Seed Savers' harvest challenge

Seed Savers Albury Wodonga have risen to the challenge set by a Melbourne Permaculture group. They are encouraging gardeners to keep track of their harvest for a year. The idea is to see what a range of gardens produce. It's not about growing the most, but more about encouraging the record keeping and learning from each other.

Rumor has it some quite keen record keepers and productive gardeners have already taken up the challenge. But even those who rent, have a few pots on the verandah or have never previously recorded their harvest are being encouraged to join in. The extent to which you record your harvests is entirely up to you. See their flyer for full details (right or click here for a larger version).

Congratulations are also in order with Seed Savers Albury Wodonga recently taking out the Murray CMA's 2011 Millewa Award in the Urban Landcare Group category.

What's more, group's secretary Lou Bull was interviewed about seed saving on ABC Goulburn Murray radio. If you missed it, the interview and accompanying pictures are available on the ABC website.

Permi8 at Lou & Emmo's

All the citrus and olives we wanted - that was the bounty gifted upon the Permi8 people who came along to Lou and Emmo's this week. We were at their place to see the mature permaculture orchard of Annalies and Jan (Lou and Emmo's parents/in-laws). And how impressive it was.

We wandered down and discussed the history of the design, plantings and the wonderful resource it provides. This season has been particularly good and we bagged up lots of lemons, oranges, mandarins and grapefruit. Then on the to the olives, where we picked buckets of black and green olives in a range of varieties. There was discussion of various olive preserving methods by the adults, while the children compared their tree-climbing skills. The billy cart (another Emmo masterpiece), which had proven highly entertaining for the kids on the way down, served as a handy way to transport the bags and buckets of spoils back to the house.

As is so often the case with Permi8 gatherings, we were treated to a fantastic spread of food and beverages on our return. Homemade venison sausages, Emmo's home brew, spinach and feta tarlets, home grown fruit and chocolate torte and pumpkin scones, to name but a few. 

June delights in North East Victoria

I recently joined the Australian Plants Society and the Victorian quarterly weekend program, hosted by the Wangaratta group, was my first foray into their activities.

In a nutshell, the weekend saw APS members from across Victoria converge on Wangaratta and surrounds. As the event's name suggested, we were indeed treated to the many delights on offer across seven gardens brimming with Australian plants of seemingly all types over the two days (June 4th and 5th). As well as private gardens, we also visited Goulburn Ovens TAFE's campus, took a stroll into the Warby Ranges National Park and drove through the Killawarra Forest.

While Australian plants were obviously the focus, it was wonderful to note the diversity of plants, garden designs and approaches between and within the gardens. Apart from the plants, it was also a privilege to spend time in the company of people who are so well-versed in Australian plants. The garden owners told us about their gardens, and as we explored, fellow visitors were also willing to help novices (like me) understand more about what we were looking at and clarify those scientific names that very rarely manage to stick in my brain.

Another bonus was that Mary Anderson's garden was one of those featured. Mary has opened her rammed earth home to the public in the past, but I had missed it. Her three year old garden benefits from a rendered straw bale wall that creates a microclimate as well as a visual break between the garden and house and the surrounding landscape.  

I admit I got a little distracted from the plants by the gorgeous paths made from reclaimed materials and other features made from cast-off items.

Check out the gate - if I didn't know better, I'd say Build-It Bloke had a hand in that. What a ripper! 

You can read more about Mary's place (including an array of fantastic sustainability features she has incorporated) here. Also keep an eye on the Sustainable House Day website for listings of homes opening this September. Mary's will open again as part of that event, along with other homes in the Wang area. I'd certainly recommend going to see it for yourself.

As for the APS, I can't wait for more of their offerings. And there's a wealth of information on the APS website, including years of newsletters, all available electronically. What's more there are plant guides, garden design tips and extensive plant photo gallery. I might learn a few more of those scientific names yet!