Five Years On and an Induction

3 November, 2014

Thanks to Alex for posting a report on the garden's five years birthday party on Facebook. Those who could make it ate great wholesome pizzas, had a social drink and time to reflect on the growth of the garden over half a decade, yes, half a decade.

Unfortunately many who have contributed over the years were for a host of reasons unable to attend. Do not concern yourselves, you were talked about. We especially missed Julie Errey whose efforts has helped make this garden.

Suffice to show an early picture of the garden to realise how much has been done in the field and in the buildings and infrastructure.

The garden is obviously not just the plants and infrastructure, it is the people and the orientation day on 1 November was attended by many new members, young and not so young. Deb, Maria and Les outlined the safely considerations, philosophy and practical information on how to use tools.

Posted Rayner 3/11/2014

Native plants

Hillside Landcare Working Bee

This Saturday the 28^th June from 9 to 11am is the first working bee for the Hillside Native Food Forest Landcare Group on the Hillside adjacent to the Kiama Community Garden.  

We have seedlings to plant and weeds to remove/control. There is plenty to do even if the wind is blowing (there are safe places to work out of the way of overhanging limbs). I would also like to spend some time this first session to discuss and plan the ongoing regeneration and revegetation of the site with the group.

Please wear sturdy shoes and appropriate clothing. There are some tools available, but if you have tools you are happy to bring they will be welcome.

We will be able to join in the Kiama Community Garden morning tea from about 11. So please bring some food to share or a gold coin donation to cover the tea and coffee etc.

If that is not enough Landcare for one day, there is also the Bombo Landcare groups afternoon session from 2 till 4 that afternoon.

Please pass this info on to anyone you think will be interested.

Below is information about a wonder event being put on by Kath and Keith of the Australian Plant Society.

Keep Saturday July 26th FREE

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are all well and rugging up when you get out in the garden or bush.
Our next event is a biggie, with a full day dedicated to learning about propagating and caring for your native plants with two workshops by Angus Stewart.
Please RSVP to harryphillips_1@bigpond.com to secure a place, also let him know if you are a current member or not.

We will have food available onsite by http://www.fredsbushtucker.com.au, which is a great chance to sample some of our native bush foods, so be ready to challenge those tastebuds.

Please pass this info on to anyone you think may be interested



Thanks,

Kath and Keith

 

 

Dates for your Diary

The community garden is open practically every Wednesday and Saturday morning, so just drop in if you want to get involved. Starting time may vary with the weather, but being there by 9.30 am is a pretty good bet.

To support gardening activities, monthly general meetings are held to exchange ideas about what you'd like to grow, do, or see happening in the garden. This is also a good time to hear what the governance group are currently working towards and discuss management of any garden pests or problems that might be present.

General meetings are held in the garden at 4.30pm on the first Thursday each month.

Dates for the rest of the year are as follows:

3rd  July
7th  August
4th  September
2nd  October
6th  November
4th  December

See you at the garden soon!

This Saturday 7th June our Community Garden will be the venue for a talk being provided by the Australian Plant Society (APS). The talk is being given by Graeme Errington.

 

Kiama Community Garden Members are welcome to attend the talk. 
  

Below is information about the talk provided by APS and a link to their web site.

 

 

http://www.austplants-nsw.org.au/

 

Graeme Errington – Technical Officer, Rainforest Conservation Project, Australian PlantBank has kindly agreed to talk to the group about his recent work at Mount Annan.

Graeme originally trained as a horticulturist and has worked at Mount Annan Botanic Garden for 15 years, 8 years as a seed collector. His recent work has focused on the seed biology of rainforest species.
 

The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust have run a successful seed conservation program for over a decade. The program is now accommodated in the Australian PlantBank, and continues to collect suitable species from dryland communities. Rainforests have been a neglected area in terms of seed conservation due to the variability in seed storage behaviour of many species. Through the collection and assessment of species from rainforest communities we can determine, which species can be seed banked and which species require alternatives such as tissue culture or cryopreservation.

 

Graeme's talk will cover, the collection program, seed storage behaviour as it relates to rainforest species and a bit about the new PlantBank.

Date & Time: June 7th 2014 at 11a.m.
Venue: Kiama Community Gardens, Havilah Place
Parking:   Please park in the Kiama Leisure Centre car park, in Havilah Place.  Access to the gardens is by entering the gate to the soccer fields and walking to the left along the fence line.

* * * Please note this is an outside venue.  Therefore please come along well prepared (wooly hats, scarves and gloves) * * *

After Graeme's talk we shall be firing up the wood stove oven for some yummy home made pizzas.  Please bring along a selection of your favourite toppings to share on the day.

Finally a "Gold Coin" donation will be in place on the Saturday, these donations will go directly to the Community Gardens, for kindly allowing us to use their space.

Looking forward to seeing you all there, for what should be a very interesting talk.

Starting a backyard veggie patch workshop

On Saturday the 10th May we finally had our “Starting a backyard veggie patch” workshop at the Kiama Community Garden. We had been thwarted by the weather on the previous two attempts so it was wonderful to finally get it underway.

 

Listening intently to Maria in the theory part of the workshop

As you can see the workshop was well attended and very well organised by Julie from Kiama Council. Kiama Council had organised the workshop in response to interest from residents in the area.

 

As we sat on the seating circle Maria imparted her considerable knowledge about starting a veggie patch in a clear and readily understood way.  Maria went through the theory of starting a backyard veggie patch including, site assessment, design, concepts of soil health, and the no-dig process, among other things. She was delighted by questions from the participants. We then had a lovely tea break and happily chatted amongst ourselves.

Spreading the layers of the no-dig "lasagne" in the raised bed

 

After the tea break we made two no-dig beds in practice. The first no-dig bed was in a raised garden bed. This showed how the no-dig system can be adapted to smaller sites, sites on balconies etc,  or site needing to take into account accessibility. It also was a manageable way to explain the layering of the different elements of the no-dig “lasagne”.

 

We then moved on to the upper terrace of the garden to build the on-ground no-dig garden. This was a much bigger area. Maria explained how no-dig gardening can help build up poor soils with out tillage. It also has advantages in gently managing pests and nutrient issues.

 



Making the on-ground no-dig bed before the rain comes



 

We used the same “menu” for the on-ground no-dig “lasagne”. Once the beds had been prepared we pocket planted some seedlings.

 

Thank you Julie from Kiama Council and the community gardeners who volunteered their time to make the day such a success. We would also like to thank the residents/participants for their interest and patience through the unavoidable rescheduling due to the weather.

 

Keep checking this blog site for more posts, workshops and events.

 

Also, keep an eye on our new facebook page:

 

https://www.facebook.com/KiamaCommunityGarden

The finished on-ground no-dig bed

 

No Dig Gardening Workshop

This workshop will be held on Saturday 29 March from 9am to 1 pm. This will be replacing our normal working bee. If you are interested in attending you need to contact Julie Errey on 42320416 or email juliee@kiama.nsw.gov.au
The cost is $10 and morning tea is provided.

We have changed our meeting times from twice a month on a Wednesday to the first Thursday of each  month at 4.30 at the Garden. This is a general meeting and everyone is welcome to attend.

Our first induction was held yesterday and was a 
great success. We will be conducting more of these in the coming months so that newer members learn about the practices we use in the garden and the philosophy and principles that underpin those practices.

We were also very lucky to have a visit from two 

of Julie's friends who donated some plants to the garden. One of them was a grass jelly plant. They then used the leaves to make green grass jelly. It was amazing to watch and refreshing to eat.

Working Bees for April 9.30-12.00

Saturday mornings: 5th, 12th, 19th,

Wednesday mornings: 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th

Meeting: Thursday 3rd April at 4.30

Please come along and join in the fun. We welcome new members. Visit us at our first stall at the Farmers Market this week.

February Fun in the Garden

This month we want to start propagating for autumn planting. We are busy harvesting corn , beans, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, cucumbers  to name just a few. We would like to welcome new members and old to come down to the garden to share the workload and the bounty. There is always so much to share.

Some of the jobs this month:  turning the compost, watering, propagating, making signs, potting up and of course harvesting.

Working Bees for February 

Saturday morning 1st, 8th, 15th starting at 9.00

Wednesday morning every week at 9.00

 Meetings

Wednesday 12th, 26th at 4.30

Governance Meeting: Thursday 20 February

at 6.30    

       

Let's all give a fig.

Calling all gardeners, calling all gardeners, URGENT, URGENT.

A load of mulch has finally arrived courtesy of Active Trees. We now need to be active in moving the mulch. Tomorrow if you can spare an hour or so, early if you are bothered by the heat, come and give a hand. There is weeding to be done and many lighter tasks too.

Many hands make light work. Meaning if you all come it will be easier.

A stitch in time saves nine. Meaning if we move it whilst it is fresh it will be lighter and therefore easier to move.

Don't say I don't give a fig as we have figs and they are rapidly fattening up.

Fun for all as we rollick in the mulch.

Raindrops on strawberries (and other fruit in the Rosacea family)

With all this warm weather it is timely to post our record of rainfall during the last three years.

Vince has been monitoring and recording every drop of rain we have received in the garden since March 2011. I have just punched it all into a spreadsheet and added some averages. Over time we will build this into a long term record for the garden and it might be useful for other Kiama residents.

Last Saturday's working bee was a lovely morning and we had a good meeting at the morning tea. Hope to see members at the meeting this Wednesday and for fun in the garden and a delicious morning tea on Saturday.

...for these are a few of my favourite things!

Red Hot Summer

2014 has begun with news today that 2013 was Australia's hottest year in recorded history! 
Yet the garden is still producing good harvests and even more thanks must go to the small band of volunteers who have kept the garden watered since the summer heat began.
Garden gatherings throughout January should be as follows:

Wednesday Working Bees: from 9.30 am on January 8^th  and 22^nd

Wednesday meeting:   4.30 pm January 15^th and 29^th
Saturday working bees: from 9 am January 4^th, 11^th and 18^th

^{Some gardeners might be wondering what these different plants growing on the top level are.}

^{They are tomatillos, a vital ingredient of salsa verde in Mexican cuisine. The outer lantern type casing dries off when the tomatillos are ready to be harvested. This layer is then discarded and the fruits can be char-grilled, baked or made into various salsa recipes. They have a pleasant tangy taste when raw and they can be added to various salads. Many of the recipes that green tomatoes are used in originated from tomatillo recipes. Once tomatillos are harvested they should store for several weeks if kept dry.}

Sun and Rain and the Garden is Thriving!

December, and it's a cheer to be here! December dates are as follows AGM & party to follow - Friday Dec. 6 @ 5pm

Wednesday Working Bees: @9.30 am     December 4th and 18th

Wednesday meeting: @4.30pm   December  11th

Saturday working bees @ 9am December 7th and 14th and 21st

Guided Bush Tucker walk and Worm tea update

Hello Community Gardeners,

Below is a link to a guided walk on Bush Tucker and Bush Medicine plants. It is at Blackbutt Forest and is guided by Terry Rankmore who helped out with the plant selection on our own Hillside Native Food Forest. This is an opportunity not to be missed.

http://www.landcareillawarra.org.au/2013/10/free-bush-tucker/

We are also happily using our new backpack sprayer to spread our delicious worm tea around the garden. Eddie's work maintaining the worm farms has been wonderful and the resulting worm tea is now a tonic for our fruit and vegies.

 

Tea anyone? - Great work Eddie

Gardening in November

Tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums, zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, beans and potatoes are just some of the vegetables we have planted recently. Many of our fruit trees are flowering and fruiting - chocolate pudding fruit, mango, fig and many more.

Many of our regulars have been helping with weeding and watering but we would always welcome some new faces. Come and visit us on a Saturday morning and have a look around. We are located between the sporting fields and Blue Haven.

Dates for November

Saturday Working Bees - 2nd, 9th, 16th and 30th,  9am

Wednesday Working Bees - 6th, 20th at 9.30

Wednesday General Meetings - 13th, 27th at 4.30

Governance Meeting - 21st November


The AGM will be held on Friday 6th December at 5pm. This will double as our Christmas gathering with a party to follow at 6pm.

Hot Summer Coming!

All hands will be needed this summer to help water and mulch the garden if the dryness that is forecast eventuates. The bounteous harvest above was from a day in late October 2011. Garden produce is shared by all who help to care for it. Hopefully such a delicious looking photo will encourage new members to the garden. October dates are as follows:  Wednesday working bee: 9.30am on October 16th. Wednesday meetings: 4.30pm, October 9th and 23rd. Saturday working bees 9.30am on October 12th and 19th.  Hope to see you there.

Opportunities in October

Visit the Community Garden in October for the opportunity to make new friends and learn new skills.

We will be planting, propagating, potting up and of course, harvesting.

We had a very successful plant stall near Woolies on 7th September and since we still have many plants to sell we are going to have another stall in the main street. The date and location will be posted on this blog soon. If you missed out on the last stall, visit us at our next one for great bargains.

Dates for October

Saturday Working Bees -  5th, 12th and 19th October, 9am

Wednesday Working Bees - 2nd and 16th October at 9.30 am

Wednesday General Meetings - 9th and 23rd October

Governance Committee Meeting - 17th October, 6.30 at the garden

Spring in Earnest!

Encouraged by NSW's warmest winter on record, growth in the garden is gathering speed again.
There will be casual gardening only on 7th September as the usual working bee gives way to a plant stall fundraiser.  Come and join us at one of these garden gatherings this month:

Wednesday Working Bees, 4th and 18th September, 9.30 am.
Wednesday General Meetings, 11th and 25th September, 4.30 pm
Saturday Working Bees, 14th and 21st September, 9 am

Governance Members meeting 19th September, 6.30pm - venue to be arranged.

Last Month of Winter!

Planning and propagating continues for our street stall on September 7, All donations of plant stock welcome.Our August schedule is as follows:

Wednesday 7th August,         general meeting, 4:30pm       

Wednesday 14th August        working bee (from around 9.30-10 am)

Wednesday 21st August,       general meeting, 4:30pm

Wednesday 28th August        working bee (from around 9.30-10 am)

Saturdays 3rd, 10th, 17th, 31st August  Working Bees 9.30 am   but NOT 24th August

Drop By In July

It may be chilly, but working in the garden is a great way to warm up. This Winter we need your help to propagate stock for a fundraiser plant stall in        September. Our schedule in July is as follows:
Wednesdays    3rd. working bee mid morning
                       10th. general meeting 4.30pm
                       17th. working bee mid morning
                       24th. general meeting 4.30pm
                       31st. working bee mid morning
Thursday         18th.  governance members meeting 6pm
Saturdays         6th, 13th, 20th -Working bees from 9.30am.
                        27th - Crop Planning meeting 11am.

Seriously Shareable

I promised to share the recipe for the dip I made for today's morning tea at the garden.
So here it is,  Rosemary Carrot and White Bean Dip ....  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 can cannellini, or butter beans

4  peeled and roughly chopped carrots

2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

2-inch sprig rosemary (broken up a bit)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

½  teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon Sriracha chilli sauce ( or other hot sweet chilli sauce)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.  Prepare a medium size baking dish.

2. Rinse beans and set aside to drain.

3. Steam carrots for 3 minutes.

4. Place carrots, olive oil, sea salt and garlic in baking dish and stir to coat. Add drained beans and rosemary sprigs, mixing the sprigs under the veggies a bit.  Place in oven and roast for 20 minutes Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

4. After cooling period, remove rosemary sprigs and place roasted carrot/bean mixture along with all other ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Puree until very smooth. If mixture is too thick, add more water, until you reach a spreadable consistency.

Serve at room temperature with crackers and/or fresh veggies.