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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 then down tools for a cuppa.
•  All members MUST sign in and out of the attendance book every time they visit the Gardens and use the QR code to check in each time they attend.
•  Covered shoes MUST be worn at all times – no open shoes, thongs, flipflops or bare feet – this is a requirement of Newcastle Council. Any member found to have incorrect footwear will be asked to leave.
•  Bring garden tools from home where possible – club tools are available on Friday mornings from 9am – 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 give 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 in your garden beds weekly. Gardens left unattended for more than a month or overgrown 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, President

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 roses are looking amazingly healthy and full of new growth and plenty of buds and the hedges are almost ready for their first trim.

Planting and Soil Temperature

There are four essential elements for seed germination. These are water, air, soil conditions, and temperature. Click the link to 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.

OUR HONEY HAS A NEW LOOK!

On Friday 4 September we unveiled the new label design for the March Street Community Gardens honey. This liquid gold is 100% Hunter Valley, Australia honey. Special thanks to Michelle from Accentia Design for our new label design.
 
With the help of Margaret, John and Michelle the labels were whipped onto the freshly bottled honey. A big thank you to Bill and Rose for their time to prepare, filter and fill the honey into jars for us all to enjoy.  All money made goes back into improvements and buying plants for the gardens.
 
John has also been out selling the honey to the neighbours.  We currently have about a dozen jars left for sale. Honey is available on Friday mornings at the Gardens for $10 a jar ($8 a jar for members).
 
Drop-in between 9am-11am or see John to purchase a jar or place an 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’s  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 Garden Seeds

I came across a great website the other day and thought I’d share it with you.  It’s called Veggie Garden Seeds.  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

 

VIDEOS

The Secret Life of plants in bloom

Soil Success - from ABC Gardening Australia

Tomatoes - from ABC Gardening Australia

Worm Farms - from ABC Gardening Australia

Ideas for Urban Gardening - from ABC Gardening Australia