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WHAT'S ON AT THE GARDEN

5655 - Bee

NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS

Dear Members

All members have a duty of care to one another to ensure we work in a safe and a virus-free environment.

•  Friday morning tea starts at 10am – arrive at 9am for a spot of weeding around the gardens, then down tools for a cuppa.
•  All members MUST sign in and out of the attendance book every time they visit the Gardens as per NCC Landcare requirements.
•  Covered shoes MUST be worn at all times – no open shoes, thongs, flipflops or bare feet – this is a requirement of NCC Landcare. Any member found to have incorrect footwear will be asked to leave the gardens.
•  Bring garden tools from home where possible – club tools are available on Friday mornings from 9am – 11am and Saturday mornings 9-11am.
•  If you need to use club tools, please ensure you clean & wipe down the tools when returning to the container.
•  Garden gloves are a great way to protect your hands from infections and cuts, when working in soil. Bring water and wear a hat to protect yourself from the sun.
*  Members are reminded not to randomly plant things around the Gardens or to touch produce or plants in another members gardens without permission.  Unless the Committee gives you permission, don’t plant anything in the Community Garden beds. Plant your produce/flowers/plants in your own garden beds.

JOIN OUR MARCH STREET COMMUNITY GARDENS FACEBOOK GROUP
Members are encouraged to join the Gardens Facebook Group to get all the latest news and happenings. Share produce with other members, events, freebies.
Click on the link below to request to join.
 
WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE UNDERTAKEN REGULARLY BY ALL MEMBERS

•  Removal of weeds from pathways and most importantly in your garden beds regularly. Gardens left unattended for more than a month or beds overgrown with weeds may be given to another person waiting for a garden plot. If you are going to be away, notify the Committee.
•  Please remove all noxious weeds and take them home with you or place them in the green bin for pick up by Council
•  Don’t put onion weed, stinging nettles, wandering dew or other noxious weeds in the compost bays.
•  Plants overhanging pathways between garden beds need to be regularly trimmed back.
•  The continuation of the weeding of the Camellia beds, the pathways and around the whole site when you visit would be greatly appreciated
•  The use of Roundup is not permitted in the gardens
•  Members are reminded to only plant things in their own garden plot. Do not randomly plant things around the gardens as it could be removed.

Regards. John Hoskin, Chairman

GARDEN NEWS

PREPARATION OF GARDENS HEDGING & BEAUTIFICATION

In late December 2020, a wide strip of the lawn from the grassed area was removed in preparation for the planting out of the hedges and roses between – which is the beginning of beautifying the area and the grassed entrance area.
 

With inspiration from Rodin’s gardens in Paris, this structured hedged look will add visual interest to capture the eye and a path leading across the lawn to a garden seat and entrance through the hedges into the garden bed area beyond.

The two rows of hedges have been planted with the help of John, Bill and Michelle with a big thank you to Bob for his healthy hedging plants.  The hedges and roses were recently trimmed and new growth can be seen now.

Planting and Soil Temperature

There are four essential elements for seed germination. These are water, air, soil conditions, and temperature. Click on the red icon on the left to download a PDF that has information about soil temperatures for seedling planting.

COMPOSTING BAYS COMPLETED

The composting bays are now up and running and producing plenty of rich, great smelling compost for use in your garden plot. Many thanks go to Tristan, Brian, Greg, John, Stan, John and Ray. A special thank you to Mark Pepperall for helping us source the timber pallets for construction.  

Also I would like to thank Greg Horan for his assistance with the construction of the back supporting wall of the compost bays.

The internals of each bay are lined in shade cloth and each bay is large enough to allow for the piles to be turned over as it breaks down. The piles are covered to keep the heat in and speed up the decomposition. John’s had his heat gun on it and it is up around 75oC which is perfect for killing any weed seeds.

COMPOSTING GOING STRONG

The composting bays are working well and we are producing nutrient rich, great smelling compost for use on your garden plot. Many thanks to Bill our composting king in keeping the bays turned over and tending to them and having no fear of huntsmen spiders!

The piles are covered to keep the heat in and speeds up the decomposition process. John’s had his heat gun on it and it is up around 75oC which is perfect for killing any seeds. Just make sure no onion weed, wandering dew or other noxious weeds are added to the composting piles. Put these nasties in the red lid bins or take them home and place them in your red bin.
 
Members can use the compost in the last bay to use on their garden bed and potting up strawberry plants.

OUT OF STOCK - MARCH ST HONEY!

On 4 September 2021 we unveiled the new label design for the March Street Community Gardens honey. This liquid gold is 100% Hunter Valley, Australia honey and has been hugely popular.  Thank you to Bill and Rose for the time spent in preparing, filtering and filling all the  jars for us to buy.  All money made from the sale of honey goes back into improvements and buying plants for the gardens.

Honey is currently out of stock
We have no honey for sale at the moment due to the Varroa mite in the Hunter Region and baiting of honey bee hives in an attempt to eradicate the mite.  We are investigating sourcing more honey.
Honey is $10 a jar or $8 a jar for members.
 
See John to purchase a jar or enquire to order.
Email: secretary@mscgardens.org

 

Companion Planting

Check out the great information provided by John on Companion Planting and why planting Lavender, Marigolds and Garlic will not only make add some colour to your garden bed, making it attractive to bees and butterflies but also provides natural bug and pest repellent properties.  John has compiled an easy to read chart so you can check what veggies prefer being planted with each other veggies.
 
Worth having on hand as you start to plant out your garden beds with your favourites. Love the information on Beans and corn planted together work together to fix nitrogen in the soil.

 

Veggie & Flower Garden Seeds

I came across a great website and thought I’d share it with you.  It’s called Veggie & Flower Garden Seeds and are based near Hobart in Tassie.  They have a great range of seeds for Australian natives, trees and grasses, tubers and bulbs, garden veggies, flowers, herbs as well as tools and books.  Check out their website for their full range.
Why  not consider buying seeds for one of these:

Common Name: Strawberry Spinach
Scientific Name: Chenopodium foliosum
Life Cycle:  Annual 

Remarks: Pink savoury fruits. Leaves and berries can be eaten. Strawberry-like berries can be eaten fresh or used in preserves. 

Plant Height: 50cm
Season: Spring
Sowing Depth + Method: 3mm deep, raise seedlings
Spacing: 50cm
Position: Full / Part Sun
Days until Germination: 7-14 days
Approx. Number of Seeds: 30

https://veggiegardenseeds.com.au

They also have a free Australian Flower & Vegetable Seed Sowing Calendar that you can download. Just click on the image to begin the download to your computer.

Like to read more from their blog?

https://veggiegardenseeds.com.au/blogs/news

VIDEOS

The Secret Life of plants in bloom

Soil Success - from ABC Gardening Australia

Tomatoes - from ABC Gardening Australia