Entries from July 2008 ↓

Waterworks Valley Landcare Group is branching out onto private land – this coming Sunday. Everyone is invited.

173 Waterworks Road
Sunday, August 3rd
10:30 am to 12:30 pm

Tom & Michelle will be providing a BBQ for refreshment following the morning’s work.

As a start to helping local landowners come to grips with some of the weed problems on their own land, the group has obtained public liability and personal accident insurance.

This week-end marks the first of 2 sessions we are planning on private land for this year, with the hope that this can be extended to other properties throughout the valley in the years to come, with your help and involvement.

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Local ‘sustainable commmunities’ have now set up in West Hobart and in the Channel area. We can learn from them as much as they can learn from us. And we can collaborate on some things.

Click HERE to visit West Hobart’s site.

Note that this group has set up three sub-groups: Home Energy / Gardening / Transport. What do people think about us doing similar?

The Home Energy Audit workshop we conducted in June was well received. We decided to investigate a bulk purchase of insulation blanket – the best thing most homes can do is improve the thickness of insulation in their ceilings.

So…. here is some info about Insulation blanket from ringing around various suppliers. 

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We have a lot of sunny hillside space going unused, and we’re wondering about growing a grain crop.

Quinoa (see photo) is not a grass, like wheat etc: it sounds interesting and tastes OK too, but so far I haven’t found any useful information about whether it would grow here – apart from discovering that it originated in the Andes, likes warm days and colder nights, takes 4 – 6 months to mature and should be planted once the frosts are over.

Amaranth can be planted with quinoa so they must require similar conditions: while it might be another possibility I don’t know what it tastes like!

Does anyone in the valley have experience with backyard grain-growing, or know where we can learn more about it?

For starters have a look at this website.

Trish-131

Ever wondered what it would be like if a team of locals came in the did your garden up – in one day! Well, that’s the idea behind the ‘Permablitz’ movement, now popular in Melbourne.

Instead of each homeowner slogging away on their own garden, groups of householders band together and do each other’s gardens. Your garden gets blitzed on a chosen week-end. Good gardening solutions and ideas come from many heads rather than one.

Nobody gets out of doing the work, but it is a fun way to get things done and it’s commuty bonding too. Is there scope to do this in our community? I know of somebody in West Hobart who had her garden done over this way.

Check out the Permablitz website for more.

(With thanks to Philip-136)

If you would like a good laugh then click HERE – you will need to be on broadband – it’s 2 megabyte.

(Mac users may need to download Windows Media software.)