Upcoming face-to-face events – not cooking

Sake master class; Sunday, 3rd November, midday-2pm; $73 ($37 per hour); Brunswick East.

Kana Aoyama will guide you through the history, production and tasting of this traditional Japanese beverage. She will teach you all the basics, let you try 5 different styles, and show you how to pair sake with cheese, cured meats and chocolate.

FareShare kitchen garden open day; Saturday, 23rd November, 10am-3pm; small donation requested; Abbotsford.

Get a guided tour of their farm. They grow around 6,000Kg of herbs and vegetables each year at the Abbotsford farm to support meal production in their nearby kitchen. Read about FareShare.

In October
In November
In December
Regular events

Upcoming face-to-face events – cooking

Koji, amazake and doburoku workshop; Saturday, 19th October, 4-6.30pm; $150 ($60 per hour); Fitzroy North.

Make a home-brew of sake, a traditional drink using koji, which they will also show in its stages. Take home a jar ready to mash into doburoku, koji to make some amazake, and koji spores to make your own koji at home.

Halloween tea blending workshop; Thursday, 31st October, 6-7.30pm; $65 ($44 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. Presenter: Amy Freund, from Crafternoon Tea.

Sourdough bread workshop; Saturday, 23rd November, 10am-1pm; $55 ($18 per hour); Panton Hill.

Learn about starters and sourdough. Make a pizza base, cook a pizza with homemade toppings and eat together in class. Make a bread dough to take home to bake the next day. Take an apron, tea towel and large sealable container. Presenter: John. Organised by Living & Learning Nillumbik.

Mini master cooks (9-12 years) – Christmas cookies; Saturday, 7th December, 10.30am-12.30pm; $55 ($28 per hour); Forest Hill.

Make Christmas cookies, cutting them into various shapes and decorating them with homemade coloured icing and coloured sugar sprinkles. Take an apron and container to take the food home in. Organised by Strathdon House.

Cupcake decorating workshop; Saturday, 7th December, 5-7pm; $75 ($38 per hour); Ivanhoe.

You will learn: the basics of buttercream; colouring buttercream; filling and using a piping bag; and piping techniques with three different piping tips. You will decorate 4 vanilla bean cupcakes, which you then take home. Enjoy a complimentary cocktail by Imbue featuring their gin. Additional drinks and snacks can be bought on the day.

Vegan desserts; Sunday, 8th December, 10am-3pm; $150 ($30 per hour); CERES.

You will learn a variety of vegan sweet treats from different backgrounds and different techniques. The menu will include: baked cheese cake; raw fruit tart; fruit pierogi; Portuguese tarts; coconut jelly; and tiramisu. Presenter: Nase Supplitt.

In October
In November
In December
Regular classes