Autumn

Autumn is such a magnificent time of year. I feel so incredibly lucky to enjoy it with so much freedom. The air is sweet and the colours vibrant...

Michael Ableman

I heard Michael Ableman speak on Radio National the other morning and he had some really interesting and insightful ideas into modern farming practices and the environment. He is a farmer himself and has been involved in some incredibly projects in America, including starting an 11 acre farm at the Midland school. Please, read more about him:

http://www.fieldsofplenty.com/michael.php

Seed saving and other permaculture principals

The beautiful Madagascar Bean

On the weekend, I attended a seed saving workshop organised and run by some amazingly fervent inner west Sydneysiders, passionate about seed saving, permaculture, composting, bees and growing their own food in their backyards. The workshop was held in Michele Margolis' award winning backyard in Enmore and her sidekick Jane Mowbray, chronic seed saver. I had been thinking about saving my own seed for a while but have always been worried about not doing it properly and that my seeds would never come to fruition. However, after watching so many of the plants in my own garden pop up from seed that had been dropped - I thought, well, really, surely it cannot be that hard. And it really is not at all and I am going to be doing a lot more of it from now on. 

Jane collecting seed from a brassica

Saving seeds varies slightly between plants, mostly with plants that will fruit and then flower (e.g. broccoli, kale, spinach, carrot etc) as opposed to plants that flower and then fruit (e.g. tomatoes, capsicum, eggplant). 


Saving seed from vegies such as spinach, kale, mustard, lettuce etc let a couple of plants go to seed, let them dry out for a couple of weeks in the ground, pull them out and store them in a dry position and then collect your seed. 

Collecting seed from pumpkin and zucchini

Saving seed is not only a way to save money but it is important to maintain our heritage seeds so that we don't lose varieties in the future; "So?" you may have asked? "Why does it matter if we lose a couple of varieties of tomatoes or eggplant...Why does it matter?" Genetic diversity is important for the continuation of a species, and it's what drives change and adaptation in the living world. In the case of growing food and gardening, diversity insures that we'll be able to continue eating the plants we now eat. Many of the large chain supermarkets only sell a few (if that) varieties of fruit and vegetables. These vegetables are often picked too early and stored for long periods of time, often leaving them bland, tasteless and less nutritious. 

The advantage of picking from your own garden is that you know exactly where your food comes from, you know there will be no chemicals or pesticides used in the process and how easy is it to just head out the back to grab some lettuce or spinach leaves! Now, unless I had more time than I could probably grow more than I am able to but even if you are able to only grow a few things - it is definitely worth it. 

Chickens free-ranging!

Michele uses styro foam boxes to sow seed. These boxes can be picked up for free from fruit shops and supermarkets - they are a great way to start growing your own food, especially salad greens and herbs. I have some in my garden which are painted...a great activity to do with kids.

 

Turmeric - I don't have any growing in my garden but I have been inspired to plant some. Michele made a delicious  pumpkin and turmeric soup. YUM.

A good way to test your seeds reliability  - place them in a damp paper towel for a few days and  open  it up to see what the germination rate is. I will definitely be trying this technique. I think it will save a lot of frustration and heartache!

There are more workshops coming up so feel free to contact me if you are interested and I can lend you the details. 

The world is a garden...especially for kids

After studying primary school teaching for only 6 weeks I have learnt so much I think my head might explode. It's a great course and there are some fantastic lecturers who are offering really inspiring and knowledgeable advice. One main theme which has been coming through our English course is the importance of imaginative play and its relation to building children's language skills, as well as a range of other important areas. There have been numerous studies which have verified the importance of imaginative play for children and how that supports their language skills, emotional wellbeing and growth, as well as their understanding of the world around them and how it works. Free play also allows children to develop problem-solving skills, cooperation and responsibility. 

Children use their own world experiences to make meaning from books, as well as use books to create games, expand their imagination and to discover new worlds. Research states that imaginative play engages many areas of the brain because it involves emotion, cognition, language and sensorimotor actions, and may promote the development of dense synaptic connections. Structured games, as well as electronic games and devices can and will not be a replacement for what is learnt through unstructured and free play. This is children's work and this is what helps them to develop their mind, their emotion, as well as their personalities. Young toddlers, right up to late stage primary school children need and should be allowed to develop their imagination by engaging in free and imaginative play and I find it so sad when I see children who are unable to engage in such an activity. Their mind has often been stifled and even corrupted by watching too much television or playing too many electronic games; it is as though their imagination ceases to exist. 

I felt so heartened on a recent observation day to Cabramatta Public School, a low SES school, with over 95% of the student population coming from ESL backgrounds, actively engaging in the school kitchen program. It was inspiring and uplifting to see this class of year 2 students, so eager to answer questions about compost, worms, and how to plant lettuces. This school had a fantastic program which allowed the students an hour of meditation and imaginative thinking, following by an hour of gardening and cooking. How could this not be unequivocally and obviously beneficial for the students; especially for many of those who had experienced trauma on their journey to Australia. 

http://www.cabramatta-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/additional-classes/garden

Children seem to have a natural affinity with gardening and it is a priceless lesson to teach children how to plant seeds and to watch the growth of those plants, into beautiful flowers, productive produce and/or homes for bees, butterflies and other tiny creatures. Gardens are a great catalyst for the creation of many stories and imaginative games. It is important to nurture these spaces, whether one has a garden or not. Remember, the world is a garden! 

Thrifty Gardening

I have been working in an Italian restaurant and I find it really difficult to just throw away these big cans that the parmesan cheese comes in, so I have been taking them home and storing them away until I could come up with a good use for them. Firstly, I thought of making lanterns but I decided to grow plants in them instead and save the lantern project until later. 

THIS IS SOO SUPER EASY AND ANYONE CAN DO IT. 


Weekend project: Turning old, unused tins into productive plant tins!
Time: approximately 15-30 mins
You will need:
- old tins
- hammer or screwdriver (to make drainage holes at the bottom)
- soil/potting mix
- plants 


So, what I did was to make some drainage holes in the bottom (this is important). Filled the tins with some soil and planted some cuttings from other plants in the garden. In this case, I just used the old trusty succulent because these will withstand anything, and if you have not got a green thumb or too lazy to water. these can look effective. I also took a cutting from a coleus plant I had in another pot. So super easy, all you do is cut a stem off, stick it in the soil, keep it moist and roots will grow and there you are...you have a whole new plant. Now who can't do that?  GET TO IT. 


p.s. Another great use for old olive oil tins is to turn them into planter pots and they look really good in the garden. The tins will start to rust up a little but this just adds  to their charm. 

To sow this month (temperate):

If you have not already I have got seeds of broccoli, leek, spinach, parsley, garlic, lettuce, beets, cornflowers growing for my winter staples. Not sure if I will have enough room for carrots this year. Will see how it goes. Check out my propogation station made from an old ironing board I found in a council clean-up...great use!

Propagation Station - where I like to propagate a variety of plants and grow a variety of seeds. 

Parsley is SUPER easy to grow from seed. Why would you not grow it yourself. It is such a great herb, there is really no excuse. 

I cannot believe for some time that I was buying punnets of spinach seedlings. It is SO SO easy to grow from seed. I will never go back. This is the silverbeet spinach and gets so much use in our kitchen. It is a definite staple in ANY garden and can be very easily grown in a pot. 

Visiting Jackie French

I have been a fan of Jackie French for sometime now so when I got the opportunity to visit her garden I snaffled up the opportunity. She has been displaying her garden annually for the open garden scheme for a while now and  she put on quite a show. She took us on a wonderful tour of the property giving us a briefing of the history of how she came to live in the idyllic Araluen valley. Jackie French is an incredibly private person and so I felt especially privileged that she felt comfortable enough to let us into her garden.

Driving through the country on our way to Braidwood. Ahh  so very beautiful .

Jackie has some great ideas and says that her property is a lot about experimentation with different plants. It gives her an opportunity to propagate different species of fruit trees, as well as creating harmony between growing her own food without alienating native fauna. It is their home first and so Jackie adopts some safe and peaceful practices to ensure that she may live in amity with the local birds, kangaroos, wombats and everything and anything else!

The front of the house is covered with many hanging baskets of herbs and flowers. It is visually pleasing, welcoming and fresh herbs so close to the house is a wonderful thing. 

The property is filled with hundreds of fruit trees just dripping with fruit all year round.

Jackie uses tyres as a retaining wall on a sloping embankment. I asked Jackie about the chemicals that can leech from tyres. She told me this was a concern, however, these particular tyres were over 50 years old and she believed any chemicals should have leeched out by now. She had pumpkin and other seedlings growing. If one is going to use tyres and concerned about the leeched chemicals, I recommend only planting non-edibles and using them for flowers and annuals to attract bees and butterflies to the garden. 

Jackie gets many gorgeous visits from local fauna. She protects young fruit trees by wrapping wire around them. This prevents any pesky animals from scratching and digging up the trees. 

Jackie has many well planned fruit orchards. This apple circle is filled with many different varieties and by  planting them in this way, they are able to protect one another. Once the trees become established, she removes the wire and replaces it by planting agapanthus and lavender. 

Jackie was a brilliant host. We enjoyed a delicious morning tea of homemade cakes baked by Jackie herself. Her garden was so beautiful and peaceful and was truly an inspiration. I really admire her strength, resilience and creativity. I came away from the workshop filled with many great ideas for my own garden and how best to incorporate the native fauna of my area into my own garden. 

We found this cute echidna on our way out along the Araluen road. 

My favourite season...Autumn.

Autumn to me is the most beautiful time of the year in Sydney. For the first time in months, I finally saw the light change and the crispness in the air was so refreshing. Finally I may be able to start spending whole days in the garden again. Unlike in Summer when one must spend evenings gardening by sunset (the coolest part of the day). Or like loony me you could stay out past sunset and garden with a head torch on. 

Autumn is a time for harvesting the end of the summer crop. I must say, I was pretty disappointed with some of my summer crop this season. All this rain and humidity cause my zucchini's to perish from powdery mildew, lack of heat prevented my waltham butternuts from flowering and my tomatoes were all a bit too sad as well. However, my capsicum, eggplant and basil have done really well and I am so pleased. If one is still managing to get zucchini's, cucs, pumpkins, eggplants etc don't forget an application of potash helps the fruit to come along well and ripen nicely.

I have a beautiful forest of basil. The smell is intoxicating. I love having a HUGE crop of basil...a staple in our kitchen to make pesto and add to tomato sauces amongst other things. The bees love the flowers and the garden is a buzz with bees. 

Eggplants beginning to ripen. I have been adding applications of potash to help them fruit and ripen. 

The beautiful zinnia strikes a pose. Zinnia is a summer annual. I sow seed anytime from September when the weather starts to warm up and is a staple for any summer garden. 

Red cabbage can be easily grown from seed or seedling and for most of the year round. 

Ecchinacea