1. New Retractable Hose Reels Good news! We were fortunate to receive four new hose reels donated by Bunnings in Rosebud. The Committee has recently purchased two more so we now have plenty of hoses capable of reaching all garden plots. PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE FITTINGS FROM THE HOSES. It’s OK to change from sprinkler to shower head etc. but do not remove the actual end of the hoses. Also PLEASE TURN OFF HOSES AND RELEASE PRESSURE WHEN RETRACTING THEM. I’m sure if we look after them the hoses will last for many years and make watering easier. Thanks to Jane Robbins, Bunnings Rosebud 1. November Committee Meeting. Please note that this meeting has been moved to Saturday 7th December at 11am. It will be followed by our usual shared lunch. It would be great to see some new faces at our lunch, especially any new members. Please bring a small of plate of food to share. Children welcome. *In our membership guidelines it is a requirement for all members to donate one hour per month to the maintenance of the garden. However now that most of this work is carried out by the Dept. of Justice people, our working bees are few and far between. As a result there are many members who don’t attend any meetings or functions. Let’s put the “community” back into the community garden! Come and meet the committee and your fellow gardeners and let us hear your ideas and thoughts about the garden. 2. Secretary Wanted! Since our secretary moved away, several people have been helping out with this job. We really need someone new to take on the role. It is not an onerous task but involves taking the minutes of committee meetings, dealing with correspondence and updating our Facebook page and website. If any members feel they could help out please contact our President Tom Freeman on 0417 042 554. If you know anyone in the community who could help, even if they are not a member, please let Tom Know. 3. Pumpkins There have been quite a few pumpkins planted in the areas beneath the fruit trees. Please feel free to water them if you have time, especially in the warmer weather. 4. Security in the garden Please ALWAYS LOCK THE PADLOCK when entering and leaving the garden. Last week the padlock was left unlocked and the gate open which means the lock could be stolen, dogs are able to get into the garden and there is a safety risk to members who are working on their plots. 5. Christmas Party Our annual Christmas party will be held on Friday December 13th at the clubhouse. We would like to see ALL members attending . We have invited Chris Brayne (State Member of Parliament for Nepean) and Carol Cumming ( who supervises the Department of Justice Program at the garden.) This will be a great opportunity to meet and chat with our special guests. There will be a Kris Kringle to the value of $10-$15 with a gardening or food theme. BYO own food and drinks. The BBQ will be available for people who want to cook their meat etc. Sandra Freeman
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Visitors to the garden
1. A group of students and their teacher from Advanced Community College will visit the garden this month to support their current study of community programs. Apart from a tour of the garden we will explain our history and aims and then involve them in practical sessions of composting, worm farm management, wicking beds and plot management.The session will be held on Thursday 24th October from 11am. Any members wishing to help out on the day should contact Tom Freeman (0417 042 554). 2. Susan Reynoldson, Community Development Officer, Shire of Mornington Peninsula and Jo Price visited the garden earlier this month as they are conducting a review of the community support program. They were keen to discuss our aims and progress in delivering the benefits of the community garden to the local community. Overall they were impressed with the presentation of the garden and have provided us with numerous avenues to strengthen our relationship with the council and the community. Spring Planting Season We are now well into the spring planting season when members will be bringing punnets of seedlings to plant. We have recently cleaned out an enormous supply of empty plastic pots and punnets and as a result are asking that you take all leftover containers home with you when your planting is complete. Also, a reminder that you are responsible for the removal of any other items you bring to the garden when they are no longer needed. Eg: netting, stakes, frames, plant tags etc. Thank you for your support. Happy Gardening, Sandra Freeman Welcome to our two newest members pictured here with our Membership officer Karen McCosker. L-R Karen McCosker, Kris Van Son & Robyn Marshall. Monthly meetings/Lunch
Please note there will be NO Committee meeting/shared lunch in September due to the AFL Grand final Day and also because several members are unavailable. Our next meeting will be held on Saturday 26th October at 11am. We also plan to hold an information session about our Native Food Garden on that day with tastings and recipes using the native ingredients. Perhaps our shared lunch could be based around that idea if people are feeling adventurous! Retractable Hoses We are planning to install several more retractable hoses in time for the summer. This should make it easier for everyone to have access to garden taps with hoses and fittings attached. **Please do not remove or change the hose fittings.** Compost Our first batch of compost using the new system is ready for members to use thanks to an enormous amount of help from Carol and her teams from the Dept of Justice. The compost ready for use is in the last bin closest to the worm farm. To keep this process going we need more supplies of non-glossy paper and clean brown cardboard. Please pay close attention to signs when adding garden waste to the compost area so as not to compromise the composting system in place. Fees Despite several reminders there are still some members who have not paid their fees. As we usually have people waiting for plots, the committee has decided that people who have not paid by the end of October will have their membership cancelled unless they have a valid reason. They will be contacted prior to this happening. Spring Planting Now that the winter is over and there are signs of new spring growth in the garden it is time to start thinking about getting your garden plots ready for the new season’s planting. Soil preparation is vital for getting the most out of your plot. Topping up with compost and mulch is a good idea. Happy Gardening, Sandra Freeman Chris standing's workshop was fabulous!A small group of members and visitors enjoyed hearing about making hot compost last month. We had cleared out one of the bins so that Chris could start from scratch to build a properly working compost heap.
*Members- don’t forget you can add food scraps to either the compost or the worm farms and then reap the benefits by adding compost or worm wee to your garden plots. We also need newspaper and cardboard. This may be left on the table near the pizza oven. Please take note of signs near the compost bins and follow directions so that the compost can work effectively.
Keep warm everyone! We hope to see as many people as possible at the AGM and our shared lunch following the meeting. Don’t forget the clubroom is very toasty now that we have our wood heater.
Happy gardening, Sandra Freeman
War on Waste On Saturday 11th May, several RCG members were fortunate to attend a Forum on Waste run by the Mornington Peninsula Shire. The keynote speaker was Craig Reucassel who is continuing his War on Waste. Many issues were discussed and initiatives by the shire were announced. On a local level the message is Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. There were also a number of community groups with stalls promoting their programs and products which echoed this message.. Some hints for RCG members are: reduce the amount of plastic you use if possible, feed the worms with your organic waste, continue to grow your own vegies and carry your own water bottle and coffee mug. These small things add up, especially if you can convert family and friends.
Happy Gardening... Sandra Freeman
March meeting and workshop
Our next commitee meeting will be held on Saturday March 30th at 11am – all welcome. At 12 noon after the meeting there will be a talk given by the beekeeper who has a hive in our garden. Jan will talk about keeping bees and will extract some honey. We hope to see lots of people there to learn about these invaluable creatures. Mural As you will have noticed there is a work in progress on the wall of the clubhouse. One of our members, Wina Jie, is creating a local scene, so make sure you say hello if she is there when you visit the garden. The mural will brighten up the clubhouse and be a point of interest for visitors to the garden. Sausage Sizzle We still do not have enough helpers for the sausage sizzle on Saturday 27th April. If you can spare some time please contact Tom Freeman or replyto this email. Now that the Department of Justice people do much of the communal work in the garden it is up to members to help in other ways, such as volunteering for the sausage sizzle. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Website Please note that our website has changed slightly. It now has ‘au’ at the end. It now reads :www.rosebudcommunitygarden.org.au Retractable Hoses We have installed two retractable hoses in the garden. Before we purchase any more, the committee would appreciate your feedback on how successful they are. Happy Gardening, Sandra Freeman Bunnings Sausage Sizzle We have been allocated Saturday 27th April. The sausage sizzles are excellent fundraisers so we need lots of volunteers to help on the day. Please email Sandra at: sandra.j.freeman@gmail.com Worm Farm The worms need to be fed regularly with any plant material you may have. Please cut or break it up first and put it under the straw. Netting There have been a few occasions where birds and a fruit bat have been tangled in netting. Members may net their own plots and are responsible for the standard of netting. It is best not to use old netting with holes in it. If you are able to use a frame of some kind it minimizes the plants growing through the netting which then breaks when you try to remove it. The committee are currently investigating the cost and type of new netting which could be used on the fruit trees. Tip Vouchers We have been having a clean-up around the garden and need to take a load to the tip. If any members have tip vouchers which they don’t need please let us know. Dogs Please do not bring your dogs to the garden. Workshop On Saturday 30th March we will have a visit by our beekeepers Jan and Yuliandary Dwipa who keep a hive in the garden. They will talk about the bees followed by a honey extraction. This will be followed by a shared lunch. We hope to see lots of members there. Dresser: Free to a good home
Sandra Freeman It's tomato time again... So delicious
Sausage Sizzle
Many thanks to all the members who helped out on the day. As it was a Friday it wasn’t as busy as the weekend. However we still made a profit. Well done everyone. Christmas Party A small but happy group enjoyed our annual Christmas party last week. Thanks to Tom Jones for playing Santa for the Kris Kringle. Worms The worms are hungry! If you have any food for the worms please remember to put it UNDER the straw. Any vegetable scraps, teabags, etc can be used. No meat or dairy. Fennel We have noticed that the fennel is popping up all over the garden again. If you see any please feel free to pull it out because if left it becomes huge and unmanageable. Summer The plants in the garden are growing like mad due to the warm, wet weather. Don’t forget to mulch your beds as the summer progresses to help to keep them moist as they start to dry out. |