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.}