Kitchen Garden
From Simone & Jill
14.5.26
Acknowledgements of Country were given in English and Mandarin before we all headed outside to clear some of the garden beds. Perilla, a frost-tender annual, is already starting to die back so an entire plant was removed, as were three of the silverbeet and rainbow chard. After seeds were picked for drying, the nasturtiums were also removed.
Then the contents of an entire compost bin was emptied into the cleared beds, turning the dry, sandy soil into a richer, more loamy mix. Students also: gently moved the heirloom corn stems to simulate a windy day (so pollen from the tassels could fall onto the silk of the husks below to create kernels); crushed eggshells before sprinkling them around our tiny seedlings; and sorted seeds from summer’s dried sunflower heads.
Steph asked Jill about repotting some dying aspidistras after not having time at the last working bee, so they got to work assisted by Anna, Nina & Ava.
Pink and blue borage flowers were the stars of this week’s journal entry; younger petals are pink and turn blue as the pH changes as the petals age.
15.5.26
LA11C made zongzi for their last Kitchen Garden day. Before they got started, they told our family volunteers the history of zongzi in Chinese culture & how it is traditionally eaten at this time of year for the Dragon Boat Festival. Then they got stuck into preparing a filling of shiitake mushrooms and mixed leafy greens from the garden, before the tricky task of folding the filling the bamboo leaves began!
It’s no easy task learning how to fold the bamboo leaves into a cone that can then be filled with layers of glutinous rice and our Kitchen Garden filling, and patiently wrapping the triangles with twine, but LA11C threw themselves into it with enthusiasm. After lunch, the class got to drink fizzed up perilla cordial they had made with the perilla plant that was removed from the garden.
Well done LA11C, it was great to have you in Kitchen Garden!
21.5.26
LA12E joined us for their first week in Kitchen Garden; again the morning started with Acknowledgements of Country in English and Mandarin. Outside students identified what was ready to harvest but only saw two pollinators/bees. Harvested produce was washed and prepared for Friday and focaccia dough made.
When harvesting the last potato to sprout from 2025’s planting, we were surprised to find hardly any tubers, as opposed to the crop a fortnight ago, indicating the lack of nutrients in the soil. In contrast, a broad bean, when removed, had white nodules on its roots - nitrogen, drawn from the atmosphere by the plant for flowering and fruiting. The plant was reburied deep in that bed; the leaves will compost, and the nitrogen will be available for the next seedlings.
22.5.26
LA12E made focaccia, with a selection of dips from what was available in the garden (amazingly, even in late autumn the tomatoes were our own!). We had a creamy warrigal greens dip, roast pumpkin hummus, beetroot dip & a carrot, roast tomato and cumin dip. I was again impressed by how carefully each bench taste-tested their dips and adjusted the flavours accordingly, before sharing their dips with the other benches. The dips all tasted great!
Unfortunately there were no potatoes for the focaccia, but the salt & rosemary topping was still delicious. After lunch was a herbal tea taste-testing of herbs growing in the garden. LA12E tried lemongrass, pineapple sage, mint and lemon verbena. Mint won hands down!
Thank you to our many family volunteers including Lin, Becky, Dan, Nicole, Heather, Charles & Maureen who came to help this fortnight, much appreciated. Thank you also to those who have donated washed and dried eggshells. Please keep up the donations, they are helping fight the important war against snails so our seedlings can grow!
