Seed packing at Gillians, August 17

 

When seed packing it's always a pleasure to discover some interesting additions to our range of seeds, like the Peruvian Polenta Corn that is used for tortillas and the African cucurbits. 

We are going to have our best ever range of saved seeds for the September 14th Spring Plant Fair in Bellingen. 

 We always have plenty of growing news, as well as other news, to share; and of course we always bring plenty of finger food to share as well.

Packing New Guinea Bean.

 Seed Saver Fiona produced a huge crop of New Guinea Beans this year. It is well worth growing in our climate.

"From time to time I'm asked, 'What can I grow in the vegie patch that's a bit different?' Well this is definitely different."

"This is a New Guinea Bean (Lagenaria siceraria), which ironically is neither from New Guinea - it's actually from Africa - and it's not even a bean! It's actually a climbing edible gourd or squash - a member of the cucurbit family."

"If you let them grow as big as they want to, they'll get to a metre plus long and five kilograms. However, if you want to eat them as a vegetable, you harvest them anywhere from around 30 to 60 centimetres long."

"Their flesh, if you eat it raw, tastes like a cross between zucchini and cucumber - nicer than raw zucchini. They can be cooked for all sorts of things - we made a delicious cake out of it - better than any carrot cake you've tasted!"

"The thing I love about the New Guinea Bean is that it's so vigorous. Last year, it actually covered the whole of one of my arbours and created a great amount of shade. I was late getting it in this year, so it's not going to get quite as big, but I can still get some beautiful beans off it before the frost nibbles at the foliage and causes it to die off for me."

"If you live in the tropics and you have trouble growing normal beans because of fungal diseases, this will absolutely love the conditions. So, if you like things unusual, give a New Guinea Bean a shot in your vegie patch!"   From ABC Plant Profile 

 

Cleaning seed

Packed seeds ready for labelling

On Sunday, August 25th, we will be labelling seeds at John and Carol's after a shared lunch and a garden tour at their Fernmount Food Forest. The visit is open to all interested in sharing seeds and growing them for food production.

Bellingen Seed Savers Stall at the Autumn Plant Fair

We had a superb day. The weather was fine and mild. The number of helpers on our Bellingen Seed Savers Stall was numerous and the load was shared. Once again Irene's extensive preparation was evident with loads of information for passing folk. We are also indebted to David and his van for transporting the furniture.

Double click to enlarge any photograph.

Our stall was busy. We aim to disperse our seeds for a gold coin donation. By the end of the day the seed tray was looking very sparse which is not surprising given that the seeds are grown locally for our climate conditions. Irene's previous post lists all the available seeds. We much prefer to spread the seed amongst growers rather than face the problem of storing seed to keep it fresh.

Here Irene shares information and Allan serves at the seed table.

Our list of seeds and information about Seedsavers. Our small efforts at collecting and growing out seed contributes to a rich store of seed available to local gardeners and ensures a rich source of seed during possible future seed shortages.

Interesting to note that during a recent reported shortage of Snake Bean Seed from commercial companies, Bellingen Seed Savers had a very adequate store of this seed.

Our produce raffle was popular which was not surprising given the increased cost of 'veges' following the floods and the cyclone in Queensland. Beryl, pictured,  contributed jars of her much lauded relish to the produce raffle. If you have a question about how to cook and preserve your produce Beryl is a wonderful source of information.

Carol and Linda at the raffle produce box. Can you see the gourd in the centre of the box? That is a New Guinea Bean, a useful substitute for zucchini. Zucchini tends to succumb to moulds and fungi during our humid summers. These gourds can grow to a metre long but are best eaten under 40 cm in length. Obviously Carol and Linda were having a great time at the Plant Fair.

Members had potted up plants. These were also dispersed for a gold coin donation. We don't aim to make a profit, just to cover our costs. We want to encourage the growing of as much food as possible in the home garden to reduce food miles and encourage the eating of fresh produce without pesticide contamination. We discovered how to cook Taro from two visitors with a cultural heritage in cooking and preparing Taro and Taro leaves. Paulina also showed us how to tell the edible Taro from the ornamental Taro growing in the creek behind the stall.

We were told the ornamental Taro has shiny leaves but the edible Taro had velvety  leaves, not at all glossy.

Most of all our members enjoyed meeting fellow gardeners and folk who share our philosophy. After all the preparation and the the usual chores it was a positive delight to be at the Plant Fair amongst friends. Many visitors to our stall took away information about seeds, plants and about Bellingen Seed Savers and our blog.

Maybe we will meet you at the next Plant Fair or at our next members meeting. Membership is free and casual. Just turn up at the meetings you can attend and help out when you are able. That is the spirit of Bellingen Seed Savers. You can contact us at bellingenseedsavers@gmail.com
If you were at the fair we would really like you to make a comment below. What would you like to see on our stall?