August Newsletter

Hi Seed Savers

First of all I am delighted to tell you that Michel and Jude Fanton, the Founders of the Seedsavers' Network, have accepted our invitation to present a workshop in Bellingen. This is quite a rare opportunity and I do hope you will be able to participate. I have approached them before but they are frequently  travelling overseas but this time  I managed to catch them at the right time.

We still have a few details to finalise but I can say that they will be here on the week-end of 17 & 18 September.  They will present a one-day workshop in Gleniffer on the Sunday and this will be preceded by a film screening and Q&A /catching up with the locals session at the CWA hall from about 4.30 or 5 to 7pm on Saturday 17th.

            

*If there is anyone with some time and has skills with posters and banners, I would be delighted to hear from you.  I'm suffering from event overload!                    

The Fantons have such a lot of knowledge and stories to share and they are a delightful couple.  You can see them in action, if your internet speed is up to it,  on their latest video postings on youtube.com/seedsavers, also facebook.com/seedsaversnetwork  Also visit their website at www.seedsavers.net/

The cost of the workshop will be kept at a very reasonable level and we are just working on the final details, which will be sent to you shortly.  It is the requirement of Michel and Jude that a minimum of twenty people attend the workshop and we will need to receive a minimum of fifteen registrations by two weeks before the event (3 September).   More details soon - put it in your diary.

Gathering at North Bank Community Garden 4 August

A happy mix of long term and new seed savers gathered on a beautiful day.  Thank you all for being there and special thanks for the seed and plant contributions .  The gardens look fantastic - every week brings more plants, more improvements  in the layout,design and innovation - see John Vernon's report and photos on the blog http://bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com/ .  We were even filmed on the day by a young woman from Victoria who is making a documentary and I will let you know if and when I hear more about it.  

Thank you so much to everyone who has delivered pots and containers to NBCG, to replace those stolen along with their ute.  There was a great fundraiser on Saturday and I hope they raised lots of money for a new ute.  We enjoyed some great music and the very tasty food being served and I understand that there will shortly be an expansion in the size of the kitchen.

Important Info. about Sword Bean from Carole Helman

"You may have taken some of the big pink Sword Bean seeds from our recent Gathering at David's.  My notes on the day, with the seeds, said we use the very young green pods, sliced finely, as 'green beans'.  We DON'T ever use them with developing seeds in them and an old, but very informative, book indicates that the ripe seeds probably shouldn't be eaten. (Reference: 'Tropical Crops' - Dicotyledonsby J.W. Purseglov, 19680.

Upcoming Events:

Working Bee Thursday 18 August 1pm, Bellingen

A few of us will be at Laurie's to pack seeds for the upcoming Plant Fair.  If you would like to join us or if you have some seeds or plants to contribute, please let me know as I need to have labels prepared for the packets and signs.  If you just have time to drop in for a chat, we will be pleased to see you.  If you let me know you might do this, and you haven't been to Laurie's before, I will give you the address.

Energy Festival at the Showgrounds Saturday 3 September

Bellingen Seed Savers will share the Transition Bellingen site this year, rather than having a separate stall.  The reason for this is that we will have the Plant Fair the following week-end and don't want to overstretch our resources - human and edible.  I have committed to being there and, if there is anyone who will be at the Energy Festival who would like to join me for a while, that would be nice.  I will just set up a display of posters, photos and information.  It will be a good opportunity also to promote the Fantons' events two weeks later.

Spring Plant Fair at Market Park Saturday 10 September 8am to 2pm

Please let me know if you are able to make a contribution to the preparations for our stall, either in the lead-up or on the day.  It is always a very busy and interesting day but we do need sufficient volunteers to help us survive it in good spirits.  This is our main way of fundraising  through donations for seeds and plants and raffle ticket sales.  This enables us to cover our expenses for all the various materials we need and events.  It's also a lot of fun.  It would be helpful if I can draw up the roster for the day quite soon.

We need people to: 

*Prepare signs, banners, etc.

*Help set up, take down and put up the various displays ready for the early browsers. We usually start at about 6.30am.

*Work on the stall with others and enjoy meeting interesting people of like minds.We usually have a lot of plants in pots as well as seeds and information to hand out and raffle tickets to sell. We do need several people there at any one time during the morning at least.  If you have already told me that you can help - please remind me.

The Fanton Events at CWA Hall Saturday 17th, Workshop in Glennifer Sunday 18th.  Watch this space!

Best wishes everyone - I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot of you throughout August/September.

Gathering Thursday 6th October

Gathering November Thursday 3 

Please consider hosting one of these at your place.  The more variety of gardens and areas we visit, the more interesting it becomes.  Whether your garden is new or long-established, large or small, in valley or heights.  It certainly doesn't need to be perfect.  It's such a good way for us all to share the joys and heartaches that we experience out there - and to learn from one another.

Cheers

Irene

 

 

  

More About Bellingen SeedSavers Visit to Carole's House

Hi Seed Savers

We had a wonderful afternoon at Carole’s inspirational house and garden this month.  Carole warned us that she had been away for a while and wouldn’t have much to show us – far from it!  From the bathtub of Water Chestnuts and the Taro to the extraordinary range of vibrant chillies, from the Sword to the Winged Beans, the pineapples to the berries and much more it was all so interesting.  Carole brings in as little as possible to add to the soil, concentrating on using her own compost. The garden continually expands, within and outside the netted area.  See the photos on the BSS blog.

The Cancer Council Biggest Morning (Afternoon) Tea that we shared at Carole’s was delicious and Lynda was able to send $50 to the Cancer Council so thank you for that. Carole even offered us a tasting of her home-made Davidson Plum Wine – the verdict was ‘beautiful’.

Lynda was asked by a number of Seed Savers for her Sweet Potato Cornbread recipe so this is attached. We many of us seem to have a large harvest of sweet potato so this was particularly appreciated.  Thank you to everyone for bringing such lovely food and for donating to the appeal.

Thank you so much Carole for hosting the May Gathering.

A Valuable Book:

I have Penny Woodward’s book ‘Asian Herbs & Vegetables – How to identify, grow and use them in Australia’ on loan from a friend and I am excited about the amount of detailed information it includes on all those valuable, resilient vegetables that many of our members have been growing and sharing in this region since we came together.  The book covers the origins of each plant, lists the names under which it is known, describes its appearance and method of cultivation, suggests a number of uses and gives some nutrional information.  Also great photos.

I brought the book to our last Gathering so that people could have a look at it and I subsequently placed an order for seven books at The Yellow Shed in Bellingen.  In ordering more than four copies, we receive a 10% discount on the usual price of $26.95.  If four or more other people wanted to acquire the book, I would be willing to order a quantity at this slightly reduced price.  Let me know if you want one.  If you are not in the Bellingen area, I would need to charge postage.
Penny Woodward’s website:  http://www.google.com.au/

Seeds for the Spring Plant Fair

Would you please let me know what seeds you hope to have ready for the next Plant Fair on 10 September? This is a good time to plan so that you can make sure you save the seeds from the best plants and protect them from cross-pollination.

Long Term Seed Storage

We again discussed this matter.  Although our main aim is to have our seeds circulating around the area, we also need to save some longer term. I took to the last Gathering a small domestic cryovac kit that might be suitable for our purposes.  A friend showed me hers and demonstrated it to me.  You can see it being used at www.idemo.com.au/shop/Ezi-Seal+Vacuum+Sealer/Ezi-Seal+Vacuum+Sealer.  Scroll down the right-hand column and click on the 1 min video.  The kit costs around $40, including four reusable bags and you can buy extra bags at $20 for four.  The price seems to vary with the supplier.

Maybe next time you are in a store you could have a look around to see what else is available.  I believe there are heavier duty kits which cost one or two hundred dollars.

I would appreciate your feedback on this idea – would you approve of BSS purchasing one?

Next Gathering
Jason’s block on Hydes Creek Road, North Bellingen
Thursday 2nd June 1pm

Jason has a block of land which is a bit further along Hydes Creek Road than North Farm (for those who have been there).  It is in the very earliest stages of development and Jason very kindly invited us to visit. It will be a great opportunity for us to discuss the design possibilities, whether we are in a similar situation or have spent years working on ours.  It should be very interesting and, as usual, it should promote very interesting discussion.

Once again, car pooling is highly recommended and all other details will be sent to you when you RSVP – by Tuesday 28 May please.

I would you like to suggest that we bring along the ingredients for any special tea that we enjoy so that we can do some sampling.  As an example, I love Lemon Myrtle Tea, which I drink every day if I am home. I will bring along fresh leaves to share and perhaps you could do the same with your favourite.

I am so enjoying the lovely Autumn weather – a wonderful time to be out in the garden working hard. Let’s hope it will be like this when I see you at Jason’s.

Cheers
Irene

LATE NEWS

Hi Seed Savers

A few things have come up since I sent out the Newsletter last week:

The Books have arrived
We collected the seven copies of Penny Woodward’s book ‘Asian Vegetables & Herbs’ on Saturday ordered by:  John V., Rhonda, Carole H., Lynda and Jen (Laurie and I have ours).  I will bring them to our Gathering next week but, if you are anxious to have yours in your hot little hands immediately, let me know.  I will be in Bellingen for a few hours tomorrow – Tuesday, otherwise at the Growers’ Market on Saturday, so we might be able to arrange a handover.  The price is $25 a copy.

* North Bank Community Garden
I was at the Garden yesterday in relation to the Transition Bellingen Reskilling Workshop on Organic Garden and wanted to let you know how fantastic the garden is looking .  It’s a year since we last Gathered there and I will make sure that we do it again, perhaps in August.  Each time I go there I see the enormous amount of hard work and creativity being poured into the place by Steve, Jesse and volunteers.  I have mentioned before that Jesse had taken on Aleasa’s seedling business which is now located at NBCG and it is now powering ahead and I urge you to have a look.  The garden is accessible all day so you can go at a time to suit you.

Cheers
Irene

 

Lynda's Sweet Potato Cornbread  

900g sweet potato – boiled and mashed (to yield 2 cups)
125g butter
4 eggs lightly beaten
Quarter cup brown sugar
Half teaspoon bicarb of soda
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup plain yoghurt
2 cups fine polenta 
Preheat oven to 180’ – butter a 20cm square cake tin.
Pure sweet potato in a mixer or food processor with all ingredients except yoghurt and polenta.
Stir in Yoghurt and polenta and pour into prepared tin.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 
Cool a little before turning out and cutting into squares.