LFC News June 5 2014

Local food-related events

More community planter boxes installed

Nine boxes have been established and planted out this week with herbs, vegetables and flowers in Chute Street Diamond Creek. For more information and photos see this post. Stay tuned for the official opening of the project.

Eltham Farmers’s Market this Sunday

Check this page for this week’s stallholders. Entertainment will be provided by Greensborough primary’s Marimba group from& 9:30 and later a young local singer.

Eltham SGA POD activity for neighbourhood gardeners

This Sunday, June 8, 2-4pm. Andre and Susan Obradovic have turned their large block into a very productive and charming garden. Jamie Spencers, a soil consultant, will share his secrets on building the healthy soil food web in which Andre’s veggies are thriving. Andre and Jamie turned clay and some good old fashioned compost, horse manure and rock dust into wonderful rich smelling soil. If you want to stay and give a hand with some work in the garden you will start to get a feel for how the garden functions. Wear your gardening clothes and bring something for afternoon tea. For more information: meredith@baag.com.au.

Workshops at Edendale

Fruit tree pruning are being held at Edendale, 1-4pm, June 14, 18, and 21.

Soil improvement, 10am -12pm, June 27.

Bookings at www.edendale.vic.gov.au.

Community gardens in Banyule

Three new community gardens starting:

• A new community garden is starting at the Bellfield Community Centre, corner of Oriel Road and Banksia Street.
• Another is starting at St John’s Anglican Church, Heidelberg. The initial community meeting will be held on site, Sunday June 15 11:30am, 1 Burgundy Street, Heidelberg.
• Produce with a purpose is a new garden forming at Amberley. A community meeting will be held Tuesday June 17, 7-9pm, at 7 Amberley Way, Lower Plenty.

Other food activities/information

New Senator elect attacking organic food

I am reluctant to give this man a voice, however I believe that it is best to know of a parliamentarian with such opposing views. He has taken aim at organic food production, which he describes as “less safe” than genetically-modified crops, and says “There’s quite a lot of cases where organic food has led to food poisoning, due to the use of manure.” He believes that “modern agricultural cropping involves a small amount of tillage, in some cases none at all, and the reason they can do that, is they spray the weeds with herbicides. That’s much better for the soil, it means less soil erosion, and more bacteria. Organic crop production systems often have to till the soil to control the weeds, and the potential for damaging the soil structure is greater. If you want more, listen to a Radio National interview here.