Nov 222017
 

Judy Vizzari interviews Evan Gellert

Some of you will know Evan Gellert through his involvement in the wicking beds at Eltham station and the vegetable planters outside healthAbility, or you might have met him at the Heritage Fruits Society in Templestowe. A lucky few of you will know Evan as a master cheese maker. Judy Vizzari has now interviewed Evan as a home grower. Here is how Judy introduces her write up: “Today I visited a green place which is known, unsurprisingly, as Green Place, but which is actually called Dulaiwurrong Village. Dulaiwurrong is an aboriginal word and was the name chosen by the estate’s developer, in consultation with the Wurundjeri people, when the land was sub-divided in the early 2000s. It means platypus and refers to the platypus population which once thrived in the nearby Diamond Creek. This tiny, almost hidden, ‘eco-village’, which backs onto the Diamond Creek, is just a short distance from central Eltham. Once the area was occupied by a single dwelling and was known locally as Connie’s Farmhouse. I was there to meet Evan Gellert, and his partner, Gillian Essex, who were amongst the first residents to build in the village.” She then describes her tour of their garden and Evan’s various volunteering activities. Read the full interview.

This is the first interview by Judy for this newsletter. Judy is an Eltham local with a passion for gardening, reading and writing and painting/drawing. Maintaining her large block of indigenous and introduced species, fruit trees and vegetables is a ‘learn-as-you-go’ affair with mixed results but constant pleasure. She is an enthusiastic member of Nillumbik U3A, where she has recently extended her interests in language, creative writing and the arts. Thanks for volunteering, Judy!

We are still looking for more people who are willing to be interviewed. If you are potentially willing, email us.

Mac’s tip of the week

I have started to notice the odd case of pear and cherry slug on a few trees. As their name suggests, they are commonly found on pears and cherries, but also on quince. On rare cases, they can also be on apples, plums and apricots. They are in fact not a slug, but the soft-skinned larvae of a glossy black sawfly (Caliroa cerasi), and will quickly skeletonise leaves if allowed. After feeding on leaves, they fall to the ground and pupate before appearing again as adults and re-starting the cycle. Control is recommended. You can treat initially by hosing them off. Also predatory insects like hoverflies, paper wasps, lacewings, spiders and insect-eating birds may help you out. Dusting the tree with dry ash, builders lime or even flour can often clean them up but make sure you stand up wind! If you can’t reach, or numbers are too many, you can use low-toxic, organic bacterial sprays such as Dipel or Success. Alternatively spray with organic pyrethrum or neem.

Read all of Mac’s tips.

Have you grown Brussels sprouts successfully?

The Adams Farms, in Coldstream, are a Brussels sprout farm, perhaps best known for their annual ‘Sprout Fests’ held in the autumn of each year. Interestingly, as shown in this video, they have already started their plantings for 2018.

Aren’t Brussels sprouts a winter crop? If so, why are the Adams Farms planting them now?

Aren’t Brussels sprouts difficult to grow successfully? What do the Adams Farms do to make sure that they get lots of sprouts? Why do mine never form proper sprouts?

Is it a coincidence that both ‘Adams Farms’ and ‘Brussels sprouts’ both have more s’s than most people would spell them with? Incidentally, here’s a method for finding out which spelling of something is more common: simply do a google search and look at the number of results at the top of page. So, for example, ‘Brussels sprouts’ beats ‘Brussel sprouts’ by 12 million to 6 million. And ‘veggie’ slaughters ‘vegie’ by 120 million to 2 million (and by 1.4 million to 300,000 if the search is restricted to Australia).

If you can answer any of these questions, please email me. It would be absolutely brilliant if someone could tell the rest of us how to grow Brussels sprouts successfully.

New stallholders at Eltham Farmers’ Market

Last Sunday saw 4 stallholders make their debut: Gourmet Pies, from Brunswick (pies); Stir Crazy, from Hawthorn (crackers, shortbreads, oatcakes and cordials); Alpine Walnuts (walnuts and hazelnuts; and Curry Favour.

Now that future schedules have settled down, I thought that it would be a good time to publish an up-to-date list of stallholders. This is available in three different formats:

  1. As a jpg: the advantage of this format is that the list is available on the screen at the single touch of a button.
  2. On the website: the advantages of this format are a) that it will always be kept up-to-date and b) that it is both sortable and filterable.

In both the jpg and the pdf, the stallholders new since the market became weekly are highlighted in red and the stallholders who are based in North East Melbourne are highlighted by being on a pale green background.

Local food producers in the news

The 3 Ravens Brewing Company, from Thornbury, were recently the subject of a short video. A link to the video has been added to our local food producer videos page, which now has videos for 29 of our local food producers.

Frankie Spranger, from both Bee Rescue and Heidi Honey Hurstbridge, featured in an article about bee infestations in The Daily News.

Other local food news

You can now buy Warrandyte-based PoppySmack’s sauces from Rump Butchery on Tunstall Square, Doncaster East.

Which link was clicked most times in last week’s newsletter?

A busy person’s guide to watering systems for vegetable gardening.

Joke of the week

How do you stop bacon from curling in the pan? You take away their little brooms.

Read all the jokes.

New events

No-waste Christmas – cooking demonstration and meal planning workshop

What: Did you know that one in five shopping bags ends up in the bin, with over $3,800 worth of groceries per household each year? With the holiday season fast approaching, join Gaby and Jen from Plan Buy Cook for a Christmas cooking demonstration and meal-planning workshop designed to help reduce food waste. Get some tips for making a Christmas feast that doesn’t lead to a fridge full of sad leftovers that no-one wants to eat!
When: Thursday, 23rd November, 7-8pm.
Where: Preston Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Mushrooms to mushrooms workshop

What: Learn how to grow your own oyster mushrooms as they take you through the steps of mushroom cultivation with a focus on using urbanly-available waste products. The workshop covers the production of mushrooms using non sterile techniques. You will learn about all the steps involved in mushroom production, from making cultures to creating spawn and fruiting substrates. You will learn how to create your own cultures using nothing but waste stem butts from fresh mushrooms. You will also learn to make mushroom spawn from recycled paper pellets and fruiting blocks using three different urbanly-available substrates: paper pellets, hardwood pellets and spent coffee grounds.
When: Friday, 1st December, 10am-12.30pm.
Where: Montrose Town Hall.
Cost: $85 (includes mushroom spawn and fruiting kit).
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Food, family, culture – Vietnamese coffee

What: Join Jack Ngo, from Super Duper Coffee, on the rooftop garden. Hear him talk about the unique role that coffee plays in Vietnamese family and culture, the different ways that coffee is served in Vietnam, and his experiences running his own Vietnamese coffee business in Melbourne.
When: Saturday, 2nd December, 2.30-3.30pm.
Where: North Fitzroy Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Growing avocados and other subtropical and tropical fruit

What: Presented by Angelo Eliades.
When: Sunday, 3rd December, 2.30-3.30pm.
Where: Bulleen Art & Garden.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Grafting workshop

What: Presented by John Pinniger from the Heritage Fruits Society.
When: Sunday, 3rd December, 3.30-4.30pm.
Where: Bulleen Art & Garden.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summary of upcoming events

Over the next week
Over the next month

View the complete calendar of upcoming events.

Nov 152017
 

Mac’s tip of the week

With the recent burst of hot weather, it’s all about keeping water levels up on your veggie patch. If you have an irrigation system in place, it’s time to switch it on. If not, you need to be on the end of a hose most mornings if temperatures are forecast to be above, say, 25. Sure you can water in the evenings after work, which is a nice way to unwind, but humidity overnight can sometimes encourage fungal problems. Water thoroughly, rather than a light mist. Wilting at the end of a hot day is normal – it’s what your plants look like in the evening and morning that counts. Regular moisture levels is the key; to check, a finger in the soil is better than a stick.

Editor’s note: check out the following article that Mac wrote for the SGA website a few years ago: a busy person’s guide to watering systems for vegetable gardening. Also, check out the following article that Robin Gale-Baker, from Sustainable Macleod, contributed to our website: the art of watering.

Read all of Mac’s tips.

Incredible Edible Eltham news

The edible food garden on the railway station platform is now officially open! The opening event featured a veritable panoply of speakers:

  • Vicki Ward, local MP.
  • Peter Clarke, local Councillor and Mayor.
  • Sean Spencer, CEO, healthAbility.
  • Chris Chapple, President, Local Food Connect.
  • Felicity Gordon, project artist.
  • Paul Gale-Baker, lead builder.
  • Paul Morland, lead builder.

The first produce (a radish) has been harvested! It was given to Vicki Ward in appreciation of her support!

Last week, I was interviewed on Plenty Valley FM. If you want to listen to the interview, go to the Incredible Edible Eltham page on our website and click the play symbol on the second line. Incidentally, the person who interviewed me, Bill McGillivray, is also (I think) President of Nillumbik Garden Club.

After an Eventbrite event finishes, they send the organiser an ‘official sales recap’. Ours said: “Your top cities for ticket buyers are Adelaide, Melbourne and Heidelberg. Focus your future marketing efforts in these top cities.” As Meat Loaf could have said: one out of three ain’t bad.

Park Orchards Market is now 8 years old

Park Orchards Market will be celebrating its eighth birthday on Saturday, 18th November. The festivities will include a cake ceremony, children’s entertainment, lolly bags and balloons.

Other local food news

Backyard Honey, from Surrey Hills, will be at the Crafty Christmas Market in Collingwood on Sunday, 26th November. They will be selling their raw, unheated Melbourne multi-floral honey and Victorian varietal honey plus their 500g bees wax blocks. You can also order the bees wax blocks by email.

PoppySmack, from Warrandyte, will be at the SpringFeast Food & Market Festival on Sunday, 26th November.

That’s Amore Cheese, from Thomastown, will be at the Night Market at Queen Victoria Market for the next five months.

Sugarloaf Produce, from Strathewen, will no longer be a stallholder at St Andrews Market: “The St Andrews Market Association decided we would be too much of a threat to the existing fruit and veg sellers at the market if we were allowed to sell everything we grow. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t profitable enough for us with the restricted range. We are pretty gutted as Wal’s dad sold at the market for many years and we were keen to keep the tradition going.

FoodChecker

FoodChecker is a new online way to assess foods and drinks against Victorian food and drink guidelines. You can assess your existing menu, products and recipes, or use FoodChecker to plan future menus and find GREEN and AMBER products. Thanks for the heads up, healthAbility.

Which link was clicked most times in last week’s newsletter?

Produce with a Purpose’s Spring garden party.

Joke of the week

Did you hear the joke about the butter? I can’t tell you, you might spread it.

Read all the jokes.

New events

Design a potager garden (two sessions)

What: Learn general design principles suitable for making a community garden. In this workshop, Elspeth Brock will take a look at potager gardens: garden spaces that are both useful and aesthetically pleasing. She will also touch on permaculture kitchen garden designs and food forests. All three garden designs are suitable for both community gardens or for trying out at home.
When: Saturdays, 18th & 25th November, both 10am-12:30pm.
Where: Brunswick Neighbourhood House.
Cost: $35 ($30 concession).
Bookings: Brunswick Neighbourhood House by phone (9386 9418) or email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Cooking master class

What: Enjoy 3 tasting size courses cooked by chef Bek McMillan, from Gourmet Living, who will demonstrate step by step. All recipes are included. Menu: prawn pasta salad; tangy tamarind salmon; and berry & passionfruit Eton mess.
When: Friday, 24th November, 7-9pm.
Where: Gourmet Living, Templestowe.
Cost: $42.
Bookings: EventBrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Gardening for biodiversity and tour of LaTrobe Wildlife Sanctuary

What: Learn how to create an indigenous garden at your place. Then take a guided tour of the LaTrobe Wildlife Sanctuary.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 10am-1pm.
Where: La Trobe Wildlife Sanctuary.
Cost: free.
Bookings: EventBrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Local Fine Foods celebrates one year

What: The activities will include: tastings by Maya ‘Xala Honey and Under The Pickle Tree; Karen and Ross, from My Kitchen Rules, cooking up a storm; sausage sizzle; and, for the kids, face painting, balloons and a big bubble station. All proceeds will be donated to the family of a 6-year-old girl just diagnosed with cancer.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 11am-1pm.
Where: Diamond Creek.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Cooking master class

What: Enjoy 3 tasting size courses cooked by chef Bek McMillan, from Gourmet Living, who will demonstrate step by step. All recipes are included. Menu: Moroccan couscous salad; honey citrus chicken; and banana puff pastry tart.
When: Thursday, 30th November, 7-9pm.
Where: Gourmet Living, Templestowe.
Cost: $42.
Bookings: EventBrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Plan, buy, cook – how to avoid food waste this Christmas

What: Avoid festive season stress with good mean planning. Learn how to shop with minimal waste, cater for Christmas parties, store leftovers, and serve Christmas meals whilst minimising food waste. Get some great tips about safe food handling and edible gifts. Gaby and Jen from Plan Buy Cook will show you how. Bookings essential.
When: Wednesday, 6th December, 6.30-8.30pm.
Where: Epping.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Sylvia Turk by phone (9401 0509).
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summary of upcoming events

Over the next week
Over the next month

View the complete calendar of upcoming events.

Nov 082017
 

Mac’s tip of the week

Now that most of us have our spring / summers crops planted, and with the arrival of warmer weather on the horizon, get mulching if you haven’t already. For veggies, mulches such as pea straw, lucerne or milled sugar cane provide insulation to retain soil moisture and minimise weed germination. Although not long lasting, they will last your crop cycle and provide beneficial organic matter to your soil as they break down. The remnants after harvest can mostly be dug through your soil before your planting starts again in autumn. Keep clear of the stems of your plants and spread 5-8cm deep. For those with ‘food miles’ on their minds, note that pea straw and lucerne will generally come from Victoria or NSW whilst sugar cane is transported from Queensland.

This tip complements a previous tip on mulching: “Lock in that moisture in the soil by applying a good layer of mulch. 5cm min to 10cm max. Larger mulch particles (10mm plus) insulate the soil and still allow summer rain to get to the soil, whereas finer particles may lock in your moisture but block rainfall. When mulching, take care to clear mulch from stems/base of plants to prevent collar rot.

Read all of Mac’s tips.

Fruit thinning

In the 11th October newsletter, Mac’s tip of the week was on the subject of fruit thinning. Yvonne Ashby writes in: “I followed Mac’s tip to thin out half of my heavy laden nectarine tree a few weeks ago, but half of the remaining nectarines have subsequently dropped onto the ground so the net result is that only a quarter of the original fruit remain to grow into bigger size. I am definitely getting much better quality nectarines than I expected. I will not be thinning them out next year but let the nature do the work.

Here’s Mac’s response: “I think that nature has done its work this year as well and that Yvonne’s fruit drop was not caused by her thinning but would have happened anyway. Indeed, by thinning a couple of weeks earlier, she may have actually helped the tree to retain the ‘quarter’ of the fruit that remains. Fruit dropping is a natural thing for a tree to do if there are not enough ‘food reserves’ for all the fruit to develop and set seed. The practice of thinning allows the grower to interfere and decide which branches are the strongest to support fruit, space the fruit for ventilation, and allow all stored ‘food reserves’ to be directed to the remaining fruit. Sure, you don’t have to thin fruit, but it is good practice on younger trees and helps to improve fruit quality on more established trees. Applications of potash can also help the quality of the fruit. Fingers crossed for your remaining nectarines, Yvonne.“.

Coincidently, this month’ newsletter from Leaf, Root & Fruit included a discussion on fruit thinning: “For fruit that is already set on your trees, thinning of fruit is an important task. This ensures good size and quality of remaining fruit. You should gradually thin the fruit until you have one every 10cm along the branch. Thinning should be completed over the next month. Many fruit trees can go into a biennial fruiting pattern. This is where they have a massive crop one year, followed by a very small crop the next year. Thinning of fruit can help to avoid the tree getting into a biennial cropping pattern.“.

Several of the recent weekly newsletters from Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens have also discussed the subject: “Fruit thinning is the practice of pulling some of the fruit off the tree by hand, while the fruit is still tiny. It can be really hard to make yourself do it (and to take enough off) but it’s very much worth it.” “One of the least understood reasons for doing this job is to try to break the cycle of biennial bearing that many fruit trees naturally adopt. The good news is that, if you do this job early enough you are sacrificing very little actual fruit production as the tree will put the same amount of energy into the fruit you leave on the tree as it would have to the big bunches of fruit.

Also, “The second main reason to do thinning is to protect the structure of our trees. Most fruit is carried on the small side shoots, or laterals, that grow from the main branches. Left to its own devices, the tree will frequently set so much fruit on a branch or lateral that the weight of the fruit breaks the branch. Usually a short lateral can only bear the weight of one piece of fruit, and a longer or stronger lateral can bear two or more pieces.

Growing good tomatoes

Here’s a tip from the My Green Garden Facebook page: as your seedlings get bigger, you need to decide whether to prune out the laterals or leave them to grow. The answer to the question will determine how many tomatoes you end up with (don’t prune = more); the size of the tomatoes (do prune = larger); and whether or not you are prepared to use several stakes for each plant (don’t prune = more supports needed). Also, The laterals pruned out can be rooted in water to create another plant if you need one.

Do your chickens eat Certified Organic food?

Aziza De Fazio is looking at ordering some bulk, Certified Organic coarse layer chook food from Country Heritage. She is not yet 100% sure of the price, but a 20kg bag would be around $35. She is also interested in buying some Certified Organic feed wheat from Four Leaf Milling (around $25 for a 20Kg bag). If you are interest in joining with her, email Aziza.

Want to sell your produce in Thomastown?

Thomastown Neighbourhood House run a monthly market, with around 600 people visiting each market. They currently don’t have any fruit, vegetable, bread or produce stalls and are seeking some. The market is held indoors, but there is opportunity to have a couple of stalls out the front of the library. They charge $15 per stall and provide a trestle and 2 chairs. Their last market for 2017 is on 2nd December, and they then recommence in March. If you are potentially interested in being a stallholder, contact Justine Sless by phone (8376 6939) or email.

The Food Justice Truck is no more

Until recently, The Food Justice Truck visited Northcote weekly and Thomastown fortnightly. Now it appears to have stopped. According to their website: “the truck’s project team has been working to implement changes to the operation of the truck that would help reduce costs while striving to increase impact. Strong progress has been made, however this work highlighted the current model is not sufficiently scalable to meet the geographic need for people seeking asylum across Melbourne to access affordable, fresh food. The decision has been made to cease operation of the Food Justice Truck in its current capacity and to explore alternative models to meet these food security challenges, focussing on reach and accessibility for those most in need.

Every newsletter deserves a good picture

Photographer Loes Heerink takes aerial shots of street vendors in Vietnam.

Which link was clicked most times in last week’s newsletter?

Marina’s interview with Robin and Paul Gale-Baker.

Corrections and clarifications

In last week’s newsletter, I talked about Tiny Trowel’s initiative to encourage gardeners with excess seeds to donate them to designated not-for profit organisations. I referred to this initiative as ‘Crowd harvest – Father’s Day’ but I should have referred to it as ‘Crowd harvest – seeds for Christmas’. Sorry, Cath. Too much copy-pasting! Incidently, the crowding harvest initiative was one of 5 finalists in ‘Communication for Change’ category in the recent 2017 Banksia Foundation Sustainability Awards.

Joke of the week

My sister bet me a hundred dollars I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti. You should have seen the look on her face when I drove pasta!

Read all the jokes.

New events

A local sustainable communities forum

What: What does a sustainable community look like? At this event they will be showing the highlights and thoughts that were shared at the 2017 Sustainable Communities National Summit in September, and following it up with discussion of what steps could be taken next in Greensborough, Watsonia and Montmorency to support sustainability measures and local food growers and businesses. You will also be able to meet members of Sustainable Greensborough – a new local volunteer group hoping to raise awareness and build a growing community of like-minded individuals that help and support each other to live sustainably, as well as other local groups.
When: Thursday, 9th November, 7-9pm.
Where: Greensborough.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Trybooking.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Fresh and local EVOO

What: Try some chocolate cake, lalamata biscuits and tapenade, all made with Victorian extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Learn how to identify and buy high quality olive oils, watch an olive oil making demonstration, and see how easy it is to cure table olives. The program: 10.30am – evaluating EVOOs; how to taste and what to look for; 11.30am – how to buy a high quality EVOO; understanding the importance of region, climate, harvest time and oil age; midday – olive oil making demonstration; 12.30pm – how to cure table olives; 1.30pm – how to cure table olives (repeat); 2.30pm – evaluating EVOOs; how to taste and what to look for (repeat); 3pm – olive oil making demonstration (repeat); and 3.30pm – how to buy a high quality EVOO; understanding the importance of region, climate, harvest time and oil age (repeat).
When: Saturday, 11th November, 10am-4pm.
Where: Abbotsford.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Indoor plant sale and cactus ice-cream party

What: They will have lots of indoor plants, including fiddle leafs, monstera, birds of paradise, pilea’s, mothers in law tongue, rubber figs, ferns, hanging plants and bangalow palms. They will also have cactuses and succulents. In addition, there will be a vintage ice cream van and mexican music.
If you wear a sombrero, you will get $5 off your purchase!
When: Saturday, 11th November, 10am-4pm.
Where: Abbotsford.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

The Hibi Farm and pottery studio open day

What: 11am – farm tour and produce tasting. Midday – ‘good bug’ garden walk. Ceramic wares will be on display in the pottery studio and available for purchase. The Hibi Farm is a micro suburban farm that produces bread, beer, cheese, chocolate, honey, preserves, pottery and bicycles from scratch, amid thriving fruit and vegetable gardens. It is a social experiment in sustainable living, and the hub of a spontaneous community known as ‘the hood’. Care of dairy goats has matured into an intricate, cooperative system involving over 25 people from the hood. Sharing resources, converting front and back yards to orchards and edible gardens, cycling, and keeping dairy goats, chooks and bees, are all conscious steps towards pursuing the good life. The farm is home to two families in a small two bedroom house, and hosts two artisan studios where ceramics and custom bicycle frames are crafted.
When: Saturday, 18th November, 10am-2pm.
Where: Heidelberg West.
Cost: free.
Bookings: by email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Garden master class with Jane Edmanson

What: Jane will look into organic products used in the garden plus local plants for Diamond Valley. Ask Jane about your garden problems and show her your garden creations.
When: Saturday, 18th November, midday-1pm.
Where: Mitre 10, Diamond Creek.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summary of upcoming events

Over the next week
Over the next month

View the complete calendar of upcoming events.

Nov 012017
 

Marina Bistrin interviews Robin and Paul Gale-Baker

Many of you will know Robin and Paul through Sustainable Macleod, the Macleod Veggie Swap or the Macleod Organic Community Garden. Or you might know Robin from her various presentations on fruit tree pruning and vegetable growing. Or you might know Paul through his wicking beds, including the ones that he recently built for Incredible Edible Eltham. Marina has now interviewed Robin and Paul as home growers. Here is how Marina introduces their garden: “As I look at the current back garden on their quarter acre block, I see that it is varied and essentially divides into ‘rooms’ but still holds together as one theme. It is a potager garden featuring mainly Mediterranean plants. Up the centre of the garden, in a T formation, is a faded red brick path … On the left bank is a long curving hedge of flowering lavender in front of which grow culinary herbs and orange calendula and behind which is an almond tree, persimmon, olive, pomegranate and feijoa, all underlaid with herbs … On the right bank, in the foreground, are more small-leaved herbs – thymes and savouries – draping over a wall of wooden sleepers and these break up the straight lines of garden edging.Read the full interview.

Marina is one of 5(!) people who have come forward and offered to do some home grower interviews following Helen Simpson’s ‘retirement’. We now need to find some people for them to interview! If you would be willing to be interviewed, or you know someone who has an interesting garden, email me. Finally, here is what someone has written in about Helen: “Helen’s articles have been a real highlight of the newsletter for me. She has been very generous with her time in doing them, she writes very well, and her efforts have been greatly appreciated.

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
Rockmelon
Sweetcorn

Perennial herbs

Lemon balm
Oregano
Rosemary
Sage
Tarragon

Other veggies and herbs

Asparagus
Beetroot
Carrot
Chives
Globe artichoke
Jerusalem artichoke
Lettuce
Mustard greens
Parsley
Radish
Rocket
Silverbeet
Sweet potato

Compared with October, the list gets shorter, with some summer veggies dropping off (e.g. rockmelon and zucchini) and with nothing added.

Mac’s tip of the week

Now is the time to start checking your grape vines for the caterpillars of the grapevine moth. These black and white day-flying moths (not butterflies) lay their eggs on the under-sides of the leaves and it doesn’t take long before the holes appear. As they grow, these caterpillars can eat up to 6 leaves a day each as well as the developing grapes, and severe defoliation can therefore happen. Hand pick as often as you can. If you can’t reach, or numbers are too many, you can use low-toxic, organic bacterial sprays such as Dipel or Success. For those of you with young children, or are still inspired by the wonders of nature, put some caterpillars in a ‘bug catcher’, or large container with air holes. Feed them your chosen leaves and watch them grow and pupate.

Read all of Mac’s tips.

No food swap at Diamond Creek this weekend

Pam Jenkins is away and, as a result, the Diamond Creek food swap has been cancelled.

Incredible Edible Eltham news

There are still spaces available at the official opening on 13th November at 4pm. Register your attendance now before it is too late. Meet on the railway platform at 4pm and then retire to Platform 3095 cafe and bar for complementary tapas, coffee and a free drink. Local notables who will be present include Vicki Ward MP, Mayor Peter Clarke, Sean Spencer (CEO healthAbility), Felicity Gordon (the project’s artist), Paul Gale-Baker and Paul Morland (who jointly led the building of the wicking beds).

Some news about future Eltham Farmers’ Markets

Eltham Farmers’ Market is now weekly, on every Sunday of the year (apart from Christmas Eve, etc)!

Going weekly means there are many new stallholders. On 5th November, 11(!) stallholders will be making their debut. 6 of these are from North East Melbourne:

  • A Local Baker St Andrews, from St Andrews, will be selling organic sourdough bread and croissant.
  • Kaz’s Chai, from Research, will be selling chai tea.
  • La Villa Salumi, from Kilsyth, will be selling pork sausages, bacon and smoked smallgoods.
  • Take Me Home, from Coburg, will be selling pastas, gnocchi, pizza bases, pasta sauces and crostatas.
  • The Cake Stall, from Eltham, will be selling cakes and croissants. Also, sausage rolls, pies and quiche.
  • The Mrs & Co, from Mt Evelyn, will be selling muesli.

The other 5 are from elsewhere in Victoria:

  • Mount Prospect Farm will be selling a wide range of vegetables.
  • PEACE farm will be selling a wide range of vegetables.
  • Ross Tomatoes will be selling tomatoes.
  • Silva Coffee will be selling coffee, hot chocolate, chai and tea.
  • Thriving Foods Farm will be selling a wide range of vegetables. Also, eggs.

Those of you who go to the market will know that Local Food Connect has an information marquee where members of the public can ask questions, take away leaflets, etc. With the market going weekly, we need to increase the pool of volunteers who man the marquee. Most of the questions are easy to answer and, if necessary, you can always refer the more difficult ones to ‘a higher authority’ (i.e. one of us). Training will also be available from Pam Jenkins and myself. If interested, email Pam.

Some news from the last Eltham Farmers’ Market

At the last Eltham Farmers’ Market, Maria Ciavarella, from My Green Garden demonstrated how to make onion jam/relish. Here is her recipe.

S J Crawford (aka Penny and Amber) will no longer be a stallholder at the market. The Crawford family are retiring from farming, having been at every Eltham market since our very first one in April 2014. Penny, plus daughter Amber, have been the main face of the Crawford presence while Stephen has been the farmer. Thanks for all your great produce over those years and for the warm and friendly way that you dealt with the public. You will be missed.

More community gardens in Moreland

Three more (CERES, Jewell (Brunswick) and Stock Street (Coburg)). Another way of viewing the material is via the community gardening section of the Local Food Directory. They have also been included on the map of where all the community gardens are.

CERES Jewell (Brunswick) Stock Street (Coburg)

 

Lee Tozzi is Moreland’s ‘new’ Food System Officer

The ‘new’ is in inverted commas because, although I have only just found out, Lee was apparently appointed 5 months ago. She is also continuing as Darebin’s Sustainable Food Officer. With her Moreland hat on, you can contact Lee by email or by phone (9240 1111 – Tuesdays and Thursdays only). Congratulations, Lee!

Local food news

Backyard Honey, from Surrey Hills, featured in the 16th October edition of the Whitehorse Leader.
Park Orchards Farmers’ Market and Wonga Park Farmers’ Market both featured in the October edition of The Warrandyte Diary.
Warrandyte Community Garden featured in the October edition of The Warrandyte Diary.

 
The ready made meals of Carlton’s We Feed you are now available at Apples and Sage Organic Wholefoods, Balwyn. DIVRS’s and Darebin Fruit Squad’s Harvesting the Urban Orchard project was given a Highly Commended award in the Keep Victoria Beautiful Sustainable City Awards.

‘Crowd harvest’ – Father’s Day

Gardeners everywhere often harvest more seeds than they can sensibly store. Gardeners with excess seeds are invited to send them in a Christmas card or holiday card to one or more not-for profit organisations listed below, each of which has a certified horticulturalist employed and ready to look after the seeds, either to start the seeds, store the seeds or distribute to others in need who know how to start seeds. Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Footscray, DIVRS in Preston, STREAT in Collingwood or Carrington Health in Box Hill (ask for Alex Salmon). Any questions, contact Cath Lyons (aka Tiny Trowel) by phone (0401 814679) or email.

Want to adopt a beehive?

Create Your Good Life are looking for homes in the Croydon, Ringwood, Chirnside, Warrandyte areas to host a beehive in their backyards. There is no cost to you. If interested, read their Facebook post.

Want to be on Gardening Australia?

Are you renovating a small garden space soon? If so, Gardening Australia would like to come and film your project – it could be a courtyard, a veggie patch, a balcony, a verge or other SMALL area. Send a picture of your space and a sentence or two about you and your plans to mygarden@your.abc.net.au (read their original Facebook post).

Can you sprout a corn cob?

According to this website, you can: “Simply fill a dish with 1 inch of water and place the corn cob in the water … Within a few days you will begin to see the shoots sprout upwards, you will also see the roots grow in the water.

11 useful food hacks

This video, which gives 11 specific tips about food preparation, has apparently been watched 55 million times.

Proverb of the month

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Meaning: the same set of rules remain applicable to both men and women (a ‘gander’ is a male goose); alternatively, if something is acceptable for one person, then it is (or should be) equally so for another. Literal meaning: the same sauce applies equally well to cooked geese regardless of their gender.

The proverb dates back to the 17th century but there were similar expressions going back a further 100 years (e.g. “As well for the coowe calfe as for the bull”, from 1549).

Incidently, barnacle geese are so-called because it was thought, in medieval times, that they were the adult form of goose barnacles. This was apparently because barnacle geese were never seen to nest in Europe (unbeknownst to the medievalists, they breed in places like Greenland) and have similar colouration to goose barnacles. Since barnacle geese were thought to be “neither flesh, nor born of flesh”, they were allowed to be eaten on days when eating meat was forbidden by Christianity.

Alert readers may remember that the very first proverb discussed in this newsletter was “fine words butter no parsnips“. Well, Claire Miller has submitted a very funny video which features the phrase.

Read all the proverbs.

Quote of the month

I think we all have a dream of what it would be like not to work and grow heirloom tomatoes, and I do have that dream. It would be lovely. I do love gardening and all of that, but I also love my work.” by Helen Mirren.

Joke of the week

Why did the clock in the cafe run slow? It always went back four seconds!

Read all the jokes.

New events – Backyard Harvest Festival

The annual Backyard Harvest Festival (previously called the Darebin Backyard Harvest Festival) is taking place 18-26 November and will include gardens and workshops from Moreland as well as Darebin. All the garden tours and workshops are discussed below and each costs $10 ($5 concession). If you have any questions, contact Tina Stagg by phone (8470 8673) or email.

Harry’s micro orchard garden

What: Harry is passionate about gardening in small spaces and has been lovingly tending his fully organic micro orchard garden for 13 years. At 72 square metres, this garden demonstrates you don’t need a large plot of land to grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Harry planned, constructed and planted the garden with his daughter to encourage science concepts through organic gardening. Clever grafting methods yield citruses, apples, pomegranates and stone fruits. The all year rotation of herbs and seasonal vegetables supplement the food requirements for a family of five
When: Saturday, 18th November, 10-11am.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Backyard beekeeping with Benedict Hughes, the practical beekeeper

What: As The Practical Beekeeper, Benedict Hughes collects swarms, manages hives, extracts honey, teaches and loves bees. He is a member of the Beekeeper State Quarantine Response Team with the Victorian Government (emergency beekeeper) and is approved by Darebin Council to keep bees in Darebin Parklands and Bundoora Park. This interactive, hands on workshop will introduce you to backyard beekeeping and urban honey production. Learn about the bee lifecycle, starting a new hive, beekeeping equipment, hive management and honey extraction. You will have access to bee hives and educational bee display. Participants will receive a full set of handouts. Suitable for both beginners and the more experienced beekeeper.
When: Saturday, 18th November, 10-midday.
Where: CERES.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Citrus and apple tree propagating workshop with Harry Kalathas

What: There’s nothing more satisfying than propagating your own plants. In this workshop, Harry will demonstrate two propagating techniques for citrus and apple trees: basic aerial layering and grafting. You will gain an understanding of the tools and equipment and seasonal timing requirements for each technique as well as how to take care of grafts and propagated plants during their initial growing period.

When: Saturday, 18th November, 11.15am-12.15pm.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Kat’s permaculture home garden

What: Kat Lavers is a passionate gardener, permaculture designer, trainer and facilitator. She coordinates the My Smart Garden program for Hobsons Bay City Council, runs Green Steps training for Monash University and has taught permaculture in Australia and Mongolia. Her house and garden, ‘The Plummery’, is a small-scale urban permaculture system. The 1/14 acre site produces almost all the veggies, herbs, fruit, mushrooms and electricity consumed by the household, as well as recycling all organic waste on site. There is also a retrofitted light earth studio made from on site clay and re-claimed materials.
When: Saturday, 18th November, 12.45-1.45pm.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Keeping quails with Kat Lavers

What: Keeping quails is a fantastic way to produce eggs in a small garden. They are quieter than chickens and hardy too. In this workshop, Kat will introduce you to her covey of quails and discuss their food and housing needs, including tips and tricks to reduce maintenance. And of course you will also taste some delicious quail eggs!
When: Saturday, 18th November, 2-3pm.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Lena’s courtyard garden

What: Lena is in the first year of establishing a permaculture-inspired garden in her 40 square metre courtyard. The plan is to fill this space with as many productive plants as possible whilst attracting bees and other beneficial insects. A fascination for making the best of small spaces for gardening motivates this project, and Lena will provide tips to maximise production and small space gardening resources. Re-localisation of food production, the facilitation of social connection, the rethinking of the economy of consumption and improved care for the natural environment have become a prism through which Lena’s decisions are made in all aspects of life. To Lena, life is so much more interesting living mindfully and simply!
When: Saturday, 18th November, 3.30-4.30pm.
Where: Thornbury.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Michael and Dru’s cottage food garden

What: Michael and Dru have lovingly turned the front and back yard of his rented home into an attractive and productive food garden without breaking the bank. Tidy garden beds, pretty brick baths, a rustic chook shed and greenhouse have all been built through the ingenious use of recycled materials. Chickens are integral, producing eggs and disposing of household scraps and providing valuable fertiliser, but are also cleverly managed to prevent them from decimating precious vegetables. The front garden is reminiscent of a European cottage garden with plenty of bee-attracting flowering plants among the herbs, while the rear is devoted to vegetables and fruit trees, including a feature fig. Vegetables and greens are carefully selected to ensure that the household has a supply of fresh produce all year round. Includes a demonstration of how to get the most out of homemade compost in each season.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 10-11am.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Maya’s exotic edible garden

What: Maya has created an edible garden that is as beautiful as it is fruitful. Decorative, highly productive hedges are formed from an extensive range of pruned and grafted fruit trees using a unique combination of espalier, cordon, ‘Bouche Thomas’ and dwarfing rootstock to create intriguing shapes and patterns. The garden features 28 apple trees of several varieties, a range of cane and bush berries, persimmons, cherry guavas, feijoas and citrus. Mature grape vines are trained against the house, helping cool it in summer and yielding delicious summer grapes. Maya practices organic and biodynamic gardening methods complete with recycled rain water and extensive composting systems. A netted chicken fence protects the rear garden from striking ‘Araucana’ chickens, originally bred in South America, who are kept as much for their wonderfully friendly nature as for their beautiful pale blue eggs. A home-built coffee roaster in the backyard completes the picture. This garden is a delight to all the senses, not just the tastebuds!
When: Sunday, 19th November, 11.15am-12.15pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Kelly’s re-purposed food garden

What: This multi-purpose garden was established in 2014 with an impatient, hopeful, and feeble attempt at growing a sweet potato in heavy clay soil. The acceptance of reality lead to the introduction of growing boxes and started the continuous work to improve the soil. Based around principles of sustainability and a complete inability to dispose of anything that hasn’t been utilised a number of times, much of the infrastructure in the garden is made from materials collected from hard rubbish and building sites or re-purposed from a previous life; even from within the garden itself. The garden includes established and young fruit trees, vegetables and herbs, children and toys, chickens and bees, ornamental plants, lawn, and often some kind of construction project. It is a flexible and evolving space that everyone in the house loves to be in.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 11.30am-12.30pm.
Where: Fawkner.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Katrina’s beneficial insect food garden

What: As a passionate Preston home gardener, Katrina Forstner has created a native bee friendly garden full of fruit trees, vegetables, perennial and native flowers and chickens. Find out more about attracting beneficial insects and how this productive garden thrives with homemade compost with locally sourced green waste, pest control and fertiliser courtesy of the resident chickens. Over fifteen fruit trees, grapes, berries, and pollinator attracting flowers along with several bee hotels dotted around the garden, have created a native bee haven. This garden is part of ongoing research undertaken by Melbourne University VEIL Urban Food project which measures the input and outputs of a home garden in the context of a sustainable city food system.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 12.45-1.45pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Pam’s fruitful garden

What: Pam has created a lush productive garden with a huge range of fruit trees most of which she grafted herself. There are over 70 varieties, including cherries, plums, apples, pears and citrus, as well as lots of berries, including blueberries. The garden is carefully planned with a structured layout and variety of intensive training systems to maximise fruit production. Many of the fruit trees and berries are in large pots to help manage a neutral/alkaline soil and for those areas unsuitable for in-ground planting. The microclimate created by a tall building at the rear of the block enables Pam to grow tropical plants including fruiting bananas and avocados and edible bamboos for screening and food. Wicking beds have just been installed to provide a consistent water supply to vegetables and herbs, particularly in the summer heat. Most of the rest of the garden, including pots, is watered by a drip system that can be set to automatic mode.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 1-2pm.
Where: Coburg.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Katrina’s bee hotel workshop

What: In celebration of National Pollinator Week, go along to this fascinating workshop about native bees. Katrina Forstner founder of Buzz and Dig will introduce you to the amazing world of native bees and how to attract them in to your garden as valuable pollinators for your flowers and edibles. Learn first hand why native bees are so important in urban gardens and make your very own bee hotel using materials sourced from the garden and recycled materials. You will be rewarded with increased biodiversity and better pollination and from these friendly little bees.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 2-3pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

‘Rani’s patch’ and multicultural food garden

What: Rani and her neighbourhood of wonderful gardeners have transformed the once barren treeless bike path south of Batman Station into a lush garden known as ‘Rani’s Patch’. Part of the Upfield urban forest, edibles and non-edibles are woven together to create a scented, colourful vista of vegetation. Riders and walkers can even stop and read a book from Rani’s library. The tour also includes Rani’s home food garden which is no less inspiring. Her love of cooking from many cultures including traditional Bangladeshi dishes is reflected in the diverse range of vegetables and herbs she grows. Indian spinach (‘puisak’), bitter gourd (‘korolla’), and thistle grow alongside kaffir lime, turnip, kale, eggplant, persimmon, pomegranate and nectarine. Children at Rani’s day care centre grow food too, helping them learn where food comes from and how it is used in different cultures.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 2.30-4pm.
Where: Coburg.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Angelo’s fertile food forest

What: Angelo (Deep Green Permaculture) is a sustainable gardening and permaculture presenter, trainer and writer and passionate food forest advocate. His garden won a Darebin Sustainability Award in 2012, and was featured in the prestigious Open Gardens Australia event in 2014 and 2015. Angelo’s high density food forest garden produces a huge diversity of food – stone fruits, berries, herbs and vegetables. What appears to be a verdant tumble of vegetation is actually strategic placement to create synergistic relationships and enhance the micro-climate and growing conditions for each plant. This is also an effective pest control technique resulting in a wonderfully abundant organic garden.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 3.15-4.15pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Steve and Georgia’s mini suburban farm

What: Steve and Georgia have transformed their home to a suburban mini-farm in seven years. Their garden includes over 90 fruit trees pruned to a range of forms, including espaliers, to increase productivity and make the most of spaces. It also features a front yard food forest, berries, raised veggie beds, bees and chickens. Companion planting is used to attract beneficial insects for organic pest control. The garden’s environmental footprint is reduced by using re-purposed materials as much as possible, and water efficiency measures, including grey water reuse. The garden is highly productive, and provides the bulk of the couple’s veggie, fruit, honey and egg needs year round.
When: Monday, 20th November, 6-7pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Karen Sutherland’s ‘Gunyah’ garden

What: Karen’s garden, ‘Gunyah’, meaning resting place, is actually busy all year round producing food. Karen has lived and grown food here for the last 30 years, and the garden has gradually evolved into an intensive food forest with around 200 edible and useful species. Focusing on perennial and self-seeding vegetables, particularly those that tolerate shade, Gunyah also grows: around 30 native Australian edibles; many South American fruits and tubers; and a range of culinary, medicinal and tea herbs. The garden has chickens and quail, a rooftop garden with a bee hive, a nature strip garden, an aquaponics system and a small nursery. Karen continues to learn from her garden laboratory, which informs her work as a designer, educator and writer.
When: Monday, 20th November, 6-7.30pm.
Where: Pascoe Vale South.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Steve’s water efficient garden workshop

What: As Melbourne’s climate gets hotter and drier, keeping a productive garden thriving while minimising water use is a challenge. At this workshop, Steve will discuss simple, cheap, DIY techniques to use less water, and make the most of the water you do use, including: garden design and plant selection, mulching, efficient irrigation, rainwater capture and grey water re-use.
When: Monday, 20th November, 7.15-8.15pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Food forests with Angelo Eliades

What: Passionate food forest advocate Angelo Eliades, from Deep Green Permaculture, will demonstrate how a conventional backyard has been transformed into a thriving, productive biodiverse demonstration permaculture food forest garden with 30 fruit trees, dozens of berries and multitudes of medicinal herbs, as well as plenty of exotic edibles from around the world and native bush food plants.
When: Tuesday, 21st November, 6-7pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Munir and Mittul’s compact courtyard garden

What: Through smart design, Munir and Mittul have created a productive growing space in a small courtyard, with room to spare to enjoy a backyard barbecue. Making the most of the northerly aspect, the garden features passionfruit vines, chilli bushes, dwarf nectarine, fig, strawberry guava, avocado, cherry, mandarin and apple trees. Raised keyhole garden beds with drip irrigation maximise the water and nutrient efficiency for growing vegetables and herbs. A chook house refurbished from an old bamboo cubby house completes the picture. Munir and Mittul are also the founders of Giant Grass Design, designing and building structures from ecologically sustainable bamboo.
When: Tuesday, 21st November, 6-7pm.
Where: Coburg.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Meg’s food and family garden

What: This organic garden boasts a wide variety of fruit, herbs and vegetables and also demonstrates that food gardens can be both productive spaces and recreational places. The family work, eat and play here. Self-sufficiency is not the aim, but the garden flourishes thanks to a very efficient composting system, donated worm juice and water tanks. Excess harvest, as well as saved seeds and gardening tips, are swapped with neighbours creating a wonderful food community. Go and be convinced that city people with busy work and family lives can also be a part of the growing urban agriculture movement.

When: Wednesday, 22nd November, 6-9pm.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Composting and worm farming workshop

What: It is easy to reduce your waste through composting and the rewards of your work can create a thriving, resilient garden! Heidi Sanghvi specialises in growing school gardens and has a productive home garden where compost is used as a vital input to these permaculture systems. Learn about the wonder of compost, how to establish and maintain worm farms and compost bins, as well as problem-solving tips for managing your organic waste.
When: Wednesday, 22nd November, 6-7.15pm.
Where: Coburg.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

The yard permaculture sharehouse

What: Emma, Josie and Margie will take you on an amazing journey around their permaculture garden which is bursting with produce front and back. This is one of 3 sites where the Gnomes Farming Cooperative meet to grow food locally in suburban garden spaces. There are around 40 fruiting plants on the large block, including persimmon, apples, plum, hazelnuts, bananas, passionfruit, lilly pilly and a berry forest of blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries. Maximum production is achieved through a market garden area, which this year includes 150 garlic plants, enough to supply the household for a year. The garden also features a beehive, an outdoor kitchen and wood heated bath.
When: Thursday, 23rd November, 6-9pm.
Where: Preston.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Damian’s biodiverse permaculture garden

What: Damian has been enthusiastically practicing permaculture since he attended a talk by permaculture co-founder Bill Mollison in 1977. He is also involved in replanting native vegetation on Herring Island in inner suburban Melbourne. What permaculture and bush regeneration have in common is that they both aim to establish biodiversity whether building up microbes in the soil, integrating chooks and fruit trees or attracting wildlife to the garden. The complex mix of species forms mutually beneficial relationships, all performing multiple functions such as nutrient cycling, pollination or pest control. Damian’s garden reflects his love of growing food for both humans and local native species.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 10-11am.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

George and Marika’s mini market garden

What: With higher density living, George and Marika’s backyard is an increasingly rare example of a large area completely given over to edible crops in the style of a mini market garden. George and Marika have nurtured their highly productive garden for over 5 years and are passionate promoters of home food growing. Their garden supplies them with virtually all their fresh food all year round – plus excess to share! This is one of the festivals largest and most prolific gardens, featuring an orchard, mature grapevines, large vegetable beds, and a composting system. George will generously share his pruning and creative organic pest control techniques during the tour.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 11.30am-12.30pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Antonis’ Greek garden

What: This garden reflects a piece of Greek culture in Reservoir. A giant cactus (called a prickly pear) is a key feature of the garden landscape. Established in 1975, when Antonis first came to Australia and now devotedly tended in his retirement, this garden includes a variety of seasonal and perennial edible fruits and produce. It also features a brick oven used in the past for making bread, integral to Greek cuisine. The garden is sustained with natural fertilisers and rainwater from large tanks.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 1-2pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Mark’s ‘try and try again’ garden

What: Starting with a blank slate, Mark has established his extensive food garden over 10 years. Food is incorporated into all garden areas, from the hardy drought resistant herbs on the front verge, orchard in the front yard, grapevines along the side to the fruit and nut trees and purpose build raised wicking beds of seasonal vegetables and herbs out the back. A cleverly designed deep litter chicken pen allows his Light Sussex and Barnevelder (‘Boofy’) chooks to scratch and forage for tasty grubs in the garden while protecting vegetables from hungry beaks. Mark has experimented with the garden layout and design over time, and will share what has worked and what hasn’t. He is planning to build a new home on the site soon, and will re-design some elements of the garden at the same time, in an ongoing process of improvement and renewal.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 2.30-3.30pm.
Where: Coburg.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Kate’s evolving permaculture garden

What: Kate is a passionate gardener, cook and urban farmer. Inspired by the adventures of Tom and Barbara from ‘The Good Life’, Kate grows and tends a large veggie garden, raises chooks and keeps bees. Kate is a partner in The Urban Pear, a landscape architecture and permaculture design business which aims to draw connections between the landscape and the way we eat and live. Kate is experimenting with several weed management techniques for different situations including shading, smothering, free ranging guinea pigs and acceptance, with interesting results. Significant changes next door has meant re-thinking parts of the garden and has opened opportunities for new ideas and new plantings.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 2.30-3.30pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Georgia’s compact food garden

What: Georgia’s garden will appeal to those who have downsized or don’t have much space, demonstrating that you don’t need to compromise on quality, diversity and variety of edible plants when space is limited. Georgia will share many of her space- and cost-saving food gardening tips. Many vegetables and herbs in the garden are self-propagating and are used in traditional Greek dishes. Georgia’s front yard is a colourful tribute to ornamentals, often attracting admirers and photographers.
When: Saturday, 25th November, 4-5pm.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Organic backyard chook keeping with Jessamy Miller

What: Want healthy, happy and productive chooks as part of your sustainable backyard? Jessamy Miller has a monthly column and an online blog on backyard chooks for the ABC’s Organic Gardener magazine and holds regular online Q&A sessions answering poultry queries. She is also an editor for Australasian Poultry and Grass Roots magazine. In this workshop, she will demonstrate how to set up your hen house, integrate chooks into the garden, and manage your flock using organic methods. Get the lowdown on what to feed your birds, and how to deal with some common issues.
When: Sunday, 26th November, 10-11.30am.
Where: Northcote.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Robbie’s aquaponics garden

What: Featured in his book Edible Garden Designs, Jamie Durie writes “This family is the very model of environmental awareness”. Robbie’s garden has also been in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Melbourne, 3AW, Good Organic Gardening and Sanctuary Magazine. Both front and back yards are devoted to food production, and feature two aquaponics systems in which trout and vegetables are grown in a mutually dependent relationship, enabling both to thrive. One system is homemade while the other is a purchased kit, and both are seamlessly incorporated into rest of the garden, which produces a huge variety of vegetables and herbs. Composting and free-range chickens also contribute to this garden’s sustainability credentials.
When: Sunday, 26th November, midday-1pm.
Where: Thornbury.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Kim’s recycled renters garden

What: The fact that Kim rents has not held her back from being an enthusiastic and creative food gardener who loves to experiment. She wants to encourage renters and non renters alike to try food gardening no matter how big or small a home they have. Kim’s garden reflects her love of recycled materials, gardening in tune with the changing seasons and growing what she loves to eat. Her garden is always evolving, with a range of tropical and temperate fruits, vegetables and herbs grown in her front and backyard, making use of the different micro-climates around her home. You will find Kim’s enthusiasm infectious as she shares anecdotes about her garden triumphs and failures, proving you don’t need to have a ‘green thumb’ to give it a go.
When: Sunday, 26th November, 1.30-2.30pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Lee’s generous sharing garden

What: Lee is passionate about sharing the health and well being benefits of tending to, and eating from, her bountiful garden in her social housing estate. She wanted to break down the perception that many of her neighbours had that food gardening is expensive, and is committed to making food gardening low-cost and accessible. She shares her surplus harvest, saved seeds and garden knowledge with her neighbours, friends, family and local community. Her garden features a wide range of fruit and veggies such as potato, pumpkin, tomatoes, leafy greens, strawberries kiwiberries and even a banana palm. The sense of achievement and satisfaction that Lee enjoys through growing something with her own hands and sharing / swapping seasonal excess with her neighbours is inspirational. Her garden demonstrates that growing and sharing food can bring the community together.
When: Sunday, 26th November, 3-4pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

Sharing homegrown food with Luigi and Emanuela

What: From the moment you arrive, your gregarious and hospitable hosts Luigi and Emanuela will entertain you with gardening and food preserving knowledge and stories as they showcase their abundant Mediterranean inspired garden. Features include intensively cultivated vegetable beds, a home built hothouse, food preserving area and backyard pizza oven. Luigi will share his secret to growing the biggest eggplants you have ever seen!
When: Sunday, 26th November, 4-5pm.
Where: Reservoir.
Bookings: Eventbrite.

New events – other

Big tomato giveaway

What: The Watsonia Community Gardeners are continuing their tradition of growing tomatoes to release into the community.
When: Thursday, 2nd November, 11am-midday.
Where: Watsonia Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Beeswax wraps workshop

What: Learn from Emma Grace how to make beeswax wraps to keep food fresh and hygienic without using single-use plastics. Bookings essential.
When: Saturday, 4th November, 1-3pm.
Where: Coburg.
Cost: $40 ($30 concession) plus $10 materials.
Bookings: by phone (9913 5472).
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Kildonan’s annual garden fiesta

What: The festivities will include: Peppertree Nursery selling summer veggie seedlings and plants plus pea straw, sheep poo and potting mix; at 10.30am – native bushfoods and herbs by Karen Sutherland from Edible Eden Designs; at 11am – a garden design clinic by Yvonne Pecujac from Gardens of Delight; hot food, BBQ, salads and cafe; a makers’ market and information stalls; secondhand book stall; and music and entertainment.
When: Saturday, 11th November, 10am-4pm.
Where: PepperTree Place, Coburg.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Fermentation for health

What: Learn about all things gut health plus a beginner’s guide to fermentation and what the benefits are to including this ancient food as medicine in our modern lifestyle.
When: Saturday, 11th November, 2-3pm.
Where: Watsonia Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

SEEDs Communal Garden open day

What: SEEDs is a communal garden, that grows natural networks, skills, mutual opportunities, friendships, organic food and community for all who are involved in it. This event is an open day to welcome the community and anyone interested in becoming a volunteer gardener. They will be joined by the Catalyst Training food van, who will be selling gourmet toasties (an initiative to support students undertaking Certificate I Work Education).
When: Monday, 13th November, 10am-2pm.
Where: SEEDs Communal Garden, Brunswick.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Local Government and food business masterclass

What: This interactive workshop is for Local Government staff involved in supporting the local food economy and tourism, community development and health and wellbeing planners and policy makers, as well as community food groups, food entrepreneurs, businesses and enterprise – both start-ups and those looking to expand their activities. Devita Davison will draw from her experience as the Co-Director of FoodLab Detroit to discuss the enabling environment needed for businesses working to create a fairer food system to thrive. Devita will share case studies from FoodLab Detroit and businesses will have the chance to share the challenges and the opportunities that they face now and in the future.
When: Monday, 13th November, midday-3pm.
Where: Thornbury.
Cost: $35 (includes vegetarian banquet lunch).
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Food know how sustainability sessions – The Urban Pear on fermenting and infusing at home

What: The average household in Australia throws away $2,000 worth of food every year. That means that one out of five bags of shopping that is purchased is never eaten. Join The Urban Pear to learn about fermenting and infusing sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir and vinegars.
When: Tuesday, 14th November, 11am-midday.
Where: North Fitzroy Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Cooking master class

What: Enjoy 3 tasting size courses cooked by chef Bek McMillan, from Gourmet Living, who will demonstrate step by step. All recipes are included. Menu: ham & brie tart; chicken rice salad; and Christmas pudding ice cream tart.
When: Thursday, 16th November and Friday, 17th November, both 7-9pm.
Where: Templestowe.
Cost: $42.

The age old art of preserving – bottling, jams, pickles & chutneys

What: Presenter Maria Ciavarella. What you will learn: how to select, re-use and sterilise suitable jars; how to use standard kitchen equipment to make preserves, without needing to buy specialist items; and how to bottle fruit, and make jams, pickles and relishes and the science behind the techniques. What you will get: recipes all of the preserves made; small (new) jars of the 4 preserves made on the day; and tastings of other preserves made by My Green Garden. Learn how to preserve the seasonal abundance of fruits and veggies safely, using a variety of techniques. These techniques can be used on most fruit and veggies so that you learn to make your own delicious preserves, with no artificial additives and nasty numbers. No preserving background is assumed. Dehydrating is also demonstrated.
When: Saturday, 18th November, 10am-1.15pm.
Where: Donvale.
Cost: $75.
Bookings: WeTeachMe.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Stock Street Community Garden mindful gardening

What: Make mini succulent and/or cacti gardens to take home at the end of the day. If you have some of your own plants you would like to include in your own zen garden then please feel free to bring them along. Mindfullness is a state of calm awareness of ones surroundings. Gardening is one of the best ways to practice mindfullness and it’s also nice to do in a group as you can make each other calmly aware of being attentive and focusing on our senses.
When: Sunday, 19th November, 2-5pm.
Where: Stock Street Community Garden, Coburg.
Cost: $5.
Bookings: contact Sarah by email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Water wise gardening and summer veggies

What: Join Felicity Gordon and the Watsonia Community Gardeners for a practical session on caring for your veggies through the summer months. The session will also include a seed sowing demonstration so you can grow your own summer veggies.
When: Thursday, 23rd November, 11am-midday.
Where: Watsonia Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: just turn up.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Summer pruning workshop

What: Presenter Chris England. For beginners or as a refresher for more experienced pruners. An introductory lecture will be followed by a hands-on workshop. Using the demonstration fruit trees in the orchard of the Burnley Gardens, you will learn to summer prune fruit trees to get maximum fruit. Chris will also demonstrate how to get fruit on espalier fruit trees.
When: Saturday, 2nd December, 10am-1pm.
Where: Richmond.
Cost: $65.
Bookings: by phone (9035 6815) or email.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Christmas cake decorating

What: Irene, from the Victorian Cake Decorating Society, will provide tips and tricks for decorating your Christmas cake.
When: Monday, 4th December, 10.30-11.30am.
Where: Thomastown Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: their website.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

Food know how sustainability sessions – Plan, Buy, Cook presents preparing for the holiday season

What: The average household in Australia throws away $2,000 worth of food every year. That means that one out of five bags of shopping that is purchased is never eaten. Join Gaby and Jen from Plan Buy Cook to learn some simple ways to reduce the food waste and save you time and money.
When: Tuesday, 5th December, 11am-midday.
Where: North Fitzroy Library.
Cost: free.
Bookings: Eventbrite.
Further information: LFC calendar entry.

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