Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Autumn News 2014

Here is the latest news from Mosman Community Gardeners:

If you would like to receive email updates please email mosmancommunitygardeners@gmail.com

Mackie Lane Update: The last few months have 
seen a lot of planting, harvesting and refurbishing, as well as a record number of visitors who came to be inspired and learn from what we're doing at the garden. Mosman Council recently delivered a new load of wood chips and now all the garden walkways are covered. Our childrens program continues with Kids Cottage Middle Harbour children tending and harvesting their dedicated beds and children from nearby Kinderland visiting to learn about edible gardening. Mackie Lane garden is very family friendly with a cubby house, sandpit, bean teepee, blackboard and gardening activities to engage the kids. Students are also volunteering in the garden as part of the Duke of Edinburgh program. The planting committee coordinated by Gill Lee has developed an autumn planting plan and things are well on the way for the new season. For what to grow during autumn see http://www.mosmancommunitygardeners.com/p/planting.html


Individual allotments: Many successful community gardens like Paddington, Randwick and nearby Manly Vale have individual allotments. Now that we have more land at Mackie Lane and the garden infrastructure is well established, we are considering moving to a combination of individual allotments and communal gardens. If you interested in an allotment, please email mosmancommunitygardeners@gmail.com



Native Bees: With support from Mosman Council we are purchasing stingless native bees from Ku-ring-gai Council and bee workshops are planned for the future. The hives are populated by Tetragonula carbonaria, a bee species that occur naturally in Sydney and have acclimatised to Sydney conditions. See http:/bit.ly/NwiKmz Here is a fact sheet about the kind of stingless bees we will have at the garden.
Celebrations: On the first Sunday of the month we have a celebration after our gardening hours from 3-5pm. So do some along and join us on Sunday 6th April. Everyone is welcome. BYO food and drinks.

Middle Head update: Planting includes okra, artichokes, tomatoes, kale, mini cabbages, mizuna lettuce, snow peas, shallots, beetroot, carrots, daikon, many different varieties of chillies from mild to very hot and much more. As always, the regular gardeners say that Middle Head garden is a happy place!

Links worth checking out:
Permaculture Northern Beaches has a new Facebook page to keep you up to date on all things sustainable and gardening. htps://www.facebook.com/PermacultureNorthernBeaches 
Gardening Australia http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/vegieguide/
Sustainable Gardening Australia http://www.sgaonline.org.au/
Mosman Community College has some fantastic gardening courses and one-day workshops, http://www.mec.nsw.edu.au

Upcoming North Sydney events/workshops

Living with Possums: Wednesday, 30 April 2014. Problems with Possums? Attend this informative presentation for answers.

No Dig Garden: Saturday, 10 May 2014. Learn how to create amazing soil using alternating layers of organic materials.

Herb Spiral: Saturday, 14 June 2014. Herb spirals are a novel way of growing herbs in small spaces.

Edible Gardens in Small Spaces: Saturday, 07 June 2014. Learn how to grow vegies in pots with this free workshop.

Composting: Saturday, 21 June 2014. Turn your kitchen scraps into garden gold.

 

If you have events or resources that you’d like to share, please email mosmancommunitygardeners@gmail.com

Farewell and thank you: This is my last news update as President of Mosman Community Gardeners. My work commitments have increased this year so I need to step aside, but Im part of a wonderful team of committed community gardeners, so I know this decision wont disrupt the ongoing operation of MCG. We have come a long way since our first meetings over four years ago when we had no land and spent most of our time lobbying for a community garden. 


Tina at Mackie Lane
Today we have two thriving gardens, an ever-growing membership, and importantly we have succeeded in bringing the cause of growing edible plants to the attention of the Council and the community. I will continue to be active in MCG and look forward to seeing you in the gardens sometime. My heartfelt thanks to MCG members and everyone who has supported our work over the years. It's been a very rewarding journey.

Cheers Tina
Tina Jackson on behalf of the MCG team