Cheers, Michelle and Jonah at 46.

Vegetable	Sowing times	Comments, varieties
Beans*	Mid Oct. to mid Jan.
Beetroot	Aug. to March
Broad beans	April, Aug. to Sept.
Broccoli	Early Sept. to mid Feb	De Cicco, Shogun
	February	Purple Sprouting
Brussels sprouts	Late Dec. to Jan
Cabbage	Sept. to Jan.	Reds, Sugarloaf
	Dec. to Feb.	Savoys
Carrots	Oct. to Feb
Cauliflower	Mid Sept. to Feb.	Hybrids
	Mar. to April.	Paleface
Chilli*	Plant out late Oct.	Start indoors
Corn salad	Late Mar., Sept.
Cucumber*	Plant out late Oct.	Start indoors
Garlic	April
Leeks	Oct. to Nov.
Lettuce	Aug. to April
Mizuna	Aug. to Sept., Dec. to Apr.
Onion	Mar. to May.
Parsnip	Oct. to Feb.
Peas	June to Aug.
Potato*	April	Pinkeye, sandy soils and frost-free areas only
	Sept. to Nov.	Main crop varieties
Pumpkin*	Late Oct.
Scarlet runner bean*	Mid Oct.	Perennial, dies down in winter
Senposai	Aug. to Sept., Dec. to Apr.
Silverbeet	Oct. to Dec.
Spinach	August, mid Jan. to mid Mar.	Bloomsdale, Amsterdam
	Oct. to Nov.	Steadfast, Summer Supreme
Spring onions	Aug. to Dec.
Sweetcorn*	Mid Oct. to mid Jan.
Tomato*	Late Oct. to late Dec.	Start earlier plantings indoors
Zucchini*	Late Oct.

*These vegetables are killed or badly damaged by frost. Last frost day in Hobart is around November 5^th. Plantings made before this date are at risk. In most years there are no frosts this late and the gamble of an early sowing pays off, but please be aware of the risk.

This guide is indicative only. Use it entirely at your own risk, we do not accept responsibility for any losses. Developed from experience, seed packets, talking with commercial growers in Southern Tasmania and Steve Solomon’s Growing vegetables South of Australia.

I’ve just had a 1Kw solar system put in – so easy to organize, no hassle with the rebate. Easy!

Now (with the federal government policy backflip) people on any income will be eligible for a rebate – but they will have to install 1.5Kw system to get the full amount ($7,500). I installed a 2Kw inverter so can upgrade simply by adding more panels. But for now 1Kw will cover my needs.

Anyone who wants to know more or would like to know who installed it (they were good) just give me a call. Cheers, Lil at 134. Phone 62247390

But…..about renewable energy credits: This makes me feel quite sick. The people who installed my system were legally bound to tell me that I can sell the carbon credits for a number of years for $900 – which means that the carbon pollution which is saved by the solar system is bought by some polluting company (eg Gunns) so that they can increase their pollution by an equivalent amount!!!!! It’s done through something called ‘Greenbank’. What a cynical and outrageous system. Our planet’s future is now a saleable commodity.

I am looking at getting a small group together to organise a family Harvest Festival in Waterworks Reserve around the last Sunday 29th of March.

If anyone is interested in helping, the idea is to have all the catchment letterboxed and invited to bring their home made produce of any description for giving, exchanging or selling.

Will also have some old style entertainments such as facepainting, apple bobbing and guessing games as well as some live joyful music.

Give me a ring or email if you are interested or leave a comment below.

Amanda at 144
Phone: 6223 7315

Says Trish “We would like to sell 2/3 of it to compatible people: valuations we’ve had suggest that a 1/3 share would cost between $100,000 and $120,000, though prices may have declined a bit.

We would all work out a set of conventions about using and maintaining the place. From having others use it, we have learned a few things about communication, clear expectations etc. We are retired and would have time to handle a booking system and be the first stop for any issues that arose, if that suited the co-owners.”

(At the moment it is made available to extended family and friends.)

If you’re interested, please email Trish for more info, photos etc.

Trish at 131

Their website (Everybody Has Power) is particularly good, especially for younger people and includes Facebook links.

The site includes a set of interesting ‘personal sustainability challenges’. Worth a peek!

Sam at 104

Jason and Claudia - 45

If you would like to keep in touch with this group, then please do get on the email list for it – contact Trish directly or go to ‘comments’ below.

Click ‘continue reading’ for the ideas we came up with at our first meeting:

NOTES OF FIRST MEETING Sunday 14/12/08

We agreed to talk about 1) our own gardens, and also 2) the possibility of setting up a community garden or gardens.

1) How the group might help us in our own gardens

Mail list for advice about such things as pest problems, what to plant and where, sowing times, how to grow more difficult vegetables
Group members as a source of expert example, eg re
• fruit tree pruning
• composting
• building enclosures etc to keep animals and birds out
• watering systems
• chooks
• protecting fruit trees from possums
• care of seedlings
• operate as an ideas exchange
• seeds and seedling exchange
• tools exchange (see below)
• invite guest experts to talk to us
• organise to exchange/sell/give away excess produce
• organise bulk purchases of eg pea straw, manure
• hire/borrow a trailer to get bulk stuff
• organise to see and learn from others’ gardens
• discuss different microenvironments, eg high-side gardens differ from those below the road, and what is best planted in them; one member could grow enough of one crop to share it with one or more other families and get back in exchange something that doesn’t grow well for them
• set up a lending system (see list of tools and equipment below)
• set up a calendar of garden events (more below)
• working bees on agreed and well-prepared projects in each others’ gardens

Tasks:

• Chris to set up a gardening group calendar on the website (UNDERWAY)
• Trish to prepare note for calendar and item for website re a “Garden Crawl” on the weekend of January 17th – to start at Jonah’s (towards the bottom of the road), visit various other gardens en route and perhaps finish at the Waterworks for a BBQ
• Trish to maintain an email list of group members
• Someone to write an article on the group for the website

Community Gardens

We decided that those present weren’t interested in having one of a number of small plots in a larger area (as in Taroona and at Creek Rd), as we have a fair amount of space at home for most crops; rather, we want to plant large areas of crops, eg potatoes, corn - and perhaps to put in fruit trees. (If we had a large area though, we might consider making some of it available to flat dwellers and others with limited space for plots – this is a Trish afterthought and wasn’t discussed at the meeting.)

We discussed some possible sites. Jonah argued it is important to get some public space as this can then be an exemplar for other groups. There is land just beyond the underpass at the junction of Linton and Waterworks which should suit fruit trees, and Chris is talking with David Stephen about it this week; there’s the quarry, which has poor soil and is probably now earmarked for other purposes, as there was a consultation process about it; and there’s some land at the bottom of Kooyong Glen.

We also talked about land owned by Dave and Jo, opposite 144 – 6. Since the meeting, Dave has expressed interest in letting us use some of this. Not wonderful soil and plenty of wallabies, but it has a tap and is easily accessible and several houses overlook the lower section.

Tasks
• Chris to talk to the council about the land near the underpass after he talks with David Stephen
• Amanda to talk with Dave re land opposite her (DONE)
• Trish to send out email and organise note for website seeking people interested in a community garden
• Jonah to take on the resulting email list (and coordinate action)

WHAT WE HAVE TO SHARE:

Jonah: advice re sowing times, seedlings and fertiliser, as well as growing veges in pots
Chris: pruning expertise; has a shredder; putting info on to the website, eg could do a para on each garden; can do a calendar of events/activities
Dorka: how to net vege patches; knows about watering systems
Amanda: good at growing veges – could grow seedlings for all; will share garden tools; has done a Permaculture course; has a sprayer
Phil and Glenda: Phil makes great compost, Glenda is good at watering systems; they have a shredder
Trish and Stuart: will lend a whippersnipper (petrol); Trish has a polystyrene box garden that worked well from late winter for salad veg and herbs
Michelle and Tom: keep chooks and can offer advice; have a Stihl brushcutter; garden tools
Jackie: has a whippersnipper and a mulcher; could provide a chainsaw operator

Others not present who have offered to share include Cary (his ute) and John, who has a large pruner

Conditions of lending

We should have:
1) general guidelines – eg return in the same condition, with the same amount of fuel
2) specific guidelines – each person involved should clearly define their own requirements as well (eg if you owned a mulcher and it was broken, you’d want it fixed!!)

Tasks:

Trish to list tools, equipment and/skills group has available for sharing (DONE)
Someone (??) to take on expanding and maintaining this list

**********
Some ideas put forward by Trish before the meeting:

Set up an email list so that members can contact one another about things like swapping seeds and seedlings, getting advice on dealing with pests, banding together to bulk buy mulch, manure etc

Workshops – Ros and Dorka have offered to run one on drying food; I’d love to attend one on composting, perhaps actually making one in someone’s garden: there are compost maestros here! Caring for chooks would be another good topic

A garden tour – we’ve done this before and it was useful about what grows well where, pruning, looking after particular plants and so on. Might not have time to do it before mid-January or so. There are a number of interesting gardens – eg Chris and Carol’s, John’s, Troy’s, Amanda’s and Ros’s: we could choose 3 that are different in style/size and run a tour for W/works residents one Saturday or Sunday

There was an earlier suggestion from Phil that we do a kind of garden blitz thing, with group members combining to work on specific tasks in one another’s gardens from time to time

Aside from the garden group email list, activities could be posted on the website as well – eg if we were getting bulk manure or mulch we could put a notice on the website to give others the chance to join in; workshops would be advertised on the website, so would a garden tour.

I find the best way to come up with ideas for any group is face-to-face because people spark off each other. We could start by setting up an email group, asking people to opt in via the website and word of mouth; then find a time via the email list for a meeting (maybe in a garden?) either before or after Christmas.

Contacts for Trish are: stootrish@gmail.com or Ph 6223 1546

Friday 12th December
From 6 pm on
Sites 7 & 8, Waterworks Picnic area.

All welcome… flat play area… bring your own stuff… invite your neighbours… have fun.

Ian Fletcher at 183