Sowing seeds, summer gardening and sharing food in the Coffs Coast’s community gardens Coffs Coast Coffs Coast - popup ad Coffs Coast News by News Of The Area - Modern Media - July 18, 2024July 18, 2024 Learn how to collect and save seeds from disease-resistant pawpaws. COMMUNITY Garden champions Peter Lewis and Linda Woodrow educated and entertained an enthusiastic group of budding gardeners at Northside Community Garden (NCG) in Bellingen on Sunday 14 July. The two-hour interactive workshop on resilient gardening demonstrated and discussed how to set your food garden up for success through summer, with a particular emphasis on using small space urban gardens for maximum production. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au NCG President Alison Heeley organised the workshop which was funded through the Our Living Coast program, the Bellingen Shire Learning Alliance and Bellingen Shire Council. Next up for the gardening guru pair, Peter and Linda are sowing seeds for new food growing ideas at Coffs Combine Street Community Garden. Two free workshops will be offered on Sunday 21 July. The first session starts at 9am and teaches how to successfully save and store your own seeds. “Saving your own seeds is free and gives you varieties that have already proven to be winners in your garden,” Peter, who is president of Combine Street Garden, told News Of The Area. “Learn to save seeds from this year’s harvest and plant them again next year.” Host Jeff Alcott from the Bellingen Seed Savers Group will talk on the values of seed saving. The session will also include an interactive demonstration of seed processing, discussion on the sourcing and selection of suitable varieties, and a Q and A to cover participant’s experiences and interests. Workshop two on the same day, starting at 1pm, is a bush tucker talk and tasting with Indigenous elder Sue Tompkins from Bush Tucker Shack. The gardens will also fire up the wood fired pizza oven for some tasty food to accompany the learning. “Nothing brings people together more than shared food,” he said. “Get prepared for some big new taste experiences. “The gardens are exploring new ways to adapt and experience food across many cultures so what better place to start than with Australian native bush food. “Apart from saving money you avoid genetically modified crops or plants grown for commercial success but are low on taste.” For more details and to register go to www.coffscommunitygardens.org.au. By Andrea FERRARI Native Davidson plum (Ooray plum), great for jams with a cranberry flavour profile, will be available at the bush tucker tasting. Community garden champion Peter Lewis, Northside Community Garden President Alison Heeley and permaculture author and practitioner Linda Woodrow. Permaculture author and practitioner Linda Woodrow sharing tips and techniques in resilient gardening at Northside Community Garden in Bellingen.
