Nillumbik calendar of events

Dogs not permitted.

Learn how to prepare nutritious, healthy and balanced vegan meals with naturopath Conchetta La Marchesina.

Click here to read about the garden.

Regular working bee. Everyone welcome.

Click here to read about the garden.

Entry is $2 and all proceeds go to the CFA, the market’s community partner.

This will be the ninth annual home harvest picnic, where trained cooks produce a shared meal from homegrown produce. As well as the meal itself, there will be community stalls, music and family activities. You have three options:

1. Register as a grower ($0): supply some of your homegrown produce and receive a prepared basket for you and up to three guests.
2. Purchase a picnic basket ($10 per person).
3. Bring your own picnic ($0).

First Monday of every month except for January and December. At all meetings, doors open 7pm for a 8pm start. There will be plants for sale, raffles, door prizes and supper.

2018 topics
1 Oct: olives and olive trees by David Strutt.
3 Sep: caring for daffodils by Joy Quinn.
5 Feb: summer vegetables by Alan Richmond.

2017 topics
6 Feb: succulent swap.

2016 topics
7 Nov: the local food community, with Guy Palmer.
3 Oct: how to weather proof your garden.
5 Sep: irises, with a speaker from The Iris Society.
1 Aug: sustainable gardening.
4 Jul: community gardens.
6 Jun: liliums.
7 Mar: geraniums and pelargoniums.

First Tuesday of every month except for January.

2020 Speakers and topics
4 Feb: Fiona Williams on irises and scented pelagonia.
3 Mar: Robert Boyle on landscape design.
7 Apr: Al & Hazelk Veevers on patterns in nature.
5 May: Travel gardens.
2 Jun: Angelo Eliades on pruning fruit trees – espalier.
7 Jul: Sandi Kogtevs on making scarecrows.
4 Aug: Chris Scrase on fuchsias; AGM.
1 Sep: Penny Woodward on tomatoes.
6 Oct: Sarah Watson on clematis and flowering climbers.
3 Nov: Hands on – sowing, maintenance, potting on.
1 Dec: Helen Lovel on neutrog and biological fertilisers.

2019 Speakers and topics
5 Feb: John Ferris on edible landscapes.
5 Mar: Kathleen Tants on wees and weed control.
2 Apr: Brendan Curtis on zoo horticulture.
7 May: Paul Gale-Baker on wicking beds.
4 Jun: Caleb Armstrong on pharmaceutical herbs.
2 Jul: Lyndall Shaw on proteas and flower arranging.
6 Aug: Barbara Marshal on colour theory and colour combinations in planting; AGM.
3 Sep: Kevin Ritchie on unusual hanging baskets.
1 Oct: Norm Gerraty on growing begonias.
5 Nov: Sandra Verdam on bee-related hands-on activity.
3 Dec: Garden Club on a succulent Christmas.

2018 Speakers and topics
6 Feb: Lydia Heap on re-creating Indigenous Panton Hill; Julie Temple on growing yam daisies.
6 Mar: Michael Tanner on soils – pH and restoration.
3 Apr: Paul Kirkpatrick on potagers – plus specialised tools.
1 May: Robyn Harris on African violets – care and propagation.
5 Jun: John and Joy Quinn on bulbs.
3 Jul: Titch – Flemings on bare-rooted trees.
7 Aug: Steven Wells on therapeutic gardens; AGM.
4 Sep: Hazel and Al Veevers on birds in the native garden.
2 Oct: Cade on beer – from hop seeds to drink.
6 Nov: Pat Anderson facilitating a tomato veggie herb swap.
4 Dec: Mitre 10 Diamond Creek on new garden products.

2017 Speakers and topics
7 Feb: Rachel Bishop on worm farming; Chloe Thomson on the organic products that OCP have on the market.
7 Mar: Bob Yeoman on growing dahlias from seed.
4 Apr: Ryan Young on habitat gardening.
2 May: Attila Kapitany on succulents.
6 Jun: Vaughn Greenhill on landscape design – working with nature.
4 Jul: Pete the Permie on berry fruits.
1 Aug: Jan Morris on protective garden accessories.
5 Sep: Maria Ciavarella on thrifty gardening.
3 Oct: David Redfern on natives grown at Cranbourne – suited to our local area.
7 Nov: Arja Toivanen on taking cuttings (hands-on propagation workshop).
5 Dec: Mark Ludlow on bonsai; Christmas party.

2016 Speakers and topics
2 Feb: Lydia Heap on frolicking frogs.
1 Mar: Ryan Young on healthy soils.
5 Apr: Sue Evans on healing herbs of the 1st Fleet.
3 May: Ian Culbard on permaculture design and practice.
7 Jun: Cheryl on miniature landscaping with succulents.
5 Jul: speaker from the Clivea Society on clivea clues.
2 Aug: short talks from local speakers; AGM and 11th anniversary.
6 Sep: Bill Aitchison on acacias for the home garden.
4 Oct: Maria Ciavarella on gardening on a shoestring.
1 Nov: pelargonium and geranium show’n’share.
6 Dec: Melissa Thomas on garden art; Christmas party.

2015 Speakers and topics
3 Feb: Peter Miller on mounting plants on boards.
3 Mar: Ken Walker on native & exotic bees.
7 Apr: Sue Aldred on native plants: why & how.
5 May: Maurice Kellet on bromeliads.
2 Jun: Loretta Childs on an iconic local garden.
7 Jul: Local speakers on learning From gardening mistakes.
4 Aug: Greg Bolderson on underground treasures / rare bulbs.
1 Sep: Geoff Crowhurst on a search for old roses around Victoria’s cemeteries.
6 Oct: Doris Pozzi on Nature’s supermarket.
3 Nov: Richard Lee on growing & using Asian greens.
1 Dec: Fun night with trivia games, DVDs & Christmas party.

Feel free to drop by to have a look at the garden, to find out more and to meet the garden coordinator, Trevor.

Click here to read about the garden.

Are you a keen gardener but don’t have the space you need? Meet other volunteer gardeners to share tips and ideas, contributing to the maintenance of the community garden. Plant, harvest and dig to your heart’s content.

Click here to read about the garden.

Menu: malai kofta.

Cook Indian by the creek came into existence with the idea of breaking the myth that Indian cooking is complex and difficult to nail. In each session, they will share their traditional recipes and go through the step by step cooking process. The classes are held in a private kitchen.

Book by email (cookindianbythecreek@gmail.com).

Explore the magic of preservation. You will create three different preserves on the day for you to take. The greatest advantage of preserving is the fact that you know where the raw ingredients came from and you control what goes in.

Dogs not permitted.

Anyone is welcome to attend and no ongoing commitment to the garden is required.

Click here to read about the garden.

Your tour, led by Nathan Stewart, a professional Doreen-based beekeeper from Maya ‘Xala Honey, will include suiting up in protective gear, lighting a bee smoker, and spending two hours as real life beekeeper. Initially, Nathan will give you some tips on what to look for inside a hive including how to spot the Queen and where to look to potentially witness the birth of a new worker bee. Then, together you will lift the lid of a busy hive, watch bees at work creating honey, pull out a frame of honey ready for extraction, and get up close with more than 100,000 bees! After the lid is closed, you will sample some of the honey direct from the hives while enjoying a refreshing honey tonic.

Regular working bee. Everyone welcome.

Click here to read about the garden.

Dig in the garden, pick fresh veggies and prepare dishes to share and enjoy. Part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program.

Click here to read about the garden.

Feel free to drop by to have a look at the garden, to find out more and to meet the garden coordinator, Trevor.

Click here to read about the garden.

Are you a keen gardener but don’t have the space you need? Meet other volunteer gardeners to share tips and ideas, contributing to the maintenance of the community garden. Plant, harvest and dig to your heart’s content.

Click here to read about the garden.

Dogs not permitted.

Regular working bee. Everyone welcome.

Click here to read about the garden.

Specialising in stallholders that produce quality homemade, homegrown and handcrafted products, or selling fresh and tantalising produce.

The Eltham Community Craft and Produce Market is, and has been, a place where the local people can come and enjoy a community atmosphere, eat some tasty food, take home a gift, buy some fresh fruit and veg, listen to good music or find special artistic ornaments or craft work.

The market is situated in one of Melbourne’s most beautiful suburbs and is a perfect starting point for a day seeing the sights of the local Nillumbik Shire. With a bushland setting combined with the back drop of the historic trestle bridge, the market has a country atmosphere and only 25 minutes from the city.

There are stalls ranging from food and wine, to sculpture and local artists. You can wander amongst the stalls enjoying the atmosphere and then take a stroll to the park and have a picnic.

Stuart and Christine Rodda’s one acre garden is the result of 40 years of planting and soil improvement. The land was previously an orchard so the soil had already been worked to some extent, but the base soil of Eltham is a nutrient and organic poor so it needed a lot of inputs to make it productive across a variety of plants. They use long lasting organic materials, including brown coal and charcoal. Reduced dependence on town water is achieved through deepening the soil by double digging, use of rainwater irrigation, and mulching. Home compost is made from coffee grounds and a variety of natural materials such as manures, wood shavings, and stone dust.

A two-session workshop, with the two sessions being on the 15th and 22nd March, both 10am-4pm.

Facilitator: Donna Livermore. Some of the topics covered will include: the ethics and design principles; energy and nutrient cycling; veggie and fruit growing systems; animals in permaculture; and energy efficient buildings. There will be examples from tiny urban gardens to suburban and rural permaculture properties showing how we can create resilient, sustainable systems that work with nature and the natural limits of our planet.

Feel free to drop by to have a look at the garden, to find out more and to meet the garden coordinator, Trevor.

Click here to read about the garden.

Are you a keen gardener but don’t have the space you need? Meet other volunteer gardeners to share tips and ideas, contributing to the maintenance of the community garden. Plant, harvest and dig to your heart’s content.

Click here to read about the garden.

Menu: butter chicken.

Cook Indian by the creek came into existence with the idea of breaking the myth that Indian cooking is complex and difficult to nail. In each session, they will share their traditional recipes and go through the step by step cooking process. The classes are held in a private kitchen.

Book by email (cookindianbythecreek@gmail.com).

Dogs not permitted.

What you will learn:

• Getting started with backyard beekeeping.
• How to maintain a healthy hive, the wonders of swarms and how to keep them in check.
• The wonders of pure raw honey and an understanding of honey extraction.

Weather permitting, they will open a hive and have a hands-on demonstration working with hives.

Presenter: Benedict Hughes.

Anyone is welcome to attend and no ongoing commitment to the garden is required.

Click here to read about the garden.

Facilitated by Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree. Learn how to make your own mushroom stock powder to add depth of flavour to vegetarian dishes; how to braise tofu in a master stock to give it complexity; and how to make a vegetarian mincemeat.

Menu: happy hue pancakes; Vietnamese buddha bowls; and Vietnamese dipping sauces.

Regular working bee. Everyone welcome.

Click here to read about the garden.

A worm farm can be one of the best ways to dispose of food scraps and, at the same time, produce vermi-juice (worm tea) and vermicast (worm castings) for use on the garden. Learn how to set up a worm farm and the easiest methods to manage and care for these most hard-working of creatures.

This workshop will cover both the theory and practice of worm farming in a household setting. It will be useful for those wishing to recycle household food waste in order to produce worm products for use in the improvement of soil in gardens and pot plants.

Discounted worm farms will be available for sale on the day.

Look for the large white ‘Local Food Connect’ marquee at the Farmers’ Market. Go along with your homegrown fruit and veggies, favourite seasonal recipes, spare jam jars, homemade labelled preserves, etc, and share and network with other local backyard growers.