Waterworks Valley is the most solarised street in Tasmania (anybody wish to contest that claim?) and maybe we should challenge every other street community to do better – in the interest of promulgating sustainable living.

This year four more local households have installed solar hot water systems (at 60, 104, 166 and 191 Waterworks Rd) and several other households have signed up for solar hot water and solar photovoltaic systems – through South Hobart Community’s fantastically successful bulk purchase initiative.

(I hasten to add that solar is not the be all and end all. There are, of course, zillions of less photogenic things that are just as worthwhile – like growing home vegetables, recycling and walking kids to school.)

Chris @ 195

Hi community gardeners,

Now is time to get a compost going, and many hands make light work. Stuart and Jonah will be making compost at 12:00 this Saturday (August 1) above 137 Waterworks Rd.

If you can spare an hour and would like to join in, please bring along:

- A fork or shovel
- As much organic stuff as you can. (Grass clippings, weeds, Autumn leaves are great. No food scraps or woody stuff please.)

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Saturday 16th was bleak, showery day, but we turned out in numbers for the ‘turing the first sod’, at community garden. It’s a very sunny spot and the soil is good.

The cabbages and carrots will have a great view of the mountain.

Contact for the garden will be Trish Moran.

Thanks to all who came, especially Trish for organising the day and The Graddons whose land has been made available.

We have recently bought a Bokashi bucket for our food waste in the kitchen.

We find this a really good invention. The bokashi bucket is a clean and non-smelly way of disposing of organic waste at home. The bokashi mix actually smells quite nice, almost like sour dough bread.

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It happened at our group gardening meeting. Gazing lazily at a sunflower, Stuart G suddenly broke into a mad scientist type of smile. We knew then he had an inspiration that would save the world.

And the stroke of genius is? Well everybody knows how sunflowers track the sun across the sky. And… well… technology buffs have tried all sorts of ways to get solar panels to track the sun across the sky. There, you have it!

Care to calculate the power output from a hectare of micro solar panels attached to sunflowers and connected to the power grid?

Karen Brown snapped these pictures for us.

NOTE: Click on individual pics to enlarge

Circus entertainers

Faces painted

Click ‘continue reading’ for more pics.

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Food. What we eat and where we get it from is perhaps more important than solar power… or how you get around.

For an insight, read this story: 8 Ways to Join the Local Food Movement.

And this one too.

And this third one tells about the power of the commercial food industry.

(The food basket, pictured, was exhibited at our Harvest Fair)

Click HERE to hear it.

WATERWORKS HARVEST FAIR SUNDAY 29TH 2-5PM
To Celebrate Opportunities of a Simpler Life

Fresh produce and preserves, kids’ games, sustainability initiatives, sausage/ tofu sizzle, and fire engine all part of inaugural Harvest Fair

Hundreds of people are expected to attend Sunday’s Waterworks Harvest Fair to enjoy fresh locally-grown produce and preserves, sustainable community initiatives, and fun activities for kids.

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Zucchini growers, show us your wares. Apply the fertilizer now, fend off competitors, keep the slugs at bay…. for there is to be a giant zucchini competition at the fair.

Town councillor and community member Philip Cocker will be there with his scales and measuring tape.

(Photo is a modest example, but rest easy – Chris is not growing zucchini this year.)

Glenda @ 136

3 – 4.30 pm
14th March
131 Waterworks – up the little side road
Feel free to bring a plate
All welcome

Jonah is going to show us how to dig large (-ish) areas of ground; we have an area up the back, about to be netted in, where two beds are planned. He suggests that we all bring shovels and take a turn: dig the host’s garden, a trick we can perhaps repeat elsewhere!

Then we thought we’d move on to worm farms and…

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End of March is right time of year to plant out a range of vegetables and herb seedlings for growing over Winter.

I am sowing plenty of seeds for winter lettuce, broccoli, beetroot, spinach, leeks, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, parsley + other herbs. Punnets of these can be sold at Fair or even given away. We can’t have enough of these, so if anybody wants to help please do.

How about somebody doing some herbs?

Email Chris @ 195. Ph 6223 4653

Waterworks Garden Group is an informal collective of gardeners who meet to exchange ideas, help and equipment in their gardens in Waterworks community.

Some areas of interest and initiatives for the Group include:

• Seeds and seedling exchange
• Ideas exchange between members by email and face-to-face
• Tools and equipment register and exchange
• Guest speaker sessions
• Exchange/sell/give away excess produce
• Organise bulk purchases e.g. pea straw, manure
• Organise garden tours to see and learn from other people’s patches
• Working bees on projects in each others’ gardens
• Calendar of garden events
• Develop a large community food garden on Waterworks Rd

Click on the ‘food + gardens’ link on this web site to learn what the group is up to at any moment.

Contact Trish (or leave comment below) to become part of the garden group email list.