The Garden

Garden Gathering this weekend - 5th Feb

2012-01-31T22:12:00.005+11:00

From 10am if the weather is OK
See you there.

Name these plants

2012-01-30T21:07:00.002+11:00

2 Feverfew

3 Deciduos oak

4 Ameranth
There are around 60 species of amaranthus, including weeds, leaf vegetables, grain crops and ornamentals. Many have large, colourful leaves and tassel-like flower spikes. Jackie French thinks amaranthus is the most spectacularly beautiful and useful plant that you'll ever find in the vegetable garden.

Amaranthus tricolor (syn A. gangeticus, A. oleraceus)
Also known as leaf amaranth, edible amaranth or Chinese spinach. The young leaves have a sweet, tangy flavour, and cooked leaves can be added to salads, soups and stir-frys. (Note: fresh leaves should not be eaten very often, as they are high in nitrates and oxalic acid.) Young shoots are peeled, steamed and then eaten. Ornamental varieties, such as 'Joseph's Coat' and 'Flaming Fountain', are grown as bedding plants.

5 Asian mustar green

6 Asthma plant

7 Avacado

8 WildeBetel leaf - Piper sarmentosum

9 climbing spinach

10 Wampi Malaysian citrus
Handsome foliage evergreen tree grown for Summer ripe fruit with grape like flesh. Popular in S.E Asian gardens.
Fruit rich in vitamin C that is grown popularly in Asian back yards - originally from Thailand.
FEATURES: Large lobed, bright green foliage which is aromatic when crushed forms a tall slender tree. Sprays of white flowers become loose clusters of brownish fruit. Thin crisp skins split easily and the grape-like greenish flesh can be eaten directly seeds and all.

Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap 15th JAN

2012-01-13T08:48:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year!

Ring in the Green New Year by attending the 1st Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap of 2012: This Sunday Jan 15 from 9am-12pm at the Garden @ PCYC Wollongong.

We will be swapping the usual (and always unusual) assortment of fruit, veg, seeds, seedlings and growing info along with freshly brewed coffee and sweets.

See you there.

John
Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap

The Garden at PCYC Wollongong

Summer time

2011-12-27T11:09:00.001+11:00

Hi All
Merry Christmas & happy new year!
Just a few words & pics while I get the chance
Quite a few of us are away over the Christmas & new year break but we are lucky enough that those few that will be around have volunteered to help out with our chook roster to make sure the girls are regularly fed & looked after.... so thank you.
The benefit of being around now is you get to harvest the produce that is happening right now........... like.
the zucchinis which have just started to "go off" (in a good way) over the last week & the cherry tomato's are about to go ballistic.
By the way our Avocado trees are bearing fruit for the first time.
I'm not sure how long they take to get full size, but we will be keeping an eye on them so stay tuned.
see pics below!

Hint. If you have to many Zucchinis. Slice them along with eggplants & fry them on the BBQ in olive oil (with a little garlic and chili if you like) till they are golden brown & smoky then splash on some good balsamic vinegar to taste & pack them in a jar with some more olive oil. They will keep in the fridge for a week or 2.

NEW LIFE ! Corn 27/12/11

Clearing beads & harvesting onions 4/12/11

fresh Onions


the Zucs are starting to get out of control 27/12/11

One of our first Baby Avocados! 27/12/11

No SWAP in DECEMBER

2011-12-14T21:23:00.002+11:00

Seasons Greetings,

Although gardens are lush and full of vegetables this time of year, the Swap will be taking a short holiday until the New Year. We figure so many swappers have a mountain of holiday commitments that it would be best not to heap on another.

So enjoy sharing all of that fantastic produce with family and friend and we'll meet again in theNew Year for the Jan 15th Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap.

See you in 2012!!

The next Waste Not! Fruit & Veg SWAP 20th NOVEMBER

2011-11-17T22:05:00.001+11:00

Yes the 3rd Sunday of the month is nearly here again.....
So gather up your excess fruit, veggies, seedlings and seeds etc and bring them to "The Garden"
to swap or share with fellow gardeners.

9 till Noon Sunday 20th November

And don't forget to bring some change so you can buy a organic fairtrade coffee at our outdoor cafe and relax in the garden.

Fingers crossed the weather co-operates.

Next Garden Gathering is Sunday the 6th of November.

2011-09-28T23:12:00.002+10:00

Be There! Lots to do and see!

Below a photo of one of the "no dig" gardens we built at the work shop
less than a month ago.

Workshop photos

2011-09-28T23:10:00.003+10:00

Aaron sharing the holy grail of soils, the "Bulli Black"

Shez explaining the merits of comfrey as an edge plant to kikuyu

Molasses the magic ingredient in growing soil hyphae

Bricks of lucerne help to build the black filth!

Comfrey the compost accelerator and mineral harvester

Pocket planting vegies directly into the knee high "no dig" garden beds

Some pics from the South East Bio Regional Permaculture convergence

2011-09-28T22:40:00.002+10:00

Heres some photos Ill add some captions when I get the time.

Monthly Gathering On HOLD due to Fathers Day

2011-09-01T21:14:00.003+10:00

As most of us have Fathers Day commitments, we have decided to put our monthly Garden Gathering, that was due to happen on Sunday the 3rd - on hold until further notice.

So.... Don't forget your Dad... Buy him something nice, tell him he's right (for a change), and give him a hug.

We will let you know if we decide to hold our Garden Gathering later in the month - so check back for updates. Or let us know if you want to be included in our emailing list if your not already.

All the Best ... Maddog.

Garden Kitchen construction update.

2011-08-04T20:51:00.002+10:00

Some serious work was done last weekend - materials were gathered and volunteers hooked in to get the base of the pizza oven filled and our crazy recycled cement paving put in place around our oven base and poles and levels set ready to fill in to make the kitchen floor. Thanks to Andrew for taking charge and directing all the crew.

There is plenty more to do so we will be there this weekend if anyone wants to come along and help.

The raised bed experiment.................

2011-08-02T22:31:00.003+10:00

Inspired by our community garden and a book called "One Magic Square" by Lolo Houbein. I decided to build a 1 meter square vegi garden in my back yard and see just how much it could produce.

This solved a few problems 1 while I have been doing lots of vegi gardening at the community garden I wasn't actually doing it in my own back yard...this was because of a few reasons. My wife likes a nice neat garden and vegi patches often don't fit that description, I have dog that always seems to find the vegi patch more of a lounge room e.g. a place to lay in the sun on top of nice soft soil, and I have chickens that I regularly get let out to free rang the back yard.

30/6/2011

So my solution was to make a small neat but productive vegi patch that would be in a handy spot, in full sun away from the neighbours tree roots that sucked the life out my previous vegi patches and up a bit higher to make it easy to get to for me... but harder for the dog & chickens to get to.

So after investigating various materials I decided to go for a raised bed build from recycled hard wood which I simply sanded with a grinder fitted with a flap disk to quickly smooth the surface off and removed any sharp splintery bits and it gave the wood a nice look.

I didn't bother treating the wood figuring that as its hard wood it will probably last longer than my need for this particular structure.

I simply cut to size and drilled and bolted it all together (that way I can take it apart if needed) basically a wooden box sitting on the grass.

I used heavy uprights posts in the corners letting them stand higher so I could use them as a frame to throw shade cloth or plastic to protect the seedling or make an instant mini green house.

I also added a flat edge at the top as place to sit on or put your tools etc on while tending the vegies.

Once constructed I used the usual no did method to fill up the 1 meter square box and pocket planted straight into some hand fulls of compost. so stay tuned .....


My chickens happily free ranging - they haven't noticed the vegi patch yet as its out of there view.

So far so good the vegies are going good & no weeds or pests !

Reminder - our next Garden Gathering 7th Aug

2011-07-27T21:26:00.001+10:00

See you at our next Working Bee or Garden Gathering as we have decided to call them from now on.

Be there Sunday 7th of August from 10am

South East Bio-regional Permaculture Convergence August 2011

2011-07-27T20:55:00.004+10:00

South East
Bio-regional

Permaculture

Convergence

South East solutions

The South East offers many of these examples and this Bioregional Convergence will pool together that collective knowledge and facilitate structures that help to continuously disseminate knowledge back to local communities.

Delegates attending will have the opportunity on the Sunday to visit six properties in the Bega Valley that demonstrate many of these solutions.

Why a South East Convergence

Within the South East region there are many bioregions that are operating independently of each other and this event is an opportunity for us to network, share information and develop strategies to better integrate our collective activities.

For more info Go to the web site

THE NEXT WASTE NOT FRUIT & VEG SWAP ON SUNDAY 19th JUNE

2011-06-18T22:03:00.001+10:00

Oops sorry this post is a bit late.... But for all you late night web surfers that didnt realise, the Swap is on tomorrow Sunday 19th 10am till noon.
It is supposed to be a nice day so come and check out the garden there is lots growing. bring any excess fruit or veg or just come for a chat and a coffee at the garden cafe.

Looking for an Organic Restaurant ?

2011-05-28T18:14:00.003+10:00

If you’re looking at this blog you’re probably interested in good organic food.

Then check out the Agape Restaurant in Botany

Sydney’s First Certified Organic Restaurant and Bar

Agapé is Sydney's largest Certified Organic licensed Restaurant and Bar serving tapas, spelt pizza , mains and dessert. Certified by the Organic Food Chain (OFC). Proudly supporting Australian farmers using the best Certified Organic, Sustainable and Natural produce.

We thought it was great. Good quality food, interesting menu and while its not cheap, it was no more expensive than similar quality non organic restaurants.

For more information check out their web site.

www.agaperestaurant.com/Agape_Restaurant/About.html

A swaping great day

2011-05-16T20:12:00.003+10:00

Well after having to cancel our swap 2 months in a row due to bad weather we were finally blessed with a fantastic sunny autumn day. After a bit of a slow start the crowd started to arrive and the table fills up with all sorts of fruit and veg. Including a few unusual items which always sparks some conversations.

Well that's what make the swap so interesting... you never know who or what will turn up.

See you next month!

IT'S SWAP TIME! SUNDAY 15th May

2011-05-12T22:32:00.000+10:00

That's right 3rd Sunday of the month is almost upon us! So hope for some nice sunny weather, gather your Goodies, throw on a Jumper, an stick a few Bob in ya pockets.. then head for "The Garden" this Sunday the 15th of May. 9 ta noon. Seeyathere!
For those that haven't been before... we bring any excess fruit and vegies we have grow to swap or give away, while we chat and drink fair trade organic coffee or tea and eat homemade cakes etc in the surrounds of the garden.
All welcome.

Combined Workshop & Working Bee

2011-05-02T21:41:00.001+10:00

Wow what a great day it turned out to be! After some very dodgy weather leading up to Sunday. We woke up to a crisp sunny day and over 25 participants turned up to the veggie garden workshop we held in collaboration with Wollongong City Council.

After some introductions and a short session of theory, it was time for a practical demonstration of building "No Dig" garden beds from our home grown facilitators Aaron & Shez.

Then after a short coffee break it was time for all the participants to get stuck in and have a go themselves. and they sure did! Next everyone had a go at pocket planting a load of veggies into the newly made beds.

Lots of participants hung around to share lunch and help with the working bee.

Well done everyone ? Check back here to see how the veggies you planted are going.

We would love to hear about how your home veggie patch turn out. Just email us a few pics and tell us how it goes. Feel free to email any questions and we will do our best to answer them.

A change of season

2011-04-25T16:43:00.001+10:00

Cooler weather means its time to plant some brassicas.
Now that the worst of the heat and drying north east winds have past, the crew have been busy rebuilding beds and planting new crops. We can already see the benefits of the new season while we are still getting warm sunny days it's not over powering and the plants love the milder conditions and regular rain we have been getting.
The end of daylight saving means we don't get much time to do anything after work so the Tuesday evening gatherings are more a chance to catch up and get some admin work done.
Here are a few pics of the new seedling starting to power ....

The Garden Kitchen Cafe Construction Makes A Start!

2011-03-19T19:26:00.007+11:00

The dreaming of our Kitchen Cafe has now passed with the pouring of the footings of the posts in the welcome Autumn rains.

This Saturday morning, on the 19th of March 2011, Shez, Andrew, Damien, Todd and Aaron whipped up batches of concrete by hand and wheelbarrowed them into 3 post footings. While the skies opened up, a ton of concrete was mixed with the assistance of rain water. The research is inconclusive about the benefit of organic concrete in structural engineering, but we will keep you updated when the studies are complete.

Using the momentum of our enthusiastic volunteers we will continue to roll out further Kitchen Cafe progress on Tuesday afternoons and the fantastic monthly working bees.

The Garden is Pumping!

2011-03-08T21:57:00.005+11:00

Rain water flows!

Yes we now have a water pump! And it’s already been put to good work helping us to keep the garden going during some really extreme heat without having to resort to town water.

We can now make use of our big water tank that collects rain water from the PCYC roof much more effectively. The pump give us heaps of water pressure and watering the garden with rain water takes much less time than before.

This is all thanks to a lot of hard organising and preparation by Michael who made sure we got the best solution and prepared safe working procedures and coordinated all those involved. - Well done mate!

And of course much thanks to Frog soloutions and Apathco

Frog soloutions installed a dedicated circuit to a weather proof external double power point.

And Apathco supplied the Monza - 800W, 80L/min capacity water pump, the protective casing, piping and installed it.

See photos from the day of installation -Tony Perram and John Heslin did the install work. Thanks Heaps guys.

just a few photos

2011-02-20T23:07:00.000+11:00

A few fun guys hanging out in the garden

A few kids as well

Tuesday arvo compost turning

The February Swap

A diverse group of swapper's enjoy a relaxing Sunday morning.

Fruit & Veg Swap this Sunday 20th FEB!

2011-02-19T12:03:00.000+11:00

Be there!
from 9am to 12 noon bring your excess fruit & vegies, plants or gardening books etc to swap & share.
Or just come along to have a chat and coffee.

Pics From todays Working Bee

2011-02-06T17:14:00.001+11:00

The Crew hook into turning our giant compost pile

Clearing the kitchen area in preperation for placement of form work for the slab.

fun is ....... turning compost!

A visiting "Permy" from up north drops in for a visit and gets stuck in.

WORKING BEE - SUNDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2011

2011-02-04T23:23:00.002+11:00

Come "crank the goodness" with us this Sunday from 10am...

Our dedicated volunteers have been "hard at it" at the Garden after returning from their various holiday sojourns.

The Quakers held their annual gathering at Wollongong University Innovation campus earlier in January and we happily agreed to take their food waste.

We hosted 3 Quaker group garden tours over a week for the experienced organic gardeners and farmers. The final tour included the respected and celebrated Australian Permaculturalist and international community development catalyst and all round champion of social justice, Rosemary Morrow. It was an honour to meet Rowe and share our work with her and the Quaker friends.

Wednesday afternoon's "Compost Crew" saw a great opportunity to use the food waste as a valuable addition to a humble 20m3 aerobic compost heap they had been building. Summer waste lawn clippings & leaves from a local lawn mowing service, windbreak prunings, veggie plant refuse, sugar cane mulch, animal manures, various trace elements and water were some of the ingredients for the impressive "wind row" compost.

We are in the process of turning it with our "solar powered bob cat" also know as garden volunteers with shovels, forks and enthusiastic vigour!

At last, the outdoor kitchen is underway! We have started to clear the kitchen area of various weeds which have been doing a great job of pioneering the road base floor we laid over a year ago. These need to be removed before we lay the form work to pour the concrete slab.

It seems it will be an intensive working bee but be rest assured a wonderful organic spread will be laid for the tasty 1am lunch! Bring your hats, sunscreen and something for the feast and we look forward to see you there.

LAUNCHING PERMABLITZ IN THE GONG

2011-02-04T22:32:00.009+11:00

Hi all funky Permies and passionate organic gardeners. Shez is hosting Wollongong's first Permablitz on Saturday 12^th February 2011 from 9am.

You are invited to enjoy some creative time in an amazing suburban Permaculture oasis.

Brief informal discussions identified a need amongst our network to provide assistance for "cranking the goodness" in people’s backyard gardens. What better way to unite the community with food, laughter and organic gardening "Permaculture" style while retrofitting the neighbourhood sustainably.

Shez has developed a design, organised materials and tools. The plan is to:

mulch the nature strip and front yard and plant out with native grasses, shrubs and trees
extend the chicken run under the cassurinas
overhaul the chicken house
plumb the chicken house roof to harvest water into a recycled olive barrel
thin and pot up sugar bananas suckers
prune and chop & drop mulberry and oak

A tasty home grown organic feast and refreshments will be lovingly provided.

Hope to see you from 9am on the 12th of February. Please bring hats and sunscreen.

Address: 22 Princess Hwy West Wollongong (directly opposite TIGS)

Parking is available on Highway Ave.

Mass planting

2011-01-20T22:56:00.001+11:00

This Tuesday evening about 7 of us gathered at the garden after work & planted about 120 seedlings in about an hour.
Including:
Lettucs cos and a red coral style
Bok Choy
Pak choy
Basil
Celery
Chard
Cucumber
Rocket
Chillies
English spinach
They were planted in our no dig beds, each getting a handful of our own compost, well watered in and given some of our home made liquid fertiliser to help them settle in.
I called in the next morning on the way to work happy to see they had all survived the night I was worried
the snails might have had a party.
Thursday afternoon stopped in and some of the crew were hard at it, watering and pottering around. We brushed off the tiny eggs that the dreaded white moths had already laid. There had been a few miner casualties due to snails overnight but otherwise all is good. We should try some snail beer traps.

Another great SWAP!

2011-01-20T22:21:00.004+11:00

We were blessed with great weather after a very variable week of wet humid conditions. The morning was stunner. We set up wondering if many would turn up as the local Folk Festival was on.
But as usual after a bit of a slow start, people and produce start turning up. And its not long before I'm doing a steady trade of coffee & apple slice (which was pretty good even if I do say so myself) see below for recipe.
The swap tables filled up with lots of tomatoes, spinach, zucchinis, beans, seedlings & seeds etc. And even though I'm kept busy doing coffee it's a great way to relax after a hectic week. And the bonus is to take home some fresh home grown veggies at the end.
.............................................................................
Apple Slice Recipe
125 soft butter
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 fresh home laid eggs from my own chooks
half cup milk
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
2 apples (depending on the size)
Topping: quarter cup brown sugar & one teaspoon ground cinnamon mixed together
put butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, milk, flour, & baking powder in mixing bowl. Beat on low then increase speed to medium for 3 minutes. Pour into greased 20x30 slice tray. Cut apples in quarters & remove cores then slice up and press the slices into top of mixture so they are laying on top. Sprinkle with the topping and bake at 180C for about 25min or until cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool in tray then cut into slices
serve as as a slice as is or as desert with ice cream, cream or yoghurt.

Have you got a favorite slice recipe you would like to share?
Send it in.

See you next SWAP! (3rd Sunday of each month)
Maddog.

January Working Bee postponed till 9/1/2011

2011-01-01T13:54:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone!
Due to Christmas & New years celebrations & holidays we thought it best to put this months working bee back a week. So it's now on the 9th of January. Hope to see you there.

Fruit & Veg Swap this Sunday 19th DECEMBER

2010-12-15T22:02:00.003+11:00

It's on again! - Last one for the year! So hope to see you all there to swap and compare fruit and veg.
9 till 12 as usual. WASTE NOT!

Maddog harvesting coffee from the garden

Waste Not! Fruit & Veg Swap Sunday 21 November

2010-11-20T16:00:00.000+11:00

Another Fantastic Working Bee

2010-11-07T17:38:00.005+11:00

The weather was perfect and the people came............
The main mission today was to clean up our junk pile - a collecion of wood, wire, rocks and other material we hope will be useful.

But up until now its been a constant battle to keep it weed free and tidy.

So today we attacked it and managed to clear the whole area, tossing out the wood that had rotten, using the logs & tree limbs around the fruit trees to protect them from our scratching chooks & to encourage beneficial bacteria & fungui into the soil around the fruit trees.

The larger solid wood we will use to burn in our pizza oven, was tucked away out of sight in a protected area. The comfry boarders were cut back and the leaves used in comfry tea mix for later use.
And some new paths were made into the Mandela bed.

The Junk Pile half way cleared

Afer a few hours work is almost clear

Lunch is prepeared from garden produce & various contibutions

Lunch is served!

Working Bee this Sunday 7th November

2010-11-05T20:23:00.002+11:00

Fingers crossed for some decent weather. The Garden is Going Off ! There is lots to do & lots to check out and people to catch up with. 10am Start & bring something to share for lunch.
See you there.
MADDOG

The Mullberries are crankin

Beetroots popin out of the soil

the girls explore their new run

Welcome to "The Twilight Zone..." (cue creepy music)

2010-10-22T22:13:00.001+11:00

No, I'm not talking about the 80s TV series, but a bunch of "permies" taking advantage of daylight saving to get some work done at "the Garden" on Tuesday afternoons.

This week we had a good roll up & got a lot done before going for a quite drink at the local.

Jobs included:
Digging out an old black fig tree & replacing it with a green fig.
Digging up & dividing a rare Pepper leaf plant
Planting 90 seedling
Weeding & pulling up and old escaped raspberry vine that was just starting to shoot & spread
Feeding our liquid manure bins with weeds

New Growth!

The crew plants seedlings

Seedlings pocket planted into recently rebuilt beds

Weed on the left - Good one on the right in need to check on the names of these

Feeding one of the liquid compost bins

Send us your recipes!

2010-10-17T22:25:00.001+11:00

I planning a new page for our Blog - The Garden fresh & healthy online cook book!
We have all this wonderful produce but sometimes its easy to get stuck in a rut, using them the same way.
So send in your ideas & recipes & ill collate them into a special page for easy reference.

We Avoid the Wind & Waste Not!

2010-10-17T22:05:00.005+11:00

Well after a wild & windy start to the weekend the weather was good to us with a perfect day for our 1st Waste Not! Swap meeting, since our winter break.

After a quiet start we ended up with a good roll up and a table full of fruit and vegies including a bucket full of custard apples, lemonade fruit, cabbages, paw paws, radishes, lettuce, oranges, mandrins, seedlings & sourdough starter!

I cranked up the coffee machine started making everything from lattés & long blacks to baby chinos – (not always in the right order) but it was a great way to get some practice & no one complained. I certainly have a bit more respect for those baristas pumping out coffees in crowded city cafes all day.

So coffee and homemade slices were available for a small donation. And as usual many conversations flowed along with it on various topics from gardening, chooks, music, and politics to recipes.

So I hope you will join us next month on the 21st November.

Thanks to John & Karyn for helping setup & pack up, our kind neighbours who let us use their power, Jason for bringing the coffee & his beautifull daugter & all those who took the time to share there produce & themselves. Just shows we that need no more than a common interest and a nice setting to create community!

WASTE NOT

2010-10-13T21:48:00.003+11:00

Pics From todays Working Bee

2010-10-10T21:14:00.003+11:00

WE had about a dozen people turn up today. Thanks we got lots done, including cut the big roll of cyclone fencing ready to extend the chook run, turned the compost heap, cleaned up all the potted plants, cleaned up the edges of the grass & lots more. We also enjoyed a great lunch including lots of fresh stuff from the garden like salad greens, carrots, beetroot, spinach & eggs.

The crew turn the compost !

Nice clean edges !

We moved the girls to help us clean up
But they didnt perfom very well.

Fresh leek

The front beds are have exploded into flower in the last week few weeks.

Working Bee THIS WEEKEND!!

2010-10-08T10:09:00.003+11:00

Hi folks! Just letting you know that the working bee that was cancelled due to rain last week has been shifted forward to this Sunday (10/10/10) . This is timely as it lands on the same day as the http://www.350.org/ campaign to act globally against Climate change.

Start time: 10am

End time: Around 4ish

Bring a plate of food if you can and lots of spring energy!!

Cheers,

Alex

Waste Not! - Fruit & Veg Swap - Sunday 17 Oct.

2010-10-07T22:01:00.010+11:00

The SWAP is back!
Note: We have changed
the dates to the
3rd Sunday
of each month.
same time
9am till Noon.

Working Bee cancelled due to rain

2010-10-03T09:52:00.001+11:00

Hi all you fellow garden followers.
I was hoping we could still get some things done today despite the rain but its just on 9.50am and rain is really heavy & looks like its well and truly set in for the day.
So Ill be going down to feed the chooks & happy to meet up with anyone else that's makes the effort to get there. Maybe we can go for a nice hot coffee instead!

PS don't forget to put your clocks forward
Maddog.

Well a few of us braved the rain and we got a few things done before it started to pour again.
Cleaned out the chook house, tidied up a lot of the old pots -( I don't think we need any more for some time), put away a bunch of old buckets & broccoli boxes. So things look a bit neater.

Working bee this Sunday 3rd October from 10am

2010-09-28T21:21:00.001+10:00

Hi all. Yes it warming up and the next working bee will be held this Sunday October 3rd.
Hope to see you there.

What's in Season for August

2010-08-20T21:28:00.002+10:00

Eating food that's in season means that its much more likely to be fresher cheaper & locally grown.
So here's a list of whats in season now.
Fruit in Season
apples - fuji - lady williams - sundowner, cumquat, custard apple, grapefruit - yellow - pink, lemons, limes, mandarins - ellendale - imperial - murcot, nashi, oranges - blood - navel, pawpaw, pineapple - smooth leaf, pomelo, rhubarb, tangelo.
Vegetables In Season
asian greens - bok choy - choy sum - gai laan - wonga bok, avocados - hass - sharwill, beetroot, broccoli, brussels sprout, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi, leeks, okra, olives, onions, parsnip, potato, pumpkin, shallot, silverbeet, spinach, swede, sweet potato, Truffles – black, turnip, witlof.

Pete Nolan's Final Snake Workshop

2010-08-17T21:20:00.005+10:00

Our September working bee is host to the exciting Lake Illawarra raptor specialist and friend to our native fauna. Pete Nolan of Habitat Ponds fame, is bursting into the Garden with a dynamic, "not to be missed", workshop dispelling the many suburban myths around snakes.
His performance at Greenhouse Park for a Sustainable Illawarra Snake Workshop, earlier in the year, brought the house down and jettisoned him into comic legend status.
Pete is relocating to Colorado at the end of September, so come on down to the Garden on Sunday September 5th at 12.00 for his final Illawarra workshop for many years.
We will be 'cranking the goodness' from 10am to 3pm and will share a wholesome lunch after Pete's Snake Workshop. All welcome.

Flametree presents Soup & Film Night - FOOD INC.

2010-08-13T19:58:00.001+10:00

FOOD Inc. the movie
SUNDAY 15TH AUGUST 6pm
Time: Soup & music from 6pm, Film 7-9pm incl.interval
Where: Thirroul Community Centre, Excelsior Hall
COST: $15 soup & film/ $20 soup, film & dessert
Organic handmade soups, chai, cakes, muffins & popcorn
http://flametreecoop.blogspot.com/

Film Reviews:
    "Don't take another bite till you see Food, Inc., an essential, indelible documentary."
    - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
    "Essential Viewing"
    - Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
    "3 1/2 Stars"
    - Roger Ebert, Sun Times
    "Required Viewing. One of the year's most important films."
    - Rossiter Drake, 7x7
    "You Have To See Food, Inc."
    - Corby Kummer, The Atlantic
    "See it. Bring your kids if you have them. Bring someone else's kids if you don't."
    - David Edelstein, New York Magazine
    "A cleverly written and well produced documentary. Kenner crafts an intelligent, visually compelling argument grounded in old-fashioned investigative research and journalism."
    - Maria Garcia, Film Journal International

Permaculture Books

2010-08-12T20:19:00.002+10:00

EARTH USER'S GUIDE TO PERMACULTURE by Rosemary Morrow

This is a great, easy to read book, with lots of good illustrations. Can you recommend any good books on permaculture or gardening ?

Next Working Bee moved to SATURDAY 7th August

2010-07-18T19:43:00.000+10:00

We have rescheduled the working bee so garden folk can participate in a workshop at Port Kembla on Sunday

Working Bee this Sunday 4th July

2010-06-30T21:16:00.002+10:00

It's a new financial year Yahoo?!, But why not drag yourself away from the your accounts, put the lid back on the shoe box of receipts and come down to "The Garden" for our monthly working bee this Sunday 4th July. We kick off around 10 am. See you there.

Working Bee this Sunday 6th June from 10am

2010-06-02T21:46:00.006+10:00

Hi Its been a busy few months. Most of our core members have volunteered much of their spare weekend time to run several "hands on" workshops about Vegi gardening & No Dig gardening in Wollongong, Shellharbour & Kiama for the Sustainable Illawarra program.
This has been lots of hard work. But the positive feedback has been very satisfying and its great to know we are helping people to make a real change by growing food in their own back yards.

So some of us will be taking a bit of a break this weekend but the monthly working bee will be growing ahead as usual. So bring your gardening gear, some positive energy and come along to the garden this Sunday 6 June from 10am to help out with a whole range of things that need be done or just drop in for a look.

Below: one our work shops in progress.

Waste Not! Swap this Saturday 9-12

2010-04-23T09:53:00.007+10:00

That's right. Cauliflowers as big as your head! In April! Bring some of your home grown fruit and veg to swap and you might be lucky enough to take a giant cauli home...

But seriously, what we can promise is great coffee and company. So come along from 9-12 on Saturday morning with something to share (size is not not an issue) and take home something special. don't believe me? take a look at Happy Earths description and photos of the bounty at last months swap: http://www.happyearth.com.au/

hope to see you there.

National permaculture Day 1/5/2010

2010-04-08T22:01:00.002+10:00

National Permaculture Day is a day to promote and celebrate Permaculture. It’s a day whereby our collective effort is consolidated, providing maximum focus on Permaculture across Australia. check it out at:

http://permaculture.org.au/2010/03/25/national-permaculture-day-may-1-2010/

http://www.permacultureday.info/

2 Part working bee

2010-04-08T21:37:00.003+10:00

Hi all
With the Easter holidays and people away over long weekend we weren’t sure what to do about the Working Bee. But a few of the crew went last week and got stuck in, rebuilding some of the front beds & planting a heap of seedlings. Way to go! Those seedlings will love this rain we have had over the last few days.

Anyway for those that want to do something this Sunday (11/4/10), ill be down there for a few hours from 10am. Maddog.

P.S. The Harvest festival will also be on this Sunday at Osborne Park, Cliff Road Wollongong (opposite Belmore Basin) from 1 till 4pm. For more info check out http://www.sustainableillawarra.com.au/Whats-On.html

Next SWAP & Working Bee Dates

2010-03-25T20:57:00.002+11:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of posts lately, seems like everyone's lives are getting more complicated and less time to get around to doing this. I just wanted to let you know our next Fruit & Vegi "SWAP" Day will be this Saturday. As usual bring along your surplus fruit & veg to swap and have a chat with some fellow growers over a coffee from our own coffee machine!
Note: that due to the Easter holidays in April our next "Working Bee" will be postponed. Please check back for a confirmed date.
Keep Crankin the Goodness. And remember:
"you can choose what you do, but you cant choose what you like to do."

Sorry Folks...No December Swap

2009-12-21T14:10:00.007+11:00

Apologies if you heard otherwise, but Waste Not! falls on Boxing day so the Swap has been cancelled for December. Instead, be sure to take your great Aunt Betty that box of vegetables. The green leafy ones have lots of calcium which is good for her bones.

The next Swap will take place on Saturday, January 23rd 2010.

In the meantime, check-out a bit of Waste Not! background published at: http://communitygarden.org.au/sharing-the-wealth

Happy Holidays and see you in January!

December Working Bee

2009-12-02T20:50:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone just reminder the last working bee for the year is on this sunday 6th december. Come along & join in and catch up with everyone before the holidays. See you there!

PDC at The Crossing - Bermagui NSW

2009-11-18T22:22:00.010+11:00

Sorry this has taken a while for me to addthis post but its been a hectic few weeks & im struggling to find the time anyway..... Recently 4 of the crew from "The Garden" spent 13 days at the "the Crossing" in Bermagui NSW. To a Permaculture Design Course run by John Champagne and a group of guest tutors.

It was a great experience enriched by the site and by our fellow students that came from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests.

So here are just a few photos Ill be adding more and sorting out some captions when I get a chance.

Some Of the crew recently did t

2009-11-18T22:21:00.000+11:00

From small things, big things grow

2009-10-26T18:37:00.009+11:00

Well, it's a week or two since our second Waste Not! swap of the new season. It was a special one, where each swapper got to take home a few packets each of heirloom and popular varieties of Italian seed imported by The Italian Gardener (http://www.theitaliangardener.com.au). Huge thanks to Geoff for the seed. Swappers also brought dozens of interesting tomato and capsicum seedlings to share including: 'Black Russian', 'Green Zebra', 'Jaune Flammee' and 'Brandywine' to name just a few!

It's a real pleasure that the swap can play a role, however small, in both the production and consumption/redistribution of locally grown food.

Although we are well into the spring/summer planting period, it's never too late to get something new into the ground...especially if it's interesting!! So, don't miss the next swap on Saturday November 28th. There is sure to be more special seed and seedlings along with the usual assortment of homegrown organic fruit and veg. See you there!

Swap your way to lower CO2

2009-10-19T14:08:00.005+11:00

Thanks to Garden volunteers, this months Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap (Saturday October 24th from 9-12) has joined the International Day of Climate Action. We will be one of (currently) 3559 actions occurring in 161 countries that will draw attention to the global need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to minimise our contribution to climate change. Is the Swap relevant? Of course it is! If your veg is local and organic, then you've just reduced one of the major sources of CO2 emissions. Conventional petroleum-based farming, long-distance transport and long-term food storage are all serious (but avoidable) contributors to climate change.
Go to http://www.350.org/ and 'search for actions near me' to find more stuff happening locally. Make a day of it by visiting our friends at Futureworld Eco-Technology Centre Open Day where they are also celebrating the day of action: http://www.futureworld.org.au/. See you all down at the Garden on Saturday.

Dig It, No-Dig Style

2009-10-14T21:05:00.009+11:00

The Garden has teamed up with Sustainable Illawara and Access Community Group to deliver community workshops on building 'No-Dig' garden beds and starting your own 'backyard veggie patch'. Don't be fooled into thinking no-dig means no-work. To paraphrase Esther Dean (the no-dig originator and Sydneysider): a garden is not made by sitting in the shade and saying 'oh, what a lovely garden'. But it doesn't have to break your back either! Our team of dirty but knowledgeable garden folk will show you how it's done so that you too can build soil that Mother Nature will be proud of. In follow-up workshops we will show you how to design, plant-out and maintain a veggie patch in your newly built no-dig beds.

Workshops will take place at the Garden, as well as, Shellharbour and Kiama sites in the coming weeks. The next workshop is this Sunday October 18 from 9am-1pm at the Garden. Registration is required, so call 4227 7453 (leave a message) or email mail@ sustainable illawarra. com.au. Keep track of the other up-coming workshops by going to the Sustainable Ilawarra website: http://www.sustainableillawarra.com.au/Whats-On.html.

Bees, Seeds and Swaps...Fill Your Diary!

2009-09-11T20:58:00.024+10:00

Spring has arrived and the Garden is alive. So much going on. And the humans are active too! If you thought you missed our monthly Working Bee, have no fear. It was simply postponed due to Fathers Day. Please come and join us this Sunday the 13th from 10-3pm to do some compost shifting, seedling nurturing and food sharing.

The Garden is also very excited about the fact that Jude and Michel Fanton, founders of the Seed Savers Network are visiting Wollongong thanks to Sustainable Illawara. To celebrate their visit, a screening of the film "Our Seeds: Seeds Blong Yumi" will take place at 6:30 Friday, Sept 18 on Level 9 of the Wollongong City Council building. See the flier for more info. And on the following day, the Garden will host a very special seed savers workshop tutored by the Fantons. But it's totally booked out!!! We're sorry! Don't worry our local seed savers are here to fill the gap. Go to www.seedsavers.net to connect with the Illawara Seedsavers and get involved with preserving our human right to seeds!

Last but not least, the Garden is happy to anounce the return of the Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap on Saturday, Sept 26 from 9am-noon. Come and get involved with a like-minded community of growers who don't like to waste the fruits of their labor. Bring your garden surplus (or seeds and seedlings if that's what you would like to share) and swap others for the abundance from their gardens. Then sit back, enjoy a coffee and meet some new folks. Everybody is welcomed, even if you just want to come and hang-out. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

See you all real soon,
The Garden Crew

This months Working Bee postponed

2009-09-05T17:33:00.002+10:00

Hi everyone this months Working Bee will be postponed due to Fathers Day

A few recipes for things we have growing right now

2009-08-19T20:16:00.011+10:00

Hi I was just watching the SBS food safari show when they showed a recipe for Kale. It's a really hardy plant that I didn't known about until we started growing it at the garden.

And we don't seem to have much luck getting our Papaya to ripen up before getting attacked by insects and bird or blown off by our august winds. So using them green is the perfect solution

Click on the links below to go to the recipies

Migas

Zucchini and rocket carpaccio with kale pesto

Green Papaya

Do you have any recipes for Kale or Papaya?

Here's one sent to us from Aysha. (see her comment below).
Kale Soup

Here's some photos of our Kale, its the one with the crinkly leaves.
And our green Papayas.

August in "The Garden"

2009-08-02T17:34:00.015+10:00

Another glorious sunny winter weekend.
On Saturday we had a group of gardeners from Kiama keen to see the garden and how it works.

On Sunday we had another great roll up for our monthly Working bee. Gardens were watered and weeded, the chook house cleaned, fruit trees pruned, signs & notice boards were constructed and our pizza oven took another step in its construction.

And once again a great spread of food came together for our lunch. Topped off with a lovely apple crumble cooked in a camp over over a fire served with custard & chi tea!

Next Working Bee - Sunday 2nd August

2009-07-29T05:44:00.005+10:00

Well its that time again, for our regular gathering down at the garden to catch up with old friends and new comers, to get some jobs done & put some energy back into our garden, that has been crankin over winter. As usual we will gather at about 10am to discuss a list of things to do. Feel free to bring along something to share at our informal lunch at around 1. We look forward to seeing you all.

Chook Profile #1

2009-07-16T14:03:00.020+10:00

Name: Pollo
Figure: Slim 40cm tall
Likes: Cleaning Mojo
Dislikes: Blood sucking insects

Pollo is a lovely jungle fowl who feels especially at home near the banana and paw paw tree circle. She has ruled the roost, but these days she prefers to quietly clean and be cleaned by her friend Mojo. Pollo enjoys long scratching sessions in the food forest and pecking at inanimate objects.

Thanks to the kids who attended Thirroul 'Fete of the Earth' for helping us name our chooks and big thanks as always to our friends who came for the last working bee.

Winter working bee Sunday 5thJuly 2009

2009-06-30T20:50:00.009+10:00

Hey folks! Its that wonderful winter time of the year again and yes, the Garden is cranking with plenty of fruit tree and vegie goodness...
We have just come off the back of another fabulous and successful Veg Swap on Saturday and a midday sell out stall at Sunday's Coledale market!
The inner circle will assemble around 10am for a glorious day of mattock swinging, vegie planting, liquid tea splashing, compost building, local food preparation, warm cuppas, laughter and well mannered frivolity!
Our regular monthly organic gardening enthusiasts - we look forward to catching up with you and new comers are always welcome. Feel free to bring a plate of something wholesome for a 1am lunch. See you there!
If you can't catch up with us at the Garden Sunday, see us at our organically colourful stall at Thirroul Public School's Fete of the Earth from 10am.

Last Swap of the Season!

2009-06-22T20:09:00.015+10:00

It's great to know that the swap has been so well received. The consensus seems to be that the vibe is really good and the fruit and veg is truly worth swapping. Thanks so much to everyone for making it work.
We have decided that the next swap will be the last of the season (sorry, but we've got to let the earth rest once in a while, ya know?!)...don't worry, we will kick off again in spring! Listening to 2SER today, a food expert claimed 50% of the world's food goes to waste in some form or another...man, we've got work to do.

So DO NOT miss the coming swap on Saturday June 27 from 9-12. It will be business as usual with loads of both common and unusual edibles and of course coffee from the Port Kembla Men's Group. We're guessing this swap will be citrus heaven, so if you are feeling a bit swine-ish then come and get fixed-up.

By the way, if your garden has totally gone to bed for the winter, maybe rummage through your book/magazine collection for something to swap. The Garden is looking for old (and new) organic gardening magazines like Warm Earth and Grass Roots to build a local public collection of organic/permaculture/ sustainability/self-

sufficiency related resource materials. Books welcomed too.

We leave you with reminders of the last swap. Thanks to VJ for the photos. See you on Saturday!

Breadmaking at TAFE

2009-06-19T15:09:00.017+10:00

Did you know Wollongong TAFE runs bread making courses? They are 1 night a week for 18 weeks. I've just finished the basic bread making course, which gives you all the basic knowledge and hands on experience in baking a range of white, wholemeal & rye breads in various shapes & sizes. Following that you can also do "Artisan Breads" which includes things like sourdough & bagels etc. Here's a few pics of the class in action. Hopefully these skills will come in handy once we get our pizza oven up & running.

All mushrooms are edible.

2009-06-08T18:18:00.018+10:00

Some only once! Words to live by for sure, but sometimes you've got to take the plunge if you want to be a gastronaut. Who first pulled a random mushroom from the ground and shoved it in their mouth anyway?! Generations of brave (and/or really hungry) humanoids have paved the way for you to enjoy the fruits of the forest. So show some respect!

The images above are just a small selection of local fungi photos. Everybody probably recognises the red one, Amanita muscaria (fly agaric). It is the archetypal fairy tale mushroom. It's poisonous! Don't eat it! But of course that hasn't stopped others, including Siberian and Scandanavian shamens who have historically consumed it for mind-expanding purposes. You've been warned mortal.

But we save the best for last. Lactarius deliciosus. Totally edible and growing in a pine forest near you...after a bit of rain and a warm spell. It's common name is 'pine mushroom' or 'saffron milk cap'. The Spanish call them 'rovellones'. Are they good? I challenge you to find many other living, edible, organisms who have a binomial name meaning 'delicious'. They are one of the meatiest mushrooms around and never go slimy. They should be cooked, like most wild mushrooms. Slice them up and saute in butter with garlic and a pinch of salt. Garnish with parsley and eat a pile of it on toasted sourdough with a little extra virgin olive oil. But this is not the only way to enjoy them, as you can see in the photo, a local fungivore is contemplating his options.

Next Working Bee Sunday 7 June

2009-06-02T23:17:00.002+10:00

Yes its on again. The monthly working bee is on Sunday June 7th. If your new to The Garden it's a perfect opportunity to come along & check it out. One of the regulars can give you a tour. And once we have draw up a list of things to do, your welcome to pick something that suits you & join in. It could be anything from turning the compost to feeding the chooks to labeling seeds or helping organise the lunch. Talking of lunch, its normally around 1pm and made up of whatever salad etc the garden has to offer plus whatever people bring along. Hope to see you there. Maddog. NB If it absolutely buckets down we usually give it a miss.

A Radish by any other name....

2009-05-25T20:01:00.022+10:00

Daikon, Moo, Mooli, Lobak. Call it what you wish. It was the surprise success of The Garden stall at Coledale Market. Most Westerners don't know what to make of it. But the rest of the world gets pretty excited about it. It's a white, mildly spicy, root vegetable which is a member of the Brassica family. Although the root is what most are after, the shoots are also edible (but prickly). It is also a lovely looking plant. Fellow Garden member Colin reckons it's your best bet for busting up hard/compacted soil. They are like tasty little crowbars that work for free. And easily grown. They self-seed with no problem in our region.

We diversified a little this time on the market stall. Arunda permasourced some really beautiful banksia/wattle blooms and we had some baby coffee plants for sale. Check out our posts earlier in the year about coffee bean processing (Jan/Feb). If you got a plant from us... then you saved a little fella from the roaster. Don't worry, mama will produce more next year.

Thanks to everybody who visited the stall. Selling out by 11am at a market that runs until 3pm was pretty encouraging! We had to call for back-up just to make it through the day (thanks Greg!).

So we leave you with a Daikon recipe we have tried and liked:

Daikon and Carrot Salad (from Japanese food and cooking by Emi Kazuko)

Grate 1 daikon and 1 carrot. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt and mix. Drain after 30 minutes and squeeze out excess liquid.

Prepare dressing of 4 tbsp rice vinegar + 2 tbsp caster sugar. Stir until dissolved then pour over daikon and carrot. Garnish with roasted sesame seeds before serving.

This color combo, orange and white, is considered lucky by the Japanese. So daikon can change your luck too!

The Swap Goes On!

2009-05-17T19:47:00.008+10:00

Winter is creeping in but we are pushing back! Still producing the veg and ready to swap.

The 2nd Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap will happen at the Garden @ North Wollongong PCYC on Saturday May 30th from 9-12. (the 5th rather than 4th Sat this month!!)

Port Kembla Mens Group will provide the fantastic coffee as before and we will have sweets again. So come and bring your surplus herbs, veg, fruit, seeds, plants to trade with like-minded growers, have a coffee, catch-up with old friends and make new connections.

Also come check out the Garden Stall, the weekend before the swap, at Coledale Market on Sunday the 24th

See you at the swap

Coledale Market sprouts a Garden

2009-04-28T09:10:00.011+10:00

The funkiest local market just got funkier with the arrival of the Garden stall. Organic veg so fresh out of the ground that you could still smell the compost and seaweed fertiliser on the roots! And you want local?! How about Coledale honey, North Gong kale, Unanderra garlic, Port Kembla lemongrass. We don't measure food miles in miles or kms, we measure in neighborhoods.

Thanks to the generosity of participants in the Waste Not! fruit and veg swap the previous morning (check out the last post), we had an abundance of totally local produce grown with love that simply needed to find a new home. Virtually every last leaf flew off the market stall and the handful that didn't has been returned to the compost pile so we can grow a new crop. Complete the cycle! Compost to compost! Waste Not!

Everybody who visited the stall was really complementary and people genuinely seemed pleased to have us. The fact that everything sold speaks for itself. If the market will have us, we will try to make it a regular event in conjunction with the Waste Not! swap.

So come check us out at Coledale Markets (http://wollongongmarkets.squarespace.com) every 4th Sunday of the month.

Swappers' delight

2009-04-27T11:09:00.018+10:00

We couldn't have asked for more! The weather was glorious and the people were generous. Our friends from Port Kembla Men's Group provided seriously good cups of fair trade coffee for 30 or so swappers from in and around Wollongong. The produce was beautiful and varied: Vietnamese mint, lemongrass, mind-blowing chilis, three types of basil, pumpkins, curry leaf, lettuce, spinach, passion fruit, macadamia saplings and nuts, strawberry plants, mustard greens, chokos, beans, wax jambu, cucumbers, tamarillos, Jerusalem artichokes, rosemary, fennel, flat and curly leaf parsley, bulls horn capsicum, garlic chives, curly kale, eggplants, garlic, figs, limes...are you getting the picture!!!

A lot of healthy organic food got redistributed and people made new friends in the process. And in keeping with our motto 'Waste Not!' virtually every leaf and sprig that was donated to us was sold the following day at Coledale Market (pics and more info to come) which will allow us to keep the swap going.

Humongous thanks to everybody who participated and made it such a relaxed and positive morning.

Fellow swappers at Happy Earth(http://www.happyearth.com.au/) wrote a very kind report about the day as well. A podcast may also appear on Tim Denshire-Key's blog (http://upyourjumper.wordpress.com/). Tim visited us as a part of his Australian tour in which he is documenting the various ways communities are addressing sustainability and the challenges we face as a result of climate change and peak oil.

So spread the word. The Waste Not! swap will happen on the 4th Saturday of each month from 9-12 here at the Garden.

Swap your surplus veg at the Garden!

2009-04-21T10:36:00.005+10:00

Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap is being launched at the Garden @ North Wollongong PCYC on Saturday April 25th.

Details are on the flier, but basically you bring some surplus herbs, fruit and/or veg from your garden i bring from mine and we swap! simple!

The equitability of the swapping will be determined between swappers. so if you are happy to receive a sprig of parsley in exchange for a pumpkin...cool!

Although we want as much veg as possible, don't be shy about bringing other stuff. Maybe people want flowers or dried beans or a branch of rosemary

Our only request is that you donate some of your bounty to the Garden for sale the following morning at Coledale Market (Wollongong Produce and Creative Traders Markets - About Us ). The little $$ we make at the market will be be re-invested in the costs of the swap/market and into ongoing projects at the Garden. As time goes on and we gather more members, we can all discuss whether that arrangement works or needs to be changed.

If that isn't enough...we hope to have some sweets and coffee on hand for the swap.

Before you come, take a look at your food garden through fresh eyes...all the stuff you are sick of is probably just the thing others are searching for.

See you at the swap!

working bee april

2009-04-06T11:17:00.004+10:00

The bed grows !

2009-04-01T23:05:00.004+11:00

March Working Bee

2009-03-01T22:35:00.010+11:00

Another good turn out for the monthly "working bee".
We got a lot done, & had another great lunch with lots of contributions.
And Lou gave us a grafting demo.

Just an interesting photo I took awhile ago

2009-02-25T21:53:00.001+11:00

A few more pics after a week or so of rain

2009-02-22T23:36:00.003+11:00

Here's a few more photos

Harvest shot

2009-02-11T11:43:00.004+11:00

This was the bounty we gathered on the last weekend in january. Davidson plums used to make jam. Passionfruit and eggs went into a cheescake. We ate green tomatoes in a thai-style curry. Roasted eggplants and squash and beets. Lettuce and tomatoes in salad. All yum, although the plum jam is very tart!

Garden grown coffee.

2009-02-04T20:41:00.005+11:00

Last night some of us had dinner at J&Ks. It was a great meal with most of the ingredients coming from The Garden. At the end the meal, we finished of with a small cup of coffee each, made from our own coffee trees! I was impressed by how good it tasted. Thanks Karyn.

Processing coffee beans

2009-01-28T12:46:00.013+11:00

We picked the ripe coffee beans on a working bee Sunday in December with help from Steve. I think we had about half a bucketful (10L?). We consulted a guide to home processing found on the web. John started by discarding under ripe (green) and over ripe (black) beans. At this stage the bean is still covered with fruity pulp which needs to be fermented off, so the bucket was filled with water and left outside for a few days. The beans were then squeezed free of the pulp and soaked in more water to remove the slippery mucilage layer. Any beans that floated were discarded. Karyn vigorously washed the beans until they felt gritty. The wet beans were then placed in colanders and dried on a balcony in the sun for a few weeks.

The next step involved removing the dried husk to reveal the 'green' coffee bean inside. This is the most tedious part of the process and of course it is done by machines commercially. We shared the task and managed to chat at the same time but progress was slow and we are still only half way through a kilo of coffee beans!
At our next working bee we may attempt roasting, grinding and drinking.......

Time for Coffee

2009-01-27T21:29:00.004+11:00

Its a cooler overcast afternoon for a change - Shez, Karen & I process some coffee beans. Karen has already soaked & removed the outer flesh, so now we break thin inner skin off each individual bean! any coffee we eventually drink from these beans will be worth a fortune.

Coffee beans on the tree before they were harvested

Tomato Bottling

2009-01-25T17:16:00.008+11:00

With a bumper crop from one of the school gardens, we needed to preserve them so they wouldn't go to waste. So with the help of Lou & Silvana (Ill need to check the spelling) we all gather to do some tomato sauce bottling the traditional Italian way. It was a great day despite the heat. (strong westerly blew all day until the southerly change hit just as were were about to leave.)

Pic 1. Aaron fills container of tomatoes with water so they are clean for chopping up.

Pic 2. The tomatoes are cut and inspected. Any bad bits get put aside.

Pic 3 How many tomatoes have these hands cut?

Pic 4

Pic 5 Lou sets up the grinder

Pic 6 Tomatoes in the top sauce out the bottom

More to come.....

NEXT WORKING BEE

2009-01-21T21:22:00.001+11:00

Remember the next working bee will be Sunday 1st of February
All welcome - we start around 10 am and will be having lunch at the garden.

If someone can figure out how I add an event to the little calander on the left let me know.

Tuesday evening

2009-01-21T21:00:00.004+11:00

Another warm day, the green corps group have been down and done some clearing around our kitchen area which was badly needed, I brought my brush cutter down and cleaned around the piles of wood etc. Scott from (POG) turns up, along with Cody (I Think) and her mum we all get stuck in and give the garden a good watering. I feed the chooks after letting them out for a bit of a run. - 1 EGG. Then Scott and I start clearing the grass edges along the cement pad. Aaron & John are off harvesting tomato's from one of the school gardens.

Its been hot today as well and I didnt get home till late so did get down to the garden today.

Checking layout on different computer

2009-01-12T08:57:00.002+11:00

Wow just checked this to see how it looks on a different computer .... as is the nature of the web it looks a lot different text is under all the pics instead of beside it & text next to Profile pic is wrapping a lot more. HUMMM will have to work on this..

Beautiful morning... no wind & clear sky had a surf at Corrimal not very good hardly any swell & no real banks.. wind starting to pick up from the south east so we probably got the best of it even if it was crap,
We are getting sick of this nice summer wheather need some storms to give us some waves...

daily log

2009-01-11T17:33:00.000+11:00

Just playing with some of the gadgets it all seems OK but would like to have have photo albums as part of this site instead of linking to another??

Also want a calendar that I can add appointments etc I'm sure there is one just need to find it.

Went to "The Garden" around 6pm waited til it was a bit cooler has been Sunny & hot all day with a strong Noreaster wind but by 6 the clouds had come over and looks lake a change on the way.
Checked the visitors book & noones been here today So I let the chooks out for a run.. they love it and are really active, good to see them back in a good state. Watered the Nursery.. Planned to dig up the Lemon & Vetiva grass (behind keyhole bed) to divide it up & plant some out the front. but buy the time I water the tomatos & beens and do a bit of tiodying up of the pathways its time be home for dinner. Just starting to rine lightly as I leave Then we get a bit of steady rain for an hour or so.
Heres some photos I took the other day.

First Posting

2009-01-09T21:11:00.000+11:00

Hi this is our first post
Just setting this blog up as a link for all members & others interested in community & organic gardens

The Garden

Garden Gathering this weekend - 5th Feb

Name these plants

Waste Not! Fruit and Veg Swap 15th JAN

Summer time

No SWAP in DECEMBER

The next Waste Not! Fruit & Veg SWAP 20th NOVEMBER

Next Garden Gathering is Sunday the 6th of November.

Workshop photos

Some pics from the South East Bio Regional Permaculture convergence

Monthly Gathering On HOLD due to Fathers Day

Garden Kitchen construction update.

The raised bed experiment.................

Reminder - our next Garden Gathering 7th Aug

South East Bio-regional Permaculture Convergence August 2011

South EastBio-regional

Permaculture

Convergence

South East solutions

Why a South East Convergence

THE NEXT WASTE NOT FRUIT & VEG SWAP ON SUNDAY 19th JUNE

Looking for an Organic Restaurant ?

If you’re looking at this blog you’re probably interested in good organic food.

A swaping great day

IT'S SWAP TIME! SUNDAY 15th May

Combined Workshop & Working Bee

A change of season

The Garden Kitchen Cafe Construction Makes A Start!

The Garden is Pumping!

just a few photos

Fruit & Veg Swap this Sunday 20th FEB!

Pics From todays Working Bee

WORKING BEE - SUNDAY 6TH FEBRUARY 2011

LAUNCHING PERMABLITZ IN THE GONG

Mass planting

Another great SWAP!

January Working Bee postponed till 9/1/2011

Fruit & Veg Swap this Sunday 19th DECEMBER

Waste Not! Fruit & Veg Swap Sunday 21 November

Another Fantastic Working Bee

Working Bee this Sunday 7th November

Welcome to "The Twilight Zone..." (cue creepy music)

Send us your recipes!

We Avoid the Wind & Waste Not!

WASTE NOT

Pics From todays Working Bee

Working Bee THIS WEEKEND!!

Waste Not! - Fruit & Veg Swap - Sunday 17 Oct.

Working Bee cancelled due to rain

Working bee this Sunday 3rd October from 10am

What's in Season for August

Pete Nolan's Final Snake Workshop

Flametree presents Soup & Film Night - FOOD INC.

Permaculture Books

EARTH USER'S GUIDE TO PERMACULTURE by Rosemary Morrow

This is a great, easy to read book, with lots of good illustrations. Can you recommend any good books on permaculture or gardening ?

Next Working Bee moved to SATURDAY 7th August

Working Bee this Sunday 4th July

Working Bee this Sunday 6th June from 10am

Waste Not! Swap this Saturday 9-12

National permaculture Day 1/5/2010

2 Part working bee

Next SWAP & Working Bee Dates

Sorry Folks...No December Swap

December Working Bee

PDC at The Crossing - Bermagui NSW

Some Of the crew recently did t

From small things, big things grow

Swap your way to lower CO2

Dig It, No-Dig Style

Bees, Seeds and Swaps...Fill Your Diary!

This months Working Bee postponed

A few recipes for things we have growing right now

August in "The Garden"

Next Working Bee - Sunday 2nd August

Chook Profile #1

Winter working bee Sunday 5thJuly 2009

Last Swap of the Season!

Breadmaking at TAFE

All mushrooms are edible.

South East
Bio-regional