Thanks to all the people who have contributed to this week’s newsletter: Angelo Eliades, Cathy Romeo, Choon Yin Yeok, Doris Glier, Elle Lawrence, Fiona Finch, Jon Buttery, Karin Motyer, Lee Hirsh, Linda Wall, Megan Goodman, Paul Hemsworth, Rita Varrasso, Sarah Hardgrove, Shiva Vasi and Soo Mei Leong.
What farmers’ markets will be happening this weekend?
On Saturday: Coburg. Not Carlton.
On Sunday: Alphington and Eltham. Not Yarra Valley.
A virtual tour of Pam Jenkins’ annual edible garden
Many of you will know Pam through her involvement in North East Region Permaculture (NERP), the planter boxes in Diamond Creek, Edible Hub, Hurstbridge and other local food organisations. Or you might have read about our visit to her garden a few years ago. Anyhow, she has now produced a video about her annual edible garden.
As Pam says in the words accompanying the video, “My annual garden is situated along the path to the chook shed. In permaculture terms, it is Zone 1, an area that I go to every day so that I can harvest my daily needs and check on the tender plants on the way to check for eggs. I make use of many found, free and re-purposed articles. I allow plants to go to seed and either use them as ground cover until I need the space or have a more appropriate space to grow them. If I don’t need them I give them away, chop them down for green manure or compost them, possibly via the digestive system of the chooks. I leave plants in the ground well past their use-by date so my garden is rarely neat and tidy but there is usually plenty to eat if I just look around a bit.“
Other points of interest include walking onions, the use of radishes to shade carrot seedlings, and the ‘square foot gardening’ method.
Local food producer news – Howqua Truffles
Howqua Truffles have a truffle farm near Mansfield but live in Eltham. Starting this year, they are selling their truffles to the public. The truffles cost $2 per gram. Minimum order of 20 grams. Pickup from central Eltham. Order by phone (0409 414 325) or email. Pay by electronic bank transfer in advance (in which case, pickup can be contactless) or by card or cash on pickup. You’ll have to be quick because the truffle season is apparently very short and will end in August.
Yes, you did know!
Georgina Aquilina asked for tips for keeping possums away from veggie boxes.
Angelo Eliades: “The easiest way to keep possums out of veggie beds is to cover them with 10mm woven bird netting or, even better, 2mm insect exclusion netting (which also provides 20% shade). Just use some cloche hoops or other supports to hold the netting up to give the plants root to grow. The insect netting, as the name suggests, will also keep insect pests out and comes as either 2.8m wide or 6m wide netting on a roll, so you can purchase the length you require to cover the garden bed.“
Elle Lawrence: “A hungry possum will eat anything; goodbye to anything with flower heads on them also. The only way to protect your hard work in the garden is to have a barrier they can’t get into. I’ve used possum repellants of every type but they don’t work. I finally resorted to building a walk-in, wire-covered structure with gates. As shown by the scat on the ground, they crawl over the top of the wire roof trying to get in.“
No, you didn’t know
As we know from the last few months, it takes a couple of weeks for some of you to respond so here are some of the questions that were asked last week.
Beata Clark asked for tips for making her own sustainable potting mix, particularly to improve drainage. Email me with your answer.
Georgina Aquilina asked for tips on starting an indoor aquaponics system. Email me with your answer.
Do you know?
Paul Hemsworth: “Why do earthworms end up drowned in our bird bath? Admittedly it’s at ground level but it’s on concrete tiles at least half a metre from soil. What is the attraction of a plastic container of water?” Email me with your answer.
Maria’s recent food growing videos – corrected links
As pointed out by Linda Wall, the links to Maria Ciavarella’s recent videos did not work for some people. My apologies. Here are the corrected links:
- Making jam from frozen berries.
- Making compost fast.
- Growing awesome asparagus.
- Winter fruit tree pruning.
- Propagating tomatoes from seed.
- Making easy zucchini pickles.
In passing, Maria was the first person whose garden we visited and wrote up for this newsletter (in 2016). Read Helen’s writeup of the visit to Maria’s garden.
A poem – The whisk and the paint brush
Lee Hirsh has sent in the following poem entitled The whisk and the paint brush:
Beat the yoke with the white
Luscious layers blend nature’s hues
Blend nature’s ingredients
Nature’s enmeshment
Ooze squelch smear
Bubbles and froth seep through the metal gaps of the whisk
While the paint and the pigment hold it together
A domestic artistic marriage
Consuming passions unite.
Read more food-related poems by newsletter readers on our website.
Another article from Angelo Eliades
Angelo’s latest article is about When the lower leaves of a tomato plant turn yellow.
Read more of Angelo’s food-related articles.
Guy’s fruit growing tip – peaches and leaf curl
Two tips in one this week.
Almonds, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and plums are all very closely related (genus Prunus) and are collectively known as stone fruit. They can all be planted now as bare-rooted trees. If you have never grown any stone fruit before, my suggestion is that you start with a plum tree because they have fewer problems than the others: almonds – sometimes doesn’t come out of dormancy; apricots – brown rot and gummosis; cherries – pear and cherry slug; and nectarines and peaches – leaf curl.
If you have a nectarine or peach tree (nectarines are just varieties of peach where the skin is smooth), then now is the time to keep your eye on them as you will soon need to spray with a copper fungicide if you want to prevent leaf curl. As Agriculture Victoria says, “Most effective control is achieved by spraying when the buds are swelling but before they have opened.” If you need help identifying bud swelling (as opposed to just buds), have a look at this video from Mt Alexander Fruit Gardens. Here is what Gardening Australia says on the subject.
On my peach tree, some of the buds are swelling whilst others aren’t. So, I will need to apply the copper fungicide multiple times. Both Angelo Eliades and Sarah Hardgrove have told me that the copper spray can only be used when it is freshly made up (i.e. it does not keep) so I will be inspecting the tree every day and making up small amounts to spray the relevant buds.
Read more of Guy’s food-growing tips.
Meg’s social isolation week
The swelling buds on the peach trees remind me that Spring will come and, along with the warmer weather, there will hopefully be better news for Melbourne. I have two peach trees- a reliable Anzac, which is a white-fleshed early variety, and a young China Flat, which has unusual donut shape fruit. Along with cherries, the Anzac is always one of the first stone fruit to ripen (usually before Christmas). It is not too late to plant bare-rooted fruit trees now.
Last week, I obtained some large bags of coffee grounds from my local café. I spread these under all the fruit trees, particularly under the apple trees. I have been doing this for a number of years now. Since the first time, I have not had any trouble with codling moth and my untested gardener’s theory is that, when any pupate in spring around the trees, they do not survive the strong coffee grounds.
The bonus is that the backyard smells like coffee and the scent mingles with the dampness and earth. I cut a large bunch of kale (cavolo nero) on my way back to make myself a cup of coffee.
Cavolo nero with chilli
500g cavolo nero (or other winter greens like silverbeet)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra to serve)
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded
Salt and pepper to taste
Wash the greens and remove the central stem. Cut or shred into 5cm lengths. Blanch in boiling salted water for around 3-4 minutes and then drain well.
Fry the finely chopped garlic and de-seeded chilli in olive oil over a gentle heat. Add the blanched greens, toss for around 1 minute then remove from the heat and turn into a serving bowl.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a little olive oil. You can use dried chilli flakes instead and adjust the amount of either fresh or dried chilli as desired.
Serve on toasted sourdough bread.
Read more of Meg’s recipes on our website.
Reader photos
Last week’s theme – garden art
13 photos were submitted.
Cathy Romeo: “We had lots of white cabbage butterflies in our garden earlier this year, just as we had gone into lockdown the first time, so, having lots of time on my hands, and plastic yoghurt lids to recycle, I decided to make some white butterflies to deter the white cabbage butterflies from laying eggs on our brassicas. I had read that the white cabbage butterflies are territorial and won’t land or lay their eggs where there are other butterflies. So, I made quite a few and spread them around the broccolletti seedlings. Well … I guess they thought they were art installations as they weren’t deterred at all! I even saw one land on one of my works of art! The butterfly shapes did have black markings on them originally and looked more realistic but they have now faded off.
So, not successful botanically, but fun and now a permanent feature of our veggie garden.“
Jon Buttery: “Our compost teapot produced magnificent leaf mould this year. In the height of summer, when I poked my hand into the pot, the inside was wet.“
Soo Mei Leong: “Just like the character the Tin Man in the movie ‘Wizard of Oz’, who went in search of a heart, my Tin Man, which I acquired from Bulleen Art & Garden nursery years ago, is the heart of my veggie garden! Holding a cooking pot, he is unfazed by the weather, be it pouring rain or searing heat. Neither does he mind the ‘bees in his bonnet’ that frequent the echium shrub next to him.“
This week’s theme – garden birds
This week’s photo theme will be ‘garden birds’. Send me your interesting photos, together with a title and (if you want) a story, and I will publish them next week.
To get you started, here is a photo of a pied currawong in my garden eating cuckoo pint berries.
The theme from a few weeks ago – flowers
After seeing Soo Mei Leong’s photo of a protea, Paul Hemsworth has written in: “While I can’t say that I’m greatly enamoured of the protea flower, I love the result after the flower has gone. We have two in our Christmas wreath.“
Which link was clicked most times in the last newsletter?
The Monash University online course entitled Food as Medicine..
Joke of the week
Submitted by Michelle Hegarty: A protest about fairy bread has been organised. Police are expecting hundreds and thousands..
Upcoming online events
If you know of any events other than those listed below, email me.
Newly announced events
Thermomix lunchbox workshop: Tuesday, 21st July, 7.30-9.30pm; free; organised by Thelma and Louise Workshops. Read more and book on EventBrite.
The hunger games – food safety at home: Friday, 24th July, 6-7pm; free; organised by Moreland City Libraries. Read more and book on EventBrite.
Pest control with companion planting: Saturday, 25th July, 10.30-11.30am; $20; organised by Bulleen Art & Garden nursery. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.
Growing fruit & veggies in small spaces: Saturday, 25th July, 1.30-2.30pm; $20; organised by Bulleen Art & Garden nursery. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.
Introduction to mushroom foraging and identification: Saturday, 25th July, 2-3.30pm; $25; organised by MYCOmmunity. Read more and book on their website.
Healthy productive compost & worms: Saturday, 25th July, 3.30-4.30pm; $20; organised by Bulleen Art & Garden nursery. Read more and book on WeTeachMe.
Butter chicken: Saturday, 25th July, 5-6pm; $29; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.
Chickpea curry: Friday, 31st July, 5-6pm; $29; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.
Chickpea curry: Saturday, 1st August, 5-6pm; $29; organised by Cook Indian by the Creek. Read more and book via Facebook.
Previously announced events
Fire and fungi: Thursday, 16th July, 6.30-7.30pm; $25 (recommended donation); organised by MYCOmmunity. Read more and book on their website.
Soil health with Kat Lavers: Monday, 20th July, 6.30-9pm; free; organised by Whitehorse Council. Read more and book on EventBrite.
Backyard beekeeping basics: Tuesday, 28th July, 7-9pm; $50; organised by CERES. Read more and book on Humantix.
Open Table offer their weekly no waste cook club workshops free and online on Saturdays. As well as cooking (which is actually optional), you will learn about food waste and composting. Register on EventBrite.
Whitehorse Council are publishing on their Youtube channel a video each Monday at 9am on various aspects of sustainability.
Newsletter reader Chloe Thomson is doing free, weekly podcasts on gardening for Bunnings.
Pip Magazine (some of whose journalists live in North East Melbourne) are producing a series of videos entitled simple skills for self sufficiency.
Good Life Permaculture are producing a series of videos entitled crisis gardening.
All The Dirt is a weekly podcast about gardening.