Blitzin round the suburbs, gonna eat me a lot of peaches

Pruning at the Kingsville South Permabiltz

In the last month or so Spring has put on quite the show for us – we’ve seen bees swarm and chicks hatch… the apricots, peaches and apples are forming, we’ve already eaten our first strawberries (yum!) and our tomato plants are definitely getting bigger. This is one of the busiest times in the garden, but with all the new growth we hardly even notice – there’s too much fun to be had!

To celebrate the growth of all stone-fruit throughout this sunny land, we’ve decided to award this month’s song of the month to 90’s throwback indie band the Presidents of the United States of America with their song Peaches.

Permablitz News

Permablitz #202 - Fairfield

On a sunny Spring day, volunteers, caterers and family members pitched in to transform Jim’s family’s gardens into a more productive space – with a pond, wicking and raised garden beds, espaliers and more!

Check out the full action here!

Kat's house The Plummery is famous!

Long-time Permablitz Collective member (and all-round superstar) Kat Lavers recently had her home profiled by none other than co-originator of the permaculture concept: David Holmgren. The case study is part of David’s new book RetroSuburbia which will be out next month.

If you want a sneak peak of the book, check out the RetroSuburbia website – you can also help with the funding of the book via the crowd-sourcing website. Make sure you check out all the inspiring case studies – including Kat’s home The Plummery!

Permablitz Kingsville South

Once upon a time, on an invigoratingly brisk spring day in the far-away kingdom of Kingsville South, a rich mountain of soil awaited a team of super-volunteers to magically transform it a glamorous sustainable garden – check out the amazing permaculture fairy-tale with pictures here!

Check out the full report here!

Two Wild Food Forager Guild Sessions

October saw guild members and folk from other walks of life join Free Food Forager‘s Ingrid Button for two very popular sessions (one on the 15th and another on the 22nd) for a meander down to the Merri Creek to forage for food.

There were all kinds of interesting plants to be found, and Ingrid then set about preparing a feast for us all using found food as well as honey, cheese and herbal teas. So yummy!

Check out all the pics here!

Last month's Facebook picks

Humanure: The Next Frontier in Composting – Modern Farmer

Comic: Why You Should Turn Your Yard Into a Mini-Farm

The Best Perennial Vegetables – The Permaculture Research Institute

Home compost pickup trial to allow meat, dairy in green waste bins

Nunawading Community Gardens open day celebrates 40 years of growing well

A revolution disguised as organic gardening: in memory of Bill Mollison

Hero of the Month

Warrigal Greens

This worthy replacement for spinach is easy to grow – it thrives on neglect! Full of protein and antioxidants, it was actually the first Australian plant to be cultivated overseas. Why not give it a go?

How to: Feed the Masses When having a blitz

Ever wondered about how blitz hosts could put together such great food for all the hungry volunteers? Upwey blitz host Helen shares how!

Bits and Pieces

The 2018 Permaculture Calendar now available

The 2018 Permaculture Calendar, now in it’s 10th year, is ethically produced with the wholesome look and feel of post-consumer recycled paper printed with vegetable based inks. Internationally relevant and filled with inspirational and thought provoking images that support and reinforce your values every day of the year.

Learn each of the 12 design principles over the course of a month and be reminded of suitable garden activities with daily icons and phase times according to our moon planting guide. Includes a handy rainfall chart and moon icons for northern and southern hemispheres.

Available from: https://permacultureprinciples.com/product/calendar/

Seedwell volunteers needed

Are you passionate about gardening &/or permaculture? Are you available 1 or 2 days per week on a Tuesday &/or Thursday?

The Marist180 Skills Development Centre is looking for volunteers to support young people and the local community in the Seedwell Garden Project. Your tasks will include providing hands-on assistance of all facets of the garden project from the creation of the garden beds through to the sales of the produce at markets.

Your help will ensure the ongoing maintenance of the garden and will make a valuable contribution to the development of a space that is nurturing and therapeutic. You will be provided with volunteer training and also have the day to day support of other passionate Permaculturists in this hands-on role.

In supporting this program, Marist 180 expects that the volunteer will demonstrate a high standard of professional and ethical behaviour and a commitment to M180’s philosophy, mission and values.

For more information and to express your interest in this volunteer position please call Angela on 03 9380 2065 or email [email protected]

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In the Garden

The end of Spring is near – make sure you mulch around your fruit trees and plants to retain moisture in the soil and prevent water loss from evaporation. Be sure to keep mulch away from plant stems and trunks as this can cause stem or collar rot. You can also mulch your strawberries by placing straw or pine needles underneath to keep the berries off the soil. And apparently you can stop earwigs eating your strawberries by offering them orange halves instead!

And if you’ve not done so already, it’s definitely time to get your summer crops in! Tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, tomatoes, basil, chillies, corn.. and tomatoes!

Seeds you can plant in November  include:

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!