Strive for the Finish

It's going to be pretty busy about the playing fields all of this weekend as Region 5 Little Athletics comes to town.
Throughout the regional athletics carnival, Kiama will be teeming with young athletes and their families and it will probably be rather difficult to park anywhere near the garden.
So any working bee this weekend is going to be kept low key, although ongoing work will still take place towards finishing our new seating area and oiling the pergola timbers.
There's also general maintenance to be done, so any members who feel like visiting should still do so. 

Jobs For Saturday 18 February 


… a long way from where you’ve parked! – will be very low key

Continue work on Mid level garden seating

Continue oiling the pergola

Water……Harvest…….Squash 28 spotted ladybirds….Turn Compost

Enjoy each other’s company at morning tea.

Hot potato tip

Running out of space at home?

Come to the gardens to discover lots of tricks of the trade, like making use of 'hard surfaces' for growing seasonal food. Last weekend we created this small 1.5m x 1m no-dig potato patch in a spare corner.

It might not look much but if you do this at home you can expect do get at 10-30 potatoes from each potato planted. Which is a good return in anyone's book.

The yield varies depending on your climate, patch ingredients, type of potatoes, level of after planting maintenance etc BUT what have you got to loose, except a piece of driveway perhaps?!

For more information see http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2336819.htm

Jobs for Saturday 11th Jan from 8.30 am – this week we are focusing on infrastructure.

Some of these tasks can be done no matter what the weather is doing some come along.

· Turn hot compost

· Construct the seating at the Great Wall of Les

· Sand and oil the Pergola

· Harvest

· Enjoy morning tea together

Showing Determination

There was a great turn up at last weekends working bee, just what we needed for a blitz on the 28 spotted ladybirds that were damaging many crops in the garden! So the ladybird patrol went in.
Many squishes and yellow fingers later, we're pleased to report that our plants are now far less nibbled.

We've been very proud of what we're growing here in the garden, so this weekend, we decided to put some of our produce on display at the Kiama Show. It was fun putting our display together and a real highlight to win something as well.







We learned quite a bit throughout the showing experience and we'll be back again next year!
Our aim was to give more people in the Kiama Community an opportunity to see our produce
and by including our contact details too, we hoped
to encourage visitors and hopefully new members.

This Saturday we will be hard at work again, with most of us beginning work at 8.30am.


                                                             

                      Jobs for the 4th February are as follows:

                          *Planting...Planting....Planting
                          *Harvesting
                          *Spray and net Brassicas
                          *Lady bird Patrol
                          *Seed Stocktake
                          *Enjoy Morning tea together     

                            Hope to see you there!

An Australian Way

Organic Gardening that is!

This weekend as well as having some of our produce displayed for the public at the Kiama Show, we will ... as we do.... relentlessly carry on planting lots more produce.  Hopefully we'll catch up on the holiday month when we planted little, knowing that maintaining new crops was going to be difficult.  Come February though, it's all systems go!


Join in this Saturday (morning only) beginning work at 0830 am:

•  Turning Hot Compost – able bodied folk required! 

•  Preparing beds and planting new seedlings 

•  Harvesting 

• Continuing our assault on problem ladybirds 

• Enjoying each others company at morning tea.

Working bee on Saturday 21st Jan

Hello all,

Lots has been happening in the garden as well as the wonderful growth of the veggies. The fruit trees are doing really well. We will have to look at pruning them soon. Anyone with pruning skills would be very welcome.

The Pergola has been undergoing a its first round of maintenance with Steve sanding and oiling it. It is looking great. Thank you Steve.

Eddie has been taking superb care of the worms. They are looking very healthy. Great job Eddie.

We now have a black board which is for gardeners to write notes for other gardeners about areas that have been watered, plants that need harvesting or any other communication about the status of the garden.

This Saturday we will be:

1) Re-oiling the pergola

2) Planting seed (lettuce and brassicas)

3) Harvesting

4) Weeding

5) Watering

6) Starting work on the shade house

7) Sharing a cuppa

A new year well met

 

Friday evening was a wonderful sharing of delicious food and wonderful company. Thank you to all who brought food and joined in the celebration.

The garden is rather dry but bursting with lots of lovely produce (including many mammoth zucchinis). Gardeners are encouraged come and do some watering mid week and take at least one zucchini home with them. The black board is now up so please note where you watered and what day so we can water the whole garden effectively.

Jobs for Saturday:

Beginning at 8.30 am

· Continue work on the preparations to oil the pergola

· Watering

· Weeding

· Harvesting

· Topping up mulch (straw) on any areas where it is too thin.

· Test how well our mulcher performs on Bana Grass.

· Share a cuppa and good company.

As usual, please park at the leisure centre car park and wear sturdy enclosed shoes.

This Friday and Saturday

Greetings, and thanks for helping our garden flourish in its first year.

With a fresh New Year to greet - and much work to contemplate...

What better way to start than with a shared meal and drinks on Friday 6 January.

Bring some food to share, and your choice of drink,

(plates, cups, eating utensils, tea and coffee will be available at the garden)

We will be gathering from 5.30pm for a 6pm start.

It should be a great night.

Jobs for Saturday 7th January

1) Mount the new message board

2) Clean up the garden (weeding and pruning)

3) Start a new Hot Compost

4) Set up olive barrels for composting spoiled fruit & veg

5) Harvest, harvest, harvest

6) Share a new years cuppa and catch up