The Three Sisters are a special family....

Who are the Three Sisters?
“In late spring, we plant the corn and beans and squash. They're not just plants - we call them the three sisters. We plant them together, three kinds of seeds in one hill. They want to be together with each other, just as we Indians want to be together with each other. So long as the three sisters are with us we know we will never starve. The Creator sends them to us each year. We celebrate them now. We thank the Creator for the gifts given us today and every day.”
Chief Louis Farmer (Onondaga)

The Three Sisters, corn, beans, and squash, are the traditional Native American garden foods of North America.
Each of the Three Sisters helps the others grow.
- Beans give nitrogen for the other sisters.
- Corn supports beans.
- Sprawling squash vines with prickly leaves protect from hungry animals, and hold in the
soil moisture on hot dry days.

The Three Sisters teach a sophisticated way to farm that evolved over generations of watchful farmers. Indigenous knowledge is the practical experience and living traditions of Native people passed on from generation to generation. Native American farmers observed that corn, beans and squash are stronger when grown together rather than separately. Why? Growing corn in straight rows wastes planting space, does not follow the natural contours of the Earth and requires heavy fertilization. Beans like a support system to hold on to. Squash and corn need
abundant nitrogen from the soil. Each of the three sisters has an important function. As corn grows straight and tall, beans cling onto the strong corn stalks for support. The broad prickly squash leaves hold in soil moisture and protect from marauding animals. The leguminous beans breathe in atmospheric nitrogen, absorbing it into the nitrogen-fixing nodules on their roots, and then give it to the soil to fertilize the other two hungry sisters.



Planting a Three Sisters Garden
In Spring when the oak leaves are the size of a deer’s ear - stand with two other friends in garden soil ready for planting. Clasp each other’s hands to make a circle together. Place your circle three people’s outstretched arms from other people’s circles. Everything in your circle is part of the Three Sisters garden. Look up to see the birds and bugs flying above your circle. Look down to the soil creatures crawling under the soil. All the life in the circle above and below is part of the Three Sisters Garden.

Make a hill of a hand height in the soil that is the same size circle as your arm-circle (about 2-3 feet
across). In the center plant seven corn kernels a hand apart in a circle. When the corn has grown as tall as your hands – plant beans a hand apart in a circle around the corn. Plant seven squash seeds around the edge of the circle. As the beans grow gently wind them around the corn. As the squash grows, guide them outside the circle.

Many Native American tribes honor the seven directions, Father Sky above, Mother Earth below, north, south, east, and west. Feel these directions with your feet firmly standing in this place. The seventh direction, the center of the circle, is in our heart.

Reprinted from 'From Generation to Generation' Fedenco Seeds Publication.

Our Seeds

The following is our current list of Seeds for distribution.
Please send a stamped, self addressed envelope to PO Box 331 Shepparton 3630
with the details of what packets you want i can send a max of 5 packets per request.

Contact me if you have questions or have any seed to return to bank ctrant@bigpond.com.au

Broccoli Di Cicco
Broccoli Green Sprouting
Bush Bean Jade
Bush Bean sex without strings
Bush Bean Violet Queen
Cabbage Sugarloaf
Capsicum Toppepo Rosso
Carrot Western Red
Climbing Bean General Maclay
Climbing Bean King of the Blues
Climbing Bean Muffet
Climbing Bean Purple King
Coriander
Eggplant Listada Di Gandia
Eggplant Thai Green
Eggplant Tokyp long Black
Gramma Butternut
Indian Saag
Kale Lacinato
Kale Red Winter
Luffa
New Zealand Spinach
Onion Odourless
Onion Stuttgart long keeper
Pak Choi
Parsnip
Pumpkin Marina De Chioggia
Rockmelon Minnesota Midget
Snake Bean Black podded
Snake Bean Brown Podded
Snow Pea Melting Mammoth
Tomato Black Cherry
Tomato Black Russian
Tomato Tatura Bush Dwarf
Watermelon Small shining light
White Beetroot

October in the Patch

Spring has sprung, exciting times, blossoms, shoots and leaves with lots of promise, and the days are warming to whats ahead. its tome to plant your veges out and prepare your garden for the dry months ahead. These are the main planting time for the year, you will be planting the veges you'll be eating all summer, so take a grip, whatever you plant now you'll have to tend in December, the more you dig now, the more you'll have to weed in a months time. start small and extend your plot week by week. that way you wont start more than you can tend.

One crop plantings, that will see you through most of the year such as ,corn, silverbeet, celery, leeks, parsnips, turnips, potatoes and pumpkins and watermelons. plant enough to pick and store or if you don't fancy preserving the harvest plant only enough to eat.

Then there are the staggered croppers, - beans peas, lettuce, tomatoes, spring onions, beetroot carrot, and zucchini. Plant in succession when the first lot is just starting to flower, or form root swellings.

Prepare beds for sweet corn, by working in sheep manure laced with blood and bone, an old saying is to plant corn when the peach blossom falls- unless of course it has been frosted off.

Sow those pumpkins, zucchini and squash seeds directly or the plants that you had planted on back in August, into a lovely rich mound of mushroom compost and old manure.

Sow root crops such as carrot, parsnip, beetroot, swede and turnip. keep the seedbed moist and cover with old net curtains to keep the birds from scratching.
Plant the lase of the seedlings of cabbage, cauliflower broccoli, and kale. Seeds planted now will not develop in time before the heat of summer and will just bolt to seed.

You can get a quick crop of Chinese greens and lettuces, water well and fertilise with seaweed spray to get rapid growth before the heat of summer. Plant in dappled shade.

Spring onions can be grown now as easily as lawn. sow them in rows direct in the soil which has had a generous handful of dolomite raked through first. cover with a thin layer of soil and in two weeks they will erupt. then in 4 weeks time plant another, you'll be guaranteed a steady supply.

Celery is grown from seed sown into containers keeping the seed raising mixture quite wet. water twice daily if possible or sit them in a container of water . when big enough plant them out in a well limed soil.

Use a mulch of old manure and pine needles around strawberries for bigger sweeter yields.

Hold off on those tomatoes till the end of the month, keep watering well in pots and allow to become slightly root bound in pots that way they will jump out of their pots and set flowers early. Some more on tomatoes at end of month.

Beans and peas can go in directly where you want them to grow. Slater's can be a problem so use a collar pushed down into soil around seed made from an used yogurt container etc with the bottom cut out.

Hopefully this covers it all - if not post a comment with your expertise or a question....

Monthly Natter - September

We met last Sunday at Billabong garden centre and the gods certainly put it on for us, not only was the weather super, the lovely people at Billabong allowed us use of a lovely shaded spot with table overlooking the spring blossoms and meanderings of their customers. I urge everyone to hurry out there ASAP and buy some goodies.

Lots to talk about being our Seedy Sunday, we organised our seeds into those for selling and those for our group's use, we decided that the our list of seeds will be distributed and any one wanting them will send a stamped self -addressed envelope to Carley. the market will also continue to be a place to swap or available for purchase. Dec, Jan & Feb markets not worth doing however. Seed packets are available to download. some great ideas for next years meetings were discussed as well, anyone wanting a garden working bee, ideas for meetings or volunteering their backyard is more than welcome.

Derek brought along a big bag of new Zealand Spinach and lots of bok choi and tatsoi and fennel seeds all of which we will use at market. He was also appointed the group's authority on Chinese greens and over the growing season will hopefully have some seeds and lessons to share. Jenny was very excited on propagating some of the Marina Di Choggia pumpkins for growing on to sell at markets ... "In the time I was away My Di Choggia pumpkin came up further and a mate joined him. Very exciting stuff. Eggs, Chinese greens and lettuces were exchanged and we bid happy gardening till next time.....Carley

Monthly Natter

Amongst the emerging blossoms and a whole Lotta vegetables we all enjoyed our August meeting and International Kitchen garden day. Despite our little deviation towards Echuca we arrived and the Sun was shining, a beautiful nearly spring day.

A few new faces, and some familiar ones, a HUGE thanks to Tania & Campbell for not only hosting the day, providing us with goodies, but also for their wonderful example of a self sufficient lifestyle. their farm not only provides a welcome relief of old fruit varieties to the GV, but they also exchange their masses of produce for milk, and other produce with their neighbours. We all left inspired, some with a big planting day ahead of them and some with new ideas.

For those of you that couldn't make i have put a few pics on our web page and Cam's advice on spur pruning for apples/pears. Campbell probably has one of the best examples of espaliered peaches, cherries, apples and pears around.

Our next meeting will be Spring seedy Sunday, at Billabong Garden Centre on 28th @ 1:30. We will take stock of our collection to date and distribute our summer seeds for collection.

Till then, happy growing - Carley

Passionfruit

Everyone can Grow a Passionfruit .....


Passionfruit vines are known for their tendrils, which are little curly spring-like things that attach themselves to wire and really grip on like a python. That’s how they climb. Often what happens with a passionfruit vine is there is green growth on the outside, where the tendrils have attached themselves, and they have woody material in the centre. In late winter and early spring it’s time for a clean up. You don't have to prune hard every year. But in early spring take off about 30 centimetres - that’s ideal.




Varieties
There are many different varieties of passionfruit. Some to look out for include:The grafted Panama Gold - which has big fruit and its skin is a golden yellow colour. The Panama Red – which is red skinned, has rather large fruit, and is also grafted. Both are good to grow in the tropics. But for southern Australia, the grafted Nelly Kelly black passionfruit is the best choice.

Growing
A great spot for a passionfruit vine is one that’s out in the open, has full sun and no trees or competitive roots. Grow it on a structure like a strong trellis or up and over on a pergola. In the olden days every passionfruit vine was planted on top of a lamb or sheep's liver, ox heart, or some other piece of offal, to provide iron. Stick it at the bottom of the hole, cover it up a little bit, and then plant the passionfruit as normal.If you don't want to use a lamb's liver, or offal, you could use pelletised chook manure. And scatter that about a metre around the root system. Do this about twice a year. Remember that passionfruit vines are also hungry and thirsty and love a well-drained soil. It’s also a good idea to put some mulch around the root system, to protect it from the hot sun. In its first year the little vine will tendril its way across the wires. Just nip out the top little bud and it will shoot out laterally. This means you'll get lots of side shoots, and expect fruit in about 18 months.Given plenty of food, well-drained soil and lots of water, you will end up with a great passionfruit vine.



And, a little tip - when you see the fruit developing, get your little child to get a nail and scratch their name into the fruit and you end up with your own branded passionfruit.



Problems
Why do my vines flower but don't set fruit?
There are several reasons for vines flowering but not setting fruit.
Poor pollination. This is the main cause and can be due to bees not working the flowers (for example during heavy rain); temperatures being too low or too high for pollination (optimum temperatures for pollen germination are between 20°C and 35°C); or rain directly reducing the viability of the pollen (moisture causes the pollen grains to split).
Boron deficiency.
Extended periods of overcast weather. This may cause flower drop regardless of pollination problems.

Why are fruit dropping off my vine?
There are three possible reasons for fruit dropping off vines:
irregular watering in which the vines at times get insufficient water
fungal diseases
fruit fly and severe mite damage, particularly with young fruit.

Why are my leaves going yellow?
The most common cause of leaves going yellow is passionfruit woodiness virus. Other possible causes are:
magnesium deficiency
nitrogen deficiency on sandy soils
'winter yellows'. This is brought on by cold weather, windy conditions, low humidity or a combination of these.

What are these spots on my fruit and leaves?
Spots on fruit and leaves are usually caused by fungal diseases. The most likely causes are:
Alternata spot
Brown spot
Septoria spot.

Why are my fruit bumpy or malformed?
There are several causes of bumpy or malformed fruit. Here are the main ones.
Passionfruit woodiness virus. This is the most likely cause, particularly if your vines are not growing well and there are mottled yellow leaves present.
Boron deficiency.
Insect damage, particularly fruit fly.

Why are my fruit shrivelled?
There are several possible causes of shrivelled, poorly developed fruit. The main ones are:
fruit fly damage
sucking bug damage
poor pollination
boron deficiency
insufficient irrigation when a heavy crop is set.

Why are my vines dying?
There are three possible causes of vines dying.
Phytophthora blight, which shows first on the new growth, particularly after prolonged wet weather.
Fusarium wilt. This is most likely if resistant rootstocks were not used. It normally causes rapid (within one or two days) wilting of the entire plant, especially in very hot weather.
Base rot - a dry corky collar rot at ground level.

Why are my vines growing poorly?
The most likely cause of vines growing poorly is passionfruit woodiness virus. The disease is generally present at some level in most vines. When vines are growing vigorously, symptoms are not normally evident, but when vines are under any sort of stress (for example, cold weather, lack of water, lack of nutrients), the disease becomes evident and slows growth. Affected leaves are yellow and mottled and affected fruit bumpy and malformed.

Cabbage Capers

Cabbage, if your like me you always grow more than what your can use and think we all have memories of someone overcooking it to a grey mash, The notorious odor problem is a result of over cooking. and as a result, we don't use this wonderful veg.

Cabbage is easy to grow if you select suitable varieties and practice proper culture and insect management. Always regarded as a good source of vitamins, cabbage recently has been shown to have disease-preventive properties as well. As with broccoli, may reduce the risk of some forms of cancer. Cabbage is also high in beta-carotene, vitamin C and fiber

Green cabbage is grown more often than the red or Savoy types, but red cabbage has become increasingly popular for color in salads and cooked dishes. The Savoy varieties are grown for slaw and salads. Varieties that mature later usually grow larger heads and are more suitable for making sauerkraut than the early varieties.

Transplant early cabbage soon enough that it matures before the heat of summer and two or three varieties with different maturities can provide harvest over a long period. Hardened plants are tolerant of frosts and can be planted among the earliest of cool-season garden vegetables. Cabbage is easily transplanted from seedlings grown from seed sown in punnets. Use starter fertiliser of seaweed brew (see ) when transplanting and side-dress with compost & blood & bone mix when the plants are half grown. Ample soil moisture is necessary throughout the growing season to produce good cabbage. Splitting is caused by the pressure of excessive water taken up after the heads are solid, so don't over water -water little but more often.

Don't over plant just one or two plants planted out every 4 weeks over winter and early - mid spring will do, after that grow Kale. it tastes better in my opinion and can be picked as per loose leaf lettuce.

The Cabbage moth; as always prevention is better than cure so be vigilant, when you see them flitting about, hand pick grubs or just cover the whole lot. Old net curtains from op shop do the job wonderfully. You can also try making plastic butterflies or spreading white eggshells around plants as butterflies wont land where there are already butterflies around. Building the populations of natural predators is always worthwhile so grow Good bug mix http://www.greenharvest.com.au/seeds/good_bug_mix.html

Least toxic chemical control - Choosing a least-toxic spray will reduce the impact on your good bugs! Garlic spray can be used as a repellent and to kill caterpillars or Dipel, or Bt for short. This biological control is a bacterial stomach poison for all caterpillars, which is mixed with water and sprayed onto foliage. It is totally safe to beneficial insects, bees and mammals. Bt is broken down by sunlight within a few days; so repeated applications may be necessary

Last of all this is what you can do with the Stuff -

Small Scale Sauerkraut
This recipe is very easy, and it does not take all day and a bushel of cabbage. You can make 12 cups of sauerkraut from one medium head of green cabbage. Spices such as juniper berries, dill seed and garlic can be added to the cabbage, if desired.
9 cups shredded green cabbage
1/4 cup pickling salt
clean jars
Trim dark, limp outer leaves and wash the cabbage.
Remove the central core & thinly shred. As you slice, measure 9 cups into a large nonreactive bowl.
Sprinkle salt over shredded cabbage. Using clean hands, mix well.
Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. In the meantime, sterilise jars. (To sterilize jars, place them in a large pot, cover with warm water and bring to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 15 minutes. Leave jars in hot water until ready to use.)
Rinse, drain and rinse again.
Pack wet cabbage into sterilised jars (using a wooden spoon or pestle) firmly and keep packing down until liquid rises to cover the top of the cabbage. Spices may be added between the layers of cabbage. Leave a couple of cm of head space at the top of each jar. More space is okay.
Wipe away any stray pieces of cabbage not under the liquid inside the jar. Crumple a large piece of plastic wrap and force it into the jar to exclude air from reaching the cabbage in the space left inside of the jar. Use more than one piece if necessary. Seal loosely.

Place the jars in an area where the temperature stays at 20-22°C. This is the ideal temperature for fermentation. Check the sauerkraut every few days for froth. There should be no froth if plastic is keeping air away from the cabbage. If froth forms, remove it with a metal spoon and place a fresh piece of plastic wrap in the jars.
Fermentation should cease in 2-4 weeks. The sauerkraut is ready when no more air bubbles are at the surface of the cabbage. The smell will be pleasantly pungent and pickled.
If sauerkraut is too salty, rinse it just before using. Rinse only the amount you intend to use.
Store the remainder in the refrigerator. It will keep for several months

Cabbage Curry

tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 3 pounds)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Finely slice the cabbage wash and strain

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add mustard, curry, and turmeric; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in cabbage and remaining ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

CABBAGE ROLLS
2 tablespoons oil
3 to 4 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
2kg ground beef
2kg ground pork
4 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
1 200g can diced tomato with green chilies
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste (optional)
4 cans diced tomato
2 to 3 heads cabbage
Add the oil, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook uncovered over medium heat stirring occasionally until onions are beginning to brown around the edges. Remove heat.

Put a large stock pot of water to boil on the stove to make the cabbage leaves more pliable.While the onion mixture is cooking, prepare the cabbage. Cut around the core and remove the core. Remove the whole leaves from the cabbage (under running water if necessary). You should be able to remove a little over half of the head before the leaves become too small. For the above recipe, we used two heads of ‘flat head’ cabbage. In a large dish pan or other large container, add ground beef, pork, rice, eggs, can tomato with chilies, salt, pepper, cayenne (go easy, a little goes a long way) and the cooked onion mixture from the skillet. Using your well washed hands mix everything thoroughly. In the large pot of boiling water, place 6 to 8 leaves of cabbage at a time for about 2 minutes or less. The water does not have to return to a boil. You’re not cooking the cabbage, just making it a little softer. Put the slightly limp leaves aside until they’re all done. Place about ¾ of a cup of the meat-rice mixture, shaped into a meatball, inside of one leaf and roll the leave around the meat ball. Put the cabbage rolls, loose edges down, in a 6cm (or more) deep baking dish. It took us four 11 x 17 inch baking pans for this recipe. Using the remaining 4 cans of diced tomato, pour one can over cabbage rolls in each pan. You can use diced tomato and green chilies if you prefer just decrease or eliminate the cayenne pepper. Cover the pans with foil and bake at 180 C for about 2 ½ hours. Cooking time is less if you are making a smaller recipe. Cook long enough for the meat to be done.Recipe yields 30 to 40 cabbage rolls

Japanese Pickled Cabbage

3 cucumber
3 leaves of cabbage
1 thumb sized piece of ginger
less than 1 tablespoon salt
Directions
Cut cucumber into less than a bite piece.
Cut cabbage into 1/2 inch.
Cut ginger into shredded.
Put (1)-(3) in bowl add salt, push down on material with weight overnight.

August in the patch

August brings so many jobs to be done as spring arrives, but to me August means potatoes. They can be placed directly on the surface of the soil and covered with about a third of a metre of peastraw. They won’t grow in straw alone because there is very little nourishment, so a thick layer of sheep manure and soil/compost is placed on top, then liberally apply blood and bone over this to provide calcium and nitrogen for the potatoes when they come through. The bed needs total saturation to rot down, and the manures and compost will break down through the straw and be used by the potatoes as they come through. The pile will remain moist after this initial watering, so only water as required after this. Additional straw can be added, with the crop being ready by Christmas. Don't grow them in a straw/wire ring as suggested by many, it does work, but dries out easily and thus demands lots of WATER...something we dont have the luxury of. i have grown potatoes in tyres in early spring and autumn, to extend the season. the rest of the time , and if you have the room, grow them in soil for godsake, thats where they grow best.

Artichokes - Jerusalem artichokes are a type of sunflower and their tubers make wonderful eating. They can be roasted, put in the microwave and make marvellous soups. Bury the tubers and cover with a mulch of compost, blood and bone and manure. This will seep into the soil and produce a plant with yellow-flowering daisies three or four metres tall.


Globe artichokes are an Thistle. The buds before they open are the part of the plant that is eaten as a vegetable. The flowers are a beautiful blue and the foliage is popularly used in landscaping. A proven producer of good artichokes can be propagated from offsets. These are new plants produced at the base of the parent plant. Pull them off or dig them out from the side, making sure they have a few roots, burying this new plant firmly in the ground, allowing the new plant to spread about 1.5 metres, with the same height. The edible part of this undeveloped flower makes delicious eating.

It is also time to sow peas. Dwarf Snow Peas and Snap Peas can be planted with a lattice placed in the middle of the rows to support both of them when they come through. If the rows are planted thickly with peas it will allow for the losses caused by birds, and a good crop will grow without the need to replant.

give your soil and folage a bit of a boost by watering with a brew made up - to 10 litres of water add :½ a cup of fish emulsion – 1 cup of seaweed concentrate – 3 teaspoons of zinc sulphate.-3 teaspoons of epsom salts (magnesium sulphate)Mix well. This is a very strong mixture – far too strong to apply directly to the foliage of plants. In fact it could damage or even kill young plants if applied at this strength.

Vegetable Potager

I Know this is very English and formal, but i love the all together nature with flowers thrown in and rambling over the oblesks















This design can turn even a suburban backyard into a potager (loosely translated as "a garden to make a pot of soup"). Gravel paths divide four rectangular beds, anchored by a central terra-cotta oil jar. Each bed is about 6' wide and 8' long, so you can reach in for weeding or harvesting without having to step much into the tilled soil.

The berry patch - Think about how and when you will be picking each crop before you plant. Strawberries ripen daily (and grow low to the ground), so it's important they be reachable from the path.

Guilt-free snipping -Cutting flowers, like these assorted dahlias, are traditionally grown in rows like vegetables. That way, you don't feel like you are spoiling a garden composition every time you gather some.decorative herbs A row of flowering herbs like lavender provides fragrant ornamentation and can be harvested late in the season to dry for the house.

Herb is the word - useful herbs mix up this area with mass plantings of several kinds of herbs. Some annual types such as basil and cilantro will go to seed quickly in hot weather, so include perennials like rosemary, sage and thyme.

Themes and variations - formally designed beds can be symmetrical without being mirror images. Contrast the yellow 'Russian Giant' sunflowers at upper left with a row of dark-brown 'Velvet Queen' sunflowers here.

morning glories, meet garlic. Highs and lows add some height Towering plants like these 'Russian Giant' sunflowers create a living fence. The rows of flowers will make an attractive see-through screen

All-season structure Nonbotanical elements like obelisks have an appealing formality and give composition to the beds early in the season, when seedlings are small.
not just mixed greens Introduce extra color by planting varieties with unusual-hued leaves like dark 'Red Sails' or frilly 'Lolla Rossa' lettuce.

Monthly Natter

I love the winter, its a favorite season second to autumn. What a contrast to summer: no scorching sun, no heat stress and definately no problem with water evaporation and winter greens...


Irish Potato and Kale Soup
Ingredients1 diced onion3 cloves chopped garlic5 large potatoes2 Tablespoons of olive oil6 small kale leaves2 cups of cut broccoli3 sliced spring onions1 cup roughly chopped parsleysalt and black pepper1/2 cup snipped chiveswaterMethodHeat oil, add onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes. Add diced potatoes and sufficient water to cover potatoes. Cook gently until potatoes are tender. Add remaining ingredients and cook for a few minutes until vegetables are just tender. Serve as is or add a spoonful of butter or cream or grated pecorino cheese.

Some Gardening inspiration

Look at some of these wonderful veggie plots, I only wish I could re-start mine. The keyhole example would definitely suit small yards as would the yin/yang round bed. As for the weaving, it just goes to show that you can have a beautiful creative garden and a productive one too! do as the lady with the little star garden is and Enjoy

What an entrance!

These could easily replace front lawns.

The ultimate water wise garden utilising a herb spiral permaculture water recycling and inter-planted with beneficial plants and vegetables.

I wish i had seen these before i designed my patch!!

This is how they do it in Africa, where soils are so poor they build em up and in the middle add the water and nutrients which leaches through. KGI has this video of keyhole gardens in Africa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjcjCCx3BWY








And finally weaving some magic. A lady in the Adelaide hills uses her prunings in a most beautiful way.

Black Magic

This is an extract from a gardening Australia shown in Nov 07 I have included it because I believe lessons learned are often those that we learn by example, and Pete’s patch is an excellent example of a garner sharing his knowledge and secrets. The charcoal mix I tried with my sweetcorn and they had excellent results. I'm trying it this season with broad beans and onions , both of which I added a good handful of dolomite lime as the soluble trace element. I have also used it as a side dressing rather than at planting. I purchased the charcoal at Bunnings cheap at $4 and used a heavy rock to pulverise. Please try and let me know your results..

Gardening is nothing more than a series of experiments - we have successes and the occasional failures and that's how we learn. I'm going to experiment with an ancient method of retaining and increasing soil fertility using charcoal that’s been impregnated with organic fertilisers and micronutrients.Charcoal or any kind of charred organic matter is a highly absorbent form of carbon. It does not decompose in the soil.

The recipe:Use one third of a standard bucket of pulverised charcoal Half a cup of fish emulsion, half a cup of seaweed concentrate and 4 teaspoons of mixed, soluble trace elements all dissolved into 2-3 litres of water in a separate bucket to make a strong, nutrient concentrate.

Method:1 Place the charcoal safely in a strong bag. Moisten a little for safety reasons. Use a hammer or similar implement to crush and pulverise it into a fine dust. Then place the dust into an extra-large bucket. Avoid inhaling the dust – you might wear a protective face mask or respirator.

2 Pour the fertiliser-based nutrient concentrate into the charcoal dust. Leave to soak for 3 days.

3 Then add one third of a bucketful each of dry river (pit) sand and ordinary soil (not clay). Mix together thoroughly.

4 Don’t use a stronger mixture than suggested.To use with tomatoes: Place a double handful of the impregnated charcoal, soil and sand mixture at each planting point and mix widely and deeply into the surrounding soil. Plant a seedling in the centre and water in.

To use with sweet corn: Make a 50mm deep drill or groove and widely dribble the charcoal mixture in and alongside it at the rate of a double handful per metre. Mix with surrounding soil. Sow sweet corn seeds into this and water. (When seedlings emerge they must be thinned so those remaining are spaced half a metre apart).

To use with seedlings of cabbages, cauliflowers, broccolis, kales, silverbeet and lettuces, add a good handful of the charcoal mix to each planting point and mix into the surrounding soil.In order to make the experiment more reliable, plant or sow some vegetables into soil that has not received any charcoal treatment.

Also try adding pulverised charcoal alone (without any fertilisers), to the soil around similar plants to help in arriving at more balanced results. The aim is to compare plant health, growth rate, yields and flavour.Don’t use the enriched charcoal when growing carrots or parsnips as it may cause wasteful root-forking.

This is purely an experiment. It is roughly based on ancient techniques used by the people of the Amazon Basin over a thousand years ago.We are asking interested Gardening Australia viewers and readers to try out this method and to let us know of any beneficial or other results.

NOTE: The charcoal we used in this experiment came from an old pile of burnt wood. Charcoal lumps (not ash) can also be retrieved cold from an extinguished wood-stove or fireplace.Please do not attempt to make your own charcoal. Doing so can be dangerous and also cause serious atmospheric pollution.

Gardening Q & A

I often get asked lots of questions about gardening some more complicated than others, so I will attempt to answer most of them, here is the first installment. If you have any questions, just click on the Q&A link.

Q. What’s a good size for a first garden?
A: Carefully managed, even a 1 x 1 m plot will produce quite a bit of food and will leave you time to learn about and enjoy caring for a vegetable garden. If you have lots of space and want to try a larger garden, make it about 3 x 6 m . The bigger and the more beds, the more you have to do and keep on top of. Keep in mind that the ideal size for your garden depends on the types of crops you want to plant, too. Crops like bush beans, lettuce, spinach, peppers, and carrots are perfect for a small garden. However, if pumpkins and winter squash are high up on your planting list, you’ll need to prepare a bigger garden, since just one of these plants can cover an entire vege patch if allowed.

Square Foot Gardening Mel Bartholomew is a good read on making easy & productive gardens.

Q How do i garden organically?
FIRST, STOP USING CHEMICALS
Safely dispose of all your chemicals, fertilisers and pesticides so that you are not tempted to use them. This is important as the harm they do will hamper your efforts to build up an organic system

• Design Properly.Find the Right Spot, a successful organic garden is all about the right location. Find a spot in your yard with full sun (at least 6 hours, you may need shade in summer though our summer sun is too harsh on most veg, shade cloth is very handy here), well-drained soil, and one that's within easy reach of the house. Create raised beds by mounding the soil and flattening the top. Soil in raised beds warms up and dries out faster in spring and is easier to work. You can reform the beds each spring or make the beds permanent by framing them with rot-resistant wood, plastic or stone Design your garden with a mix of flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs. A mixed planting is less likely to get completely destroyed by insect, animal or disease attacks



• Beef Up the Soil.Think of the soil in your garden as a living environment in which earthworms and beneficial bacteria convert organic material and inorganic soil minerals into plant food. Fertile, humus rich soil is a storehouse of plant nutrients which are made available to plants as required and in balanced form. Soil structure is important. Soil must be friable to permit air and water to enter and to allow plant roots to forage through it. This is achieved by the addition of organic material in the form of compost, mulches and green manures. Add organic matter such as grass clippings, leaves, compost, manure, hay and straw every time you plant, dig, or till. Here’s a basic plan that will improve any soil, from clay to sand: Add before you plant. When preparing a new garden bed, spread a thick layer of compost, well-rotted manure, or other organic matter. Then add a new layer of organic matter every spring after that. Plant a cover crop. Once you’ve pulled out a crop at season’s end, sow an annual cover crop like red clover or hairy vetch to protect the soil over winter, control weeds, and add more organic matter. Dig it into the soil a few weeks before planting in spring


• Composting is possibly one of the most important activities of the organic gardener. It is an extension of nature's own system of recycling vegetable matter and returning it to the soil.It is a perpetual cycle that ha been going on in nature since time began and there is no better way of keeping the soil in your garden fertile and healthy. There are other materials that can benefit the soil which organic gardeners make use of. These include animal manures, blood and bone mixture, seaweed extract, fish emulsion, dolomite and rock minerals, to name a few.



• Grow What You Like. Although it may seem obvious, grow crops you and your family love to eat. While bush beans, lettuces and tomatoes are some of the easiest vegetables to grow, if your family doesn't enjoy them, why grow them? Grow varieties of vegetables and fruits adapted to your area. Check with local gardeners to find the best varieties to grow.



• Start with seedlings. Seeds are necessary for root crops, such as carrots and radishes, but seedlings of most other vegetables are more likely to be a success. once you are used to how and when things grow, move onto sowing and saving your own seeds. there is nothing more satisfying than



• Plant Correctly. Don't plant too deep, this is often a common mistake, follow directions and plant at the proper spacing and depth. Thin seeded crops to the proper distance. Crowded plants become easily stressed and don't produce well.



• Encourage Nature
  Strong vigorous plants will resist disease and insect attach, but the most effective agents operating to control insect pests are, and always will be, those that occur in nature. The organic gardner does all he or she can to encourage these predators which include birds, frogs, lizards and may beneficial insects such as ladybirds, lacewings, preying mantis, and several species of wasps. The good bugs or beneficial insects are ones that eat the bad ones, you can into the garden by planting a mix of flowers amongst your veges, such as, rue, yarrow, cosmos, Sweet Alice, dill, tansy, Queen Anne's lace, Chinese mustard, parsley and daisies. An attractive collection of these plants is available as the Good Bug Mix from Green Harvest. Inspect plants every few days for any insect activity. Handpick destructive insects and drop them in a can of soapy water. Use garlic & chili spray to rid of large infestations but don't overuse as this kills the good bugs
  

How do i make Compost?

Any organic matter, material which was once living, will break down eventually in the composting process composting is simply the recycling of organic matter. Compost will be only as good as the materials which go into it. You need a variety of materials to give you a balance of nutrients: grass clippings; kitchen waste; leaves; weeds; manure; hair, mouldy bread; meat scraps; egg shells; sawdust (from untreated timber); tissues; vacuum cleaner dust; feathers, twigs. The list goes on and on. There are several methods and i often find the following books a good reference Soil Food Jackie French 1995 or Recycle Your Garden – The Essential Guide to Composting Tim Marshall 2003. Whichever method is used, it is essential that the bottom of the bin or heap is open so that soil micro-organisms and worms can enter the compost

With autumn leaves falling, lush grassy lawns springing back from summer's heat and drought, and gardens generating heaps of tired vines and other vegetable wastes, this is the perfect time to start a new compost pile or breath some new life into your old one.

Q. Where do you get all your info?

The book I refer to most on vegetable gardening is Backyard Self-sufficiency Jackie French 1992, and Jackie French's Top 10 Vegetables. Her thoughts on growing and preparing these vegetables are both delectable and entertaining. Australian Vegetable Garden Clive Blazey 1999 is another great reference book

The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia Louis Glowinski 1997 is the Fruit Bible, and often borrowed from the local library
Bill Mollison's books on Permaculture are also fascinating.

The monthly magazine Organic Gardener is one of the best magazines I’ve found on the subject. Also Gardening Australia ABC is an essential part of our weekly TV.

Most of all opening my ears and asking questions in groups such as our seed savers.

Vegetable Gardens Revolution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."-Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978) US anthropologist

Reading an article on the Kitchen Gardner's website http://www.kitchengardeners.org/, recently got me thinking that, in the face of Global Warming & Oil shortages, that our skills as seed savers and vegetable growers will not only be required, but will become increasingly valued. It made me feel a little needed, in this ultra-conservative community, it also gave me a little hope.

Being a greenie at heart, my fruitless actions of my youth were insignificant against the tide of conformist attitude. So when the idea of growing your own food first could be a simple approach to farmed foods and the impact they have on the environment, first presented to me I jumped for joy. I also jumped at the opportunity to become involved in whatever way. Scouring the net I came across Seed Savers and lucky for me a local group. Along the way I have met some wonderful and caring people, picked up invaluable knowledge.

By growing my food, I have avoided fruits & veg that in their production, is fertilised, pesticide (several times), preserved, packaged and then transported and cool stored, all using synthetic chemicals and processes both wasteful and harmful to the environment. so you see, I'm doing my little bit and becoming more aware of the food on my plate and the natural processes and cycles from which good food comes.

Gardeners are in tune with the natural world, the weather, and the seasons. They look for ways of working peacefully and harmoniously with nature, rather than fighting against her. Growing our own reconnects us with skills and sensations that we have largely lost in the late 20th century. There is a connection with the soil, land, and water, whether it be a farm or a window-box. Gardeners understand where good food comes from and how it is produced, they tend to seek out food that is authentic, local, seasonal, and minimally-processed whenever possible.

Very few of us would be able to grow ALL of the food we need to live, but all of us can make an often significant contribution to our diets from our gardens, allotments or even balconies and windowboxes. ... As well as reducing the pressure that each of us places on precious land resources. By sharing this wondrous thing, whatever way i can i m involving people that would never usually sign up to a petition saving the natural environment, or they would never buy organic foods they are the ones that have no idea on soil ecosystem and the benefits of permacultre principles in gardening. However subconsciously they are absorbing these ideas, through Gardening!!! Simple and very conventional, very status quo.

Gardening by the moon

No this is not an article about doing all your gardening chores at night time, I thought about a comment made at our gathering the other day about Moon planting and it stirred my curiosity, and not one to let things lie, I have done a little research. I found charts and astral sites, and astrological signs that best represents your crop, however I soon realised that the subject is more than just whacking some seeds in on a full moon.

The following is a bit of a generalisation, The Moon has three significant rhythms that relate to three methods of Moon planting

• Water is the mediator of lunar forces. Consider the moons effect on tides and since 80% of a plant consists of water, then the effect on sap movement would be significant.


• When water is rising during the Waxing Moon, seeds sown and crops planted can more easily take up liquids than those sown in the waning phase.


• Lunar forces are associated with fertility and the power to regenerate species.


• It has been found that seeds germinate better & grow faster if planted 2 days before a full moon.


• Medicines such as drenches are also more effective on full moon.


• Moon affects moisture contents of the plant. e.g.Full moon fruit or veggies are juicy .Great for eating now!


• New moon –harvest fruit & veggies that need storage


• Hay dries faster if cut on new moon


• Best timber is cut at winter new moon less sap.


• Prune on New moon Transplant seedlings


• 'From the new moon to the first quarter, a time when there is a greater upward pull by the moon, is a good time to be planting anything with a leaf product.


• From the first quarter through to the full moon is when you can concentrate on above-the-ground growth, the fruiting type of plants


• From the full moon through to the last quarter is a time to be focusing on root crops


• And in the last quarter through to the new moon you can either have a week off, or it’s really good time for weeding and mulching.

So of course armed with all this information, I'm no more informed than before and I will have to do things the old fashioned way- visit our local library. Hopefully I'll be able to bring to the next gathering an armful of useful information, in the meantime this i found to be a good link http://www.users.on.net/~arachne/MoonPlanting.html

Eden seeds has a good chart found here http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp follow link to books and then under M this chart MOON PLANTING GUIDE FOR GARDENERS 2008 - WALL CHART

Maybe there is some sense to 'Carrying moonbeams home in a jar'

Monthly Natter - May

Hi and thanks to all that made it to Derek & Kaye’s - thank you for your hospitality.

We sorted through seeds and created a bank and now we have and a good collection for spring; listed below. Please let me know if you require any seeds or any of the seed database from SS Byron Bay listed. Derek offered the glasshouse for growing/raising summer veg during spring, and will be a valuable asset to our group with growing out seedlings ect. After a tour of the patch and another cuppa, we shared seeds and seedlings and bid farewell to next time – have a great holiday Derek & Kaye see you in spring. Thanks everyone- great effort

Here are some of the links & docs as discussed today. Also keep up to date with bits and pieces with our blog site, its there for all to add to, so please add comments and any tit-bits you might come across.

Seed savers listing www.seedsavers.net/ then follow “local groups” link at left hand side to find our seed savers page


http://www.gardenate.com/ - good planting guide

http://www.seedsavers.net/publications/1187091548_6844.jsp - seed savers school gardens link

Violet Town (I will be going so any that wish to grab a lift yell out)
The next local meeting will be held at Judy Wills property (‘Winston’, second on right after leaving VT on the Nalinga Road, ph 5798 1413) on Sunday 8th June (2nd Sun this month) at 1.30pm. This will be the winter Seedy Sunday—Monika will have the seed collection there. There have been some wonderful donations of seeds this past month—so a great opportunity to hear about each variety as it comes in, and take some out for future planting. The record books will also need updating with each variety, and some packaging of any excess for sale.

Our seeds
Coriander
Sweet Basil
Parsnip
Pack choy
Carrot – western red
Florrence Fennel
Chard
Italian Parsley
Perilla - red
Marigold
Lettuce – Derek’s let us pray
Pumpkin – Marina De Chioggia
Gramma – Butternut
Bush Bean – Jade
-
Climbing Bean -Purple King
-Snake Bean
-King of the Blues
- Muffet
- General Maclay

Monthly Natter

A good roll up for our propagation day last meeting and plenty of material to choose from - many thanks to everyone who brought along the great propagating material. Also a big thanks to Virginia, who very generously donated a selection of beans, to kick off our seed bank. Virginia's knowledge and experience with beans, will mean the seeds we now have will go a long way towards adapting and conserving been varieties in the GV.

This month we are off to Derek & Kaye's should be a great one! it will be a bit of a seedy day, as we will be deciding what varieties we have in our collection, which we will request from seed savers bulk list and also which varieties we should concentrate on. i will be explaining a bit about the pea challenge.

Directions -From Mooroopna follow signs to Echuca (ie Echuca Rd)
Pass Cornish Rd on left, through 100km/h sign near the Cemetery
Turn next right into Cemetery Rd (don't take the track next to channel)
Turn left into our drive way about 50m down Cemetery Rd
Red roof house on the corner.

For those interested.
The latest Eden Seeds newsletter (Autumn ) is now available on their website. Just click on the link below, or copy and paste it directly into your browser.
http://www.edenseeds.com.au/cms/page.asp?name=Newslettersletters

Beans Still going strong with good pick every 2nd day. i cant wait to get some of Virginia's beans into ground

Kale showing serious problems with aphids & Caterpillar, i will spray with mix of 6 whole chili & 2 garlic cloves & 4 whole onions chopped in food processor added in 2 Lt water & simmered 15min then 2 tablespoons of grated natural soap added while mixture still warm. to spray plants mix 500ml of juice with 1 litre of water and spay every 2-3 days.

Rain- Glorious RAIN!

As I write this the rain is still persisting, as a misty haze and interrupted by heavier showers. The outlook for further rain is OK with some more falls expected later in the month. And from the Bureau of Meteorology
rain
The La Nina is appears to have peaked and should now continue to weaken. Equatorial Pacific Ocean temperatures are cooler than normal in central parts but slightly above normal in western and eastern parts We conclude that the La Nina should now remain weak or neutral through the remainder of 2008. Rain events originating in the tropics and moving south are possible about 26-28 May, 08-09 June, 14-15 June and 24-25 June. Confidence in the result is MODERATE to HIGH. http://www.eldersweather.com.au/index.jsp?lt=dist&lc=v03

So before we all breathe a collective sigh of relief, spare a though for the farmers who face a season with zero allocations.Pray, rain dance do anything - we all need more.

Yalca Fruit Trees

Hello everyone,
It's that time of year again when the leaves begin to fall off the trees and it's a good time to think about what fruit trees you might like to plant in Winter. You are receiving this catalogue because you have either bought fruit trees off us before or expressed an interest in our catalogue (or you are our relatives or friends!).
We send out our catologue once a year, with the occasional update. If you do not want to recieve it, please let us know.
Attached is the catalogue and order form, which you can email or print out and post back. For those of you familiar with our catalogue, you will notice some changes this year- we listened to your feedback and we are now selling a range of nut trees, citrus, kiwi fruit, gooseberries and currants - as well as a wider range of our standard deciduous fruit tree offerings.
As most of you will realise, we are a small, family and home based business and we rely on word of mouth referrals. If you are a member of a permaculture group, gardening or seed savers club we would very much appreciate you distributing our catalogue far and wide. Also, if you think your local market is fantastic and you would like to see us there this winter let us know and we'll see what we can arrange.
We are in the process of developing a website http://www.blogger.com/www.yalcafruittrees.com.au, but this is not up and running yet.
Due to quarantine restrictions we can not send our trees to Western Australia.
Enjoy the read, and we look forward to hearing from you. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Regards,
Campbell and Tanya Holt

TO order contact Campbell & Tanya via email camandtan@yahoo.com.au

Pea Challenge

Seed savers has a programme of regeneration or rare varieties, and to those who wish to take on the job of sowing growing, observing the performances and saving the seed of any of these varieties,they send them out to local seed networks. I have requested several vareieties from them with the aim of putting out the challenge to our group with growing them on saving some and coming up with the best suited peas to our local climate.


It may be their growth,quantity, pest resistance, pod size, sweetness, or suitability for feezing, we want a good variety and the best atributes recorded and shared.

Some of these peas are from Seed Saver's 'posterity collection' mad from about every sample sent to them, others are quote old and may not germinate. Peas dont generally cross with one another so you can grow as many as you like. just let me know which ones your'e interested in and ill send them on.

Do as suggested and observe the performance, how many you sowed, and save some seeds to bring back to our bank for sharing and comparisons.