By Shirley James
Hard to believe that it is almost February. It seems such a short while ago that we were at the AGM in November but here we are ready to start a brand new year of Information Nights and activities. The first Information Night is on 17th February and that is not too far away, personally I can’t wait to hear what Diego Benetto has to say about weeds and their uses for food. I have long been a convert to using chickweed in salads but hope to find many new things to do with weeds apart from the task of pulling them out of the garden and giving them to the chooks. Farmer’s Friend is appearing in quantities at the moment—wonder if there is a use for that! Kerrie has been very clever finding us such a good speaker to start the year and she is working hard to keep finding them. If you have any ideas about someone you know, who would be interested in sharing information with us do speak to her and let her know.
The first Activity planned is for 22nd February and is about Getting Ready for Autumn. You might remember we had one about getting ready for Spring in September last year and it was a really great day with good company much sharing of information and seeds and yummy food so remember this date and see for yourself what a good day you can have.
We are working on sending out a survey to all members to see what people like or don’t like and what they would like to see happening in Permaculture Central Coast. Surveys are often not very welcome but if you could find time to fill it in and return it, then we could see if we could make our group more to your liking because after all the group belongs to everyone and your thoughts are what can drive it to become bigger and better.
The rain has been very welcome and by now we must all have full tanks , which is marvellous, not to mention the time saved by not having to water the garden. However I understand that lots of people have had the problem of their tomatoes splitting, maybe there is an answer to this but who knows what it is?
The Gosford Show, although not until May, will need some thought from now on. The theme this year is HERBS and their uses, so now is the time to plant herbs so we can use them at the Show. We will also have a stand at Ecoburbia and Woytopia so if you can spare a couple of hours to man the stands it would be appreciated. You would probably enjoy the experience. It is not hard and can be a lot of fun.
Don’t forget when you save seeds from your successful crops to save a few extra if you can so they can be shared through our seed bank, which at the moment is somewhat sparse.
Just looked back and realised that there seems to be a lot of requests for your assistance; hope you don’t mind but in today’s parlance we have to work as a team.
Hope to see you all on the 17th and if possible bring your mug and a plate of food to share so we can enjoy supper and a chat.