Kale Brassica oleracea

Kale and collards are hardy biennials that will overwinter in milder climates, and improve in flavor with the onset of cold weather. Direct sow as soon as soil can be worked or start transplants 4 weeks before planting date. Sow early autumn plantings to avoid late winter frosts. Harvest full size leaves as desired. Start transplants 4 weeks before planting date.

PLANTING INFO:

Ideally, choose an area with full sun and rich, well drained soil with a pH of 6.0-7.0. If the soil is too acidic, add lime. If the soil isn’t already rich, dig in compost or well-rotted manure. As you are growing kale for foliage, high nitrogen content is recommended.

For direct seeding, sow about 1 cm deep and about 30-45 cm apart. Three or four seeds can be planted together and thinned out at the two-leaf stage. If you ensure the soil doesn’t dry out, seeds should germinate in about 5-8 days.

DISEASES & PESTS: Kale and collards are subject to the same insect pests as cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli, but tend to be less preferred. Catepillars and aphids can be controlled by Bacillus thuringiensis (such as Dipel DF) are young; use row cover (make sure edges are sealed) repellant molasses and chilli sprays and hand picking griubs are also effective

Varieties

Red Russian
25 days babyleaf, 50 mature leaves Bright purple stems with slate green, deeply lobed foliage. Leaves are tender and smooth compared with other kales Perfect for salad mix or full size leaves. there are many sub-varieties of red russion

Spring Sweet – A selection of the red Russian type that is sweeter in the spring. Oak shaped leaves have less color than others.

Winter Red - A red Russian type developed by Tim Peters of Peters Seed and Research for good uniform color and cold tolerance. A tender salad kale that is said to have a little wild mustard in its sap. Works well in a crop scheme with other kales to supply harvests from early fall – spring. Napini from this variety is a month ahead darker red and thinner than other napus kales. A vigorous Red Russian kale that colors up well even before cold weather, but especially after cool weather. The oak-leaf shaped leaves of this kale are more deeply cut than some other common strains of Red Russian kale. Excellent for salad greens when leaves are thumb size; larger leaves make delicious and nutritious cooked greens. Origin: developed by Tim Peters, Peters Seed and Research, Riddle,

Greenpeace – 32 days. Rare Russian strain, greenish blue plants purple stems, highly variegated leaves. Origin: Greenpeace experimental farm on Denman Island off British Colombia.

White Russian
30 days babyleaf, 60 mature leaves Delicate, sweet flavor that improves in complexity with frost and light cooking. Tolerates wet soils better than any other kale and has the cold hardiness of the
toughest Russian.

Wild Red - 55 days. Variation on red Russian. 2 foot plants. Silver green foliage overlain with bright red on the stems and leaf joints. Extremely hardy and productive.

Western Front – This Red Russian kale mixture has survived a variety of growing conditions that killed all Scotch kales and over 90% of everything Russian or Siberian. Eating Quality is quite good. Up to 50% will regenerate from base of plants for up to 4 or 5 years in wild plantings

Lacinato/Nero Di Toscana/Cavelo Nero
30 days babyleaf, 60 mature leaves Also known as "Dinosaur Kale" due to its bumpy
leaf surface resembling dinosaur skin! This unique variety has the richest, darkest blue-green color of any kale. Deeply savoyed leaves are blade-shaped with smooth margins.

Siberian
30 days, 60 mature leaves Huge, blue-green leaves with white stems and an oak leaf shape. Its superior tenderness makes Siberian one of the best varieties for raw salad use and spring “napini”. Plants are extremely hardy and grow rapidly. Flavor is improved by light frost, but is exceptional anytime.

Scotch Borecole
Intensely curled dark green leaves. Plants to 60 cm.long harvest period. 55-65 days

Gulag Stars – A mix of Russian and Siberian kales from the original Gulag. Contains some completely unique leaf types and incredible colors. Same breat Brassica napus eating quality. Very adaptable and diverse population. Seems to have a bit of B. rapa mustard mixed into its genetic make up. Origin: Bred By Tim Peters at Peters Seed & Research in Riddle, Oregon

VATES BLUE CURLEDVigorous plant to 40cm high with heavily curled, blue-green leaves. Rich in vitamins. Withstands cold weather. Leaves will not yellow from frost or heat. 55 days.

DWARF BLUE CURLED

Heirloom. Heavily curled, light green leaves with bluish tinge & short, white stems. Hardy, low growing plant to 30cm. Pick whilst young for use in salads, or leave to mature for use like cabbage. Mature plants tolerate frost - light frost will improve flavour & sweetness. 50-60 days

Red Bor F1 Tightly frilled leaves of
deep purple and burgundy

Montly Natter

A bit late, so sorry to all whom have been waiting by their screens glued to the inbox....Ha.

April and March were both busy months for myself and family, unfortunately seed savers suffered as a consequence. I assume most people were the same, due to the lack of queries or complaints.

I do however hope you still managed a bit of gardening time, as March and April are the best gardening times for our region. Gone is the sting of summer and we can prepare our soils for the autumn, winter period. Our rain forecast over the next month looks good so put some good work into the soil and it will benefit.

We have on hand after our Feb meeting a large amount of seeds available, mostly thanks to Derek. At the next meeting we hope to sort and package some of this, so please make it if you can, the more hands the better. If you need anything from the list below please call out.

Yalca Fruit Trees 2009 catalogue is available to download now – all you have to do is click here (or, control and click) http://www.yalcafruittrees.com.au to get to our website - once there, you can click again, and download the catalogue, and order form.

You may have noticed an article in the Shepparton news Your Home magazine April. This starts a marketing push I’m about to start in local press. I will also be doing a couple of talks in the coming months to different groups; I will post details, for those interested. If you know of any group’s publications or newsletters I'm happy to contribute. And don't forget if your school is interested in a kitchen garden our group can help with a visit, seeds or a lesson.

The Queens Gardens markets will start up again and I'm looking for volunteers to share this with me on alternate months. (The market is the third weekend of each month) it’s a great social outlet & observations of people busying about make the early morning worthwhile. Please contact me if you are interested- I need someone for May.

Finally I just want to share with you some of the gems i have come across on the web over the last couple of months

If you haven't come across this catalogue before, please have a look its one of best and lovingly prepared i have seen. http://www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/sds31_cat.pdf

This is a beautiful wet pot, for those that haven't come across these, Wet pots are terracotta clay fired pots, buried beneath the soil level, filled and sealed to allow water to slowly seep out, and water the root zones of plants.

The new seed savers home page so take a look around http://www.seedsavers.net/

A herb spiral and keyhole garden combined with pond and flowform water feature, what a great permaculture approach. (right)

Even though they are hard to come by, with the popularity of raised vege patches in recycled tanks, this is another way or re-using them as a wall and raised garden bed.
(left)

This is a nature strip in Adelaide suburb, which has in conjunction with various groups and council have transformed their font lawns into a 1km walk through native habitat. This should be the norm, not an exception.

Seeds on offer - Carrot, parsnip, tatsoi, red Russian kale, grey kale (from VT), Italian parsley, Broad Beans, Snow Peas, Broccoli, odourless onion, White beetroot, chard,

Join our Blog

This is a little message to all our Seedsavers members, please take some photos of your patch of earth and share them with us. Or tell us about what you plan to plant in autumn. Tell us you are still there and have not given up after our summer heat. Lets share our successes and failures, on the blog

Tomato Troubles

Tomatoes are usually one of the most rewarding vegetable to grow in your backyard, however their fussy tendencies and willingness to up and die at their peak makes me wonder why Ibother. This year I thought I had it right; I rotate the crops accordingly & planted a cover crop of mustard and legumes, added compost. Then at planting I added calcium aged manure and aspirin deep in the planting hole, a method to add disease resistance. They flourished beautiful strong healthy plants, which I watered and fed fortnightly with fish emulsion, seaweed concentrate and aspirin dissolved in water. I also covered their pretty little head with shade cloth to protect them from the suns rays.

So what went wrong? I figured the heatwave was just too much for them and so decided to pull them out. The real answer was glaringly obvious, staring right at me in a knobbly ugly knot of roots. My tomato plants were affected by Tomato root knot nematodes.

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are minute, worm-like animals which are very common in soil. They have a wide host range, causing problems in many annual and perennial crops. Tomatoes are among the most seriously affected, with the nematodes causing problems in all growing area Root-knot nematodes do not produce any specific above-ground symptoms. Affected plants have an unhealthy appearance and often show symptoms of stunting, wilting or yellowing.

Symptoms are particularly severe when plants are infected soon after planting. More commonly, however, nematode populations do not build up until late in the season and plants grow normally until they reach maturity. They then begin to wilt and die back with flowering, fruit set and fruit development being reduced.Below ground, the symptoms caused by root-knot nematodes are quite distinctive. Lumps or galls, ranging in size from 1 to 10 mm in diameter, develop all over the roots. In severe infestations, heavily galled roots may rot away, leaving a poor root system with a few large galls.

The common species of root-knot nematodes all have a wide host range, and most plants are able to host at least one species. Many important fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops are good hosts of these nematodes, they include:
banana, cucurbits, grape, carnation, passionfruit, nectarine, capsicum beans, kiwi fruit, chrysanthemum, pineapple, tomato, carrot, eggplant, strawberry, rose, peach, celery, ginger, lettuce, papaw, pumpkin.

Nematode management
Crop rotation
Root-knot problems increase, and control becomes more difficult, when tomatoes or other susceptible crops are grown without rotation. Crop rotation will not eliminate infestations because root-knot nematodes can remain in the soil as eggs for at least a year between host crops, and most species can feed on a wide range of weeds.
However, rotation can significantly reduce losses when a field is again planted to a susceptible crop. Winter cereals are useful because they are generally poor hosts and little nematode reproduction occurs during the cold winter months. It is more difficult to find summer crops with good resistance to root-knot nematode but sorghum x Sudan grass hybrids (particularly cv. Jumbo) are useful against most populations of the nematode.

Fallow and cultivation
Repeated cultivation kills nematodes in the upper soil layers by exposing them to mechanical abrasion and the heating and drying action of the sun. If the field is maintained weed-free, nematodes also die of starvation. In warm, moist soils in Queensland, a 4 to 6 month fallow may reduce root-knot nematode populations by more that 95%. Longer periods of fallow are not normally economically feasible, and risk of soil erosion is increased.

Sanitation
Nematode populations have the capacity to increase rapidly, so to prevent further multiplication, plants should be ploughed out as soon as the crop is harvested. At this time, most of the nematode population is in the roots rather than in the soil, so if these roots are removed from the field and destroyed (e.g. by burning), there is an immediate and substantial reduction in the nematode population.

Organic matter and numbers of root-knot nematodes in tomato
Soil organic matter is known to be detrimental to nematodes. Laboratory and glasshouse experiments examined the inhibition effects of molasses on root-knot nematodes. Molasses was found to inhibit both egg hatching and juvenile nematode motility. This result indicates that the inhibition is probably due to antagonism towards nematodes by micro-organisms.
The suppressive effects of sawdust+urea, filter press, molasses, a green manure cover crop and a nematicide were compared in the field. The plots were maintained for three successive tomato crops to determine the long-term effects of such treatments. The effects of the organic soil amendments on root galling and nematode populations are shown in Table 3.

Timetable for decision-making on nematode management in tomatoes
Approx. time before planting date (months)

-12 months
Remove plants without shaking the soil from the roots. Destroy nematode-infested root systems Infested plants must be burned, or sealed in plastic bags and disposed of in the garbage.

-8 Months
Plough out crop immediately after harvest.
Maintain a weed-free fallow until a cover crop is planted.
Plant a cover crop that is not susceptible to root-knot nematodes, e.g. winter cereals or forage sorghum, mustard,

-2 Months
Collect soil samples and either: do a bioassay; or test soil for nematodes.

0 Months
If the results of nematode analyses or bioassays, or the previous occurrence of nematode problems, suggest nematodes are likely to cause damage, either:
plant a nematode-resistant variety; or
apply a pre-plant nematicide. Where severe infestations occur, rest soil from growing host plants for three years. Control weeds assiduously.

Nemodode Information supplied by Tony Pattison, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland.

Saving Tomato Seed

Tomatoes are self pollinating, making them an easy choice for saving seeds. The earliest and more attractive plants of a variety should be marked, staked and inspected during the growing season for desease and immunity from pest attacks. the best fruit of the lower three bunches/hand of each plant is best for seed.
Allow the fruit to ripen just beyond the eating stage. cut them open, squeeze out the jelly and seeds. if it is a dry variety such as Italian plums ect you may have to ad a tiny amunt of water.


Label the container and leave in a warm spot for two-three days, undistirbed. a foamy scum will form on top and it will look as though something has gone horribly. Don’t worry. This is a beneficial fermentation process that kills off several diseases that can affect tomato plants, but the mould can cause premature germination of the seed, if it is left too long

As soon as the foam forms, scoop it off the top and fill the container will clean water. Viable seed sinks to the bottom of the jar. Carefully pour off loose jelly floating at the top of the jar, then pour the jar contents into a sieveadd water . Wash and rub until clean. The jelly around the seeds will have been washed off. Spread them out in a single layer, somewhere dry and out of the sun.

Letting them dry on a plate or large dish stops them from sticking to the surface and then after a few hours of drying you can rub them between your palms to stop them sticking together.


Put the seeds in a labelled envelope and hang to dry for two weeks. It is imperitive that you label at all stages, especially if you are saving more than one variety of tomato.

Kindly reproduced from Seed savers handbook

Monthy Natter - Feb

Our first meeting for 2009 went well, small but nevertheless productive.

As I mentioned in our group email the calender for 2009 was discussed, some good ideas resulted and I will post it for comments sometime this week. If anyone would like to host a meeting please speak up.

Tomatoes... again small but productive. Derek & I discussed a couple of ways to save tomato seed and found his method suggested of letting the seeds ferment in situ to be very logical, after all that is how nature intended. That is; to pick best bunch or branch of tomato/s and hang them in dry sunny place so fermentation occurs withing the tomato. I would be very interested to hear if any one else has tried this method, and their results. This is opposed to fermenting seeds in dish, as below. As for our varieties to show off. Derek had a nice yellow tiger, which he was a little disappointed in size, but it still made an excellent salad tomato, and I had the Tatura dwarf varieties purchased earlier from Eden seeds. So far they have been excellent, in taste, vigour, disease resistance, however the heat knocked them and they haven't really bounced back.

We also compared other summer successes...bunching onions were a winner for me, neither of us had much luck with climbing french beans in the heat, Derek once again will have a lovely crop of muffet beans, dried for winter soups and stews. My Romanesque zucchini is a real winner, no sign of mildew at all and doing exceptionally well growing in a pot. The flowers for stuffing much superior over black & gold varieties. Derek also passed on a great bounty of seeds,, fresh parsnip, lots of coriander, kale.

On writing this Kaye will be performing with the community choir at the SheppARTon festival this evening, so I wish her well and hope to see you all soon.

Carley

2009 Meetings

Our First meeting will be held this Sunday: It will be a seed saving Workshop on saving seeds of Solanacea family which includes
Tomatoes, Capsicums, Chili and Eggplant, and the Fabaceae or Bean family.

It will also be a chance to set our yearly calendar, so if you cant get along and would like to hold a meeting at your own place or have a request or idea for a meeting please send me a email with details.

So see you around 1:30pm at my patch 658 Wyndham st Shepparton. Bring along Afternoon tea and any plants you have to share and gold coin donation for bushfire appeal.

Roughly – Feb - Summer veg seed harvesting
March Seedy Sunday – seed collection storage & recording workshop
April / May –
June - Seedy Sunday sorting collection seed bank distribution
July/August –
September – Seedy Sunday seed saving seed harvesting
October/November –
December – Xmas Break up

Some other ideas consider
Visiting other seed networks,
Guest speakers
Fruit tree pruning grafting
Propagation day
Have a compost making and/or worm farm demonstration
Water saving techniques
Public or open garden visits,
Working bee at someone’s patch
Volunteering at a community space/garden
Backyard poultry
Permaculture, biodynamics, lunar planting, no dig gardening
Seed saving harvesting workshop
Kitchen Garden Day (Aug)

February In the Patch

Gardenate suggestions for February (temperate zone):* Broccoli (seedlings)* Cabbage (seedlings)* Carrots (sow direct)* Cucumbers (direct)* Dwarf beans (direct)* Florence Fennel (direct)* Leeks & onions (seedlings) well after heat has subsided (maybe wait till march this year)* Mustard greens (direct)* Sweetcorn (direct)


Sowed seeds of: Lettuce Flame, Butter crunch, Cos, Rocket Mustard streaks, Kale red Russian, Carrot western red, Beetroot white (Eden Seeds) & Bulls Blood, King of the Blues beans: Jade beans (I've had no success to date with these sprouting, Peas Greenfest, Broad beans, Cucumber Marketmore : Capsicum Topepo Rosso, zucchini Romenesco.
seedlings of Pak choy Broccoli with a net curtail over them to deter cabbage moth and celery

Seeds collected to date:: King of the Blues climbing beans: Parsley: Coriander: bunching red onions: Kale Red Russian:


Applied foliar fertiliser (Organix Harvest) to my garden to build up plant strength & reduce heat stress and i have also watered Tomatoes fortnightly with 2 dissolved aspirins in watering can. Supposedly to build up disease resistance; to date no diseases affecting them, just heat.
I have also side dressed most of my veg with compost.

Sweetcorn needs to be absolutely soaked with water at the crucial stage when the cobs are forming. When the little tassel at the end of the cob starts to wither it's almost ripe. A good watering, and it will produce delicious corn. · There are a number of tell tale signs one when to harvest your cobs:
· Harvest the ears 18 to 21 days after the silk first appears.
· The female silk goes from pale yellow to dark brown.The angle of the cob changes from being straight to around 30 degrees from the stalk

I pruned all the non producing branches of my fig by about half and any smaller figs in a bunch, so i get fat juicy figs and stimulates a second crop. I will attempt to summer prune my apples by cutting back all new shoots to leave about four buds.


Ooh i found this idea, that i though i might share with you all, just brilliant, as I'm always looking for my yogurt container labels at the start of another planting. http://debsvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2008/11/from-chaos-to-order-in-few-minutes.html

November in the Patch

Lovely bit of rain and what a start for our seeds & seedlings we have been nurturing over the last couple of months

The vigour of growth in the vegetable garden is always helped along by enriching the soil. I have worked a combination of sheep & chook manure, blood and bone and mushroom compost into the soil, ready to plant the greediest of the vegetables; the pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers. Because of my space constraints zucchini and squash are planted alternately along the edge of a garden bed to hang over, and in this way they will take up minimal room, and my cucumbers are growing in a pot fed fortnightly a with a liquid brew of compost, chook and sheep manure, comfrey leaves.

Our wonderful range of beans that Virginia kindly donated can be planted: Jade Beans are a favourite for flavour; Scarlett Runner Beans are the traditional, old fashioned climbing beans unsurpassed for flavour; Purple King Climbing Bean is a good variety for warmer climates. It does not matter if the seeds are sown too close together, as they are easy to thin out later when the seedlings come up.i have planted them out in my egg carton seed trays as i have a big problem with Slater's, they eat off the young emerging shoots before they even break the surface, then planted out in the last weeks of Nov. When the first flowers are starting to grow into little beans i plant another half dozen plants then I always have a steady supply of good healthy plants. Virginia suggested to me to plant several varieties of beans for saving at opposite ends of yard.

I'm trying a three sisters bed of corn modified to suit with some climbing cucumbers at the outside edge of each row. They will climb up the sweet corn plants and the bed will give you a double harvest.

This is the perfect time of year to plant those tender vegetables, the ones that are frost sensitive. Tomatoes need warm soil and warm weather to thrive and ward off diseases. if there is a late November cold snap water them with a seaweed and fish emulsion as per directions hopefully they wont suffer too much of a setback, and avoid them becoming weakened to most diseases. At the bottom of my planting hole, two or three crushed chicken eggshells (cheap organic source of calcium) blood and bone heaping tablespoon of pure worm castings, two plain aspirin tablets. Aspirin has been shown to increase disease resistant of tomatoes, in addition to increasing blossom production. Fill hole with a little soil then plant on top. I then water fortnightly with worm tea , seaweed concentrate and two aspirin watered down to a weak tea colour and sprayed on plants as a foliar feed.

The garlic and onion bed has been successively planted from autumn right through the coldest part of winter. If the garlic foliage takes on a peculiar colouring then it indicates that it is just becoming mature, and if it bolts to seed it does not affect the bulbs. But the opposite is true with onions. The potato onions are starting to divide up into their individual bulblets, and are thriving.

Garlic, which I'm not sure where it came from, are little sweet nuggets of flavour.

And this from the SS discussion board

Real Spinach and Freezing Kale
25 November 2008
Ever wanted a real spinach taste or wondered how to keep all that kale?
Robyn Williamson, coordinator of North Western Sydney Community Seed Savers recently went to the Aldinga Farmers Market just outside Adelaide.
She was delighted to run into organic vegetable growers, Poppy and John [pictured below] who were selling "Real Spinach from The Seed Savers Network". Poppy told her "Jude Fanton was here about three years ago and gave me the seeds." It is called European Spinach and is wider and thicker and lighter green than Foodhook type beets. The flavour is much more mild, not bitter, with a hint of mushroom in there.
Robyn reports: Poppy is originally from Egypt and gave me a wonderful tip about preparing her delicious kale. She told me, "After harvesting, wash the leaves and keep them in the freezer until you are ready to steam or stir fry them. Kale is exposed to freezing temperatures in its natural habitat and freezing the leaves before cooking enhances the natural sweet flavour."

This article can be found on the Web at:
http://seedsavers.communityfoods.com.au//news/1227585119_16873.jsp
This message has been generated automatically using Social Change Online's AIMS Web publishing suite.

Here are some more Rushworth Pics,

Here are the pictures I took


Rusworth P12 Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden

St Marys P.S.

Rushworth B&B cottage garden

Iris Farm

Rushworth Community Garden

thanks Billie.

Rushworth open garden day was great. Time was limited so I visited 4 of the 6 gardens.

succulents used to create a dividing wall - community garden



cement sofa

interesting raised bed

The wood fired pizza ovens were a feature. Examples at both community garden and college. The ovens are made from half bricks gradually tapered in then rendered.

Rushworth College - neat way to use tyres to make a wall. The beds in the background were made from sand bags and then rendered.

Q and A

Why did my seeds not come up?
Seedlings may not have emerged from the potting mix or from the soil for these reasons:

• Seeds were too old, or infertile for other reasons – use better seed
• Too little water – water more regularly
• Too much water – hold off water and increase drainage
• Arrested water supply – this happens when you water, then stop watering causing the germinating seed to die
• The seedlings may have emerged but been bitten off before you noticed them – check for snails, slugs and earwigs, slaters or cutworms around the stems and use natural pest control.
• Seedlings may emerge then suddenly die; this is usually due to ʻdampening offʼ which is a fungal attack to the young stem – if in pots, raise the level of the potting mix so as to avoid having damp air stagnating around the young plant.
  

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