Nillumbik calendar of events

There will be a wide range of interesting, unusual and drought tolerant plants for sale.

Learn the basics of backyard chicken keeping, including the characteristics of different breeds, housing and care needs of chickens. Presenter: Raewyn Pickering.

Facilitated by Kelly Meredith from Under The Pickle Tree.

Learn how to season a wok for its first use. Then use your wok to cook some Thai, Vietnamese and Malaysian dishes. You will learn how to smoke the wok and how not to overcrowd it. Menu items will include classic Thai pad thai (vegetarian available), Thai stir fried beef with basil and chilli, Malaysian belachan spinach and chilli tamarind prawns.

This class is for food bloggers, bakers or restaurant/cafe owners. It will focus on taking great images of food using your own, or easily obtainable, equipment. It will cover such aspects as: the right equipment; the best camera settings to make your food look good; choosing the right backgrounds; lighting; basic food styling; being creative; the perils of incorrect white balance; and using software to enhance colour and presentation.

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.

Learn to make kimchi, sauerkraut, lacto-fermented pickles and wild fermented kombucha and sourdough mother. Take them home so that you can continue to ferment for years to come. With Narelle.

Learn how to make labneh, ricotta, feta and halloumi cheeses. You will take home 3 cheeses and your own cheese mould. Take an apron, a cooler and 3 or 4 plastic containers to take your cheese home. With Narelle.