Garden Gossip

Autumn 2019

by John Collins, Kitchen Garden Coordinator

The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder but there’s plenty happening in the Preshil Kitchen Garden.

We have been looking after the recent arrivals of Lemon Myrtle (backhousia citriodora) and Anise Myrtle (syzygium anisatum)  and the students have delighted in their wonderful tastes and smells. We’ve also planted a native gardenia (atractocarpus fitzalanii) which at some point in the fairly distant future may produce small fruits. “Its hard-shelled fruits are 6-7cm in diameter, containing a pale, soft and sweet segmented fruit with many small white seeds. Similar to a mangosteen in size, shape and flavour, they may be enjoyed raw on their own or used in salads, tarts, cakes and other desserts.”

I love planting trees and encouraging young people to do so too. It’s such an investment in the future. The old proverb goes something like, “A society grows great when old people plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." I agree, though I’m not that old!

In terms of veggies, we have broccoli and cabbage crops which we have to regularly protect from attack by aphids and white cabbage moth larvae. This is a constant battle in the garden. White oil is a good organic solution for the aphids, and it’s easy to make your own. Just mix one cup of dishwashing detergent with two cups of sunflower oil (or another light oil) and spray it on the little critters. As for the caterpillars from white cabbage month, I find my thumb and forefinger make pretty short work of them.

As we approach the winter months, we’ve sown a patch under the apple tree with a green manure crop, legumes mainly, which will be dug back in come spring time. We’ve also planted some carrots that slowly do their thing over winter. We only pulled up last season’s carrots last term and the kids marvelled at their odd shapes but wolfed them down nonetheless. We’ve recently installed a new rotating compost bin to speed up that process and a worm farm to produce our own worm tea to feed our plants.

Do you have a green thumb? Want to contribute? We’re always happy to accept excess seedlings, mulch, manure and compost. Nowhere to put your kitchen scraps? Bring them here and compost them. If you’re itching to get in and get your hands dirty, there are always little jobs that can be done. Contact me for further info: john.collins@preshil.vic.edu.au