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November 2011 |
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OGAWA
e-newsletter is published at the beginning of each
month except January. For enquiries please contact
enews_editor@ogawa.org.au.
OGAWA
Inc. PO Box 1512. Booragoon WA 6954 |
Hi everyone
Hope you are all enjoying our lovely spring weather. We had our Organic Festival last month and it was a huge success. I have had a lot of great feedback from our commercial members who had a stall. Thanks to all those who did talks and thanks to Perth City Farm for allowing us to have our festival there. The changes they have made to Perth City Farm are amazing. It was great to see Steve Marsh and his wife at the Festival, as well. They were kind enough to come for Janet’s talk on GM.
We also had our AGM at the festival and all the previous committee are all staying on, (Yee Ha) with a couple of new faces to join us as well. With the extra help we have, we are hoping to put on a few extra events to showcase OGAWA.
Nearly the end of the year - where did it go? I must be getting older; the years are going too fast. Summer is coming so hope you are all getting your gardens ready.
On closing I would like to announce that as of November I am the new owner of “Herbs R Us”. I am very excited and nervous at the same time. I will be combining the two companies’ together so there will be more and more organic herbs and vegetable seedlings available.
Until next month – last enews for the year.
Cheers
Leesa Caldwell www.thegreenhouseorganic.com.
To view the slideshow of photos from this year's Organic Festival click here
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Leesa Caldwell enjoying some of the wonderful food at the OGAWA Organic Festival at City Farm |
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No report from Steve this month |
Steven McCoy
Development Officer, Organic Food and Farming
Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia
steven.mccoy@agric.wa.gov.au
Ph 08 9368 3960
Mb 0424 147 408
Fax 08 9368 3355 |
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| The Organic Association of Western Australia holds meetings in suburban and regional locations. Below is a list of some of our groups. Please contact the coordinator or e– mail Leesa for more information. |
| FREMANTLE |
OGA
Freo next meeting:
| when: |
Thursday 7pm 10th November |
| where: |
The Meeting Place
245 South Terrace
South Fremantle |
| price: |
members free $5 non members |
| speaker: |
Charlie Jones |
| topic: |
Seed Saving
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Seed Saving with Charlie Jones |
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Message from May-Ring |
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We had an informal meeting in October at the Meeting Place. Gerald was there to answer all the tricky gardening questions. We briefly touched on the topic of bees and bee keeping.
I have brought in a beehive that I have made for Michele Kwok recently. The hive is made of a former pine kitchen top which we rescued from the verge in September. It was an interesting evening.
Next month meeting will be on 10th November and we are having Charlie Jones as our guest speaker. His talk is going to be on Seed Saving. Charlie has just finished an 8 months course in Permaculture and is very keen to start a seed saving bank in Fremantle area.
Kind regards
May-Ring and Margaret
ogafreo@yahoo.com.au |
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| ROLEYSTONE |
OGA
Roleystone next meeting:
| when: |
Wednesday November 9th at 7.30pm |
| where: |
Roleystone Family Centre, 19 Wygonda Rd, Roleystone |
| price: |
Entry $3-members free |
| speaker: |
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| topic: |
Recipes from the Garden |
Bring your favourite recipe from the garden
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Message from Lisa |
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Recipes From the Garden
The November meeting of Roleystone Organic Growers will be about sharing recipes for preserving and cooking from the garden. It is exciting to create food items which you have watched grow! At times we have a bumper crop of citrus, silverbeet, tomatoes, zucchini, or broad beans and wonder what we should do with it! Or, we may have herbs like dill, parsley, lavender, etc and want to know how we can preserve them to use later.
At this meeting please bring a favourite recipe or idea to share of something you have grown in your garden or just a special recipe. Recipes may also be for preserving and bottling fruits and vegetables.
This will be our last meeting of the year (until March 2012) and we wish you all a safe and happy summer and holiday season.
The meeting is on Wednesday November 9th at 7.30pm in the Roleystone Family Centre, 19 Wygonda Rd, Roleystone. Entry $3-members free.
Enquiries to Lisa 9399 2312. awakeandreadyperth@hotmail.com
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| MUNDARING |
OGA
Mundaring next meeting:
| when: |
2nd
(second) Tuesday of the
month 7.30.pm |
| where: |
Bugle Tree Creek
Communication Centre,
Stoneville Road Mundaring |
| price: |
$3 |
| speaker: |
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| topic: |
Compost making, Moon cycle planting and green manure growing. |
Our tent at Mt Helena Whim Festival |
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Message from Ralph Darlington |
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Hello everyone.
Last Sunday (23rd October) MOGG held our stall at the Mt Helena Whim Festival. It was a great success, as we gave away approximately 2000 Vegetable seedlings of many different varieties, which we had planted at our seed-ins, and had grown at our homes especially for this event.
Each Person’s punnet was put in a bag, and was given some MOGG and OGAWA information as well. The fact, that these Vege seedlings were given away free, prompted many interesting comments.
We also had Kids Seed Planting table where children could, (under members supervision) choose, and plant Vege seeds in punnets to take home. That was a roaring success! We used all but a hand full of seed raising mix and all but one empty punnet. These punnets were given the same treatment as our seedling handout. Of course instructions of how to grow were given, and a final hand washing before they went away.
About 16 of our members cycled through the ‘Tent’ helping and advising the public on choice and growing methods for the various seedlings.
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Peter Clark was on hand all day to discuss Composting to all those who were interested, his wife Glynis discussed moon cycle planting and using recycled containers. June Barkman (our herb expert) presided over a big tray and variety of herbs, discussing, advising and giving them away.
It was a beautiful day, rain the night before and gentle sunshine on the day, so appropriate for Organic Gardening.
All the help from our members made this event possible, but the ‘special help from Rebecca ,Lynne and Leonie was much appreciated.
Thanks also to Linda from the Green Life Soil Co, for help with the plant tags and the seed raising mix.
We hope that we have raised the awareness of our Group, OGAWA and the idea of growing your own in the Eastern Hills District. (especially the Kids).
Next month’s meeting: Will be short talks on Compost making, Moon cycle planting, and the why’s and how’s of Green Manure growing.
Best wishes,
Ralph Darlington
for more information contact Ralph Darlington
darlington2@bigpond.com
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| GWELUP |
OGA
Gwelup next meeting:
| when: |
contact Charles |
| where: |
phone for details 0466633275 |
| price: |
$3 |
| speaker: |
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| topic: |
ring for details |
ladybird hunting down the aphids |
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Message from Charles |
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Pam’s garden, beautifully perfumed by the Mandarin tree blossom, was our meeting place for September 2011 with Mike, Jenny, Pam, Nola and Joan (a friend of Pam’s) enjoying the afternoon. We had a free ranging discussion across numerous topics.
What to grow plants in. Jenny has been trying out growbags filled with coir and adding a liquid slow release fertiliser. The bags are manageable and not too heavy. Growbags available from gardening stores or you can make your own. Nola is having success using coir mixed with about 25% mixed worm castings, compost and sheep manure as a seed raising mix.
Wicking beds – we looked at Pam’s wicking beds and their various crops of carrots, lettuce and much more.
Asparagus: different methods have been tried. Jenny brought 2 year old crowns and so far has seen one spear. Joan has multiple crowns of varying ages, we thought we spotted some spears in Pam’s garden. We wondered whether asparagus may not yet have appeared given the cooler spring this year.
What are we picking now? The first tomatoes from plants sown in March; sweet potatoes; broad beans; various kale; various spinach; silverbeet; lettuce; celery; potatoes; rainbow chard, rocket, lemons, limes fennel; parsnips; multiple herbs; carrots; cauliflower; broccoli. Nola, Pam and Mike have had good capsicum over winter.
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Insects and other visitors … we've spotted a few ladybirds and preying mantis…waiting for more to take on the multitudes of aphids. We exchanged ideas on managing/deterring the small white snails – espresso coffee spray is recommended, perhaps try spreading coffee grounds around plants. Cabbage moths may be deterred by plastic butterflies (cut from plastic containers) or white ping pong balls or maybe Dipel. No reported great success with slug traps, but bobtails are effective for snails. Millipedes – what to do with them?
Pam’s glorious garden: we were guided through Pam’s various beds and fruit trees and enjoyed the abundance of healthy herbs, vegetables and trees spilling over the raised beds. There were small colonies of self seeded plants, including calendula and nasturtiums
Other ideas: Joan has a supply of pigeon manure and has also used Eureka Compost from their West Swan Road premises, also their rock dust.
Thanks Pam and Jenny for marmalade.
For November's meeting details please contact Charles.
charles@permaculturewest.org.au or 0466633275 |
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| BROOME |
OGA
Broome next meeting:
| when: |
19th November 3.30 |
| where: |
12 Mile Cafe |
| price: |
members free $3 non members |
| speaker: |
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| topic: |
Natives and bush food |
Bush food
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Message from Tan Fowler |
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The last BOM meeting was cancelled due to Tan being in Perth.
Next meeting is on native plants and bush food 19th November at 3.30 at 12 Mile Cafe.
fusionherbs@westnet.com.au
Venue: 12 Mile Cafe
Address: Lot 20 Yamashita Rd, 12 Mile, Broome
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Fresh Produce Report:
After a few weeks without Zucchini the local season has just started and they are looking lovely. Tomatoes also, after being in short supply for a while now (fingers crossed), should have a consistent supply now hopefully through the rest of summer. But really the most exciting vegetable news right now is the quality of the greens. You can tell that they just love spring. The local lettuce are big and crisp. The new Garlic season has also started now and they are bursting with flavour.
The Stone fruit season has started with Gingin's early varieties now in. They definitely take two hands to eat – one to hold the fruit and the other to wipe all the juice off your chin! Apples and pears are getting to the end of their season, but the strawberries are great. After a slow drop over the last month banana prices should now be staying in the staple, rather than luxury item category. |
Fruit and Veg at Organic on Charles
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Enjoy!
Lyndon McMath
Shop 7, 299 Charles Street
North Perth WA 6006
p: (08) 9227 7755 f: (08) 9227 7711
www.organiconcharles.com.au |
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| Gardening report from Linda Mitchener from The Green Life Soil Co. |
Hasn't it been a great spring – some warm weather punctuated by more rain. Our vegetable garden is thriving at this time of year and things are booming. Hopefully your garden is also doing well, and you are harvesting fresh and healthy produce regularly.
I am particularly fond of salad greens, as there are so many interesting flavours and colours which combine in a salad to make a quick and healthy addition to meals. An interesting herb you may wish to consider is Watercress (Nasturtium officinale). It is easy to grow providing you can give it the right conditions, and it is packed full of vitamins.
Watercress likes to have wet feet, but it does not need to be grown in a pond. Providing it is somewhere sheltered and regularly watered, it will grow happily in the ground or in a pot. It is a perennial, but doesn't like the very cold weather, when it will tend to slow right down and die back a little. However, come spring it will explode again.
If growing in the garden or in pots, it will benefit from feeding with a weak liquid fertiliser (eg. Worm juice, compost tea) every 2 – 3 weeks.
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Watercress
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Apparently Watercress doesn't like acidic soil and prefers slightly alkaline conditions; but we have never given it special treatment or limed it and it has grown well left to its own devices.
Watercress is particularly useful if you have a pond. Plant it on the bank, or submerge a pot into the water (so the water level is just covering the soil) and it will spread trailing arms out over the water. It makes a great cover for fish and frogs, and will benefit from the nutrients fish excrete.
Watercress growing in a pond means that even this area of your garden can be used for food production – talk about efficient!
Once it has spread, it will establish rootlets out on the new growth which will root if you break off a section of the plant and place it on top of moist soil. Watercress can also be grown from seed throughout most of the year (not winter unless you have a heat bed).
Plants grown in shade will have larger leaves and more lush, succulent growth. Plants grown in sun or not getting enough water will have smaller leaves and will tend to be bitter.
Add leaves to sandwiches and salads for a mild, peppery flavour. Watercress can also be used to make soup – I haven’t tried this yet myself; it’s on the bucket list!
And just one quick thing I’d like to share – The Green Life Soil Co has recently been announced as a Finalist in the WA Environment Awards – Small Business Leading by Example category. We are really excited to have achieved this recognition. The winners of all categories will be announced end of November
Linda
Until next time,
Linda Mitchener
The Green Life Soil Co |
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After what has been a dream season so far farmers are now desperately watching the weather as potential storms threaten what could be a bumper harvest. It will be interesting to read how the GM canola has fared against non GM canola and whether there will be markets for both. Prices have been showing up to $50 per tonne difference between the two varieties, with the bonus going to non GM.
As from next season Monsanto has moved the goal posts again as it will be charging end-point-royalties on its GM seeds up front and are packaging this as a benefit to farmers. What it means is that if a harvest fails (as it did last year) farmers will still have paid for the privilege of using Monsanto’s seeds! Clever marketing!
The GM cotton is being harvested in the Ord. The price has collapsed by more than half since the crop was planted, and the logistics of getting it to market are huge. A harvester has come from Queensland to cut the bales, and about 250 semi-trailers will carry the bundles across the country to south-east Queensland to be processed! According to the ABC growers doubt if they will grow it again but other media paint a rosier future with the hope of funds for infrastructure.
With the threat of food security I can only hope that the new areas opened in the Ord will be to grow GM free food, and not support an industry that is far from cost effective.
In closing, our petition asking for an enquiry into the decision to grow GM canola in WA and the Monsanto/InterGrain deal has been refused. According to Redman not many people are concerned about GM so he can’t see the problem! I wonder if he is brave enough to say that in his electorate where six of the eight shires have adopted a GM Free stance?
Cheers, Janet Grogan FoodWatch jan60gro@yahoo.com |
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