sustainability

Yesterday, a beautiful sunny day, for a change, after yoga, I went to the local nursery and bought some compost and potting soil. I tilled the soil in the two raised garden beds in the “chick-house garden” and added the compost and the soil. By the way, the “chicken-house” garden, is, as the name suggests, a chicken enclosure which is now a vegetable and raspberry garden. We used to have gorgeous Plymouth Rock chickens but after a terrible fox attack, we decided, no more chickens for us, sadly.

I pruned some of the grape vines and raked around to neaten things up. You see, we will be going overseas in a couple of weeks and I want to plant some seeds for when we return.

I always try to plant seeds from the The digger’s seeds club www.diggers.com.au – a well-respected heirloom seed savers cooperative, recommends the following to plant – an heirloom seed club which has been around for about forty years – their latest issue suggests;
Broad bean “Crimson”
Pea “Greenfest”
Califlower “mini”
Radish Pink Lady Slipper
Cabbage “mini”
Spinach “Bloomsdale”
Turnip “White Mini
Onion “Australian Brown”
Parsnip “Hollow Crown”
Lettuce “Tennis Ball”

I always try to plant seeds purchased from the The Digger’s Seeds club www.diggers.com.au – a well-respected heirloom seed savers cooperative here in Australia which has been around for about forty years – their latest issue suggests seeds for our Cold Zone:

Pea “Greenfest”
Broad bean “Crimson”
Califlower “mini”
Radish Pink Lady Slipper
Cabbage “mini”
Spinach “Bloomsdale”
Turnip “White Mini
Onion “Australian Brown”
Parsnip “Hollow Crown” Lettuce “Tennis Ball”

I have a bit of work in preparation but it will be worth it to return to sprouting and growing seeds into plants. Happy weekend gardening.

Be botanical, be in the garden.

You all know my passion for gardens – any gardens, any where. So when a friend and in-law Margaret invited me to see her Community Garden project I was intrigued. The first time I saw the garden was last November in the pouring rain. More recently, it was brilliant sunshine and a respectable 30 degrees C.

A Community Garden is indeed a suitable launching place for many great ideas. Each resident gardener pays a nominal fee to tend their plot. The restrictions are simple: no large trees, no weeds, and no pilfering! Otherwise, the horticultural creativity is set free to produce wondrous vegetables, fruits and herbs. In addition, community interaction is guaranteed.

Why am I envious? It is envy of the admirable kind – for plants that we cannot grow here in the Mount. Giant golden vegetables, black, shiny grapes, fragrant basil and sun trapped red tomatoes.

Check out this man’s giant climbing zucchini!

Tall sunflowers and harvested corn.

Therefore, last weekend when we visited again, it was for the launch of Margaret’s historical book which tracks the history of the garden suburb where she lives. The estate was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, Canberra’s famous town planner. The book also chronicles the history of the indigenous people of the area; the discovery of gold in the 1850’s; the first families who purchased land in the estate complete with general specifications of a typical 1950’s home; through to the time when “the frontier spirit [had] dissipated as we moved into the seventies” (p85).

The Community Garden stands on “an internal reserve … designed in the late 1920’s” (which for a long stretch of time was a forgotten and derelict triangle of land). It now provides a sustainable and renewable facility. It is though, much more than a commodity, it is a safe, productive haven for the Tuppal Reserve gardeners and their families. Indeed it is a most enviable achievement – full of delight, determination and distinction.