22 May, 2022

Next Sunday 29^th we will celebrate our 10^th anniversary. Our first meeting was held in St Helen’s at 2pm on Sunday 27^th May 2012. Over 20 people turned up following letterbox drop of a flyer written by Jan Macindoe and Ally de Pree Rahgavan.

Thanks to Almu, Natasha, Tim, Ralph and Michael for turning up in the rain on Friday to install the beds and move the soil. It all went smoothly in the end, see photos below.

Truck dumping soil in car park.                           Almu, Tim, Natasha and Michael.

Ralph and Tim filling new beds.

A very wet autumn continued during the week. On Sunday, between showers, nine members worked in the garden. There are plenty of salad and stir-fry greens in the garden at the moment. We harvested the last two dragon fruit, silverbeet, perennial silverbeet, coloured silverbeet, cos lettuce, celtuce, dill, coriander, Chinese cabbage ‘Michihili’ (Brassica pekinensis), turnip tops, kale, sorrel, rocket, mizuna, ruby streaks, golden streaks, sweet basil, Thai basil, chillies, chicory, curry leaves, land cress, Lebanese cress, parsley, chokos, celery stem taro, Makrut lime leaves and fruit (for zest), mint, apple mint and bay leaves. We dug up some galangal (Alpinia galangal, Ginger Family Zingiberaceae), native to Hainan island (China), also known as Thai ginger.

Save the date: At our meeting on Sunday we decided to hold our Winter Solstice Party lunch on Sunday 19^th June in the garden at 12 noon giving members time to go home and get their food for the brunch. Husbands/wives/partners and children are invited. Bring a plate of food and drinks to share. Please bring your own eating utensils, cups etc. No plastic disposables please.

Pocket City Farms (Camperdown) is also having winter solstice festival open to all on 18 June. They also have a free farm tour on 4^th June at 10:30. You can also volunteer there to learn gardening skills. They also hold workshops. Subscribe to their free newsletter for more details.

Sydney University Continuing Education has the following 1-day courses for $168:

1. Gardening for beginners.
2. Edible Organic gardening
3. Plant propagation techniques
4. Indoor plants
5. Beekeeping

Council co-ordinator Jenny informed me:

1. Maintenance work on our beds has been delayed due to weather,
2. Sensor light will be installed in Secret Garden for security following our request.

Unfortunately careless and thoughtless painters trampled our beds along the St Helen’s wall on during the week. We reported the contractors to the Council. The contractors apologised but it was too late for some of the garlic.

Spider Wasps Gruesome Reproduction Cycle

I have been corrected by my 10 year-old grand daughter who pointed out that the wasp in the photo last week was not eating the spider but had paralysed the huntsman and is dragging it back to its mud nest where it will lay an egg inside the abdomen of the huntsman. Once hatched, the larva eats the spider from the inside out. “They leave the vital organs till last, as the spider needs those to stay alive and the wasp wants the huntsman to be as fresh as possible” (Patrick Honan, entomologist, Museum of Victoria, ABC news).

15 May, 2022

There are plenty of salad and stir-fry greens in the garden at the moment. On Sunday twenty-four members harvested Jerusalem artichokes, dragon fruit, radishes, silverbeet, perennial silverbeet, coloured silverbeet, cos lettuce, celtuce, dill, coriander, Chinese cabbage ‘Michihili’ (Brassica pekinensis), turnip tops, kale, sorrel, rocket, mizuna, ruby streaks, golden streaks, sweet basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, rhubarb, chillies, chicory, curry leaves, turmeric, land cress, Lebanese cress, parsley, chokos, betel leaf, celery stem taro, Makrut lime leaves, mint, apple mint and bay leaves.

One of the less common greens we have growing in bed 4 is celtuce or asparagus lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. asparagina, Daisy Family: Asteraceae). It is a variety of lettuce originating in China. Leaves and stems can be eaten raw or cooked.

Dig Deeper into Compost – City Farm FREE workshop

You can sign up for this free City Farm workshop being held on 21st May from 10 am – 12

noon

https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/dig-deeper-into-compost

Thanks to Peter who captured this great photo of a wasp in our garden eating a huntsman spider.

Unlike wasps bees are vegetarian.

8 May, 2022

The Jerusalem artichoke harvest started on Sunday along with some turmeric, three more dragon fruit and one raspberry! And the peas are starting to flower. We will dig up more JA tubers next Sunday if you missed out. Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus, Daisy Family Asteraceae) are known as sunchokes in the U.S. and topimambours in France.

There are plenty of salad and stir-fry greens in the garden at the moment. On Sunday twenty-four members and one child harvested Jerusalem artichokes, dragon fruit, radishes, silverbeet, perennial silverbeet, coloured silverbeet, cos lettuce, dill, coriander, Chinese cabbage ‘Michihili’ (Brassica pekinensis), turnip tops, kale, sorrel, rocket, mizuna, ruby streaks, golden streaks, sweet basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, rhubarb, chillies, chicory, curry leaves, turmeric, land cress, Lebanese cress, parsley, chokos, betel leaf, celery stem taro, Makrut lime leaves, mint, apple mint and bay leaves. Thanks to Thai who brought some of her surplus grapefruit to the meeting.

Save the date: Four new round beds will be delivered on Friday 20^th (next week) along with a truck load of soil. We have to install those in the Secret Garden on that day and Saturday. Please let me know if you can help and/or have a wheelbarrow. I wont know the exact time of delivery of beds and soil until the day before.

Sydney Park Community Planting event – Sunday 15 May – 10 am – 1 pm

See the the links below.

https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/sydney-park-community-plan7ng-day

https://facebook.com/events/s/sydney-park-community-plan7ng/1164590324337735/

Dig Deeper into Compost – City Farm FREE workshop

You can sign up for this free City Farm workshop being held on 21st May from 10 am – 12

noon

https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/dig-deeper-into-compost

Self-sown “weeds” in the garden are a succulent purslane (Portulaca oleracea, Family Portulacaceae, top) and a medicinal herb feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium, bottom)

1 May, 2022

Nineteen members and one child worked in the garden on Sunday and we welcomed Anne as a new member. Friends of the garden, Fiona and Mark, have generously donated $100. They enjoy walking through and relaxing in the garden and recognise its contribution to the community.

Salad and stir-fry veggies are starting to dominate the harvest as the weather cools. We harvested radishes, silverbeet, perennial silverbeet, cos lettuce, dill, coriander, Chinese cabbage, turnip tops, sorrel, rocket, mizuna, ruby streaks, golden streaks, sweet basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, rhubarb, chillies, chicory, curry leaves, turmeric, land cress, Lebanese cress, parsley, chokos, betel leaf, celery stem taro, Makrut lime leaves, mint, apple mint and bay leaves.

We sowed chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium), curly parsley and chives in pots and calendulas, cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus, daisy Family Asteraceae)), rocket and mizuna in the communal bed along the path. Chervil is a delicate herb in the parsley family with a hint of anise.

Thanks to Yuen who brought some seedlings of red-vein sorrel (Rumex sanguineus) and lemon balm. Jock brought some cucamelons (Melothria scabra, gourd family Cucurbitaceae) for tasting. Also known as Mexican sour cucumber, or miniature watermelon – perhaps plant next spring.

Two plants flowering in the garden at the moment both come from the Asteraceae family (daisy family). They are Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida) in the top photo and yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) bottom photo. Mexican tarragon is a perennial culinary herb with an anise flavour. It is in the same genus as marigolds and is often called Mexican marigold mint. Yacon is known as Peruvian ground apple and we will dig it up once it dies back later this month.

Mexican tarragon in flower

Yacon flower