Local food-related events

Eltham Farmers’ Market

At Tuesday’s Council meeting, Local Food Connect’s application for a ‘licence’ from Council to use the council-owned land in Commercial Place for a Farmers’ Market was considered (once we have agreement from a landlord we can then apply for a planning permit). We had submitted a lot of material to support our application, including numerous letters of support from local organisations. The Council Officers recommended that our licence application be approved. However, rather than consider our application directly, certain councillors chose to propose an alternative motion. The meaning of this alternative motion is not obvious but its net effect is to defer a decision on our licence application.

In the meantime, another site on private land has been offered to us. That site is the car park above the Eltham Mall. The prospect of working with a supportive landlord is very attractive.

Nillumbik Health

The planter box is now full of herbs and veggies thanks to a merry band of willing workers last Sunday. Let’s hope that the plants grow well in their shady position and are able to be shared by members of the community. If you are passing 917 Main Road Eltham any time, can you please check on the plants, see if they need water, nourishment or replacement, etc? There is a watering system attached. Please help yourself to the produce once the plants are grown.

Coffee grounds

Last week I mentioned that someone from Watsonia was looking to share grounds from a cafe. This week, there is a group in Diamond Creek looking for 1 or 2 people to share picking up of coffee grounds from a couple of cafes, especially on a Tuesday or Friday afternoon. If interested, please contact Jenny, phone 94381909. Not only does it save food waste from going to landfill, but it increases greatly the worm population in your compost.

How many lettuces to plant?

According to Clive Blazey in The Australian vegetable garden; what’s new is old, 33 oakleaf lettuces should see you through Summer and Autumn! In fact, a plot 4.2m by 10 m should feed a family of three for 12 months. Some other quantities suggested are 6 Tigerella tomato bushes, 2 Armenian cucumber plants, 6 heirloom capsicums, 100 western red carrots and 33 golden bantam sweet corn. See page 19 of the book for a full list.

Asparagus growers

Some beautiful asparagus spears are growing in the garden at the moment, however with the ever changeable weather, you need to check daily, if not at least every two days, in case they grow too tall!

Other food activities/information

Festival of Ideas, Oct 1-6, Melbourne University

Sessions on Thursday October 3 are about Food and Nutrition and include: Developing a Love of Seasonal Fresh Food From Childhood with Stephanie Alexander and others; Eating Ourselves To Death; Feeding 10 Billion People and Sustaining The Planet; Imagine 2033, and How We Achieved A Healthy and Sustainable Post-Carbon World. Many sessions are free.

VicHealth’s Seed Challenge

The two winners of VicHealth’s Seed Challenge will each receive $100,000 to roll out their initiatives over the next 12 months, which will connect community members, farmers and fresh food distributors in an approach never tried in Victoria before. They are:

3000acres – by Planisphere

This initiative will use an online platform to connect people with unused urban, suburban and rural spaces for food gardens – providing access to land for people who can’t or don’t own it. The vision of 3000acres is that every resident in Melbourne will have access to the environmental and health benefits of growing spaces within easy walking distance of home and work. By 2050, neighbours working together will create hundreds of community gardens, mini-parks, urban farms and green markets.

Open Food Network – by the Open Food Web Foundation (includes Eaterprises)

This initiative aims to grow a network of local food markets online, reducing barriers to trade for local producers and consumers. Online marketplaces for local and regional food will make it easier for farmers, consumers and independent food enterprises to connect, trade and manage their business. Ultimately the community will have easier access to affordable local food.  The idea is to put control over food back into the hands of farmers, the community and local enterprises.

Congratulations to the winners!

Local food-related events

Harvest Month and Home Harvest Feast 2014

Discussions are well underway for the planning of Harvest Month in March next year. As well as encouraging home growers to grow a little extra food, we are hoping to interest other community groups to run a harvest theme with their meetings during March. Do you have any activities in mind that interest you?

Community garden planting

We are very excited to be planting herbs and vegetables in Nillumbik Health’s planter box (in Main Street Eltham) on September 22, starting with a talk on community gardening at 10am. We would love you all to come along, although after the talk and a cuppa we will have to limit the hard work to about a dozen (just because of space). We have had generous donations from Bulleen Art & Garden, Edendale, and Stephen Onians and are delighted to be working with Nillumbik Health, SGA Eltham POD and NERP on this project. We would love to see regular ongoing support from locals or those passing through Eltham, to share the produce, re-plant, water, etc. This garden produce will be available to share with the general public as well as participants in Nillumbik Health activities.

Other food activities/information

Tomato seedlings

Stephen Onians is offering unusual tomato seedlings for sale again this year on Sep 21. He has around 140  potted tomato plants for sale (around 20-25 of each variety).

They are about 15cm tall now. He intends to make them available on Saturday the 21st of September onwards. They should be 18-22cm tall by then. He will put them on tables in his car park area. Please help yourself to the plants and leave the money in the security box provided. Price: $2.00 each pot.

Varieties:

• Kotlas – red , very early, good for cool climates.
• Peruvian sugar lump – very sweet red cherry, tall growing.
• Big Yellow – large yellow, long season, low acid.
• Italian Plum – large flat slicing tomato.
• Olomovic – a prolific producer of small to medium, red globe shaped fruit to 150g.
• Jaunne Flamme – this old French variety gives early crops of apricot-coloured fruits the size of a golf ball or slightly larger.  It is a fabulous fresh-eating tomato with an explosive, intense flavour.

Stephen Onians      94386702   0433647920  220 Ironbark Road, Yarrambat   Melways  map 184 J 11

Another lot of potted seedlings will be available in six weeks time.

Varieties:

• Megatom – red, the name says it all.
• Tigerella – red with orange stripes , medium size , very productive.
• Galapagos – species tomato from Galapagos. Small cherry type, low growing, drought and salt resistant.
• Yellow pear- small yellow pear shaped fruit.
• Pixie- Stephen’s favourite, medium red fruit on compact plant, no staking required.