Many hands (September working bee)

We finally had a great day for gardening after a week of poor weather and the previous (August) working bee being washed out.

Our numbers were doubled by a group of students from Clonard College, most of whom were first time gardeners. Patrick introduced the ethics of the garden and handed out jobs.

Tracey arrived early and got to weeding one of the leek beds.

Loique worked on the other one, hidden by the broadband.

Mara, as colourful as ever, helps in this front bed too with help from ...

Chris gets those happy-pill soil microbes into his blood stream.

Tom lends an ear to the garden nymphs.

Artemisia collects up the purple Congo potatoes.

Tom loads up the beds with mature compost.

Zero hunts mice.

Meg plants some European parsley.

Ian sprays white oil on the fruit trees.

These two from Clonard College learn to set a compost.

Kim wheels the nitrogen down to the composters.

Patrick pulls out the chickweed that has been feeding us all winter. Chick weed is full of Vitamin C.

Ange returns to the district to lend a hand.

Laura from Join Adventures and Michael, the outdoor ed teacher from Clonard College, lead a weeding team.

Linda and Mara take a moment for a moment.

And Diana, one of the librarians from next door, prepares a frame to hang pollinator hotels. Diana is running a workshop for children to make them, as part of the holiday program.

Next working bee is on the second Saturday of October, 9am -12 noon. See you there!

Chillout working bee

Fe, Luna and Fab stop by to say g'day.

Jono, Tim, Peri and Tom chop up the green waste for the compost lasagne.

Mara and Peri work with Ian Clarke on the street apples.

Tracy and Tim screen the aged compost to put on the beds.

Meg ('apparently a male stereotype is looking mean') and Woody.

Ian explains something to Greg, ahem Meg.

Patrick explains the art of compost laying to Tom (left) and Jono (right). Zero watches on, heard it all before.

Dallas tells us her family's history with apples.

Woody harvests onions and potatoes.

Said onions and potatoes.

Jono and Tom overhaul the compost bays.

Meg screens the compost.

Ian Clarke paints the woolly aphids with metho and carries out a light summer prune.

All ages, activities and abilities (February working bee)

Each working bee Saturday (the second of every month), our two councillors Fiona Robson and Kate Redwood meet at the library for anyone to chat with them about particular issues concerning the shire. Hello Fiona!

 Pic: Mara Ripani

Community gardener Ian Clarke gave Kate an update on the library apples and why he and others are carrying out extensive work to get them back into health.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Patrick, who planted the apples back in 1999, takes Ian's summer prunnings down to the compost area to be shredded and turned into productive soil.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Meg pulls out old brassicas and also takes them down to the composting area.

Pic: Mara Ripani

While we are technical creatures, we are also mammals of place and have the legs to prove it.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Bridie, Dale and Jeremy chop and drop the green waste into fine pieces to get ready to set another compost.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Little people are always welcome to participate in the working bees. Watering is a favourite job in summer.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Bridie lends a hands and smile at the compost arena.

Pic: Mara Ripani

Patrick pulls spent brassicas,

Pic: Mara Ripani

 while Mara, with camera, captures the day's feel,

Pic: Mara Ripani

in many,

Pic: Mara Ripani

many,

Pic: Mara Ripani

many,

Pic: Mara Ripani

ways. 4 year-old Woody helped with the mowing,

Pic: Mara Ripani

and teenagers were even spotted being involved. Thanks Zeph!

Pic: Mara Ripani

Les and Fe helped save parsnip, coriander and rocket seeds,

Pic: Kirsten Bradley

while Fe was often doing multiple jobs at once.

Pic: Kirsten Bradley

Thanks to Kirsten and Mara for the great pictures and to everyone who showed up and once again transformed the Albert Street community garden. Thanks to Melissa, Sue and Karen for donations of straw and cane mulch. Next working bee coming up at DNC. Follow us on Facebook for more info or email Patrick (see right) to get the e-newsletters.

Last bee for 2016

The last working bee of the year began with tree work. The apples outside the library are under an ongoing restoration regime led by this guy, Ian Clarke.

Ian is passing on his extensive fruit tree knowledges to anyone interested. Patrick has apprenticed himself to Ian. Today's work was painting wooly aphids with methylated spirits.

Tracey rejuvenated the worm farm,

while Nick and

Lindy turned and reset the compost bays. What a big job!

Lorne and Fiona hit the weeds.

Maya and Django tackled the strawberry patch.

Alison also dug some weeds.

Rosie and Evie bonded.

Tim and Fiona did some planting.

Rosie showed Patrick the aged manure she gifted the gardens, courtesy of her lovely goats.

It had a rich humus smell.

Woody transported the weeds to the compost area. Good job Woody wheelbarrow.

Dora staked the tomato seedlings that she planted last month.

Asher dug the ground and found much to wonder at.

Kirsten, Alison and Meg posed for their band pic — The Dirt Chicks.

Patrick and Woody rode home with the working bee tools and the happy soil bacteria surging through their bodies.

Thank you everyone for coming and singing love into our public food garden. Hope you all have a peaceful and productive month. We look forward to seeing you at the January Bee on Jan 14 2017.