The best way to learn how to do something is from others. With the TTG Kitchen Gardeners’ Society, you can see and hear first hand how people developed their back yard garden. And you can always get your hands dirty if you want.
The first monthly meet was a great success: veggies planted, hot-house installed, bed dug and all with delicious wood fired pizza! Thanks to Debra & Peter for sharing their place.
Next gathering, Sunday 1st of July, stay tuned for details
Photos courtesy Emma & Kerrin
Tagged DIY gardening, Growing food, Kitchen Gardeners, Outdoors, Plants
Ever been frustrated that all the garlic in the shops seems to come from China and Argentina?! Well, it’s the time of year to plant, and it’s super easy, here’s how I do it….
Get some garlic (preferably local)
Prepare a veggie bed, loosen the soil, and mix in some compost or manure if handy
Push the cloves into the ground so the top of the clove is below the soil (2-5 cm)
Repeat with ~10-15 cm between cloves and ~15-30 cm between rows
Water well
Care instructions:
Keep weeds under control, garlic don’t like competition
Winter rain does much of the watering, but they will need watering during dry periods
Harvesting:
As summer approaches, the garlic leaves will begin to brown off
Pull up the garlic when a few green leaves are still left (these create the tissue cover for the bulb)
Hang up in a shed to dry, then store in a cool, dry, dark place and enjoy 🙂
Other tips:
I heard Sabrina Hahn on the radio say that putting the garlic in the fridge for a week helps it to germinate.
You don’t need veggie beds, just plant some garlic between the roses or around the garden
Reduce and stop watering the week before harvesting to avoid mould
Try to avoid the super white garlic in the shops from China, it’s usually bleached
Garlic grows well with many other plants, but may inhibit peas, beans and parsley, so grow separately from these
Garlic can deter ants, aphids, caterpillars, slugs and other soft-bodied pests
Got more tips on growing garlic, please post!
What a weekend! Last Friday night was a sell out, with 100 people packing into St Matthews hall to hear a powerful talk from Nicole Foss. This was followed on Sunday by the Transition of the Heart workshop.
The first half of Nicole’s talk was quite confronting as she outlined the serious challenges we are facing: finance, energy and environmental. She focused particularly on the financial side, as she believes this is the issue with the shortest time horizon, and therefore the most urgent.
It was encouraging to hear that the solutions that Nicole was advocating fit the Transition Town approach very well. Namely, decentralise and increase self-sufficiency. She also highlighted that building community is KEY!
“Relationships of trust are the foundation of society”
You can read more from Nicole at her blog The Automatic Earth
A special thanks to Sheena, Kristylee and Charles (PermacultureWest), and Shani (Ecoburbia) for organising with us.
This led perfectly into Rod’s Transition of the Heart workshop on Sunday, and the launch of the Heart and Soul sub-group of Transition Town Guidlford. The workshop was a great chance for people to explore and express their emotions and thoughts around these challenging topics. It became apparent that through expressing our past hurts and emotions, we are able to think clearer and respond in more productive ways towards environmental issues.
Don’t worry if you missed out, there will be a repeat of this workshop later in the year.
Thanks to Charles Otway for the photos
Posted in Economics, Event, Hearts and Minds
Tagged Financial crisis, Healing, mental-health, Nicole Foss
Community Garden in Glen Forrest Western Australia
Cultivating a strongly connected community and a healthy environment
Cultivating a strongly connected community and a healthy environment
The Economics of Happiness
We are the ones we've been waiting for
Transition Town Guildford 