CASINO COMMUNITY GARDEN
Monthly Newsletter #9 Issued November 2013
Around Casino Community Garden this Month
Every Tuesday from.30am: Join in at the garden with the regular gardeners, weeding, general garden activities, and planting still going on.
Gardening Wednesday morning also: Help also needed with watering, pop down Tuesday or Wednesday morning to make arrangements if you can hel over Summer.
Every Wednesday 12 noon: BYO lunch gatherings every week at the garden - come on down at noon and have a bite to eat, a cuppa and join in the chat with the regulars. Topics include good food, gardening and healthy living.
Monthly Meeting first Wednesday of Month: Lunch 12 noon, MEETING 12.30 for about an hour. Any change sent to email list and on Facebook.
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Shirley planting Rosellas after a Wednesday lunch
Welcome to Summer Garden Clinic
The next event in the calendar this year will be the Welcome to Summer Garden Clinic on Saturday 30th November.
The event, starting at 9.00am and running until lunch, will showcase some local talent with speakers including Vicki Stebbins from Tabulam who will talk about "preserving your harvest", Roz Borrell will demonstrate No-Dig Gardens and David Copperthwaite from Nickel Energy will be talking about solar power options. As published in the Casino Neighbourhood centre Community Newsletter, Jo commented "We are always pleased to have interesting local speakers at our garden events. This is a great opportunity for us all to learn more about growing food and taking care of our backyards, and the Community Garden is the ideal place to do it." Words Jo Nemeth.
CCGarden featured in RVC our communit-e News Issue 1
Great to see four paragraphs about Casino Community Garden in the first issue of Richmond Valley Council's Community News.
"COMMUNITY GARDENS THRIVE IN SPRING
Jean, Agnes, Mark, Shirley, Andrew, Ric and Owen
Community development worker Jo Nemeth from the Casino Neighbourhood Centre has worked closely with the community volunteers and businesses with their latest initiative designed to make the gardens access-friendly for people with a disability. Twenty nine businesses have signed up to sponsor a section of the access path, where wheelchairs, zimmer frames and mobility challenged are able to traverse the gardens in all their glory. Novaskill’s Construction Certificate II group will build the path in coming months.
The garden group also plans to install a plumbed-in sink to complement the pizza oven and undercover meeting area where volunteers get together to share tips and have a laugh on Wednesday lunchtimes. A second tool shed has been built by local builder Dave Geurts, an ideal addition to complete facilities at the garden. The garden is growing in leaps and bounds with seasonal salad vegetables thriving alongside a great variety of herbs.
To get involved, you can donate your time by labouring, weeding, planting and watering, get creative in construction and art projects, or donate second hand sleepers, outdoor paint, broken tiles for a mosaic feature, vegetable seedlings, climbing frames, fruit trees or bush food plants. Any volunteer can enjoy a selection of the harvest for their efforts. The group meets every Tuesday for a working bee from 9am. A special event is planned for Saturday 30 November with guest speakers invited to the morning tea/lunch get together.
For more information about getting involved at the Casino Community Garden, call Jo from Tuesday to Thursday on (02) 6662 5435 or email coordinator.cdp@cnci.org.au"
Pizza Oven
Our thanks to Owen and Mark for rendering the Pizza Oven. Plns to decorate the oven to look like a ladybird were rnthusiastically received. Jo to print up rules for use of oven, laminate it and display near oven.
Owen, Jo and Mark at meeting with rendered pizza oven in background.
Youth Service Seat
Thanks to Hurfords Sawmill for donation of timber for the Youth Service Seat with the assistance of longstanding CCGarden supporters Les and Sue from Casino Garden and Landscape. Plans are in hand to mosaic the seat.
Use Water Wisely
Casino Community Garden is aware water is a precious resource and is committed to wise water use.
Reading and Inspiration for November
Barry and Jan Brine
We have friends who would like to ferment vegetables for the probiotics and have been daunted by the prospect. So when we made a jar last week, I took some photos.
When we first decided to give it a try, we googled and read books, and jut got confused. Then we were n Fundies in Lismore looking for special containers and additives and the guy there said "all you need is a large glass jar and a smaller to put water in that fits in it to hold the veggies down." jar about $3.50-$5 at discount shops. A friend recommended an airlock available at brewing suppliers.
This time we made one jar and used a smaller glass to hold veggies down.
1. Preparation and ingredients for one jar.
Cup cauliflower florets
1/3 capsicum
2 apples
1 red onion
5cm ginger
2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
2. Save two outer cabbage leaves per jar
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3. Roughly cut vegetables
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4. If using cauliflower, cut florets rather than processing
5. After processing, knead veggies to release (sorry I didn't get a pic). Stale veggies do not produce juice.
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6. Move veggies into jar
7. Cut saved cabbage leaves, two per jar, then halve.
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8. Criss-cross leaves across top of veggies to hold down, then put weight in. If too much juice (as shown here) discard some. Put lid on.
9. Leave on counter.
Veggies fermenting next morning. See a ring of tiny bubbles around top, and larger bubbles moving upwards.
Fermentation takes 3-7 days then refrigerate. We have made 8+ batches and all fermented and refrigerated after 4-5 days. To serve strain liquid off.
Store in refrigerator in capped glass jar.
A tasty and healthy addition to salads and snacks.
Please seek advice if you have any doubts or questions.
Summary about fermentation by recognised expert Sandor Katz.
Kale
"Kale is powerful stuff. Packed with vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K, A, C, manganese and fiber. This leafy green is a must in your diet with its anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties, kale also helps you maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, Kale contains two powerful antioxidants making it good at fighting off free radicals. Kale aids phase 1 and 2 of the detox process. Be sure to include kale in your diet to help you feel and look great.
More here
Melt In Your Mouth Kale Salad
Prep timeTotal time
Author: Food Babe
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry
- ⅓ cup currants (or chopped raisins)
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp local honey
- ½ cup pine nuts toasted
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp grated raw parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a food processor, process kale into small chopped pieces
- To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl
- Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing
- Stir all ingredients together and serve
- (Optional – Save some pine nuts and/or parmesan cheese for top of salad before serving for presentation purposes)
Notes
**Choose all organic ingredients if possible**
Next Month: Shirley's scrumptious Tomato Relish that we enjoyed at the Garden today, on her beautiful home made bread. Thanks Shirley!
It's now late in Spring and gardens are full of bright new growth and a wealth of flowers. Nasturtiums, among the herbs, not only make a cheery and pretty welcome but the sweet peppery taste of both flowers and leaves make a stimulating addition to salads.
With the festive season fast approaching, now is the time to get the garden looking great for the series of celebrations that roll around at this time of year.
Add some colour
Why not try some lovely flowering stuff in your patch like alyssum, chamomile, cosmos, sunflowers, nasturtium, dianthus, gerbera, verbena, snapdragons, petunias, Shasta daisies, marigolds, phlox and celosia. These guys not only pretty up your patch, they are great at attracting pollinators and beneficial insects as well.
Sunscreen for your plants
The Aussie sun can be pretty intense at times and can burn some sensitive plants. So head out to the shed and construct a couple of shade cloth tents. They don't have to be elaborate, just a simple moveable structure that you can place over the top of some of the more susceptible vegies (like eggplant, capsicum, tomato and others) as the heat becomes more intense. Think of it as slip slop, slap for plants.
Check your grafted fruit trees.
Have a look at your grafted fruit trees throughout November. If there are any shoots appearing below the graft it's best to remove these at once. Your tree will thank you for it.
Thanks to SGA - Sustainable Gardening Australia
A couple of pics around CCGarden on meeting day.
Next Month: Shirley's scrumptious Tomato Relish that we enjoyed at the Garden today, on her beautiful home made bread. Thanks Shirley!
November in your Garden (from 2012 edition)
by Helen Tuton SGA
It's now late in Spring and gardens are full of bright new growth and a wealth of flowers. Nasturtiums, among the herbs, not only make a cheery and pretty welcome but the sweet peppery taste of both flowers and leaves make a stimulating addition to salads.
With the festive season fast approaching, now is the time to get the garden looking great for the series of celebrations that roll around at this time of year.
Add some colour
Why not try some lovely flowering stuff in your patch like alyssum, chamomile, cosmos, sunflowers, nasturtium, dianthus, gerbera, verbena, snapdragons, petunias, Shasta daisies, marigolds, phlox and celosia. These guys not only pretty up your patch, they are great at attracting pollinators and beneficial insects as well.
Sunscreen for your plants
The Aussie sun can be pretty intense at times and can burn some sensitive plants. So head out to the shed and construct a couple of shade cloth tents. They don't have to be elaborate, just a simple moveable structure that you can place over the top of some of the more susceptible vegies (like eggplant, capsicum, tomato and others) as the heat becomes more intense. Think of it as slip slop, slap for plants.
Check your grafted fruit trees.
Have a look at your grafted fruit trees throughout November. If there are any shoots appearing below the graft it's best to remove these at once. Your tree will thank you for it.
Thanks to SGA - Sustainable Gardening Australia
A couple of pics around CCGarden on meeting day.
Brad, Andrew, Keith, Shirley Owen, Jo, Mark, Liz and a couple of people had to leave early
Delightful welcome at the entrance
Vegetable Planting Guide by Gardening Australia
For November
Amaranth, artichoke (globe), asparagus pea, basil, beans - climbing and bush, beetroot, burdock, cabbage (loose head), capsicum, carrotts, chilli, chives, choko, coriander, cucumber, eggplant, huauzontle, lettuce, long yam, luffa, Malabar greens, mustard greens, okra, oregano, pumpkin, radish, rocket, rockmelon, rosella, salsify, silverbeet, squash, sunflower, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomatoes, turnip/Swedes, Warrigal greens, NZ spinach, watermelon, zucchini.
Zucchini coming on at CCGarden
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Suggestions and photos welcome, by email to Jo or
Jan - email casinogarden@gmail.com
or bring to lunch Wednesdays or the meetings.
Ask Jo about being a member of the Garden - $5/annum
Join us on Facebook
67 'likes' on our Facebook page now!!!!
If new here,don't forget to check out back issues of the Newsletter.
Words and photos by Jan Brine unless otherwise stated.
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Casino Community Garden
A Project of the Casino Neighbourhood Centre
Contact: J Nemeth on 6662 5435 Email:coordinator.cdp@cnci.org.au
Location of Garden: Head for entrance to Queen Elizabeth Park at South Casino
Garden on left - corner Adam and Streets
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