January Fruiting in the Bellingen Area

Here are a few of the plants fruiting in this area at this time.

 This White Sapote has yielded a few fruit and as you can see there are more on the way as they seem to ripen over a few months. Bagging against fruit fly is necessary.

The cucumbers are at their most productive.

 Black Kale (Dino Kale, Cavallo Nero) are still producing fresh leaves although the older leaves are well nibbled by the white cabbage moth.

Keeping the birds away from the ripening grapes can be a chore.

 These Perennial Capsicums are small but prolific at a time when capsicums can be quite costly.

Rhubarb does not like much heat but the weather has been more wet and humid than hot and sunny.

It is time to dig the Cassava.

 The bush Butter Beans are adding to the climbing beans and Snake Beans which have been producing since Christmas.

 This Cranberry Hibiscus was a surprise seedling. A few young leaves added to the salad bowl taste like sorrel, contributing a slight lemony flavour.

At present this Mountain Paw Paw drops its fruit before they reach a useful size.

This Wax Jambu is producing loads of crisp, crunchy, moist fruit. These are great to eat fresh but not to everyones taste. Wax Jambu would really contribute to an asian salad with a lime juice dressing.

 This tamarillo has been fruiting for a month. If grilled, like a tomato,  a Tamarillo will add flavour to the breakfast plate.

The first of the Wing Beans are ready to pick before they become too big and full of fibre. These plants have regrown from the 2010, 2011 tubers.

This is a moth eaten leaf but the tiny sprouts of Purple Sprouting Broccoli are still being produced.

 The sweet basil loves the humid warm weather.

 The New Guinean Mushroom plant also likes some rain, heat and shade.

 The ginger has been shooting for six weeks now. It loves this weather and is growing in shade beneath the Tiger Grass.

 The unblanched celery is tough but softens when cooked.

The Snake Beans love the heat. Why do they attract so many ants? Picking each bean with a twist, so the growing point will fruit again, has contributed to the yield.  What is fruiting in your garden at this time?

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?