August 2013 upcoming events

"What to do when it all goes wrong!"
Sunday August 25th, 9.30am at 8 Kangaroo Run, Wallan

Plus Kate Galea on Garden Insects

What to do when you have placed your garden in the wrong spot.

"Old from new….imaginative garden designs"
Plus our first Home Harvest Plant Swap!
Sunday September 29th, 9.30am

Incorporating recycled elements into imaginative garden design.

Beekeeping with Danielle 
Sunday 27th October, 9.30am

Wallan Nursery

A basic introduction to beekeeping for Home Harvesters new to this activity.

Garden Party - details to be confirmed
Sunday 24th November, 9.30am

Other group days on the horizon:

Mulch your prunings with our community mulcher
Preserving days – bulk tomatoes and other fruits and veggies
Garden blitz - who needs one, who wants to come?
Local food network - who wants to be involved?
Relay for Life - Wallan Home Harvest group stall (November)

Also of interest to Home Harvesters, Lancefield Neighbourhood House is running a beekeeping course on October 12 and 19 with Jim Stamson. If you are interested please contact Lancefield Neighbourhood House at lancefieldhouse@tpg.com.au. 

New facebook page, and how to reply to a blog post

For those of you with facebook, please visit our new facebook page. I will keep this updated with events and reply to comments on there also.

Some of you have been having trouble commenting on the blog, so I've decided to post a quick how-to guide so we can get some conversation going.

The first step is to click on the link stating the number of comments. In the image below, it says 2 comments, but it could say "No comments" if you are the first to reply. I've highlighted the link in the red box.

Once you've clicked this link, a new box will open up so that you can type your message:

If you have a gmail account, you can select "comment as: google account" and the comment will show up with your name. Otherwise, click on the box next to "comment as" and select "Anonymous".

Then click on publish. If you choose Anonymous, make sure to write your name or we won't know who posted the message. Feel free to leave a message on this blog post, if you want to test it out.

Upcoming events

Fencing Demo
Sunday 14th July beginning 9.30am

Meet at Paul's house, (address removed)

Paul Robinson has kindly offered to do a hands on demo of fencing on his property. Wear sturdy boots and thick gloves (to handle barbed wire). Please RSVP Judy if you are coming, for morning tea purposes (jj_clarke135@hotmail.com).

Group Manure Collection
Sunday 21st July beginning 9.30am

Meet at Sarah's house, (address removed)

Bring shovels and wheelbarrows or large bags, gloves and sturdy shoes. Morning tea will be provided. It will be a collective effort - each person will be expected to help load/unload another's load - "one for you and one for me" if you know what I mean. Please RSVP to jj_clarke135@hotmail.com if you are attending, for numbers for morning tea.

We will have a back up manure source of we get all at this first site so there will be no shortage. We will have a number of trailers, but if you have one, please bring it - it will make the day shorter. If you have any further collection sources please let me know or contact me for further information.

"A brand new world"
Sunday July 28th, 9:30am

NEW ADDRESS! With Liz, Matt, Lily, Eve and Oliver at (address removed)

See the basics in action. Liz and Matt are establishing a new productive garden in their backyard, and they will explain their plans for the future.

AGM to be held afterwards. Agenda will be sent out soon, we promise to keep it as brief and fun as possible! Your ideas are very necessary and welcome.

"Old from new….imaginative garden designs"
Plus our first Home Harvest Plant Swap!
Sunday September 29th, 9.30am

Incorporating recycled elements into imaginative garden design.

Beekeeping with Danielle 
Sunday 27th October, 9.30am

Wallan Nursery

A basic introduction to beekeeping for Home Harvesters new to this activity.



Garden Party - details to be confirmed
Sunday 24th November, 9.30am

Other group days on the horizon:

Mulch your prunings with our community mulcher
Preserving days – bulk tomatoes and other fruits and veggies

Plus any ideas that come up at the AGM!

Also of interest to Home Harvesters, Lancefield Neighbourhood House is running a beekeeping course on October 12 and 19 with Jim Stamson. If you are interested please contact Lancefield Neighbourhood House at lancefieldhouse@tpg.com.au. 

Call for cuttings, and community poo-sharing

Hello Home Harvesters,

The recreation and lifestyle department at a local residential home is seeking plant cuttings, both rooted and unrooted, which they will prepare for a plant stall at their annual Family Day. If you have any plant cuttings, or if you could source some, please leave a comment below or seek out Sam at the next Home Harvest.

We're also planning a community group day for collecting manure from local horse-owners, and delivering it to gardeners in our group (newcomers welcome!). If you are interested in some horse manure for your garden, or if you know someone who has excess horse manure, you can get in touch at wallanhomeharvest@gmail.com or in the comments below.

Scarecrow Making, 23 June

We've had some frosty mornings lately, but the weather was perfect on Sunday for a big Home Harvest get together. Plenty of new faces turned up, with lots of children eager to try their hand at scarecrow making.

Matt brought his tools, and the frames were made-to-order.

First step was to stuff the legs, then we put them in the frame.

Next up the torso. We stuffed plastic bags with straw, tucked them into the pants and tied them to the frame with twine. Then we dressed up our scarecrows in shirts and jumpers.

Next up, a stuffed pillowcase tied in to the top of the frame, drawing the face, and a new addition to the family is born!

Some of us chose to accessorise, just to make our scarecrows look that extra bit dapper (or pretty!).

We got our scarecrows together for a lineup. This intimidating bunch of characters should scare off the local birds!

26 May 2013 - Home Harvest at Paul's place

Welcome to the blog for the Wallan Home Harvest Group. We meet on the fourth Sunday of every month to improve our knowledge of how to grow our own produce and gain inspiration to improve our gardens.

Today we visited Paul's ten acre property on the outskirts of Wallan. 

The frame of a greenhouse has been recycled to keep birds out of the orchard. Chicken wire has been added to the frame and keeps out the birds, roos and rabbits. Unfortunately, the crafty local rats still burrow under, and they have evaded all attempts at pest control, so they share some of the crop.

Apple, cherry, nectarine and peach trees are espaliered along wire fences inside the frame.

We tasted two varieties of heritage apples and they were delicious. Some feijoa and citrus trees are planted outside the frame; the birds don't like these as much.

Over at the vegie patch, Paul demonstrated how he sets up no dig garden beds. He covers the ground for a few months, suffocating the grass beneath, and then layers with mulch and compost.

Once plants are established, they are left to go to seed, enabling the veggie patch to maintain itself.

On our way back to the house, we spied some lemon trees full of fruit, and Paul let us at them!

Thanks for your hospitality Paul, and for sharing your experience with us.