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Member News 2014

December 2014

Coming event

Busy bee 2-4pm, with focus on weeding and mulching the perimeter areas where the fruit trees are growing.

4pm – Christmas afternoon tea in the garden.

What do we need on Sunday?

  •  Bring afternoon tea to share. Hot drink supplies will be provided.
  • A volunteer to collect (and return) the red sun/shower shelters for Sunday’s event.  The shelters are stored locally and fit into a medium sized sedan with seats folded down, or larger vehicle. (offers to this email please).
  • Newspapers for mulching fruit trees.

There is lots of work to be done, so come even if you cant be there for the full two hours, and if you cant come to the busy bee, drop in later for afternoon tea.

Facebook page for TNG

 

Some years ago Tim set up a Facebook page for TNG, but it has not been active. We would like to reactivate it and invite members who have facebook logins to join the closed group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Taroonagarden/

 News from December's committee meeeting

Subscription fees raised

It was decided to raise fees to $60 per year for full paying members, and $25 for concession (low income heath care card holders). Associate members (no plot) still $10/$5. Subs have been at the same level since the garden was started. With more money in the kitty, we will be able to think more creatively and expansively about developing the garden as a significant asset to our suburb and our members. Of course the subs are a minimum requirement only, and a little extra as a donation is always welcome when you pay.  Subs are due January and can be paid by online banking here.

/neighbourhood-garden/how-to-pay 

Fruit trees

Each fruit tree on the perimeter has been ‘adopted’ by a member who looks after it. When the fruit is ripe, fruit tree adopters should take a share for themselves, then put out a green flag indicating to other members that they can harvest a share. When the time comes, members should take just a small portion of the fruit, and leave some for others.
Marian has taken over management of the Fruit-tree adopters group, and if you would like to adopt a tree or have other questions,  email tng.member.news at gmail.com and your query will be forwarded.

Consumables

Compost and sand is currently provided free to plot holders (it was $4.00 per barrow load by an honesty system in the first 2-3 years of the garden), but hay mulch is not usually freely provided. The load of hay recently delivered was specifically for the perimeters over the next  12 months. If you used some of it on your plot, we ask that you pay into the donation box or online for it -  $8 per bale, or portion thereof. Thank you.

 

November 2014

Thank you to all the people who came to Sunday's busy bee. Much work was done!

Before the bee, the crews had strimmed and mowed. At the bee, busy workers:

  • constructed casual seating on the plot side nearest the sandpit
  • emptied the compost bay of its load of rotting vegetation, mowed over it, replaced it and built a functioning heap
  • started cleaning up the inner perimeter areas
  • cultivated and completely planted the two community plots with summer vegetable seeds and seedlings
  • weeded the herb garden.

Christmas celebration on Sunday December 14th

Some requests:

  • After the wonderful work done on Sunday we ask members to help to keep it in order by:
  • chopping waste before adding it to the compost bay. Please add to the bay with sign ‘add chopped green waste here'. (It took several people 2-3 hours of mowing over and shovelling to remedy the compost bay on Sunday because of the large amount of woody and unchopped waste)
  • Worm farm - is rather too wet, please pour off any excess liquid from your billy before depositing kitchen scraps, and chop up large items such as corn cobs. Deposit only in the right hand worm farm at the moment.
  • If the community plots look dry when you are at the garden and you have time, please water them.
  • Roll up hoses and turn off water firmly at the tap, not the hose fitting.
Children's watering cans

Thanks to those who donated watering cans for children to use. They are kept on a low shelf in the seed raising house. Please use them, but return to the shelf before you leave.

It's still not too late to sow and plant for summer.

There is still some compost for top dressing your plot, and some plant food and pest control items in the shed on the top shelf. Just about everything can be planted or sown now-see planting guides here

/neighbourhood-garden/planting-calendar


There are a few photos of the busy bee posted here:

/neighbourhood-garden/working-bees

 

 

August 2014

Tino  Carnivale - Spring and Summer in the garden

Wednesday October 1, 7.30 pm in the community hall

The Taroona Garden Forum has kindly invited Neighbourhood Garden members to join them for a special guest appearance by the very knowledgeable and entertaining Gardening Australian presenter Tino  Carnivale. Please put the date in your diary and be prepared for a fun and informative evening. TGF has also invited the Huon Valley Garden Club to join. We plan to have supper following, so you may like to bring a small plate of supper to share. Hot drinks will be provided.

Busy bee and BBQ dates

Next Busy Bee is Sunday 24th August 2-4 pm. Jobs will be digging in the green manure in the community plots, weeding and general maintenance.

Following the success of the Solstice BBQ, we are having an Equinox BBQ on Saturday September 20th. Time to be announced.

Busy Bees will also be held 2-4pm on 19th October, 16th November and 14th December.

When daylight saving arrives we will probably re-commence Veg-Out - work together on your own plot or community areas, 4-6pm one evening a week. If you have any preference for a particular evening, please respond by return email.

Compost

We will order more compost in time for the August Busy Bee. This is good for top dressing plots in preparation for Spring planting. ONE BARROW LOAD PER POLT IS SUFFICIENT. Please do not overfill your plot with compost - it leaves none for others and causes your plot sides to collapse outwards, also depletes our funds.  Make sure to remove all weeds and spent vegetables before adding compost - simply covering them over does not eliminate them! There is also some rock dust (it looks like fine grey gravel) in one of the bays. Add a couple of handfuls for slow release trace elements.

Thanks Trevor for maintaining the tools

Thanks to Trevor who has cleaned, sharpened and repaired all of our tools. To help to keep them in good order we are asking members to wash tools after use and return them to the hooks in the shed. A plastic bucket with a scrubbing brush is being placed at the central tap for the purpose of washing down tools.

Proper harvesting

Just a note on proper harvesting: Silver beet: rip whole leaves from the outer base. Do not simply pull off the green section, as the remaining stalks attempt to regrow, weakening the plant and stopping the development of new leaves in the centre.

Cauliflower, cabbage:  When harvested, remove the stalk and roots from the ground as they can harbour disease. Chop and place in compost bay. Woody ends may be put in the twitch bins.

Broccoli: You can get successive sprouts from the plant after the first head is removed, but once the flowers develop and the plant becomes dilapidated, remove the lot as above. Old plants become infested with aphis which spreads to other plots.

Fruit tree adopters

If you are one of the members who has adopted a fruit tree, now is the time for some maintenance and pest control. There is much information on the internet re what to do. One useful video suggested by Marion is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrT2woQws3A

Sustainable Living Festival

Princes Wharf 8-9 November

http://www.slt.org.au/festival

 

March 2014

Thankyou!!!

Thanks to everyone who contributed with hard work and by bringing tools to busy bees on Feb 23 and March 11. A great deal of work was done, specifically to rebuild the community plots, which are now looking very much improved. The worm farms have new lids (thanks Trevor) and the seed raising house is now fully re-clad (thanks Jon).

Next Busy Bee and Celebration afternoon tea

Sunday March 30, 2-4 pm busy bee, 4 pm afternoon tea and unveiling of our first commissioned art piece.

Our new garden centrepiece has been crafted by artisan blacksmith Nick Attfield (http://www.nickattfieldwroughtiron.com/Home.html) and funded by the Premier's Discretionary Fund.

Visit from National Community Gardens Gathering

Attendees at the gathering from all states are visiting our garden on Friday March 21. It would be good to have all plots tidied, weeded and planted for the visit.

If you have seeding vegetables in your plot however, could you leave them in place, as the delegate conducting a seed-saving workshop would like to harvest some for her presentation at the conference.

What to plant and sow now: on our website: /neighbourhood-garden/planting-calendar.

Plot structure renovation

Much work has been done, but some ‘ends' are still shonky. We are asking members to look at fixing their own plots now. Best most economical method to fix plots with metal sides:

1. Bash sturdy stakes into corners, ‘tie' them in place by nailing or screwing planks across the ends. 2. Nail or screw existing metal sides onto the stakes, making sure the new ends  cover sharp exposed edges of the metal siding. (See plot 3, the pink one, for an example).

There is some timber left from the busy bee which members can use, but not enough to fix all collapsing plots. Can anyone donate solid timber pieces in good condition which would do this job?  Can anyone search the tip shop for suitable pieces please? End pieces need to be about 1.2-4 metres long.

Gas bottle

We need a new ‘exchange'  gas bottle(small) to fuel our gas ring for hot drinks at busy bees. Does anyone have one to donate?

 

February 2014

 Next Busy Bee Sunday February 23, 2-4 pm

We need members at this busy bee to help the committee with reconstruction of the two long community plots. Our grant has provided the funds for us to purchase timber and fixings for this task.

Please RSVP to this email with your commitment to attend. We also need a circular saw, extension lead, cordless drills, and sledgehammer.

Seed-raising house: You will have seen that work has already begun on re-cladding, and our thanks must go to Jon who is completing this task single-handed and as he has time. Thank you Jon.

Scott Bacon visit to TNG

A small group of members gathered on a recent Monday to welcome Scott Bacon MHA to the garden and to thank him for facilitating our grant. He brought a cameraman and you might spot the garden in TV ads soon. Thank you to everyone who helped with the general tidying of the garden in the lead up to Scott's visit. It was looking its best, with grass mowed, weeding done, compost chopped and compressed and the red shelter erected.

Australian Community Gardens Annual Gathering

To be held in Hobart 21-23 March 2014.

A visit to our garden is included in the pre-conference garden tours on Friday  March 21. The committee has decided to fund one subscription to the conference, so if you would like to attend please respond to this email and we can share it out as a partial subsidy for each applicant.  Early Bird rate is $109, $82 concession (until Feb 17). This includes lunch and morning and afternoon tea, as well as conference talks and demonstrations, so it's a good deal.

More information on their website:

http://communitygarden.org.au/cg-events/national-community-gardens-gathering 

Survey

We would like member opinions on workshops and other matters. Please do our online survey. Be anonymous if you like. All family members welcome to respond, ie not limited to one response per plot.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DHGSTTD

Veg-outs

Join others to work together in the garden 4-6pm Thursday evenings during daylight saving.

2014 subscriptions

Subs are due now. Payment must be made by end of February to keep the plot. Bank transfers are preferred method of paying. See our website for how to pay.

/neighbourhood-garden/how-to-pay

Planting guides

What to plant/sow when - see our website, and also the noticeboards in the shed

Harvest Now!

Pick beans and zucchini and parsley from community plots. Look for green flags which indicate what to pick now.

Reminders

  • Let us know if you no longer need your plot (currently there is a waiting list for a plot).
  • PLEASE Turn off taps, wind up hoses, put rubbish in the bin, CHOP vegetable waste and place in compost bay, put away tools and close the gates when you finish your gardening.
  • This monthly news email is the preferred method of communication with our members, however if you are no longer a member and don't want to get these emails, please reply with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

 

January 2014

Grant for TNG

TNG committee is very pleased to announce that our garden has  been awarded a grant of $3000 from the Premier's Discretionary Fund. Our thanks must go to Scott Bacon MHA who facilitated our application, and to the Premier, Lara Giddings.

In her letter to the TNG Committee, the Premier wrote:

"I know the important role that community gardens play in encouraging people to get involved and to grow healthy and nutritious food. I am pleased to be able to assist the Taroona Neighbourhood Garden to acquire some new equipment and materials."

The money is to be used for the following:

  • Purchase of a strimmer to clear plot edges, and safety equipment
  • Re-cladding of the green house with polycarbonate sheeting
  • Reconstruction of the two community plots
  • Installation of hose hangers
  • Bench seating

Food 4 Thought - 2014 national gathering of City Farms and Community Gardens Network

Hobart March 21-23

The grant is very timely because the above national gathering in Hobart would like to include our garden in one of their site visits. Therefore we hope to have the garden looking its best by March. We hope all members will come to the party by weeding and planting their plots, and by attending one of our busy bees to do the work associated with the grant and other jobs around the garden. Dates for busy bees to be announced soon.

Also, of course you are invited to attend the national gathering. Details here: http://communitygarden.org.au/

Community Plot Produce

Bush beans and zucchini are now producing well. Regular picking will extend the period of production, so please harvest what you need CAREFULLY so that plants are not damaged. The leeks are rather small but starting to go to seed, so need to be harvested. Get a fork from the shed and dig them - they tend to break off if pulled. There is also parsley and rocket in the community plots. Look for the green flags to see what is ready for members to harvest.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are now due, and the Treasurer will send you an email soon about how to pay. Please pay by mid-February, or let us know by return email if you no longer need your plot. We do have a list of people eagerly awaiting a plot.

If you are not a current member and still receiving member news, but would like to be removed from the list, please return email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.