Newsletter: Term 3, Week 10

FRUIT TREES IN!

We spent a sunny Sunday planting a host of fruit trees and are really pleased with how they look. These will provide shade, yummy fruit and improve the aesthetic of the garden. We still have some more varieties to plant but ran out of soil on the day so those extra plants will be added very soon.

We spent a lot of time improving the soil which was a nasty mix of landfill and is very hard and clay-like. We used gypsum to break it up and help it retain moisture and added some very nice healthy soil that we sourced from Thompson’s.

Kids! We also used a bin of compost made by you from all your fruit and vege scraps. The plants will love the nutrients in it and isn’t it great being able to turn waste into something beneficial?

Swales. We have started building our swales. These troughs built into the side of the hill will hold water and prevent wasteful run-off. One of our swales has also been designed to funnel water down to the bananas which will need lots of moisture.

The swale with the first fruit trees.

Thanks to Andrew Sawyer and his brother who have begun installation of the taps for the garden. This is a major step forward and will make looking after the garden so much easier. The taps will use rainwater from our tanks as well as mains water.

Also thanks to the Macri family who sourced and delivered the fruit trees for us.

We have plums, lemons, limes, oranges, lemonade, pomegranate, mango, apples, bananas and nectarines so far!

Lastly, a big thanks to the volunteers who gave up their Sunday to start construction of our wonderful fruit forest. A special mention must go to Briony Scanlon who was there digging and planting with us all day!

MEETING TONIGHT
Our next meeting is tonight! 7pm in the library. All welcome!

YEAR FIVE’S ART
The colourful mosaic mushrooms made by our year five garden club students are almost ready to go into the garden. We can’t wait to see how they look in their new home. A garden is always better when it’s a mix of all types of creativity. Thanks to you all!

PAPER AUDIT
The paper audit collected 6 Otto bins of recyclable paper and cardboard over a month. We are looking forward to a recycling service next year.

Mr Green the gecko says...

“Improve Your Soil!”

I had a lesson in soil improvement at the weekend when I helped to plant the fruit forest in our garden. The soil was awful. There were lumps of clay in it and it was rock hard. We added gypsum, compost and healthy soil and dug it all in. Fingers crossed it will keep the new fruit trees happy and healthy!

Mr Green the gecko says...

“Enjoy Your Garden!”

I don’t have any tips this week except to say, enjoy your garden and the fruits of your efforts! Take time to smell the spring blooms, enjoy the new colour and the warmth on your back when gardening and picking your produce. It is a special time.

KA/KB garden bed - 7 September 2011

Newsletter: Term 3, Week 8

BUSY FEW WEEKS IN THE GARDEN

We have been busy harvesting and planting the garden beds this week. We hope you enjoy the produce that comes home with your children.

Mr Broadley, Miss Seller and Mrs Eastman are going to be planting out their new beds this Wednesday. Hooray!

WELCOME TO OUR NEW CHICKENS
We are very excited about our new additions to the chook brood. Pop in and say hello. We have black ones, white and brown too! Caramello has gone back to her former owner for some TLC as she couldn’t seem to get better, even with medicine.

FRUIT TREES
We have some new apple trees in the garden and will be planting many more fruit varieties soon. Our fruit forest is going to be wonderful and bountiful!

RAFFLE

Thanks to all the people who bought tickets and donated prizes. We raised more than $300!! Congratulations to those who won prizes.