Saving the World with Gardening event – Wonthaggi Library

September 22, 2023

An interesting group met at the Wonthaggi Library on Saturday 16 September to plan how to Save the World with Gardening. Jessica Harrison, from the Harvest Center Community Garden in Wonthaggi led a lively discussion about community gardens, Farm it Forward, permaculture, edible gardening, olive pressing and produce swaps.

Everyone contributed ideas that had helped them garden successfully. These included:

Using shade cloth over the veggie garden in summer
Utilising Myli’s Seed Library for new varieties of free seeds.
Growing favourite produce in several different places. You’ll usually find one spot that will work best for that season.
Garlic grows well under fruit trees and may protect from pests.
To protect seedlings from blackbirds, remove the top and bottom of a juice bottle and put it around the seedling. You may even need to cover it with chicken wire if those blackbirds are particularly pesky. You can also use black plastic pots.
Get rid of weeds by solarising them with thick black plastic
The Harvest Centre, Wonthaggi, has a free winter pruning workshop.
To assist in the management of leaf-curl on fruit trees, remove the first set of infected leaves. The second flush of leaves are OK
Start off your tomatoes in pots and treat them mean. When you transplant them to the garden, shower them with love and attention.
Use Reo wire to support veggies, including tomatoes, zucchinis and pumpkins, although the Harvest Centre decided not to use the old trick of supporting growing pumpkins with old bras!

Recommended Resources from the group –

Podcast: All the Dirt and 3CR
Book: The Little Veggie Patch Co’s guide to backyard farming
Facebook Group: Australian Native Plant Enthusiast Forum

Jessica’s Resources for Gardeners –

My Smart Garden: Melbourne-based website with interesting articles about growing food in our region
Community Gardens Australia – the peak body for community gardens with searchable map for community gardens near you
Leaf, Root and Fruit “supporting you to grow food”. Free monthly email reminding you what to plant
Bass Coast Edible Gardens hosts open food gardens around Bass Coast – next one is 10-11th Feb 2024
Facebook Group: South Gippsland Permaculture – network focused on joining together with like-minded locals to share resources & knowledge related to permaculture.
Facebook Group:Bass Coa st Veggie Gardeners New group sharing ideas and tips in our area.