Thanks to the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Alison Fraser, Bev Middleton, Callie Lastdrager, Carol Woolcock, Choon Yeok, Fay Loveland, Jacinda Brown, Jon Buttery, Ling Wong, Mala Plymin, Maude Farrugia, Maureen Cullen, Megan Goodman, Penny Smith, Peta Heywood, Sean Walsh, Vasundhara Kandpal, Velyne Moretti and Zofia Di Stefano.
Corrections and clarifications
The olive trees in Alphington are NOT FREE
These trees apparently belong to someone and people should definitely not therefore be taking any of the olives. My apologies to the owners of the olive trees, Louise and Vanessa.
Oat and rice bars
Several of you have asked how much water should be combined with the sugar to make sugar syrup. The answer is apparently ½ cup of water for each cup of sugar. The recipe has been updated accordingly.
I’ve also updated the recipe to clarify the use of the word ‘strings’ when discussing sugar syrup. “‘Strings’ is a term used when discussing the thickness of sugar syrup. ‘2 strings’ effectively means ‘thick’ and ‘1 string’ effectively means ‘thin’. Vasundhara judges it as follows: touch the syrup with a clean forefinger and then touch your thumb and forefinger together and pull apart gently. If you do this when the sugar first dissolves, the string is short and breaks soon – this is ‘1 string’. Boil further and the string becomes longer and more stable – this is ‘2 strings’. Boil even further and the string becomes very long and feels like it is crystalising – this is ‘3 strings’.“
Which food get togethers will be happening this weekend?
Which farmer’s markets will be happening this weekend?
Answer 4: Abbotsford Convent (re-located to Alphington), Alphington, Coburg and Eltham. Not Wonga Park.
Which other markets will be happening this weekend?
Answer 1: Fitzroy Mills.
Which food swaps will be happening this weekend?
Answer: none. But Box Hill South and Forest Hill are having virtual meetings on Zoom.
Which community gardens will be holding get togethers this weekend?
Answer: none. But St Johns Riverside, Heidelberg are having a virtual meeting on Zoom.
Our photo competition
And last week’s winner is …
Last week, we announced a new competition, whereby you enter a photo from either your garden or a nearby park and I choose the best. There were 12 entries, each of which is shown below. Thanks everyone! The standard was really high and you should click all 12 to see larger versions.
The winner is Callie Lastdrager for her picture of water droplets on a plant. Callie’s picture was actually entered by her mum, Alison Fraser. Congratulations Callie (and Alison)! As previously agreed, please start clapping and cheering Callie from the comfort of your home!
An honorary mention goes to Penny Smith for her picture of a praying mantis laying eggs. Congratulation Penny!
Here are all 12 entries (click them to see larger versions).
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| Hakea Carol Woolcock |
Water droplets Callie Lastdrager The winner! |
Teatree Choon Yeok |
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| View Jon Buttery |
King parrot Leah Lux Tame |
Doves Lee Hirsh |
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| Flagstaff Gardens Ling Wong |
Cosmos Mala Plymin |
Praying mantis Penny Smith Honorary mention! |
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| Cormorant Peta Haywood |
Dandelion Velyne Moretti |
Garden bed Zofia Di Stefano |
This week’s competition
We going to repeat the competition this week but with a couple of twists. First, there will be a different prize: a birds nest fern (see picture) donated by Bev Middleton, which she can deliver to you in a contactless way. Second, reflecting the nature of the prize, your photo has to be of a plant in your garden. Email your photo by end of play Sunday, 26th April.
Get Backyard Honey’s honey delivered to you
Backyard Honey can deliver 1Kg pots of raw unheated antibacterial Victorian Varietal ($30 per pot) or Melbourne Multi-floral ($45 per pot) honey with no delivery charge if you live within 5 kms of Surrey Hills train station and nominate an accessible delivery location for the social-distancing beekeepers. Alternatively, it may be possible to collect the honey from them in Surrey Hills. Contact Jane Dyer by email (jane@backyardhoney.com.au), stating: Victorian Varietal or Melbourne Multifloral honey; number of 1Kg pots; a delivery address; and any special instructions for delivery (ordinarily the honey will be left by your front door).
Do you know?
Carol Woolcock has written in to ask if you know what variety the pictured tomato might be: “A feral tomato that has popped up in my garden. I first thought that it came from the compost but I have never bought or grown one that looks like this. It is fleshy and sweet with few seeds. Should I save some seeds to grow next season? Is it a named variety?” Email your answer.
Beginners’ veggie growing tip – peas
Peas are one of those veggies which, like sweetcorn, really do taste better when homegrown rather than store-bought. You grow them just like the broad beans discussed last week. The main difference is that most peas are climbing varieties and they need a climbing frame (although you can get bush varieties). The climbing varieties divide into three broad groups: garden/english (your standard pea with non-edible pods); snow (flat, edible pods; used in Chinese cuisine); and snap (pods edible when young). Snap peas are effectively halfway between garden and snow peas and are the ones that I usually grow, eating them like snow peas when young and like garden peas when older.
Read more beginners’ veggie growing tips.
Want to prune someone’s peach tree?
Owen Butler wants his old peach tree (pictured) pruned but is worried that he will do it wrongly if he does it himself. He would therefore like to pay someone to prune it for him. He lives in Ivanhoe. If interested, please send Owen a quote by phone (0400 508864) or email (owenbutler1@bigpond.com).
Some new delivery options
Metropolitan & Rural Milk, who are based in Hurstbridge, will deliver milk, cheese, yoghurt, bread and eggs anywhere in Nillumbik or in the eastern side of Banyule. Order online.
Sean Walsh’s (imaginary) book series on serious food magic
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Bean.
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Seedlings.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Artichokes.
- Harry Potter and the Omelette of Fire.
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Spinach.
- Harry Potter and the Half-blood Quince.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Mallows.
Pay what you want …
Pay what you want for the online version of RetroSuburbia.
Pay what you want for Formidable Vegetable’s latest album, Earth People Fair or, indeed, for any of Formidable Vegetable’s music.
Meg’s social isolation week
Another week into autumn and the days are cooling. Time to clear the last of the corn, sweet potatoes and basil before first frost. I am careful to save rocket and Italian parsley seed as I go, running my hands over their seed tops and shaking the seed into paper bags to dry before storing. It is possible to directly re-sow the parsley and rocket now. Both will germinate quickly at this time of year, with rocket ready for harvest in 4-6 weeks.
I would normally be heading for a weekend food swap taking the rhubarb and apples to swap for other autumn produce or seeds. This time last year, I came home with a butternut pumpkin, persimmons and a plant of red-veined sorrel (which is still doing well and providing for salads with sliced apple and walnuts). For the foreseeable future, however, a different approach must be taken. More seed saving and growing at home. More cooking, hopefully with food sourced from the garden, local shops and providers.
It’s a good time to source and plant rhubarb – mine grows in almost full shade over summer and into autumn under a nectarine and apricot and does well. Get a piece from a friend or order crowns or even seedling punnets (although these tend to be variable in terms of strength of colour). Rhubarb loves a good feed in autumn. What to do with all that rhubarb that I can’t swap? Maybe a tart.
Rhubarb tart
Pastry
1 quantity of store bought sweet shortcrust pastry or make your own.
500g plain flour
250g butter at room temperature
5ml vanilla
100g caster sugar
50mls water
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until it comes together. Rest in the fridge before using. Tip: it can be frozen so it can be useful to make the double amount for use in another recipe.
Filling (enough for a 20cm tart tin)
50g unsalted butter at room temperature
50g sugar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tablespoon plain flour
100g crushed/ ground walnuts (or other nut meal)
Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg, then the dry ingredients. [Can be also done in a food processor].
Topping
Rhubarb, peeled if needed and sliced into 10 cm pieces
Brown sugar (to taste)
Roll out the pastry to cover a tin, prick the pastry with fork and blind bake in a 200degC oven. Cool. Add the filling, arrange the rhubarb pieces on top and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 30 minutes at 180degC.
Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?
Photos of 21 ideas to put a vegetable garden in your garden.
Joke of the week
Why do seagulls fly over the sea? Because if they flew over the bay they would be called bagels.
Regular, current, online events
If you know of any others, email me.
New events
Pip Magazine (some of whose journalists live in North East Melbourne) are producing a series of videos entitled simple skills for self sufficiency.
3000acres are organising three, free online workshops to discuss how to preserve olives, using fresh olives harvested from our local area. Then, all together, you will preserve a small batch to put away in the cupboard. The workshops will be on: Wednesday, 29th April, 2-3pm; Sunday, 3rd May, 2-3pm; and Thursday, 14th May, 10-11am. Register on EventBrite
Birdlife Australia are giving weekly talks on their Facebook page. The talks can be watched live starting at midday on Thursdays, or as videos afterwards.
Previously announced events
Sustainable Macleod are producing a series of videos entitled growing tips starring our very own Robin Gale-Baker.
Kat Lavers is publishing a series of videos entitled gardening in hard times on her Facebook page.
Formidable Vegetable are producing a series of videos entitled ‘grow-vid-19’ permaculture pandemic.
Good Life Permaculture are producing a series of videos entitled crisis gardening.