| | | Hooray - Spring is here! The days are finally starting to get longer and the soil is getting warmer. |
| |  | | Getting ready for the next 200 Permablitzes! | After the excitement of hitting our 200th blitz last month, it looks like September is shaping up to be a blitzin’ good time for us all – with three events planned so far! And now that the Spring is with us, there’s no better time to be in the garden – the soil is warming, and there are so many herbs and veggies just itching to get their roots down to do some serious growing!
One of the recurring themes at the Upwey blitz was reusing the materials at hand – whether that be the biomass from the fallen timber and leaves in the hugelkultur, or reusing old sleepers for steps in the rear of the property. Reusing and repurposing objects saves time and money – and to honour our frugal ways the song of the month is none other than the Formidable Vegetable Sound System with No Such Thing As Waste!
|
| |  | | | Hero of the Month:
Stinging Nettle | Stinging nettle is infamous for the discomfort it can bring at the mere touch, but it’s one of the most nutritious plants you can eat! (And they can be made into a wonderful nettle soup, or nettle and ricotta dish…)
Find out all about this underappreciated perennial here!
|
| | |
| | |
|
| | Beets and Pieces |  | | | The World’s Cutest Owl Look-Alike Is The Tawny Frogmouth | Tawny frogmouths have huge, wide mouths that make them unmistakable (though they are often confused with owls). Their mouths, however, also make them seem like fluffy little chicks their entire lives!
They’re one of the most active forms of pest control, as they love to eat mosquitoes, flies, moths, beetles, worms, and other vermin. Believe it or not, their mouth fits the occasional frog as well! Check out out the super-cute pics of these guys over at Bored Panda. |
|
|  | | | Urban agriculture’s role in resilient city food systems | With the help of citizen scientists and gardeners, this project is creating a new urban agriculture dataset. This dataset will allow urban agriculture to be looked at in the context of its role in cities and in food supply resilience, both now and into a climate change affected future.
Is urban agriculture going to save the world? Could it help Melbourne’s food supply be more resilient? Is urban agriculture more, or less sustainable than other forms of agriculture? What resources get used to grow food in cities? How might this change in the future?
Until now, research about urban agriculture has often been concerned with what’s growing in cities. It often looks at what the current benefits of food growing are, or how much land is available to grow food.
But with the help of citizen scientists and gardeners, this project is creating a new urban agriculture dataset. This dataset will allow urban agriculture to be looked at in the context of its role in cities and in food supply resilience, both now and into a climate change affected future.
Become an urban agriculture citizen scientist!
Your garden doesn’t need to be amazing to participate, the survey-takers interested in all food gardens, of all sizes, and of any level of productivity.
At the end of the year, gardeners who complete this survey will go in the running to win prizes. The more times you complete the survey the better the prizes, and your chance of winning!
You can read more about the prizes (and enter the survey here!
|
|
|
|  | | Back in the Garden | Hooray – Spring is here! The days are finally starting to get a bit longer and the soil is getting warmer, which means soon the summer crops will be going in! If you’ve been thinking about planting bare-rooted trees, then don’t wait any more – get them in now. It’s also a good time to feed your fruit trees if you haven’t done so already.
It’s also a good time to get some potatoes in – not sure how? Find out how here!
Seeds you can plant in September include:
| | ● | Amaranth | | ● | Lettuce | | ● | Asparagus Pea | | ● | Luffa | | ● | Basil | | ● | Marrow | | ● | Beetroot | | ● | Mint | | ● | Burdock | | ● | Mustard Greens | | ● | Cabbage | | ● | New Zealand Spinach (Warrigal Greens!) | | ● | Cape Gooseberry | | ● | Oregano | | ● | Capsicum | | ● | Parsley | | ● | Carrot | | ● | Pear | | ● | Celeriac | | ● | Potato (once the frosts have finished) | | ● | Celery | | ● | Pumpkin | | ● | Chicory | | ● | Radish | | ● | Chili | | ● | Rhubarb | | ● | Chives | | ● | Rocket | | ● | Climbing Beans | | ● | Rockmelon | | ● | Coriander | | ● | Sage | | ● | Corn Salad | | ● | Salsify | | ● | Cucumber | | ● | Shallots | | ● | Daikon | | ● | Silverbeet | | ● | Dill | | ● | Snow Peas | | ● | Dwarf beans | | ● | Spring Onions | | ● | Eggplant | | ● | Squash | | ● | Endive | | ● | Sunflower | | ● | Fennel | | ● | Sweet Corn | | ● | Globe Artichokes | | ● | Tomatillo | | ● | Horseradish | | ● | Tomato | | ● | Jerusalem Artichokes | | ● | Turnip | | ● | Kohlrabi | | ● | Winter Savory | | ● | Leeks | | ● | Zucchini |
| Remember: some seeds do better starting off in punnets, some in pots and some in the ground. To get the best from your seedlings be sure to check the best methods first!
|
| | | Online Version | Unsubscribe |
| |
