Rain, sage, goats… and time to get blitzed!
Muddy feet in a wet garden… yup, it’s that time of year!
There’s no denying it – winter is here. There’s an extra blanket on the bed, we can see our breath indoors at night and it’s getting a LOT harder to get up in the morning! (OK, that last one might just be me…) One thing I love about this time of year is lying in bed at night and listening to the rain pound against the windows and roof. Alas, we can’t spend all day in bed, and as such it’s in the spirit of racing home from work in the hammering rain that we give the honour of the song of the month to The Beta Band for their indie shuffler Dry The Rain.
Permablitz News
Wanna get blitzed?
Did you know that right now we have between 20 and 25 Guild Designers actively working on upcoming blitzes for people all over Melbourne?
Since most designs take around five months to complete, now is the best time to get one started so you can have a blitz in time to lay down your summer crops! If you’ve been to a blitz or two, you may be eligible for a permablitz all of your very own.
Why not find out?
Go on - find out if you can get blitzed!
Introducing... A Herb For Thought
Garden sage with a well known beneficial insect
We are thrilled to introduce a brand new segment to the Permablitz Melbourne monthly newsletter entitled ‘A Herb for Thought‘. In these, our qualified naturopath Naomi will introduce you to a different herb each month – exploring not only key gardening and harvesting considerations, but also medicinal, culinary and other traditional uses and symbolic folklore associations throughout history. The idea is to stimulate some ‘herb for thought’ to enable these ancient stories and uses to be carried forward not only in our gardens, kitchens and medicine chests, but in hearts, minds and imaginations.
We’re beginning this herbal journey by looking at our well known common sage (Salvia officinais)!
Click here to get the low-down on sage!
Permablitz #182 – Preston
A few weekends ago, a group of cheery volunteers descended upon Liz and Finn’s house to fill their garden with fruit trees of all different shapes and sizes. Guild designers Chris and Ben decided on a low maintenance gardening paradise for this busy young family, complete with lots of fruit trees, flowers, herbs and some apple-crate wicking-beds for vegies!
Check out some pics and the full day's action here!
Designers Guild Session 12 with Isaebella Doherty - Polyfaces screening
There's no denying it - winter is here. There's an extra blanket on the bed, we can see our breath indoors at night and it's getting a LOT harder to get up in the morning!We have another great Permablitz Designers Guild session lined up for you – we’re going to the movies!
Join us at Newlands Community House – 20 Murray Road, Coburg North to watch Polyfaces: The Film. It will be introduced by Regrarians member Isaebella Doherty, and is a testament to the regenerative farming methods of Joel Salatin.
The Guild Sessions are designed as a way to gather and share skills, and meet the other great people in the Permablitz network. Even if you are new to the Permablitz movement – come along! You’ll always find like-minded people and smiles aplenty.
And of course, if you’re currently involved in a blitz design, be sure to bring your designs along to share and discuss with the group.
Hero of the month
Finger limes
Finger limes are a delicate rainforest tree that naturally occurs as an understorey tree in SE Queensland and Northern NSW Australia. In these environments, finger limes can grow up to 10 metres. In Melbourne – not so much! Two to three metres seems to be the upper limit in our cooler climates.
The fruits can be green and cylindrical in shape, up to 100mm long and only about 20-30mm in diameter. They do have prominent thorns and contain some seeds.They have a thin skin that ranges in colour from green, yellow, red, purple to even a black. The oil cells on the rind are small giving the fruit a great glossy appearance. The fruit contains an acid juice similar to that of a lime and has been rated by famous chefs as ‘superior’ to other limes. Juice vesicles are compressed and burst out (staying in one piece) when the skin of the fruit is cut, enabling them to be used in creative ways.
mmmm… finger lime….
To read more about this amazing plant, check out the full article here!
Bits and Pieces
You’ve gotta be kidding – goats in Brunswick?!?
Recently we posted an article on our Facebook page that talked about how the Moreland Council is considering using goats to keep weeds down in parks – a lot of people loved the idea, but some weren’t so keen. This was also controversial when we reported on Amazon’s success with goat rentals in Seattle last year.
It isn’t a new idea – Milkwood had some PDC graduates a few years ago who decided to run a program renting out goats to weed for people only to discover that there’s heaps of competition out there already! Google did it back in 2010 and there’s also the Goat Renter Guy as well as other goat rental services around Australia. There was even a similar program to what Moreland are considering launching just last week in Calgary!
In our opinion, as long as the goats are cared for (ie, no disbudding) and receive a balanced diet, then we think this is a great idea. There’s already such a disconnect between so-called “rural animals” and suburban life that it would be great for this to take off. Concerns remain about goat’s notorious reputation for their “all-you-can-eat” habits, but research suggests it’s not so much about the goat, but goat management.
And as the very edible gardener Adam Grubb said – “It’s not just for weed management, but there’s also a huge potential for what people put in their green bins to be fed to goats too.” He also suggested the goats’ milk could be used to create a new boutique cheese industry in Moreland – providing a massive reduction in fuel miles between production and plate.
All we can say is – bring it!!
Would you pay extra for lunch to feed a homeless person?
This is the story of a little soup shop in Melbourne that makes a lot of lives better everyday. But you’ve probably never heard of it…
In Centre Place, about half way down, you will come across “The Soup Place”. Out the front you’ll see the big black kettles full of tasty soup. You will also see lots of post-it notes and that’s where the story really starts.
Homeless men, Solo and David eat at The Soup Place in Melbourne, thanks to the generosity of the public.
George, the manager, saw a pizza place in New York that allowed patrons to buy slices for the homeless. They would write their name and a little message on the note and then homeless people could come in and have a slice for free.
George decided to bring this idea to Melbourne and now OVER 6,000 bowls of soup have been served to the less fortunate.
People pay $3.50 for a bowl of soup that usually costs $7.50. They write on a post-it note, sometimes it’s just their name, other times it’s words of kindness like “Be safe tonight, you are important”.
Everyday those that can’t afford a meal come and get a bowl of soup and some bread and when they do a post-it note goes from the fridge to the bowls on top of the fridge to show how many people have been fed.
Brilliant.
Read the full article here or watch the video here!
From all the team at Permablitz Melbourne decentral – peace out!
