Mosman Community Gardeners: 2014

Sunday, November 23, 2014

2014 Annual General Meeting

Once again, Mosman Community Gardeners went from strength to strength. The new rotunda at Mackie Lane provided the focus for our education program as well as many celebrations; the gardens at Mackie Lane and Middle Head flourished; our partnerships deepened; and MCG continued its mission to inspire and encourage sustainability, the cultivation of edible plants and sharing of food, and the nurturing of community connections and friendships.

For the highlights of 2014 see the President's Report.

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 children’s 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.

http://www.wildthings.org.au/index.php/news/buzz-over-native-bees

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 I’m part of a wonderful team of committed community gardeners, so I know this decision won’t 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

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Summer News 2014

Here is the latest news from Mosman Community Gardeners:

If you would like to receive our e-news contact us at mosmancommunitygardeners@gmail.com

We hope you enjoyed the festive season and that 2014 has started well!

Mackie Lane Update

Chris and Gill Lee in front of the Rotunda

New rotunda: Fortunately the Mackie Lane rotunda was completed in time to cope with the hot summer months. This impressive hexagonal structure was inspired by Paddington Community Garden’s rotunda, and we are very grateful to Rob Joyner from PCC for sharing his design and expertise. Special thanks are due to Chris Lee who worked with Calum Findlay and the rest of the Mackie Lane construction team to build the rotunda, as well as to Rotary Mosman who helped with funding. It has already been the focus of numerous garden celebrations and is available to members for private functions. Enquiries to Peter Hook: pjhook66@gmail.com

Gardening: The amazing sea of sweet peas along the Mackie Lane ran their course and had to be removed, but we are thrilled that they have self-sown and continue to adorn the fence along with magnificent sunflowers and succulents. Our tomato crops have been particularly prolific, as well as the strawberries, rainbow chard and garlic. More unusual plantings like the apple cucumbers, New Guinea beans (which have grown to several feet), loofahs and daikon radish have also been a great success. And the kitchen garden has really taken off! Middle Harbour After Care children continue to care for their garden beds, which are full of vegetables ready to harvest. We’ve covered all the concrete areas with bark chips, which has really transformed the space. See the current garden bed plan

Celebrations: On the first Sunday of the month we have a celebration after our gardening hours from 3-5pm. During daylight saving this has expanded to include dinner. We crank up the BBQ and enjoy the shelter and ambience of the rotunda. So do some along and join us on Sunday 2 February. Everyone is welcome. BYO food and drinks.

Middle Head Update

Our summer harvest at Middle Head has once again been bountiful with tomatoes, beans, lettuce, celery, potatoes, leeks and broad beans and we have four new beds of rosellas, a native fruit that makes great jam. We’ve grown okra for the first time successfully and the flowers are exquisite. There is a working bee coming up to cut away the grass and repair the nets and beds and new members are very welcome.

Resources

Permaculture North is a good resource and runs workshops and courses.

Slow Food Sydney has a stand at the Eveleigh markets where they host monthly guests. Next one is 1 February presenting foods, preserves and other goodies.

Gardening Australia has some great resources to help with edible gardening.

Another gardening website with lots of resources and information is Sustainable Gardening Australia.