The Spring Plant Fair - September 2018

This plant fair was bigger and buzzing more than usual. The word on the ground was that shifting the produce market to the same venue for the day was really making a difference.

What do we do with the money raised?
 
It's a fair question that comes up from time to time. We are all volunteers, and the money raised pays for our running costs such as insurance, the website, the seed packets, bags and labels and printer ink. We have purchased extra tables and had banners printed for the stall in the past and this time around we bought new tablecloths for the stall, at last. We will be getting a second gazebo of our own too as the one lent to us by Debbie has proved very handy - thank you Debbie.

BSS seeds will soon be available in the Bellingen Library. We are having a seed stand crafted by a local cabinet maker. Stay tuned, you will soon be able to get seeds at any time of year, not just at the plant fairs.

We are also looking to secure a mushroom growing workshop in Autumn (we missed out last year) and we are cooking up another weekend away, both to be subsidised by BSS for active members.

Greenpatch Organic Seeds open day

Organic herb seedlings

Three carloads of us carpooled down to near Taree in time for the advertised start time of 10am. Only to be told that the day had been cancelled at the last minute due to the carpark ground being too soft. However, we were hardly the only ones who didn't get the memo in time, and within half an hour, approximately 50 people had gathered in expectation of the days offerings.

 

They decided to run the day after all.

We were all led around the property for a farm tour. 

 
Greenpatch have been growing organic seeds for edible plants for 25 years from this little 5? acre plot. 
 Plantings are dense, crops are rotated, they have their irrigation system and mulching figured out. To prevent unwanted cross pollination within plant families they use fruit fly netting. This covers the other crops in the family to exclude pollinators while the first one, the most ready to set seed, is left uncovered. They do this on a grand scale.

Their seed cleaning equipment is not much more sophisticated than ours. Their sieves are larger and they use a fan on a gentle setting for winnowing. For some seeds there is a sifting machine - a barrel shaped sieve run by a motor.

We were also given a seed sowing and propagation demonstration, and a talk on native stingless bees.

In between, we feasted on an impromptu morning tea and lunch that was magnificent.

Greenpatch have a huge variety of open pollinated heritage organic seeds for sale, as well as useful gardening bits and bobs including their fruit fly netting.
https://www.greenpatchseeds.com.au/

Thanks to Jeff for all our photos.

Diary Dates: Green Patch Seeds Visit October 14

Diary Dates

Visit to Green Patch Organic Seeds Open Day, Taree Sunday 14th October, 10am - 2pm We will be carpooling to this event, to arrive in time for the Farm Tour at 10am. Please RSVP if you would like to be included in the carpool, otherwise, see you there! Entry: FREE Tea & Coffee Provided     Where:  Greenpatch Organic Seeds, 109 Old Bar Rd, Glenthorne, NSW 2430 Turn off the Pacific Highway at the Taree South exit taking the Old Bar exit and follow Old Bar Road for 900 metres.  The property is on the left hand side. Includes: See where we grow over 200 varieties of seeds and 500 varieties of nursery plants propagated onsite. Take advantage of over 70 years horticultural experience on the day. Self Guided Tour. An excellent experience plus an opportunity to take a rest and enjoy the gardens we have developed. 10am – Farm Tour including orchards, herb & flower gardens, nursery production & vegetable seed cropping. 11am – Bee keeping. Anna & Sven from Amber Drop Honey are local environmentally minded bee keepers passionate to share their wisdom. Workshop information is to be confirmed. 12pm - Lunch will be served for a gold coin donation. BBQ - German Sausages, Vegetarian options & Salad. Tea & Coffee provided. Enjoy the music from ‘Dingo Creek String Band’ 12.45pm – 2pm Plant Propagation workshop covering the basics of Seed Raising, Divisions & Cuttings. Neville a horticulturalist has been propagating plants in a commercial setting since the late 1970’s so he will be teaching you from his own experiences. All Day – The nursery and shop will be open from 10am to 2pm if you would like to purchase seeds and plants or seek gardening advice. Biocast+ with Lee Fieldhouse from Islands in the Stream will also be available all day with his wealth of knowledge. He will also have his Biocast+ products available on the day.   Coming? RSVP to carpool there Organiser: Leela O'Callaghan gardenvisits@bellingenseedsavers.com or phone 0417 536 490

November - What Bug is That? Sunday November 18, 1pm - 4pm  and address unknown for web rsvp Brierfield In November we visit Tricia's garden in Brierfield, which is a delightful setting for a Q&A gathering, despite the lack of vegie garden action. Start collecting your questions and specimens. Our resident entomologist Debbie will be identifying your bugs! Bring them in sealed containers only, we don't want them to spread. Also bring your gardening questions to share with the group. Together we can find you some answers. RSVP not available yet.