Every month we publish a free newsletter which lets people know what is happening at the farm.
To subscribe fill in your email HERE
To read February’s E-News CLICK HERE
Every month we publish a free newsletter which lets people know what is happening at the farm.
To subscribe fill in your email HERE
To read February’s E-News CLICK HERE
by Ronni Martin
Our City Farm Nursery will also be open from 6am to 12pm to pick up any last minute gifts.
Embrace a sustainable and green festive season with Northey Street City Farm by supporting local farmers, makers and businesses.
The holiday season can take a toll on the environment. By shopping directly from local businesses and farmers markets, buying Australian-made and from local makers, and reducing waste, you can not only make the Christmas season more sustainable, but also save money and have a positive impact on your community.
Northey Street Organic Farmers Markets is the one stop shop for locally sourced, seasonal, organic and fair trade produce. As well as having the best variety of organic fruit and veg, our stall holders also offer organic, locally sourced grains, eggs, oil, and dairy.
Your sustainable Christmas feast
Ethical Gift Ideas
Shop local! Many gifts come from halfway around the world, and the impact of their transportation contributes to greenhouse emissions and global warming. Love having artists and craftspeople in your neighborhood? Reduce your emissions and support a sustainable local economy at the same time.
Check out some of the ethical gift ideas from our stallholders:
And from our Education Program – give a Sustainable Living Workshop Gift Voucher. The recipient can choose from our wide range of workshops – from beekeeping to basket weaving. See the current list here. Full-day or half-day workshops run on most Saturdays throughout the year.
Purchase workshop vouchers here.
Northey Street City Farm wishes all our members, volunteers, customers and supporters a happy, healthy and safe festive season.
by Ronni Martin
We are excited to welcome the addition of Vegepods to the City Farm Nursery! Vegepods make growing food as easy as it can be. They come equipped with a water-storing reservoir at the base and an adjustable shade (and possum) cover. The additional stands and trolleys make it easier to access and maintain your veggies. To welcome Vegepods to the nursery, we are running some exciting pre-Christmas specials. Until December 24th, Vegepods, stands and trolleys are discounted and our package deals including soil, plants, installation and more, are also discounted.
And with Christmas just a few weeks away the Nursery has been stocking up on ethical gifts. We have a great selection of books, permaculture calendars and gardening guides. NSCF organic cotton canvas carry bags and ONYA reusable produce bags are a great way to replace single-use plastic bags in 2018.
City Farm Nursery will be open as usual on Sunday 24th December and closed Monday 25th – Wednesday 3rd January. We will reopen in the New Year on Thursday 4th January and look forward to seeing you all then!
by Ronni Martin
By Lydia Blocksidge, City Farm Nursery Co-ordinator
Have you heard the term garden guild or guilding before? If you have, it’s probably been used in the context of agro-forestry and forest gardening, as this is where the concept is most commonly applied. Guilding is a Permaculture technique that recognizes the relationships in nature, especially in a forest system, and applies it to productive garden and orchard spaces.
When I was living and working at Rancho Mastatal, a Sustainability Education Centre and operating permaculture farm in rural Costa Rica, we established and maintained planting guilds throughout our agro-forestry orchards. But don’t be mistaken, you don’t need acres of land to use guilding, it is an incredibly adaptive and useful tool to use anywhere, in any productive garden setting.
In simple terms, a planting guild or garden guild is a harmonious collection of plants comprising two things, primary crop species and secondary support species. The primary species are commonly the food producing plants and the secondary species have functions to support the healthy growth and abundance of the primary food crops. These functions can include pollinator and good bug attracting species such as marigolds and other flowering plants, nitrogen-fixing species such as pigeon pea and pinto peanut, fungal deterrent species such as turmeric and ginger, pest deterrent species such as citronella, erosion control such as vetiver grass and chop and drop species for mulching such as arrowroot.
Guilds can be established in two main ways, either by guilding each single plant in your garden or by guilding the garden as a whole. If guilding each plant individually the primary crop species is usually in the middle of a guilding circle or half circle, with the support species around it. At Rancho Mastatal this method was used in the orchards around young tropical fruit and nut trees. Many of these trees take 10-15 years to start producing food so a healthy start in life is crucial for them. This was a useful method of planting because not only did the guiding circles help to locate the tree seedlings, it was also easy to manage them, with all the materials for healthy growth in one place.
If the entire garden is established as a whole guild, primary crop species are planted throughout the space and support species are interspersed between them. This is a great way to plan the urban garden. Whichever method you choose, the main thing to remember when establishing a guild in your garden is that all you need to do is define two things, your primary crop species and then decide which secondary species are going to support your primary crop. If you have separate garden beds you could choose to grow different primary species in each and different secondary species to support them.
Below are a few examples of urban garden guilds you could use at home.
Primary crop species: Tomatoes
Support species: Beans, Corn and Nasturtium.
Why it works: Tomatoes are heavy nitrogen feeders and beans fix nitrogen in the soil. Nasturtiums attract bees and other beneficial insects and also add color to the garden, as well as creating a ground cover for the soil. And corn provides a natural, food-producing trellis system for the tomatoes and beans, as well as mulch from the husks.
Primary crop species: Leafy greens
Support species: Oregano, Marigolds, and Carrots
Why it works: Oregano has a strong scent that helps to deter garden pests. It also forms a thick ground cover for the soil. Marigolds provide color and attract pollinators and beneficial insects. And carrots aerate the soil and provide a root crop, utilizing the space more efficiently.
Primary crop species: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and other brassicas
Support species: Land cress, thyme, and garlic
Why it works: Land cress is extremely attractive to common chewing garden pests but it’s also highly toxic to them. So it does two things, keeps chewing pests off your primary crop and naturally eradicates the pests from your garden. It’s also a delicious peppery addition in salads. Thyme attracts pollinators to your garden with its beautiful flowers and it’s a tasty culinary herb. And garlic produces a supplementary crop that uses minimal space while also helping to keep pests out of your garden with its scent.
Guilding your home garden is an extremely effective method to maximize your yield outputs and minimize your labor inputs. It is important to remember when establishing guilds which plants grow well together in terms of water, soil, sunlight and so on. Companion planting guides are a great place to start. From there, consider what you want your primary crop species to be and then decide what support species are going to benefit the primary species, and you, most efficiently.
I always use the permaculture principle every element has multiple functions to determine my support species. For example, nasturtium in example 1 above, provides ground cover for the soil, it attracts pollinators, it’s beautiful and it can be used in the kitchen. Land cress can be used in the kitchen, it eradicates chewing pests and it can form a ground cover over the soil. If you can come up with at least three uses/reasons why you’ve selected the support plants you have, then you’re on the right track!
So who’s ready to start their urban garden guild? The City Farm Nursery has everything to help get you started!
by Mel Marx
Turmeric, a member of the ginger family, is a yellow wonder root plant. Curcumin, the active ingredient in Turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties. Studies are still being conducted on this plant but preliminary research suggests that eating turmeric can help ward off dementia, inhibit the growth of tumors, lower cholesterol, reduce inflammation, improve digestion, lower blood sugar levels and fight infections.
To buy your Turmeric plant please visit our nursery. For more information on what our nursery has to offer click here.
Wendy, one of the nursery’s key volunteers made this deliciously irresistible gluten free Turmeric and Orange cake and kindly shares the recipe with you all.
Ingredients
250gm butter
250gm sugar
5 eggs
150gm thick yoghurt
25gm finely grated fresh turmeric
250gm almond meal
100gm fine polenta
1 tsp baking powder
2 large oranges – finely grated rind & juice
Icing:
¾ – 1 cup cultured cream or yoghurt (sweetened)
Finely grated orange rind
Method
Share & enjoy!
Ingredients
Method
Note: If you would prefer to use full cream milk, the coconut oil can be left out due to the milk already containing fat. Follow instructions above, however wait until the milk is hot (above 70°C) before adding the ginger. Ginger juice contains a protease that can cause the milk to curdle at temperatures below 70°C, but is fine above 70°C.
Note 2: The health benefits of turmeric are increased if it is consumed with fat and black pepper (which contains a substance called piperine), which is why these ingredients are both incorporated into this recipe!
by Mel Marx
Summer means Brisbane gardeners have to be creative with their salads. Lettuce, english spinach and other greens are hard to grow. Take a look at leafy greens.
Darker leafed lettuces, and open hearted ‘cut and come again’ varieties will last a lot longer than cos or iceberg types.
We can also use perennial leafy vegetables, chopped herbs, sprouts, and edible flowers during the hotter months.
A fresh alternative to lettuce is lebanese cress. It is a delicate looking plant that likes to grow in damp places.
Kang kong, or water spinach, will grow happily in a well watered pot, or small water feature. The leaves are a great substitute for baby spinach.
Mushroom plant is another green that likes a sheltered spot. The leaves are high in protein and iron, and taste slightly of mushroom.
Visit our City Farm Nursery for all your summer plants and seeds
by Mel Marx
During the cool season, Brisbane gardeners can grow silverbeet, kale and cabbages. However, there are a myriad of subtropical leafy greens to turn to when the weather is too hot for these winter annuals.
Surinam spinach is a crunchy and tangy, drought hardy plant. It is very ornamental, with clusters of small pink flowers.
Brazilian spinach is a tasty, nutritious substitute for silver-beet. It is perfect in frittatas, or quiche.
Ceylon spinach is a beautiful clambering vine with delicate pink flowers and dark red berries. The leaves only need a light steam, so add them right at the end of cooking.
Sambung nyawa is a perennial leafy green that tastes like a cross between beans and spinach. It is drought hardy and has orange, butterfly attracting flowers.
For all your plant and seeds visit City Farm Nursery
by Mel Marx
To keep your worms happy, you can buy a commercial worm farm, or make one from recycled materials.
The container needs to be pest proof. It needs to have drainage and air holes. Bedding material can be shredded paper and cardboard (not coloured or glossy), cocofibre, dried leaves, or dried grass clippings.
Worms can eat most fruits and vegetables, they really seem to like bananas and melons. Do not feed worms citrus, onions, or garlic. Don’t put meat, bones, or dog and cat poo in the farm.
Composting worms can eat at least half their weight every day. 1000 worms will eat 125g of food scraps. Happy worms can lay enough eggs to double their numbers every 8 weeks.
The farm should be situated in a protected spot, kept between 15C and 25C.
For all your composting needs visit City Farm Nursery
by Mel Marx
Wicking beds can be purchased, or made from recycled materials. The design of the wicking garden bed conserves water. Water is poured down the pipe into a reservoir. The water then slowly percolates upwards via the soil to the root zone of the plants, called wicking. Plants are watered from below rather than from above. Water is drawn to the roots, just where it is needed and when it is needed. Wicking beds are like self-watering systems.
For all your plant needs and advice visit City Farm Nursery
by Mel Marx
Sometimes called a lasagna garden or a layer garden, a no-dig garden is a quick way to build soil and start a vegetable patch. Digging is a lot harder and instead of using heavy garden tools, layer. Work with nature to disturb the soil as little as possible. No-dig is helpful for weed management and ensure that the soil does not get compacted.
Plenty of organic matter is put on top of the soil which provides mulching. The result is fertile soil that has not been disturbed, letting nature take its course.