What's Been Happening?
Working Bee in the Garden, Feb 21, 2021
A warm working bee was held in the 4SCG on Sunday February 21.
TEA & TASKS
Our new normal - garden grown and
picked herbal tea - before getting into it.
THANKS Sara for all the yummies that got us through this very hot morning! Even though it was heads down and bottoms up, weeding paspalum
in the food forest......we still took time to admire the growth since last Working Bee...only a fortnight ago.
In Michael’s absence Liz took the reigns and
shared out the tasks and we got a lot done.
Apart from removing the paspalam and other
weeds, we fertilised, planted rhubarb, raspberries
and elderberries in the food forest,
weeded in the fruit tree bed, netted, dug up
potatoes amongst other things. Hot but great. Raspberries were planted by Clhoe and Alice (who always manages almost everything...still with one hand only)
Our next working bee will be on Sunday, March 7, from 9 am to 1pm starting with freshly picked tea from the garden. Looking forward to seeing both new and old gardeners. Thanks to our two new gardeners Natasha and Clhoe for coming to lend a hand to Liz, Sara, Alice and Birte. If anyone has a bit of spare time before next working bee, the crushed granite paths still need weeding. Thanks!! Please don’t forget to bring a cup, plate and utensils to EVERY working bee.
Thanks to Birte for putting together this report and photos.
July 2020 Garden Working Bee
Working Bees in the Community Garden have recommenced and are usually held on the second Sunday of the month (unless otherwise stated) between 8am-11am. Thanks to Birte, one of our dedicated volunteers, who has put together this report and photos.
OzHarvest produce
Garden volunteers have been busy this summer regularly harvesting fresh garden produce to supply the local OzHarvest. The produce is distributed to various charities who then supply those in need.
Thank you to all the Garden volunteers who help to grow, weed, water and finally harvest the Garden produce. Our volunteer numbers are small and we would welcome new community members to consider joining and helping out at the Bowral Four Seasons Community Garden. Information on volunteering is at https://bowralcommunity.garden/Volunteer
SpringFest 2019
We were blessed by another glorious day for SpringFest 2019. There was a buzz that almost could be heard as stall holders and helpers set about turning the Four Seasons Community Garden into a spring fairground.
Our four very interesting speakers drew a group of attentive listeners each hour on the hour. Between times visitors to the garden enjoyed morning tea or lunch and purchased fresh produce and other garden-related items from the stalls. Thank you to all the stall holders, speakers and other helpers.
Thank you, too, to our wonderful teachers from Bowral Street Childcare and from Bambinos Kindergarten who organised activities for the children’s corner.
A big thank you to everyone who visited the garden and helped to make the event such a success.
Bee Hotel Workshop
Sunday morning, August 18, 2019. The sun was shining, the wind had dropped and you could almost hear the bees humming in the bushes. It was a perfect day for a bee hotel workshop.
Much excitement and enthusiasm was generated as Peter Nolan talked of the plight of our native bees. We need each other, they as they seek food and shelter in our gardens and we as we depend on insects to pollinate our fruit and vegetable flowers.
20 keen bee hotel builders drilled and glued to make a safe little place for our bees to find shelter. Each participant headed home to find just the right place in their garden for a hotel of significance in the battle for the bees.
Exploring the Garden
June 26 was an exciting morning for the older children from Bambino’s Kindergarten.
A dingo was digging the garden paths and since the children are learning about construction it was too good an opportunity to miss.
The children loved exploring the garden while they were there and are eagerly anticipating the day, in the not too distant future, when they have garden beds of their own.
Broccoli Mini Workshop – 7th April 2019
Broccoli and some of its cruciferous cousins are at home in the Southern Highland winters.
At the workshop we learned why they are called super veggies and how to grow them.
We had fun planting a few while we learned.
Hope to see you in the garden for future workshops
Composting Workshop
A full class of 25 eager composters attended a workshop in the garden on Sunday, 17th February. Fortunately the compost bays are in the shade because it was a hot morning.
Jill Cockram, the coordinator of the Moss Vale Community Garden, explained and demonstrated both a cold composting method and a hot composting method for making beautiful compost. Thank you Jill.
Each attendee gratefully received a free compost bin from the Wingecarribee Shire Council. A big thank you to Libby Guest, the Waste Education Officer for the Wingecarribee Shire Council who facilitated registration for this event and organised the gifts of compost bins. Thank you too, to the ladies from the garden working group who provided a lovely morning tea
November Garden Day 2018
Luncheon Cooked and Eaten in the Garden
At the end of a busy morning working in the garden and on the Gazebo by enthusiastic garden volunteers, Birte with Liz working alongside, worked her culinary magic and served the garden team with a delicious lunch using ingredients mainly grown at the community garden. Complements from satisfied diners were abundant as everyone wondered how they could produce such a delicious meal so quickly.
October 2018 Springfest
Four Seasons Community Garden - Bowral
The ADRA Four Seasons Community Garden – Bowral, was alive with activity on Sunday morning, 21 October. A large group of helpers gathered to transform the garden into SpringFest, an event designed to share the good news of a community garden for Bowral with the community.
A mild, calm day encouraged a steady trickle of people to come to the event where they listened to short talks on gardening themes, browsed an array of stalls, and enjoyed lunch or a snack to the soothing sounds of the buskers' music.
Not only did everyone seem to be enjoying themselves, but a number of people expressed an interest in becoming a member of the garden team or in receiving information about upcoming events. Funds raised will go towards much needed garden infrastructure.
Thank you everyone who helped to make SpringFest a success!
Citrus Tree Planting Demonstration
A lovely sunny morning was a great start to our garden event on May 27, 2018. A lemonade tree joined the other citrus trees in our garden. Michael, our garden supervisor, managed the planting, answered questions and encouraged the keen garden helpers to join in the fun.
Honey Ginger Lemonade and Fruit Truffles were served for refreshments.
Recipe for Fruit Truffles
Ingredients
1cup dried fruit of your choice
1 cup jumbo raisins
3/4 cup cashew nut pieces
1tsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1/4cup desiccated cocount (for coating)
Method
Place ingredients - except coconut - in a food processor.
Process for 1-2 minutes until ingredients start to stick together.
Process for another 15 seconds, adding a little water if mixture is too dry.
Place coconut in a separate bowl.
Take teaspoon-sized portions of mixture and shape into balls.
Roll in the coconut.
Place in an airtight container and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
(Acknowledgement: "Simple, Tasty, Good”, Signs Publishing Company, 2010)
