Cooma Community Garden

Kids Workshop

2010-01-30T16:39:00.001-08:00

During the January School Holidays Cooma Community Garden joined forces with Cooma Library to host a Kids’ Workshop at the Community Garden in the Uniting Church grounds.

16 kids attended the workshop, accompanied by parents, grandparents, carers and younger siblings. Some of the kids had attended the first Kids’ Workshop in October 2009 and there were also some new faces.

Workshop leader Pete Mitchell got things started by taking the group on a tour of the garden, discussing the contents of each garden bed in both the adult’s and children’s gardens. He reminded the old hands of the work we’d done in October and at the same time updated the newcomers.

Then it was straight into it with some much-needed weeding, with willing workers clearing those dreaded weeds in no time. First though, Pete had to make sure we all knew which were weeds and which weren’t!!!

Then it was time to upgrade the paths in the children’s garden with some gum leaf mulch. Everyone got involved and soon the paths were looking brand new.

We then checked out the kids’ tomatoes, which were growing well, but going a bit wild. So the kids were shown how to prune and stake them, and they even got to harvest a couple of early-ripeners. There were also some zucchinis ready to pick.

Then came the part everyone loves – planting. First there were bean seeds to be planted next to the corn plants. Pete explained that the beans fix nitrogen to the soil and feed the hungry corn so they make great companions in the garden.

Next there were a whole host of seedlings to plant including eggplants and capsicum, as well as some lovely flowers including salvias and petunias. However first we had to make room in the gardens by pulling out the Chinese Cabbages, which were just about finished. Some of them went into the compost, and some went home to feed the chooks. After that everyone broke into groups and were madly planting and watering and before we knew it, it was time to pack up.

It wasn’t all work, however. The kids got to have a break with some morning tea and stories provided by Cooma Library, who also provided all the plants and seedlings the kids put in the garden. The library also had a whole host of books on display about gardening and the environment and kids were able to borrow any books they liked (as long as they were library members of course!)

All in all it was a great event. The kids worked really hard and the garden looked great. Our next kids’ activity with Cooma Library is going to be a workshop on cooking your harvest, to be held during the April School Holidays. Keep an eye out for further details nearer the time.

December at the Garden

2010-01-30T16:38:00.000-08:00

Deputy Mayor Dean Lynch presents a cheque from funds raised at the recent Scrap Mart event.

This beautiful bird bath was made and donated by Lisa Baier

A lovely new addition to our garden, this bird feeder was made by Ray Browne

Ensuring Happy Plants

2009-12-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, plenty of us are going to be either traveling away too see family, or just too busy at home to spend much time in the garden. Here are some tips to help get your garden through this trying period:

Mulch heavily – this is essential at any time of year but is even more important in the summer heat. Being well mulched will prevent the soil overheating around the plant roots and help minimise evaporation from the soil. It will also help suppress weeds so the garden keeps looking good while you are busy enjoying the silly season.

Slow Waterers – products such as water spikes, leaky hoses on a timer controlled tap or even a bucket with a small hole punched in the bottom sitting on the ground next to a favored plant; Any of these things will give your plants a better chance of survival if you are going to be away for a few days and cant find anyone to water for you.

Provide Shade – One unfortunate consequence of Australia having inherited our farming history mostly from the British is that we are still in the habit of treating our plants as though they need as much sunlight as possible. However one of the important things to keep in mind is that Australia gets much more sun, and a higher intensity of light than Britain and the other northern areas where most of our plants originate. By covering plants with shadecloth (<50%) or even trimmed branches like palm fronds you will help to stop them from wilting and burning under the harsh Australian sun. Shade will also lower evaporation rates allowing your plants to survive just that little bit longer between waters.

And of course a longer term solution – save the seeds of your plants based on how well they survived the hottest days and neglect and in a few years time you may have a strain that can stand up to this weather as well as any of the locals!

Welcome!

2009-12-22T17:47:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our new blog. Here we will update on our progress, upload pictures and give notice of upcoming events. For more information about who we are and what we do, please visit the Cooma Community Garden Website