Our North Arm Cove community gardeners haven’t been idle while the garden is coming together. The experimental “18 day compost” has proved to be a great success and we now have enough to start the garden beds.
The recipe for this compost comes from permaculture expert, Geoff Lawton. It is very is simple and can be used at home. You can find the recipe at http://permaculture.org.au/author/Geoff%20Lawton. Some of the members have already started their own personal compost heaps using Geoff’s formula.
This week, work will start on a giant worm farm, with an old bath serving as an ideal home for our colony of wriggly little helpers!
On a recent visit to Foster, we were inspired by the Green Community Project, located at the recycling centre. They were extremely helpful and offered recycled materials, workshops and any other assistance we might require. North Arm Cove residents are welcome to visit, particularly on Wednesday, which is pizza day – baked in their very own pizza oven using produce from the garden. We toured the community garden and chatted with the facilitators on the pros and cons of various garden systems.
Philippa looked in on the Tucker Patch http://www.tuckerpatch.com.au/ part of the Gloucester Project, a regional development solution aimed at creating self-sustaining regional communities. We have established links with them to share resources and information. Free workshops are available on propagation and perma-culture.
Boogaloo’s (seedling suppliers of rare herbs and vegies) have moved from Nabiac to Dyers Crossing. Lisa from Boogaloo’s has offered North Arm Cove residents a free plant when they buy from her property and we will be using some of her seedlings to get the community garden started. Lisa’s contact number is 0401 217 032.
Some of our members are also experimenting with small garden greenhouses at home to hopefully provide protection from small animals at night. Here's a pic of one set up on a verandah. They come in a variety of sizes and can be purchased online from suppliers like Deals Direct www.dealsdirect.com.au or Crazy Prices http://www.crazysales.com.au/.
Kerryan is working on a hay bale garden. Using compost as a starter, plants are grown in the bales and this will make a great project for children in the cove. We managed to pick up some cheap hay bales at Hinton, and also some manure along the way.
Once the garden beds are set up, we are looking forward to some successful gardening and lots of interesting experiments.
We are always on the lookout for donations and currently need the following items:
· Corrugated or clip lock iron
· Lawn clippings (to be dropped on the shade cloth opposite the helipad)
· Timber posts
· Fencing wire.
For pick up please contact Kerryan Griffin 4997 3072, Philippa Coltart 4997 3117 or Maria Pickles 4997 3045
Next working bee and meeting – 10am to noon Monday 27 August 2012 at the Community Hall.
