Walking together

On August 18, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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A PROGRAMME has been developed in Broome that helps remote communities grow their own food while also investigating traditional plant cultivation. Kim Courtenay of Kimberley Technical & Further Education is helping these communities, one or two generations away from their traditional cultures, set up an organic community vegetable garden. A large part of this group are in prison for minor offences. ‘They have wonderful qualities,’ says Kim, ‘and it is great to see them come alive.’ In the early days vegetable gardens were set up at missions and pastoral stations, so why not now?

The other aspect of this venture, named Walking Together, is establishing an indigenous orchard consisting of native food plants such as the gubinge and the pindan walnut. Community elder and course graduate Merridoo Walabidi believes that establishing the orchard will provide an important cultural context for the training program. He also sees horticulture as a real chance for today’s generations to gain a greater connection to country. The ABC Gardening Show video shows Walabidi walking through the informal orchard with Kim Courtenay and Josh Byrne, and also highlights the organic garden.

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Helix aspersa: Jul-Aug 2009

On July 18, 2009, in helix aspersa, by jamie
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SFP helix aspersa jul-aug 2009

SLOW Food Perth’s Jul-Aug 2009 edition of its Helix aspersa newsletter features articles on kitchen and community gardens, with a recollection by Kojonup member Audrey Townshend about her efforts to develop a kitchen garden in Melbourne during World War II, and the story of the war-time government’s ‘Vegetables for Victory’ campaign. Skip to the present day, and read about an extraordinary school garden project in Onslow.

2009 Jul-Aug / PDF / index / word picture: joaquim da costa / kojonup on a plate: holistic farming yields retail partnership / air raid shelter inspires a gardening life / ‘vegetables for victory’ / leaping lizards in an onslow school garden / one harmonious snail / feasts, fasts, famines and fads – a peek at food history / shaking and making in japan / celebrate terra madre day / a slurp of real milk / slow food perth contacts / ‘feeding the snail’ – contributions welcome

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Sustainable gardens

On July 17, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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HEARD on ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph, authors Rob Cross and Roger Spencer of the CSIRO talk about their new book on Sustainable Gardens. Some of the topics of the book include the importance of biodiversity and the role that gardening can play in alleviating the environmental impacts of food production.

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A people’s garden

On July 6, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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THE United States’ Department of Agriculture has created a people’s garden. The department will be holding weekly workshop for the public which will cover a variety of topics on vegetable gardening. The Rodale Institute, leaders in organic solutions, delivered organic compost for the foundations of this garden. It was also one of the sponsors of Slow Food USA’s Slow Food Nation in 2008.

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Alice Waters campaigns for President’s kitchen garden

On April 15, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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ALICE Waters is the creator of the The Edible Schoolyard , which was established in 1995, a one-acre garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. Waters has been campaigning for years to influence United States’ Presidents to establish a vegetable garden at the White House. From a moderate roof-top garden established by the Clintons to a vegetable garden by the Obamas this article describes the challenging journey Waters has undertaken.

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Gardening the White House lawn

On March 23, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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STIRRED by the good news that the White House is to have an organic vegetable garden, Michael Pollan has gathered these food articles together, in one of which he wrote about the White House lawn in 1991.

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Gardening with school principal Hugh McCracken

On February 26, 2009, in the nose, by pauline
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Hugh McCracken, principal of Palmyra Primary School, is interviewed on local radio about school kitchen gardens together with some of the students. Palmyra Primary School was selected by the Stephanie Alexander Foundation as the pilot school for School Kitchen Gardens in Western Australia. When Slow Food Perth visited Palmyra Primary School last year we were impressed by the enthusiastic and positive attitude of the whole school. Hugh is an inspiring man.
The link will lead you to Radio Fremantle 107, scroll down to Wednesday 13.00 WAWA and click on the 13.00

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Out-googled by goddess Nigella

On January 2, 2009, in reluctant gardener, by jamie
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Nigella sativa in flower. Image: Wikipedia [commons licence v1.2]

DAMN. Nigella damascena – not sativa the seed-spice plant, which is what we wanted – has flowered profusely in our kitchen garden. Gorgeous blue; cerulean, indeed, but it’s not sativa, which yields the seeds for such exotica as the spice the Hindus call kaloonji.

Checked this out on the web last weekend by typing in ‘nigella’, and the opening page on Google gave me nothing but links to the lovingly-endowed English chef of the same name, surname Lawson. Wonderful as that was, it took quite a few minutes to find a reference to the annual known as N. damascena and the spice called sativa.

That time of the year has come which brings plants to blowsiness; overgrown and, some might say, untidy. Our oakleaf lettuce has flowered prolifically, throwing up great stalks such that these look like dwarf Christmas trees. Leeks have thrust long prongs skyward, topped by heads of fluffy white florets on which sit elfin-like caps for a short while. Oregano has reached 60 centimetres tall and almost rivals the cornflowers that are hanging on between the roma tomatoes.

Into our plots have gone russian tarragon, caraway, pyrethrum daisy and dill. Dwarf beans yielded wonderful greens for christmas lunch and tomato yellow pear is racing ahead of its neighbours, the german heirloom sugar lump red tomato.

Summer also brings thornbills, silver-eyes and wrens in search of food, and the small softening tomatoes are perfect targets for their tiny beaks. But what is a kitchen garden if not for sharing?
We have now spent a total of $210 on our vegetable-and-salad patch since April 2008, but we have bought not tomato, lettuce nor bean since then. And another bonus – the blue-banded native bee has just returned to pollinate the flower-heads.

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Inspiring school garden by sixteen year olds

On December 3, 2008, in the nose, by pauline
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SAM Levin, a 16-year-old student at Monument High School in the United States, and speaker at the opening ceremony of Terra Madre 2008 in Turin, Italy, talked about how he and two of his friends established an organic student run garden in the grounds of his school. They called it ‘Project Sprout’, and not only does this garden feed the hungry in the community but supplies the school cafeteria with fresh fruit and vegetables.

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Cottesloe’s ‘verge-o-crat’ policy wonks

On November 7, 2008, in urban revolution, by jamie
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WHAT sad, sad news: Perth’s western suburbs newspaper The Post reports that Cottesloe town council is about to review a staff report that recommends taxing ‘unauthorised’ verge vegetable gardens.

According to the 08 November 2008 edition, the internal council report recommends that Cottesloe residents wanting to plant a kitchen garden in place of lawn on a street-side verge should pay a $100 licence fee and a $500 bond.

The Post reports -

A staff report said: ‘No permit is required from council for planting lawn verges. A permit is required for all other works in the verge, such as garden beds, shrubs, kerbing, paving, retaining walls, pipeline and below-ground reticulation systems. This shall be obtained by the owner/occupier submitting a sketch plan.’

An eight-page report (to councillors) said that an inspection fee of $100 should be charged for approval of a proposed vegetable or herb garden. It said: ‘No approval will be granted unless the proposed has been discussed with (council) staff on site and signed off prior to any approval being given. A bond of $500 is to be paid by applicants before any grant of approval, to cover the cost of reinstatement of verges once vegetable/herb gardens become derelict in the opinion of council staff. The bond will be repaid in full if and when any vegetable garden is removed and the verge reinstated by the applicant. If no reinstatement takes place then the bond will be applied either in full or part to fund work by council staff.’

The report warned that there could be disputes over produce…clashes over carrots, harsh words over herbs. It says: ‘Council staff will not become involved in the resolution of any disputes about vandalism, theft of produce or other upsets involving the general public and the developers of verge vegetable/herb gardens, except where staff involvement is needed to ensure the general safety of the total road reserve.’

The council is to consider the public response to the idea at its December 2008 meeting.

Slow Food Perth urges all Slow Food members and concerned residents living in Cottesloe to contact the council before 01 December to protest against the report’s thrust and recommendations.

View proposed policy

Email all councillors as a group

Write to the council at Post Office Box 606 Cottesloe WA 6911, or telephone 08 9285 5000 and voice your concern about this proposed policy.

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