What's in Season for August

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.