Start thinking about Spring

August Update

• Keep Australia Beautiful NSW - Sustainable Cities Awards. 

  

• Working Bee around the corner.

• What to plant now, is it tomato and potato time yet?

  #KABNSW,  for the Twitter users out there, and #camdencommunitygarden for Instagram followers, check them out.
  
  
  Speaking of Twitter its more like sqwauking at present as the corellas flock past the office at 5.30pm for their nightly roost, i can almost set my clock by them, they are getting noticeably later as the days lengthen, spring is definitely on its way.

 

• Keep Australia Beautiful - Sustainable Cities Awards.

   

  A brilliant night was had by all, Simon Marnie and Costa Georgiadis did a stellar job as MCs for the night, as the photo shows Camden Town Farm Community Garden didn't come away empty handed, highly commended was the award, which was duly accepted by current president Steve Cooper on behalf of the Community Garden. The winners were long established Wentworthville Community Garden, congrats to all concerned and KABNSW for putting on a great night with the aid of many supporters, next years event moves to Canada Bay as a result of Canada bay taking the overall Sustainable Council. Camden's award certainly reflects the work put in by all the volunteers so it was accepted with smiles all round. Mamre Homestead and Penrith Council were great hosts and a spot which should definitely be visited. Thanks again to all concerned.

"I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains."

How true it is

You will find the BOM link on previous posts and can certainly confirm the sentiments behind this classic Dorothea Mackellars poem, less than 48hrs ago sections of the south coast saw water spouts come ashore and reek havoc on coastal suburbs and with that change came plenty of the wet stuff. 

You couldn't pick it 24hrs later and the temps are back into the 30s and the sydney basin feels more like a Borneo rainforest.

can you find steve

Monster squash

So how does this affect the garden, well its all good, for those larger gardens i guess if you couldn't see the weeds last week you can now, for the greenkeepers, its not a matter of keeping them green anymore its keeping them cut before it rains again.

Sweet Potatoes at A/B Mens Shed

Camden Community Garden has been no different, while the rain tended to drive people in doors the serious and/or committed (maybe should be committed) are still out there, weeds not more than a few inches high had now reached dizzying heights, so with a coming together of half a dozen or so souls on the weekend an assault was made on some of the bigger ones. (see image right, Steve is 6ft plus and not standing in a hole). I might add the rain allowed easy removal of many of the larger weeds. The past month has seen considerable rainfall in the southwestern part of the Sydney basin and this has delivered some great results in the gardens, it had been hoped we would have pumpkins in time for the local show, unfortunately we didn't get enough early rain however those pumpkins have now gone crazy and thrown on several metres of growth in a matter of weeks, sweet potatoes are running like crazy and will no doubt produce a prolific crop come the cooler months. If you love zucchinis and squash, look no further than Camden Community Garden, i overheard someone the other night talking about how they grow even more on a full moon and how they would harvest night and morning, it looks like we had a full moon every night from the pic attached, numerous local gardeners have benefited from the harvest as well as some community members. This will continue as well.

Late Winter Blast

Camden Snap Frozen

If you woke up this morning early enough you would have been witness to the 4th day sub zero in August for Camden and a sizeable frost (-3.8), collectively through June and July we only had 2 days under the zero mark, i thought we were over the hump and getting warmer, obviously not, a bit of a worry if you were looking at getting those spring crops in, it might be worth just hanging off a bit or worth getting some cover sorted out for those susceptible to frost. If your garden is looking a bit dry the rainfall figs or lack thereof may be the reason, only 19mm of rain for Camden in July and 46mm in June.

Last year saw several gardeners lose Tomatoes, Zucchinis and Beans, looking for a good planting guide try the following link Gardenate.com note the different climatic zones.
You can also check out your local "big box" retailer or local garden centre and ask the experts.

individual rows of seeds germinating undercover

If you want to get an early start on those spring seedlings rather than buy established stock check out Greenharvest for a few ideas, similar items can be found across most retailers, and are well worth it, importantly use succession planting, if you put a whole packet of seeds in you will get everything at once, you want constant produce so by planting a few seeds every couple of weeks you will have produce cropping all the time. The other way around this is share the seedlings with your neighbours.

The Power of Community

"Power Of Community" Film Screening

When: Wednesday 25th July

Where: Ironbark Room, Narellan Library, Cnr Elyard and Queen St, Narellan.

Time: 6.30pm - 8pm

RSVP: ASAP to secure spots, seats limited

Contact: Steve re screening on 46455022 to reserve spots

Entry: Gold Coin Donation

Light refreshments will be served

So you ask what is the "Power of Community" about !: in a nutshell - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

In 1990 when the Soviet Union fell Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis – the massive reduction of fossil fuels – is an example of options and hope.

For more information on the Documentary itself click here

Here comes the Winter Chill

Shallots and beetroot

Noticed the mornings are getting cooler, extra doona on the bed on a morning, going to work with a few more clothes on, spare a thought for your plants outside. Check the link Camden Weather, April saw our average lowest temp sitting around 11.3C while mean highest was 23.6C. May so far is looking cooler with a pretty sharp dip so far with the lowest averaging just over 6C and the mean highest dipping marginally lower to just under 22C.

protection from frost

It may be time to start and try a bit of frost proofing, another month and the basil crop will be dead, if we are lucky we will get 6 weeks out of it, it may be time to try that Bunya Pine nut pesto here, thinking about putting potatoes in, it may be worth waiting now, speaking to a southern highlands grower (you will find him via bigspud.net) his tips were 100 days before the first frost and 3 weeks before the last frost. So if you have planted them recently, either hope for a late frost to get those new potatoes or baby poly tunnels and lots of mulch to keep them warm.

Autumn or is it Summer.

Autumn in Camden Community Garden, and an update


Hawk Moth Caterpillars

Summer became Winter and now Autumn has become Summer, it certainly has saved us watering over Summer but its played havoc in the gardens, feathered freinds have a veritable smorgasboard of bugs to choose from with these big fat juicy caterpillars turning up in thier droves to munch on sweet potatoes, we have sighted several forms of these mass defoliation critters, 2 forms are pictured, but the local magpies and butcher birds have finally found them.



Harlequin Beetles

Thankfully they seem to have limited their diet to sweet potatoes, although snails have had a field day on beans around the gardens.



Harlequin Beetles just seem to be everywhere and if we can find a biological control now would be the time to implement it.

All the rain and humidity through summer had a detrimental effect on the likes of pumpkin, cucumbers, and watermelons, powdery mildew was rampant and alot of plants ended up rotting off. We have managed to get a batch of Qld Blue pumpkin in the ground and these have taken off, we hope to have this cropped picked going into winter, sadly not in time for the Camden Show.

Updates, News and some

We have found these little critters in the millions, how do i deter them from eating our vegetables, they seem to like tomatoes and strawberries, the ones pictured (right) have taken refuge around a thorn apple.

Just some of the Zucchinis donated to the local senior citizens club this week, as well as potatoes, leeks, spinach and beetroot. The small one is the size of a tennis ball to put the large ones in perspective

Artichokes are just one of the vegetables growing in the gardens, these particular ones are globe artichokes, more architectural than productive but nice to have in our garden, hard to believe that these were only planted from a 100mm pot back in late september

Spring is here

Spring has finally arrived, the cherry trees have burst into flower and the liquid ambers are getting that green tinge from the new shoots starting to emerge.

The gardens are extremely productive at present with gardeners harvesting all manner of things, cauliflowers, broccoli, broccolini, spinach, beetroot, cabbages, celery, leeks, shallots to name but a few.

The Salvation Army "Brunch to Lunch" recieved a big basket of veggies this week, and all concerned were very grateful for the donation.

A reminder to everyone that Brunch to Lunch runs every friday at the Salvation Army in Smeaton Grange from 10.30am to 1.30pm and is open to everyone.

The last working bee cleaned up the Herb Garden as you can see on the image.

The next generation of herbs are growing, we have planted chives, italian parsley, mizuna, celeriac and rosemary.

Springs veggies are on the way and were planted a few weeks ago, growing from seed at present i have coriander, radishes, spinach beet, peas, snake beans, carrots, hurakei, cucumbers, fennel, kohlrabi, lettuce, tomatoes and eggplants. These will slowly be migrated into various gardens over the coming weeks.

Its tomato time but watch out for the cold still, i have them planted out in central camden, but i am still very cautious about putting any in at the community gardens, potatoes are in as are "8 Ball Zucchinis".

Happy Gardening

Note next working bee dates and AGM.

Did someone say Winter !!

Visiting the Camden Community Garden at the moment one could easily be fooled into thinking it wasn't winter. Talking to a fellow gardener over the weekend we both agreed had we been on an alottment in the UK in the middle of winter all we would be growing is grey hair :).

The benefits of the Community Gardens are many and varied the main benefit being the the social/sense of community aspect for members of the garden and public alike who can use or visit the gardens during daylight hours, certainly pay the gardens a visit and say hello to any gardeners working away, there is the communial benefit whereby the whole community gains from having such a great resource at their back door, and as it develops/grows this will only become more evident.

An added benefit but by no means the driving force in being a part of this is the monetary benefit, in the latter years from the outside the site seemed to be sitting quietly waiting for a new lease of life, that new lease on life has been established by the Town Farm Committee and the Community Gardens Committee, and with the tireless help of its members, volunteers and gardeners blossomed into a valuable council asset, this certainly has been helped along and funded by Human Services through Family and Community Services Community Builders Program and with the support of Camden Council.

Take yourself to the shops for your regular food shop each week and the potential benefit to your hip pocket is also evident, take the following in season vegetables as a rough idea:

• Buk Choy - $1.96 for 3
• Kale - $2.98 for 175g
• Leeks - $2.38 ea
• Shallots - $2.48 a bunch
• Herbs - $2.45 a bunch
• Red Cabbage - $4.98 ea
• Cabbage - $3.98 ea
• Wombok - Chinese Cabbage - $2.98 ea
• Lettuce - $1.98 ea
• Fennel - $1.78 ea
• Parsnips - $9.98 kg
• Swedes - $2.98 kg
• Spinach - $3.98 a bunch
• Pak Choy - $1.96  for 3

While its true the gardens are a valuable resource to the local communtiy and various groups, with the impending infrastructure work to be done over the coming months the gardens should cement themselves as a focal point for many folk and give visitors to the area something to admire and take home thoughts of.

This faciltiy is unique and the historical significance is of major importance, the property is listed on the State Heritage Register and as such careful consideration goes into the developement of the gardens.

Tasks on the horizon include pathwork from Camden Town Farm and through the gardens, construction of raised beds for aged as well as greater disability access, planting of more herbs, weed matting the borders, improvements to the composting, addition of worm farms, an orchard, also on the plans is a covered area for folk to gather and enjoy as well as a nursery/greenhouse to grow/propagate plants for the garden and potentially the community. Its hoped that not only this generation but generations to come will be proud to be associated with this facility and preserving the facility that Miss Llewella Davies left for the Community.

Happy Gardening