LFC News February 24 2021

Feb 242021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Brent Collett, Deb Thomson, Fay Loveland, Gemma Elliott, Gina Wilson, Jane Dyer, John Damiano, Joy Frake, Kat Lavers, Megan Goodman, Pam Jenkins, Robin Gale-Baker, Sonia Randhawa, Stuart Rodda and Zofia Di Stefano.

Kat Lavers on seed saving

Kat has written an article for our website on the subject of seed saving. As Kat says in her introduction, “There are many reasons to save your own seed. It is far cheaper and your seeds will usually be fresher and stronger than what you can buy in shops. You can also gradually develop new varieties with the flavours you love and they will become more adapted to your garden’s conditions over time. Finally, we are at risk of losing thousands of open-pollinated seed varieties because they are not commercially valuable so, by saving seeds at home, you are helping to preserve the genetic heritage passed down by our gardening ancestors.” She then goes on to discuss hybrid versus open-pollinated seeds, self-pollination versus cross-pollination, seed collection, seed cleaning and seed storage. She also discusses the characteristics and issues of seed saving for each of the major families of vegetables.

Kat has also made a 2 hour Zoom presentation on the subject.

Stuart’s small hand tool of the week – weeding tools

Weeding tools are used for cutting off weeds or hooking them out of the soil. Many are multi-pronged or have flat blades or a variety of other shapes. My favourite is the V-shaped delta hoe (e.g. see www.forestrytools.com.au/index.php?id=1189) and I have recently acquired a stainless steel one, Japanese made, which is much better quality than my old steel one. It has a sharp point and sharp edges on both sides so it can quickly shear off weeds at or below ground level or hook the tough ones out of the soil. It is best used with gloves on, though it is not dangerously sharp in adult hands. It is similar in concept to the ‘Ho-Mi’ Korean tool (e.g. see www.deepgreenpermaculture.com/2019/04/26/product-review-ryset-ho-mi-asian-hand-cultivator).

Read Stuart’s other articles about garden tools.

Robin on the advantages, do’s and don’ts of wicking beds

Robin Gale-Baker has written an article for our website on the advantages, do’s and don’ts of wicking beds. As Robin says in her introduction, “The price of wicking beds has come down considerably in the last couple of years with the availability of corrugated beds with water tight bases. Corrugated beds do not need a pond liner, which is the expensive component of wicking beds made of macrocarpa, a salvaged wood. And they are ready made, saving on building costs. There are now so many advantages of wicking beds that they are well worth considering.”

Robin then gives 8 advantages of wicking beds, starting with “50% reduction in water usage compared to an in-ground or raised equivalent size bed.” Then 5 don’ts, starting with “Don’t try to build a cheap wicking bed – they invariably fail. Apple crates are cheap construction of unsuitable wood and deteriorate quickly.” And then 6 do’s, starting with “Use a proven design. Water reservoir 300 ml depth, soil 250-300ml depth with inlet at the opposite end to the outlet. This is what works! Recognise that there has been much improvement in design by others since Colin Austin first invented wicking beds.”

Read the full article.

Angelo’s latest article

How to identify and treat herbicide contamination of commercial soil, compost and manure.

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Yes you did know – where to buy chickens

Last week, Rebecca Haschek asked where locally she could buy heritage breed, ‘point of lay’ chickens. Here are the suggestions of various newsletter readers:

  • Abundant Layers (Nar Nar Goon): australorps, sussexes, hamburgs, orpingtons, araucanas, plymouth rocks, barnevelders, welsummers, wyandottes, salmon faverolles, silkies, pekins, Polish, light sussexes and Belgium d’uccles.
  • John Damiano (Doreen): faverolles, frizzles, vorwerks and wyandottes.
  • Kinhaven Chickens (Kangaroo Ground): polish bantams, australorp, wynadottes, plymouth rocks and pekins.
  • Misty Valley Hens: (Kangaroo Ground): bantams, Belgian D’uccles, orpingtons and wyandottes.
  • Peter The Chicken Man (Preston): orpingtons, brahmas, Japanese bantams, barnevelders and cochins.
  • Yummy Gardens (St Andrews): australorp utilities, silkie bantams, buff cochins, crested cream legbars, cuckoo legbars, French wheaten marans, light sussex bantams and pearl guinea fowl.

Yummy Gardens got the most nominations. As Gina Wilson said: “Greg [Parsons] has been breeding and selling chickens for years, with my latest chicken from him being a crested cream legbar who lay blue eggs (see the dark brown chicken in the photo). He also builds chicken coops, like mine, to suit individual needs and backyards. And he designs and constructs vegetable gardens.” Greg is also a reader of this newsletter.

Volunteers are needed to help grow new seed libraries in Banyule and Nillumbik

Seed libraries are coming to local libraries and community centres around Banyule and Nillumbik from mid-March. If you have an interest in seed saving and can contribute an hour or two per week, consider volunteering your time and energy helping to support one of these new seed libraries. The role involves labelling and filling envelopes with seeds, talking to library patrons about how to use the seed library and organising the seed collections. If potentially interested, contact Fay Loveland by email (fay.loveland@gmail.com) or phone (0405 790150) to register your interest.

Diamond Valley Community Support’s Food Drive

Diamond Valley Community Support (DVCS), who are based in Greensborough, are an emergency relief organisation covering Nillumbik and Banyule. Over the past year, they have seen a large increase in the local demand of food and other emergency relief items. You can help them by sponsoring a food parcel. Alternatively, during February and March, they are seeking donations of breakfast cereals, baked beans, tuna and long life milk. There are three donation points:

  • Greensborough Plaza: Donation wall located on the first floor opposite to Post Office. 7 days per week.
  • DVCS: Shop 378a, Level 3, Greensborough Plaza. Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm.
  • Carenet: 143-145 Parker Street, Templestowe. Tuesday and Friday only.

The 2021 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants are now open

The 2021 Woolworths Junior Landcare Grants are now open, with a closing date of 19th March. The grants are worth up to $1,000 each and are for primary schools and early education centres. The possible initiatives include: planting a bush tucker garden; planting a vegetable garden; or running a composting or recycling project.

An extra $500 is available for any project which includes a bee-related component. For example: building and installing a native beehive; creating pollinator gardens featuring plants that attract bees; or pollinator education programs. They are calling this the bee bonus.

Whittlesea’s Culture in the kitchen videos

Whittlesea Council is producing a series of videos where you can learn how to cook dishes of cultural significance and meet some local community chefs. Each episode is filmed in real time so you can cook along. The first two videos featured Serap Durnaglu making the Turkish dish ali nazik and Dalal Sleiman making the Chaldean dish kilecha. Next week’s video will feature Nathalie Mbala making the Cameroonian dish ndole.

Live in Nillumbik?

Bev Robertson has written in to say that Nillumbik Council currently have a survey open entitled Have your say – our people, our place, our future. The survey closes on 28th March.

Meg’s garden this month

I am finally picking ripe tomatoes and I fill my bowl with a wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes. The scent of the tomato foliage makes me smile as I work. I brush the tops of the Italian large leaf basil for the scent. I think that the herb will pair beautifully with my tomatoes in a salad topped with a ball of burratta and a little olive oil, salt and black pepper. The late summer harvest is finally here and my early morning harvesting is now daily. The tromboncinos, butter beans and sweetcorn Jolly Roger are all performing well. I am now hoping for a few more warm days that may help the capsicums and chillies to start to ripen.

The passionfruit vine is fruiting prolifically and I never know what to do with them all. They fill the boxes that I have placed at the front gate for passersby. We are enjoying the satsuma and greengage plums (as are the birds). The greengages are our favourite. They are greenish yellow and intensely sweet but they are less abundant this year than the blood plums (which really need to join the passionfruit in the boxes at the front gate). I spend time lightly stewing some of the plums for the freezer to add to pies and crumbles when the weather is cooler. I also freeze cut plum slices on trays and then transfer the pieces to bags to store for use in baking things such as this simple clafoutis (see picture). A clafoutis is a traditional custard tart that can be served either hot or cold. It uses four egg yolks, but the whites can be frozen for later use or, while the oven is on, they make beautiful walnut meringues.

Plum clafoutis

4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
100g caster sugar
250ml cream
80g almond meal
2 teaspoons plain flour
about 5 plums, pitted and sliced

Whisk the sugar, yolks and whole eggs. Add the cream, almond meal and flour and gently whisk to incorporate.

Pour the batter into a lightly greased or lined baking dish or lined tart tin and arrange fruit on top.

Bake at 180degC for around 40 minutes until golden on top and just set in the middle.

Walnut meringues

4 egg whites
200g sugar
150g walnuts, crushed
pinch of salt

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form, adding the sugar in small amounts as you go. Gently fold in the walnuts using a slotted spoon.

Place small piles of the meringue mixture onto a lined baking tray. Bake at 175degC for around 30-40 minutes or until just starting to brown on the peaks.

Cool on trays.

Note: you can use a piping bag, but I like the rustic look.

Read more of Meg’s recipes.

What seeds to plant in March

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

Brassicas

Broccoli
Cabbage
Brussels sprouts  
Cauliflower
Kale
Pak Choy
Other cool season veggies  

Broad beans
Leafy greens

Lettuce
Mizuna
Mustard greens  
Rocket
Silverbeet
Spinach
Roots

Beetroot  
Carrot
Potato
Radish
Shallot
Other

Chives
Fennel
Leeks
Parsley

Compared with February, all the brassicas are now on the list, plus broad beans, rocket and spinach. The best months for planting brassicas are March and April. What I do is plant seeds in March so that, if they don’t germinate, I can either try again in April or cheat and buy some seedlings.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link last week was Bruno’s video of bees in his cactus flowers..

Proverb (or phrase) of the month

Good egg. Meaning: an agreeable or trustworthy person. The precise origin is not known but only dates back to the early 20th Century. It is derived from its antonym (aka opposite), bad egg, meaning an disagreeable or untrustworthy person, which is of American origin and dates back to the mid 19th Century. The original meaning of bad egg was ‘someone or something that disappoints expectations’ and is an allusion to the disappointment felt when cracking or shelling an egg only to find that it is bad.

Here is an interesting page from the Australian Eggs website about bad eggs. For example: 1. the best before date is calculated as six weeks from the day the egg is packed into the carton and 2. hard-boiled eggs have a far shorter shelf life than raw eggs because the boiling makes the shell more porous.

Neither good egg nor bad egg is related to curate’s egg, which means something which is partly bad and partly good, and which was discussed in this newsletter a few months ago.

Read more food-related proverbs.

Gardening quote of the month

“Gardening is a humbling experience.” by Martha Stewart.

Read more gardening quotes.

Joke (or pun) of the week

Chocolate is vital for our survival. Dinosaurs didn’t have chocolate and look what happened to them. [If you wish, substitute ‘chocolate’ with ‘kale’ in this joke.]

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Free.

There are lots of garden tours coming up in the next six weeks so we have put together a garden tour calendar.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
February
March
April

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
February
March
April
In Richmond

LFC News February 17 2021

Feb 172021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Aimee Maxwell, Angelo Eliades, Bruno Tigani, Charles Dickerson, Lucinda Flynn, Mary Rogers, Maude Farrugia, Rebecca Haschek, Robin Gale-Baker, Stuart Rodda, Tom Danby, Vasundhara Kandpal and Vera Herman.

Obviously, all the events listed in this newsletter are conditional on the current Covid-19 restrictions being lifted.

Re-opening news (assuming the current lockdown is not extended!)

The Blackburn North food swap at NewHope Baptist Church will re-start on Saturday, 27th February, 10-11am.

The Eltham Community Craft and Produce Market on Sunday will be their last market before it permanently closes.

Stuart’s favourite small hand tools

Stuart’s article last week on digging tools attracted a certain amount of correspondence which has caused Stuart to re-think some of his upcoming material. In particular, he became worried that people might think that all sorts of tools are necessary, which they are not. He therefore decided that, before he discusses weeding tools, forks, hooks, planters, etc, he should clarify what his favourite tools are.

Here is Stuart: “To keep the number of small hand tools to a minimum, I have whittled down a long list to just four tools which cover most small scale soil–related activities in the garden:

  1. A ‘rake’.
  2. A ‘trowel’.
  3. A bulb planter’.
  4. A (stainless steel) delta hoe.”

Tom Danby adds (picture far right): “I want to add another fabulous tool. This was handmade as a fundraiser by Karen (ex Myanmar) refugees to a traditional shape. The small (15cm) plough head sits under your hand pointing back towards you – the combination of point, flat edge, and sharp rounded edge makes this a universal digging, spreading, cutting, and trenching tool. I rarely need anything else (and it hangs up out of the way too).”

Dougharty Baker

Dougharty Baker, from Heidelberg Heights, are a new maker of sourdough bread using Certified Organic ingredients. You order the bread online and it is then delivered to the following suburbs: Bellfield, Heidelberg, Heidelberg Heights, Heidelberg West, Ivanhoe, Kingsbury, Macleod, Rosanna and Viewbank. There are also pickup points in Clifton Hill, Heidelberg Heights and Ivanhoe. Baking to order means that there is less waste. Their breads include fruit loaf, rye, spelt/khorasan blend, multigrain, white, wholemeal and wholemeal spelt plus they also make buns and crackers. They are all slow-fermented and made with just flour, water and salt. No commercial yeasts or bread additives are used. Maude Farrugia, the proprietor of Dougharty Baker is both a contributor to PIP magazine and a long term newsletter reader. Congratulations Maude! Read their Local Food Directory page.

There are now 21 local makers of bread and baked goods in our Local Food Directory.

Yes, you did know – composting vs worm farms vs bokashi

Last week, Hanh Truong said that she didn’t want to use bokashi because of the ‘chemicals’ and asked about composting versus worm farms. Lots of you replied and you all agreed that bokashi doesn’t contain ‘chemicals’.

Tom Danby: “The bokashi juice is the contents of plant cells, released by the fermentation/rot process, so it is not surprising that the worms object. It should be diluted at least 1:20 or 1:100 before spaying back over the plant. It is concentrated minerals, enzymes, plant proteins and more, so technically chemicals but with no pejorative overtones.”

Robin Gale-Baker: “Bokashi mix contains living micro-organisms, wheat bran, rice husks, water and molasses – none of which are ‘chemicals’. It is an excellent addition to compost.

“If I had to choose between a compost heap and a worm farm, I would always choose compost but they have different applications so both are valuable for the gardener. If you do not want to attract vermin to your compost, then a combination of bokashi and worm farm works well for food scraps.”

Lucinda Flynn: “Bokashi bins use a process of fermentation to break down organic waste, as opposed to decomposition (which is what happens in a regular compost bin). The powder that you sprinkle on a bokashi is not a chemical as such; rather, it is living microorganisms stored in an inactive form in a grain base. You can compare it to freeze dried baker’s yeast, which remains inactive until you mix it with warm water. Once the grain base is sprinkled into the bokashi bin and gets wet, the organisms come to life and start fermenting your food scraps.

“When you put your bokashi scraps into a compost pile, the worms might not like it initially because it is probably a bit acidic – think of wine or vinegar, both fermented. But it is still good, healthy material to add to your garden.”

Angelo Eliades: “There aren’t any ‘chemicals’ with bokashi. It utilises a combination of microorganisms to ferment food scraps and the end product is acidic, just like yoghurt. Fermented bokashi can be dug into the ground or put into compost bins.

“Most people don’t understand which garden recycling systems should be use for what purpose. Compost is for garden waste, prunings and clippings which break down slowly; worm farms are for kitchen waste which breaks down quickly; and bokashi is for kitchen waste, including foods that can’t go into worm farms. Food scraps can go into compost (and many people do it) but it attracts rodents and worm farms and bokashi are better systems for processing them. If there are worms in your compost, this is an indicator that ready to use and should be placed in the garden.

“I have written a number of relevant articles on my website: Bokashi composting, how to process waste that can’t go in your compost or worm farm; What materials can you put into your compost bin and what not to compost; and Can you put earthworms in the compost bin?.”

Charles Dickerson: “Bokashi does not use ‘chemicals’ at all. You either spray a liquid or sprinkle a bran inoculated with microbes onto your food waste. These microbes then ‘pickle’ your food waste (hence the vinegary smell). You can then either add it to the ground directly or add it to the compost bin. I think of bokashi as a pre-compost step and the longer you keep it in its container the more pre-composted it gets.

“To add it to the ground, dig a hole and bury the waste at least 10-15 cm down is the traditional method. Place wire netting over the hole to keep your dog from digging it up. It is completely broken down in a month.

“To add it to a compost bin, mix some straw/leaves through the waste beforehand to blot up any liquid (if you add the neat waste it will upset the worms as it is acidic). I also place a 30-50mm layer of straw/leaves in the compost bin first as this keeps the waste away from the worms until it has broken down.

“The benefit of bokashi over a worm farm is you can put any sort of food waste in the bin. Citrus, oil, meat can be added to bokashi whereas that’s a no no for a worm farm. Regarding oil, blot it up with shredded copier paper (from a home paper shredder) and then add that to the bokashi bin.”

Mary Rogers: “My compost bin is a worm farm. I think the worms are the garden variety and they love living there.”

Yes, you did know – potato problems

Pauline Webb asked what was eating her potatoes and how should she control it. Several of you have now replied.

Angelo Eliades: “If the rusty discolouration visible on the potato is only skin deep and has ragged edges, then the problem is potato scab. This condition is worse in light soils under dry conditions. To prevent it, dig in compost before sowing tubers and do not add lime to soil. If, however, there are large holes eaten in the flesh of the potato tuber, that’s a sign of slug damage (slugs can burrow and feed underground).”

Aimee Maxwell: “It looks like potato scab to me. Read the treatment suggestions on the Plant Natural Research Center website.”

Vera Herman: “If Pauline searches for ‘potato diseases in Australia’, there are lots of info and pictures of potato diseases. Is Pauline’s soil slightly acidic? Did she plant seed potatoes & practice crop rotation? Diggers recommends a 3-year crop rotation for potatoes, i.e. don’t plant potatoes in the same spot for 3 years.”

Do you know – where to buy chickens?

Rebecca Haschek wants to know where she can buy some ‘point of lay’ (POL) chickens. “I don’t want ISA browns… I’d rather get some heritage breeds as I want a number of chickens to help process my organic waste and don’t want to be overrun by eggs. Friendly, gentle breeds are a must for the kids. Bantams are ok too. I’ve found some breeders, but they are over an hour away and I’d rather get them from the local area if possible.” Rebecca lives in Diamond Creek. Email your suggestions.

Bees in a cactus flower

Bruno Tigani has sent in this video of bees going crazy in his cactus flowers.

Vasundhara’s recipe of the week – tofu with mushroom gravy

Ingredients

The tofu
1 block of firm tofu, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
fresh thyme for garnish

The sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2½ cups of white mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1½ cups of vegetable broth
3 tablespoons flour
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Method

The tofu
Preheat the oven to 200degC.

Cut the tofu into slices and place it on a baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder and bake for 20 minutes.

The sauce
While the tofu is in the oven, prepare the sauce.

Heat the oil over medium heat, add the onion and sliced mushrooms and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the flour, continue cooking and stir for about 5 minutes until it’s absorbed by the mushrooms.

Add 1 cup of broth, stirring until the liquid is incorporated and thickened, there should be no lumps.

Season with black pepper and thyme. Simmer at low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes).

Read more of Vasundhara Kandpal’s plant-based recipes on our website.

The history of this newsletter and the website: the second half of 2014

I was originally attracted to Local Food Connect because its stated mission at the time was to act as an umbrella organisation, supporting other local food organisations. The Local Food Directory fitted well with this objective, as it is about promoting local food producers, so expanding the directory was where I decided to start adding content.

As soon as the Local Food Directory came into being, it became clear to me that ‘Nillumbik and Banyule’ was not a natural geographic area to define as ‘local’. As someone who lives in Eltham, it did not make sense to me to exclude Templestowe (which is 4km away) whilst including Kinglake (which is 38km away). Combining this with technical, graphical arguments for the area of interest to be rectangular(!), we came up with the concept of ‘North East Melbourne’, with the bottom left corner defined by the CBD and the top right corner defined by Kinglake.

A second issue was whether the directory should be limited to primary producers (i.e. farmers) or also include secondary producers (e.g. makers of condiments and cakes). Some people argued that secondary producers should be excluded unless their ingredients had been grown locally, which would have excluded most of them. My view was (and is) that a major aspect of the local food movement is ‘community’ and that local makers of food are definitely part of the ‘local food community’. A few people also unsuccessfully argued that wine and chocolate should be excluded on the grounds that they were overly bourgeois.

Two important procedural rules were put in place. First, I would proactively seek out organisations for inclusion and would write the initial, draft material for them based on their websites, Facebook pages, etc (as I had learned from my involvement in the original Nillumbik Council survey of local food producers, a more passive approach, simply inviting organisations to send in material, results in a much smaller and patchier directory). Second, an organisation should only be in the directory if it wanted to be and if it had approved the words in its entry (there are over 100 local food producers who I have written to inviting them to be part of the directory but who have never replied and are therefore not in).

I also established the personal rule that I would sample the food or drink of each of the organisations in the directory.

By end 2014, the Local Food Directory had successfully been expanded to cover the whole of North East Melbourne.

Joke (or pun) of the week

How do you know that carrots are good for your eyesight? You never see a rabbit wearing glasses.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Free.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
February
March

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
February
March
April
In Richmond

LFC News February 10 2021

Feb 102021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Hanh Truong, Helen Simpson, Merrin Layden, Robyn Patton, Stuart Rodda, Tori Scholten and Vasundhara Kandpal.

Stuart’s small hand tool of the week – digging tools

Each week for the next few weeks, Stuart Rodda is going to discuss some of the small hand tools that he uses and favours. Here’s how he introduces the topic: “Hands are great ‘tools’ but are so much more effective with the right gardening tool in them. To dig holes, make furrows, remove weeds, turn over soil, etc, a huge variety of tools have been invented (I have most of them!). However, some are too specialised, don’t work so well or break easily, so I am mentioning a few of my favourites which I use all the time and recommend for someone starting out.” Stuart’s first discussion is on digging tools.

Digging tools are small shovel-like tools for digging out plants/weeds or transplanting. They can be plastic, steel or aluminium, with or without a secure contoured hand grip. My favourite is a solid alloy tool with a rounded grippy handle. Being alloy, it won't rust (like steel) or snap or break down in sunlight (like plastic), is light in weight and can be used for long periods without giving you blisters. Wooden handles are ok but many eventually split or rot, depending on quality, so I prefer a rubberised moulded handle.

Rob Dolan Wines

Rob Dolan Wines are not new but they are new to our Local Food and Drink Directory. They are based in Warrandyte South and make a full range of wines including Arneis, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Shiraz Merlot, Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. Their cellar door is open 7 days a week, 10am-5pm and you can also buy their wine online. Or buy from the Dark Horse Produce Store in Watsons Creek or Nillumbik Cellars in Diamond Creek. Read their Local Food and Drink Directory page. Welcome Rob, Tori and colleagues!

Calling all Manningham residents

3000acres want to organise a community olive harvest in Manningham later in the year, whereby local olive trees are harvested and turned into free olive oil for the local community. But they need to interest the Council in the event and this, in turn, depends on them demonstrating that there is sufficient local interest. You don’t need your own olive tree to be involved, 3000acres will provide resources on how to get harvesting. Register your interest.

A new community garden in Brunswick

A new community garden (Bulleke-bek Park Community Garden) is being developed on the corner of West Street and Breese Street in Brunswick. On Sunday (14th February), 10.30-11.30am, they are meeting for a chat to share ideas and plan next steps. Everyone welcome. Feel free to take along any seeds or baby plants that you think might survive (and your tools) to plant and experiment. Here is their Facebook page.

Do you know – composting vs worm farms vs bokashi?

Hanh Truong has written in: “I have used bokashi before and I just don’t like the idea of pouring chemicals back into the garden. I remember tipping the waste into my compost bin and the worms wiggle like they don’t like it so I stopped using the bokashi bin. What are your thoughts on pouring chemicals into kitchen waste and then back into our garden? Also, is composting better to have than a worm farm?” Email your thoughts.

No, you didn’t know – potato problems

Last week, Pauline Webb asked what was eating her potatoes and how should she control it. See photo right. No one answered. Anyone willing to answer this week? Email me.

More on the cost of ginger

Helen Simpson has written in: “I believe that ginger is particularly expensive this year because many of the ginger growers up Bellinger and Byron Bay way didn’t harvest in June last year because of Covid-19 issues. I’m not sure if this was due to a lack of people to harvest or because it was thought that the distribution network wasn’t there. Anyhow, it has now created the current shortage and hence cost.”

More on my mate Costa

Last week’s video about tomatoes not ripening by ‘my mate’ Costa was by far the most popular link in last week’s newsletter. I presume that this was because of the subject matter (green tomatoes) but just possibly a few people watched it because of my supposed relationship with Costa (mates) so I have decided to admit that our mateship is actually limited to me watching him on TV. I did, however, once take a photo of him that I’m rather proud of (see right).

More on what to do with old style netting

Robyn Patton has written in: “I’ve been building up an area to put my chook pen. I’ve been digging old mesh and netting generously around the boundary to try and stop foxes, feral cats, rats and snakes from digging in to eat my chooks and their eggs.”

Vasundhara’s recipe of the week – dairy-free mac and cheese

Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews or macadamias
1 medium peeled carrot, steamed or roasted
¼ cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
½ cup water, plus more for soaking
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 servings macroni

Method

Completely cover the nuts in a bowl with water. Let soak for 2-6 hours, or refrigerate and soak overnight.

Combine all the ingredients (including the ½ cup water) and blend in a blender or with an immersion blender until completely smooth.

Transfer to a small pot and mix in the cooked pasta.

Taste and add extra seasonings (onion, salt, nutmeg, pepper) as desired (Vasundhara likes to add another ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch more nutmeg).

Read more of Vasundhara Kandpal’s plant-based recipes on our website. Vasundhara is a professional cook who operates a meals delivery service called Green Karma in Briar Hill, Eltham, Eltham North and Montmorency. Read her menu and order.

The history of this newsletter and the website – part 1

I thought that it might be interesting to say a few words about how the website and newsletter have evolved over the last 8 or so years. In so doing, I will talk a bit about the main sections of the website and how and when they came to be, plus some of the philosophies underlying some of the material. I will split this discussion over a number of weeks. This week, I’m going to focus on the first half of 2014, which is effectively when I first became involved.

I took over the management of the LFC website in late 2013, at which time it comprised only 15 pages and received only around 7 visitors per day. The obvious immediate task was to review the organisation of the existing material, moving things around and changing some aspects of the technical platform. In my opinion, WordPress is the obvious technical platform for just about every local website and the key to a good WordPress site is effective use of plugins, the vast majority of which are free. The main initial plugin decision was a choice of calendar (All-in-One Event Calendar) and this is still used on the current website. Hence the calendar was born.

In early 2014, Nillumbik Council completed a survey of the local food producers around Nillumbik and they and we agreed that the LFC website should be the vehicle for publishing the results of that survey. Again this required a choice of plugin (Business Directory Plugin) and again that plugin is still used on the current website. Hence the Local Food Directory was born.

We started Eltham Farmers’ Market in April 2014 and decided that its website should be part of the LFC website. That required yet another plugin for the lists of stallholders (TablePress) and again this is still in use.

By mid 2014, the website comprised a few hundred pages and received around 60 visitors a day. The material focused on local food swaps and food producers in Nillumbik and Banyule. I hadn’t yet started to generate any material myself.

Joke (or pun) of the week

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what does garlic do? Keeps everyone away.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Free.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

When looking at a calendar, remember that you can:

  • Filter the list of events by suburb or suburbs using the green ‘location’ button top left.
  • Show all the event descriptions using the ‘expand all’ button top right.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
February
March

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
February
March

LFC News February 3 2021

Feb 032021
 

Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Alison Raven, Ann Stanley, Fay Loveland, Gayle Parkes, Hanh Truong, Lucinda Flynn, Maude Farrugia, Melissa Foong, Pauline Webb and Vasundhara Kandpal.

Re-opening news

Greensborough food swap (which was held at the community garden at Diamond Valley Library) is in abeyance pending finding someone to organise it.

Ann visits the garden of Claire Smith, from Mooroolbark

Late last year, Ann Stanley visited the gardens of Claire Smith and Jenny Husselbee, both from Mooroolbark. As Ann says in her write-up: “People of Mooroolbark! You have inspiring people among you. Of course, you already know this(!) but you may not know these two people: Claire Smith and Jenny Husselbee have both established productive permaculture gardens on challenging sites in Mooroolbark, Claire on boggy land not far from where Lilydale Toppings were sourced and Jenny on clay soil near the site of the Montrose brickworks. Neither garden is on prime agricultural land but both sites produce significant amounts of food, proving that, with some attention to your site’s deficits and working with the natural supplies of light, water and soil, a garden can be productive. Both gardens showcase the permaculture approach to food growing, which is based on the integration of plant, animal and community resources.” Ann has now written up her visit to Claire’s garden. Her write-up of Jenny’s garden will follow in a subsequent newsletter.

Some of you will know Claire as the organiser of the Mooroolbark Urban Harvest Swap, whilst others might have been to some of her the Permaculture Victoria Bee Group events that we occasionally advertise in this newsletter. Or you might even have been on the same Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) as her. When Claire moved into her ½ acre garden 6 years ago, it was boggy and had no edibles so she dug trenches, added coffee grounds and built up her soil. Now she has a veggie patch, around 40 fruit trees, chickens and bees.

Read the full interview writeup.

We need more people to come forward for Ann or Judy to visit their garden and interview them. If you are potentially on for this, please email me.

A new local producer of olive oil – 800 Trees

800 Trees in Hurstbridge is a small olive grove that produces delicately fragrant olive oil with a distinctive ‘cloudy’ appearance. It is rainwater-fed and guarded (and fertilised) by their resident alpacas. Their main olive varieties for producing olive oil are frantoio, corregiola and manzanilla, with giant kalamatas sold fresh for making table olives. The olives are cold pressed and filtered only once. You can currently buy their olive oil at IGA Xpress Hurstbridge, Aumanns At Warrandyte or Quintons SUPA IGA, Warrandyte. Read their page in our Local Food Directory.

This is where I would normally say “Welcome, Melissa” but as she is a longstanding newsletter reader I am instead going to say “Congratulations, Melissa“.

There are now 4 olive oil producers in our Local Food Directory.

Do you know – what to do with old netting?

Alison Raven has written in: “Is there any way of recycling the old fruit tree netting that will be illegal come September, when the netting laws in Victoria change? Agriculture Victoria says: ‘When disposing of the old netting, reduce the chance of further entanglements by placing the old netting into a strong biodegradable bag before putting into landfill.’ I don’t want to put it in landfill unless there is absolutely no other option. I assume it is made of some kind of plastic, so I would have thought it could be recycled somehow. There will be mountains of old nets going into landfill otherwise.”

This has actually been the subject of recent discussion within NERP. Lucinda Flynn asked her council (Nillumbik) and got this reply: “Unfortunately we have not been able to source any options for recycling plastic netting material.“. The Council, in turn, contacted REDcycle and got this reply: “Whilst the material itself may be able to be REDcycled (only if it is polypropylene PP, LDPE or HDPE, not if it is actually nylon), the problem with this is that they have had long exposure to the sun, meaning the plastic has already started to deteriorate (and some are often quite dirty as well). Any materials in this state cannot then be used, as it impacts the structural integrity of the final products made from the plastics. Further, unfortunately we are not actually able to accept commercial/industrial or large volume soft plastics like this. Even if the bird netting is clean, it would all need to be cut to A3 size pieces or smaller before we could accept it, otherwise it becomes entangled in the processing machinery.”

Anyone else like to say anything? Email me.

Do you know – potato problems?

Pauline Webb has written in: “What grub or slug is eating my potatoes while they are in the soil (see photo)? Is this skin potato scab or something else? How should I control it?” Email me with your answers.

Why are your tomatoes still green?

A number of people have been asking me why their tomatoes haven’t (yet) ripened. Well, I asked my mate Costa and here is his reply.

Want to win $100 gift voucher for The Diggers Club?

Open Garden Victoria are running a competition for most impressive and productive veggie patch. In other words, they are looking for good examples of home food gardens. The winner will receive a $100 gift voucher for The Diggers Club. Closing date: 28th February. Read more and potentially submit your photos and words.

Angelo’s latest article – citrus leaf problems

Citrus problems – leaves curling inwards along their length.

Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.

Growing ginger in Melbourne

Hanh Truong has written in: “I have two ginger roots that are sprouting (see photo). I thought that it might be fun to try growing ginger given that the price per kg is $50! Seriously, why is ginger so expensive? Anyway, has anyone tried to grow ginger in Victoria before?”

To which I replied: “Yes, lots of us grow ginger in Melbourne. Also turmeric and galangal. See www.localfoodconnect.org.au/community-gardening/growing-ginger-and-turmeric. The trick is to grow them in pots so that you can take them to a warmer place (e.g. a greenhouse) over Winter. When we harvest our ginger, we freeze most of it so it is available to us all year round.”

Vasundhara’s recipe of the week – cranberries black bean ‘meatballs’

Ingredients

The meatballs:
1½ cups cooked black beans
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon tapioca starch
1½ teaspoons sage
1 teaspoon linseeds, grounded
½ teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

The sauce:
1¼ cups almond milk (300ml)
2 tablespoons veggie stock powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
fresh parsley to garnish

Method

Soak the cranberries in the milk for 20-30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 200degC.

In a blender, combine the black beans, garlic, parsley, linseeds (previously grounded), nutmeg, salt and pepper. Blend to a paste (you might need to push down the mixture a few times to properly blend – do not add any liquid or they won’t come up together).

Add the tapioca starch and the soaked cranberries (do not discard the milk, you are going to use it soon for the sauce!) to the mixture and mix it with your hands until all the starch is absorbed.

Roll the ‘meatballs’ into the desired size, arrange on a baking tray and bake for 10-20 minutes (the bigger the balls, the more time in the oven).

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a saucepan, combine the corn flour with the vegetable oil. Turn on the heat and gently stir into the almond milk. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring all the time. Add the veggie stock, the spices and adjust the saltiness. Cook for another 2-3 minutes on medium-low heat until the sauce starts to thicken.

Once the ‘meatballs’ are ready, add them into the pan, and coat them with the sauce.

Serve with some freshly ground pepper and parsley.

Read more of Vasundhara Kandpal’s plant-based recipes on our website.

A local guide on how to tackle our shared climate emergency

Dale Martin, ex-Moreland Councillor, has written in to say that he has recently published a Local Government Climate Emergency Toolkit, which is a guide for individuals and community groups to help tackle our shared climate emergency. One of its sections is on agriculture. Download the guide.

Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?

The most popular link was Horticulture Innovation Australia’s report about how to control Queensland Fruit Fly.

Joke (or pun) of the week

What can a whole apple do that half an apple can’t do? It can look round.

Read more jokes.

Upcoming events – introduction

Fay Loveland has written in with more details about the free online introduction to seed saving event on Thursday, 11th February, 7-9pm. It will feature Kat Lavers and has been jointly organised by Local Food Connect, Nillumbik Council and Banyule Council. Read more and book your place.

Website calendars

By type of event: All once-off events, Cooking, Everything else, Free.

By Council area: Banyule, Boroondara, City of Yarra, Darebin, Manningham, Maroondah, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whitehorse, Whittlesea and Yarra Ranges.

When looking at a calendar, remember that you can:

  • Filter the list of events by suburb or suburbs using the green ‘location’ button top left.
  • Show all the event descriptions using the ‘expand all’ button top right.

Upcoming events – not cooking

Newly announced
February
March

Upcoming events – cooking

Newly announced
February
March
In Richmond