Posts Tagged ‘Food’
Home Harvest Regional Feast: Seeking Growers
Posted in Seeking by Kate Archdeacon on January 27th, 2012
Source: Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA)
We are looking for volunteers to grow and supply produce for the first Home Harvest Regional Feast. The feast will be held in Eltham (Victoria), so anyone who can get there is welcome to take part. Sign up as a grower and receive a free seasonal meal created using Grower’s produce at the feast. All registered growers will receive a small gift of vegetable seeds.
When: 22nd April, 2012
Where: Edendale, Gastons Road Eltham, Vic
Who: All growers are welcome, no matter what your level of experience or the size of your garden.
To register head to www.nillumbik.vic.gov.au or phone (03) 9433 3206.
Even if you are not from around the area, you can still click here to download your FREE Home Harvest Booklet of practical information on how to grow delicious, healthy produce in the temperate zone and connect with your local community.
Download a pdf with all the Feast info.
—
Veggie Growers Competition
Posted in Events by EcoCentre on January 25th, 2012
| 11 February , 2012 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
Port Phillip Urban Food Network – PPUFFN – is hosting its first ever veggie growers competition
We’re searching for the best offerings from edible gardens right across Port Phillip. As well be as well as local food growing entrants, we need spectators to help us decide the winners! There are 5 entry categories, including best-tasting tomato variety, monster veg & most unusual edible plant. Plus an honorary award for the most weird and wonderful looking contribution!
$450 prize pool / winners by popular choice / swap tips with other food gardeners.
So, get ready for some horticultural muscle flexing and join us on the day!
Full competition entry details
Saturday 11 February, 11am
St Kilda Youth Service Training Site, Cnr Pickles & Richardson St, Port Melbourne
(only 5 mins from Bay St shopping st)
Enquiries: paula – 0417 501 383 / gardeners@ecocentre.com
—
Design Your Edible Oasis: Workshop
Posted in Events by kheffer on January 24th, 2012
| 11 February , 2012 | ||
| 1:00 pm | to | 3:00 pm |
The 10-12 session is now booked out, but there is a second session from 1-3pm available. The workshop is aimed at Moonee Valley and Hobsons Bay residents. If space permits, other people may be able to attend.
mysmartgarden.org.au
—
Planning your 2012 Garden: What to consider
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 10th, 2012
Photo by abbybatchelder via flickr CC
Cityfood Growers have a checklist on their blog to help those of us who still don’t have the perfect veggie garden(!) reassess what we want and plan for a better year.
Author Peter Kearney says “January is a great time to get your thinking into planning your food garden for the coming year. In my experience, good planning makes a huge difference to your success. It helps to open your awareness to new knowledge, as you have more an idea of what’s coming, rather than stumbling along. [...] I know that is a lot of questions to work with, but they are all important when you do your plan. I work with these questions each year as I plan my own food gardens.”
The post includes a series of topic areas with several questions to answer in each area. Go through to the Cityfood Grower’s Organic Gardening blog for the full set of questions – not even half of them are included here:
Recap on last year – Be as objective as possible with yourself.
- What crops grew well and crops that did not grow so well?
- Were you being pragmatic enough with your time, i.e. did you hang onto to crops that didn’t produce much and took up a lot of your time and space?
Your garden space
- Can you now manage a bigger food garden, if so design the layout of your new garden and use the right principles for layout?
- Can you improve the design of your existing garden, for example more efficient use of space, better sun and drainage?
Soil fertility
- What is the state of your soil and is it appropriate for the crops you want to grow?
- Are you making compost and if so, are your methods producing enough and of good quality?
- Are you timing your compost making to fit your maximum planting time?
Planting plan
- For your vegetable/herb garden, have you developed a rotation plan for your beds, leave some space for perennials such as herbs?
- Have you chosen the predominant crops for each of your vegetable garden beds and worked out the month of planting using the ideal months?
- Have you chosen companion plants and space filler now that you have chosen your predominant crops for your beds?
Garden management
- Is your garden easy to manage in its current layout and design, if not think about how to make it easier to work with and at the same time generating higher quality soil?
- Are you overusing mulch and could you use more living crops for mulching such as green manure and edible companions?
Pests and diseases
- For your vegetable garden, are you using companion planting to reduce pests?
- Is soil quality your primary pest and disease reduction strategy, if not then make it so?
Your well being
- Have you developed an awareness of how you want to feel in your food garden, as your feelings have a big impact on how the garden grows?
- Will you create space in your busy day to sit in your garden to observe and contemplate?
cityfoodgrowers.com.au
—
Local Harvest Australia: Connecting and supporting local consumers & producers
Posted in Movements, Seeking by Kate Archdeacon on December 14th, 2011
Local Harvest is a new national initiative aiming to help people find local sources of food and grow their own.
A directory of sustainable food in Australia
A national directory for finding food co-ops, swap meets, community gardens, farmers markets, box systems, organic retailers and more by simply entering your postcode.
Helping you to produce your own
DIY alternatives for food production and meeting essential needs, including resources for growing and making your own.
Local Harvest Challenge
Take up the Local Harvest Challenge, where for one week you attempt to reduce the ‘degrees of separation’ from your food. Based on the Household Action Challenge run in previous years.
There is a fantastic similar resource existing for the USA found at www.localharvest.org on which this project has been based.
Local Harvest will launch in February 2012, and is currently has a funding call-out on Pozible. Check out the website to find out more.
—
A Sustainable Christmas Lunch
Posted in Events by samgreen on November 30th, 2011
| 7 December , 2011 | ||
| 12:30 pm | to | 1:30 pm |
Photo by MinimalistPhotography101.com via flickr CC
‘Tis the season to be jolly wasteful, but how do we separate nativity from naivety when it comes to sustainability? Join us for a Christmas lunch of tasty treats that won’t leave the planet more stuffed than last year’s turkey!
Date: Wednesday 7 December 2011, 12.30-1.30pm
Location: Reception Room, Maribyrnong Council Offices, cnr Hyde & Napier Streets Footscray
Bookings essential – please book online at www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/lunchbox or contact Council’s Sustainability Officer on 03 9688 0357 for more information
—
Growing Change: A journey inside Venezuela’s food revolution
Posted in Events, Uncategorized by EcoCentre on November 22nd, 2011
| 28 November , 2011 | ||
| 7:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
Join Port Phillip EcoCentre for this FREE screening of a film “Growing change” that investigates alternatives to the industrial and corporate controlled food system that have been developed by people of Venezuela. After the film have your say in a discussion! What can we learn from their experience? What can we do differently?
The documentary begins with an investigation of the 2008 global food crisis, looking at the long-term underlying causes. Will expanding large-scale, energy-intensive agriculture, be the solution or re problems? If we already produce enough food to feed the world why do so many people go hungry? After hearing about efforts in Venezuela to develop a more equitable and sustainable food and agriculture system, the filmmaker heads there to see if it’s working and find out what we might be able to learn from this giant experiment. It’s an inspirational story full of lively characters, thought provoking insights, stunning scenery and ideas to transform the food system.
Monday, 28 November at 7pm
Port Phillip EcoCentre 55A Blessington St, St Kilda
Any questions? Write to us: reception@ecocentre.com or call (03) 9534 0670
For more info about the film: www.growingchange.com.au
—
FORUM: Climate Change, Culture + Cuisine
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on November 21st, 2011
| 28 November , 2011 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Can we eat our way to a biodiverse future? The future of sustainable food lies in a complete rethink of how humans relate to the natural environment through collective engagement.
Carbon Arts and Arena Project Space invite you to join the Cross(x)Species Adventure Club and engage with New York based artist / engineer /activist Prof Natalie Jeremijenko, chef Mihir Desai and guest speakers to explore how we can use the creative potential of science , modernist cuisine and the imagination to connect food production to healthy ecologies.
Monday 28 November 2011 6.00 – 7.30 PM
Arena Project Space I 2 Kerr St Fitzroy, VIC, 3065
$10 Pay at the door, Concession rate available
Drinks by donation www.arena.org.au/project-space
Cross(x)Species Adventure Club challenges us to expand the idea of the food web, in order to imagine edible interventions that go beyond sustainability to actually augment ecological health. Like the web 2.0 of the food systems, the Cross(x)Species Adventure Club guides us towards participatory, DIY and multi-platform foodsystems. Become an u-farmer, sample edible cocktails with other creatures at the Melbourne Museum, learn how to make buffalo ice-cream from nano-crystals. Come re-imagine, re-incorporate and re-contextualise our collective food future through the course of a tasty communal adventure. Join us and invest in a biodiverse future!
Natalie Jeremijenko (born 1966) is an artist and engineer whose background includes studies in biochemistry, physics, neuroscience and precision engineering. She is an active member of the net.art movement, and her work primarily explores the interface between society, the environment and technology. She is currently an Associate Professor at NYU in the Visual Art Department, and has affiliated faculty appointments in Computer Science and Environmental Studies.
Based in Melbourne, Carbon Arts is a new platform for projects and ideas experimentation in the arts and sustainability. We generate collaborative and creative solutions for a changing climate by working across the arts, science, technology and economics. At the heart of our practice is the belief that creativity is essential in making the transition to a sustainable future, and that the journey should be playful, fun and rewarding.
For more information on all events visit: www.carbonarts.org Or phone Arena: 416 0232
—
Carrotmob Dinner to Fund a Restaurant Veggie Patch
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on November 15th, 2011
| 17 November , 2011 | ||
| 5:30 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
Do you want to go out for dinner this Thursday, maybe a drink too? An Evening Mob with Pizza, Peroni, Music & more….
Il Pomodoro at Fed Square & Carrotmob call on Melbourne to support sustainable food! Il Pomodoro Italian Restaurant located at Federation Square, Melbourne is committing 100% of its profit from 5.30pm-7.30pm Thursday 17th November to the expansion of a Vegie Patch and Herb Garden. So come help us ‘mob’ Il Pomodoro – eat and drink Italian and know that your dollars are helping to support deliciously sustainable cuisine and reduce food miles.
This very first evening mob will feature pizza & Peroni deals, as well as great home-style Italian favourites, al fresco dining and music by Matt Wicking from The General Assembly. Come past for a quick after-work drink, dinner with friends or even coffee and dessert. Take-away available for carrots in a rush.
What’s carrotmob? We harness the power of the consumer dollar to support local businesses to take steps to become more sustainable! We’re the opposite of a boycott!
http://carrotmobmelbourne.wordpress.com/
—
Growing Food in Pots: SGA article
Posted in Models, Research by Kate Archdeacon on November 11th, 2011
Source: cuttings, the Sustainable Gardening Australia(SGA) newsletter
Photo by David_Turner via flickr CC
From “Produce in Pots” by Helen Tuton:
Plants in pots… it’s hardly a new or revolutionary concept… I mean, we are all well acquainted with the potted Maidenhair fern in the bathroom, a dusty ‘Parlour Palm’ struggling for life in the corner of the office, or the ubiquitous ‘Peace Lily’ given as a gift when we can’t think of anything better. But what about productive plants in pots? Imagine a ‘movable feast’ in your inner city courtyard, providing a fair whack of the food you love to eat? A bounty of beautiful herbs out by the BBQ, or tonnes of tumbling tomatoes at your townhouse? Just about anyone has room for a few pots at their place, and we reckon you will be amazed by just how much produce you can grow in just about any space!
Gone to Pot – Getting Started
Planting a productive potted plot is no different to getting going in a garden – it’s all about planning, position, potting mix, patience and productivity. [...]
Read the full article by Helen Tuton for the SGA.
—