Saturday at the Bellingen Community Gardens & Other News

It sure was a warm day in Bellingen, but the well established gardens afforded us lots of shade. The gardens are really looking lush and abundant.

We had lunch and a catch up before Alison took us on a tour of the newly revamped Community Gardens.

She outlined the new works and ambitions, projects and planned workshops for garden participants, and the focus on community resilience. Recently, the property owner notified them of intentions to sell on the open market, we might need to find a rich benefactor to assure the garden's future in that location!

Thanks Alison for a lively and inspiring talk and walk.

Diary Dates

Garden visit to Lightstream Lowana Sunday 21st of November 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Judy and Andrew are natural therapists with specialties in meditation, massage and herbalism. They have been on their MO for a couple of decades, running a successful airbnb as well as improving and adding to the initial buildings and gardens. Now they are mostly retired and throwing themselves fully into the productive gardens.   We're invited for a morning tour of their netted chook/orchard and vegie tunnels, with lunch to follow.

They also have an amazing waterhole at the bottom of property, so for those who have time to linger, a spot of natural bushwalking and a quick dip might also be on the cards - bring your cozzie! If you are coming down with something, please do not attend the garden tour. Coming? please click here to RSVP, to obtain the address and so we know who’s attending. Please RSVP even if you already know how to get there. Organiser: Lisa O'Callaghan / gardenvisits@bellingenseedsavers.com or phone 0417 536 490

Seed & Plant Swaps

Joshua is looking for peanut inoculant or some soil from around inoculated peanuts. If you can help Joshua, please email by clicking here... Vic is looking for Murnong (Yam Daisy) and is interested in growing some plants.  Do you have any seed or can you offer any advice about growing it in the Bellingen area? If you can help Vic, please email by clicking here... Are you looking for particular seeds or plants? Do you have an abundance of something to give away? Email in to news@bellingenseedsavers.com for your search or offer to be put in the newsletter in this section.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Jeff for the photos. Thanks to Leela for the blurb on our next garden visit and the write up from the Bellingen Community Garden visit.

Event plus news

 

Bello food gardening articles This is a project to create a food growing resource, based on the incredible body of lived knowledge for the Bellingen and surrounding areas. To make this local knowledge accessible to everyone.  Why? For community food security. To build food resilience for us all for any disaster. If the trucks stopped, the shops would empty very quickly. What would we feed ourselves?  It's all about our local growing conditions and what's really suitable. Many of the food plants that thrive in our local climate are not the familiar English peas and carrots in a row. All the articles are archived at: https://www.wherefishsing.com/bello-food-gardening/ The articles are available directly via email, roughly weekly until mid 2022 – sign up at: http://eepurl.com/hakBgT The latest one is Summer beans. What grows well here and how to grow them. A food resilience article: https://www.wherefishsing.com/bello-food-gardening/summer-beans-annuals/

Diary Dates Garden visit to Northbank Community Gardens Saturday 23rd of October 12:01 pm - 3:00 pm Northbank Community Gardens is having a big rejuvenation and we're going along for a stickybeak at what's springing up. If you're on our facebook page, Bellingen Seedsavers Chatter, you may have seen Alison's poll on what the Bellingen community might like to get from this fabulous local resource. Anyone interested in learning and participating in the growing of abundant goodness should fill out the questionnaire ASAP.  We will meet up for lunch at the gardens on the day, then Alison will be there to show us the reinvigorated goings on. Numbers are limited because of you-know-why (the C word), so please RSVP to keep the group size manageable. If you are coming down with something, please do not attend the garden tour. Coming? please click here to RSVP, to obtain the address and so we know who’s attending. Please RSVP even if you already know how to get there. Organiser: Lisa O'Callaghan / gardenvisits@bellingenseedsavers.com Seed & Plant Swaps Max is looking for: Green Giant tomato- it’s luscious and Fantom du Laos tomato- white, the best tomato he's ever tasted. If you can help Max, please email by clicking here... Are you looking for particular seeds or plants? Do you have an abundance of something to give away? Email in to news@bellingenseedsavers.com for your search or offer to be put in the newsletter in this section.   Acknowledgements Thanks to Fiona for the Bello food gardening info. Thanks to Leela for the blurb on our next garden visit and the write up from the market.

We will be at the Bellingen Growers' Market

 

Grow your own food. We share locally adapted, open-pollinated, non-hybrid seeds, plants & knowledge for edible gardening

Diary Dates Bellingen Growers' Market Saturday 26th of September, 7:30 am - 12:30 pm By hook or by crook, we are on again!  Despite a thwarted seed packers day, we delved into our stash and found, with a little supplementary packing, enough already packaged to hold a stall. This time our seeds will be available to you all next Saturday September 26th, from the Growers' Market at the Bellingen Showgrounds. Retail hours are 7.30am to 12.30pm. We're keen to get the goodies in the ground at your place. A couple of extra hands would be welcome, anyone happy to do a shift on the stall, please contact Jeff or Leela If you volunteer, you are not expected to stay for the whole duration. See you there! If you are coming down with something contagious, please do not attend the market Organiser: Lisa O'Callaghan / gardenvisits@bellingenseedsavers.com Seed & Plant Swaps Are you looking for particular seeds or plants? Do you have an abundance of something to give away? Phil is looking for: Cavendish bananas or other short varieties. If you can help Phil, please email by clicking here... Marc is looking for: Peanut seeds and seed potatoes. If you can help Marc, please email by clicking here... Email in to news@bellingenseedsavers.com for your search or offer to be put in the newsletter in this section.   Acknowledgements Thanks to Jeff for the photo. Thanks to Leela for the blurb on the Growers' Market.

Winter Solstice at David's food forest in Gleniffer

 

We had another great turnout for the Gleniffer winter solstice with David Pepper.

Tables were groaning under an abundant diversity of deliciousness, so we got straight into lunch by the blazing firepit.

David took some of us on a garden ramble and then ...  A sudden downpour. Well we have been lucky with the weather on our garden visits up til now, but apparantly it has not rained enough this year!

A hasty covering of seeds and yummies, then we cosied up under cover to wait it out. Us gardeners won't cut short the merriment for mere rain!

Thanks David for another memorable solstice.

Diary Dates

Garden visit to Michelle's in Valla Beach

Thursday 15th of July, 10:30 am - 1:00 pm

Michelle is a dedicated and resourceful backyard grower, with a talent for marrying productivity and aesthetics in her compact suburban block.
 
Places will be limited, but this visit is a must for coastal members looking for inspiration on how to get the most from their modest sized gardens.
 
Vegies, fruit trees and flowers. All with an amazing view, need I say more?

Remember to seek out the sign-in sheet on arrival. 

Please bring a snack plate to contribute to our shared lunch If you have them:
Please bring seeds or cuttings to share.

If you are coming down with something contagious, please do not attend the garden tour.
Clearly this visit is at the whim of CoViD 19 restrictions and may not go ahead as planned. 

Coming? please click here to RSVP, to obtain the address and so we know who’s attending. Please RSVP even if you already know how to get there.

June Newsletter & A Coming Event

 

Garden visit to Nick's garden in Repton

Our visit to Nick's Repton garden was blessed with lovely weather & enthusiastically attended. As with previous visits, Nick started off by sharing some wisdom on his verandah.

Everything has been growing well since our last lunch there and the impressive water storages are unsurprisingly full. Those who attended Nick's last tour, may remember his rampaging dragon fruit vines were fruitless. That has now changed in the the fruit forest.

Nick has been adding and removing, in response to the needs of his family and priorities of their favorites.

We also discussed fire safety and habitat values in the surrounding vegetation. After the tour we headed back to the verandah for lunch.

COMING EVENT

Garden visit to David's in Gleniffer Monday 21st of June, 12:01 pm - dusk Our next meeting is the Winter Solstice at David Pepper's in Gleniffer.   Our genial host always loves to share his rambling productive gardens and we will celebrate together the lengthening of the days, after the sudden drop into winter we're having now.   We'll kick off around midday, come when you can, dress up or dress down and expect to share in good food and good cheer Remember to seek out the sign-in sheet on arrival.  Please bring a snack plate to contribute to our shared lunch If you have them: Please bring seeds or cuttings to share. If you are coming down with something contagious, please do not attend the garden tour.