This is the first food swap to be held at the community garden in Avondale Heights.

Got great zucchini but no tomatoes? or lots of lemons but no basil? Bring your excess produce along to the Avondale Heights food swap and take some new goodies home.
No garden? You can also swap:
- Seeds and seedlings
- Worm tea
- Preserves 
- Baked goods
- Recipes

Date: 18th March – every 3rd Sunday
Time: 10am – 11am
Address: The Avondale Heights Community Garden at the Rear 2-22 River Drive Avondale Heights

Workshops: Preserving with Janet Ray 18/3 Bookings now open for POW’s March and April workshops.

Preserving workshop with Janet Ray

Come and learn how to successfully preserve fruits and vegetables using the Fowler Vacola’s/ water bath system!

Janet Leslie – a local preserving legend will guide us in a hands on course

Everyone will leave with a jar of preserved fruit that they have done themselves.

At this time of the year we will be mainly preserving tomatoes and apples. If you have any homegrown fruits of your own you wish to bring along to preserve, contact us and we’ll let you know if it’s suitable for this method of preserving.

Apples wanted - conact Ann if you can bring some apples.

Date: Sunday 18th March
Time: 2pm until 5pm at
Maidstone Community Centre
Address: 21 Yardley Street, Maidstone

Cost $25 POW members, $30 non POW members (fee includes fruit and jar to bring home)

You will each need a small sharp knife for cutting fruit, a cutting board and a tea towel to transport your bottle home as it will be very hot.

2 places only left – contact Ann at annstevens@optusnet.com.au or 0421 974 996

** Heirloom tomato tastings, olive tasting, wine tastings, homemade ginger
beer, stalls, music, food workshops and kids activities. **

The Commons invites you to come and celebrate everything food at the
Commons Food Festival between 10am and 4pm.

Workshop Program:
* 10am Farmer Carey does sourdough bread
* 11am Coffee cupping and poetry

* Noon Sauerkraut and wild fermentation explorations with Very Edible Gardens
* 1pm Raw Foods with Smoothie Girls
* 2pm Making tomato passata with Mangia Mangia
* 3pm Choosing wholefoods wisely with Sandra Dubs

Entry is by gold coin donation and this is a fun family friendly event, so
come along and join the fun at the South Melbourne Commons.

For more details visit www.commons.org.au or contact us here:
http://www.commons.org.au/ contact-us.html

Address: Corner Montaque St and Bank St., South Melbourne

What’s a POW Permabee?

Permabees are kinda a mini version of a Permablitz if you will. Much smaller groups of 4-5 people, getting together for a small permaculture project to complete in a day. We have a pretty broad scope of what this could entail, but based on the permaculture ethics of care of people, care of the earth and fair share. Permabees have multiple functions – meeting new people and learning new skills, promoting community to name a few! Projects could be building a raised vegetable bed out of recycled materials, constructing a vertical garden, planting or pruning fruit trees, building a chook shed. Permabees aren’t restricted to the outside, in winter you might wish to host a Permabee that brings some permaculture design inside your house. It could be learning to set up your own DIY bokashi  system, or reorganising your layout to permaculture principals, observing your natural energy patterns within the house, or putting together a window garden, or a big bottling session to help preserve your harvest and teach others skills how to do it.

When do POW Permabees happen?
Every last Sunday of the month is POW Permabee day. POW Permabee details will be advertised our Permabee page and also in the general news section/ POW newsletter as well as our Facebook page.

If we have an influx of hosts, there could end up being more than one POW Permabee per month so keep your eyes out.

How do I get in on the POW Permabee action?
In the spirit of reciprocity and fairshare, you need to have attended 2-3 first before putting up your hand to host your own.

To attend a Permabee you need to RSVP directly to the host to get the address details and so they can keep track of numbers to expect on the day.

How do I get to be a POW Permabee Host?

If you’d like a Permabee, drop Angela a line at achiew [at] me [dot] com once you’ve attended your 2-3 Permabees, and we’ll get the ball rolling.

*For a short time, whilst we’re still building the Permabee momentum you can put up your hand to host a Permabee in 2012 as long as you promise to come along to 2-3 other Permabees before/ shortly after yours!*

So far these are the Permabees we have in the works:

Sunday 25 March
- Alex and Mike’s in Footscray RSVP alexandramarriott [at] gmail [dot] com

Sunday 29 April
- Juanita’s in Yarraville RSVP  juanita [dot] frost [at] wilderness [dot] org [dot] au

Sunday 27 May
- date available!

Sunday 24 June
- Rayna’s in Braybrook RSVP rayna [at] radicalcrossstitch [dot] com

For the rest of the 2012 dates check out our Permabees page

Bookings now open for POW’s March and April workshops.

Preserving workshop with Janet Ray

Sun 18 Mar at Maidstone Community Centre

Come and learn how to successfully preserve fruits and vegetables using the Fowler Vacola’s/ water bath system!

Janet Leslie – a local preserving legend will guide us in a hands on course

Everyone will leave with a jar of preserved fruit that they have done themselves.

At this time of the year we will be mainly preserving tomatoes and apples. If you have any homegrown fruits of your own you wish to bring along to preserve, contact us and we’ll let you know if it’s suitable for this method of preserving.

Sunday 18th March – 2pm until 5pm at Maidstone Community Centre
21 Yardley Street, Maidstone

Cost $25 POW members, $30 non POW members (fee includes fruit and jar to bring home)

You will each need a small sharp knife for cutting fruit, a cutting board and a tea towel to transport your bottle home as it will be very hot.

Limited places available. To book contact Ann Stevens annstevens@optusnet.net.au or 0421 974 996

—

Preparing Herbal Remedies workshop
Sun 1 Apr at Maidstone Community Centre

Local naturopath student Trent Wrightson will lead this hands on workshop on preparing herbal remedies.

Using easy to find plants you will learn methods that you can use in your home kitchen.

Sunday 1st April March – 2pm until 4pm at Maidstone Community Centre
21 Yardley Street, Maidstone

Cost $10 POW members, $15 non POW members

Limited places available. To book contact Angela Ashley-Chiew achiew@me.com or 0488 54 9922

Urban gardeners bring your excess home grown goodies & homemade produce to swap and share. Meet other locals, share gardening tips & recipes or just have a good old chat.

What’s in season? Pears, apples, tomatoes, potatoes, figs, capsicum, chilli, eggplant, corn, fennel, grapes, beans, rhubarb, strawberries, almonds, lettuce, warrigal greens, basil, parsley & much more!

Other goodies to swap & share… Fresh eggs, something you’ve baked – perhaps some bread, cake or biscuits? What about some delicious homemade jam, chutney, cordial or ginger beer? Don’t forget worm wee, compost, coffee grounds, seeds, seedlings, cuttings & flowers and more…

Anything and everyone welcome!

When
Saturday 3rd March 2012 10:00am to 11:30am

Where
Bristow Reserve, Pilgrim St, Seddon (Corner of John St)
Walk from Middle Footscray or Seddon station (map)

From The Good Seeds Gardening Group Inc.

There are two Permaculture Playgroups in the Inner West – Braybrook Sprouts and Maidstone Permaplay.

Maidstone Permaplay is currently running between 9:30am and 11:30am Friday mornings at the Maidstone Community Garden and is open to all. If you would be interested in attending this playgroup contact Nina: nina.peheim@gmail.com

The Braybrook Sprouts run 10am until midday every Tuesday at Braybrook Community Centre Garden, Churchill Ave, Braybrook and is open to all. If you are interested in attending the Braybrook group, you can contact Rayna: rayna@radicalcrossstitch.com

http://www.pow.org.au/permaplaygroups/

If you would like to visit one of our groups, you are also free to just show up and see what is going on!

Maribyrnong City Council has committed funding to expand the Braybrook Community Garden. You are invited to attend a design workshop to develop concept plans for the garden expansion. The workshop is hands on, and will be facilitated by Council landscape architects. Please bring pictures of other community gardens or garden ideas to share. Afternoon tea will be provided.

Places are limited, an RSVP is essential to attend this workshop.

Place:
Braybrook Community Centre Hall
107-139 Churchill Ave, Braybrook

Meeting time:
Saturday 25 February, 12.30-4.30pm

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

RSVP:
Thursday 23 February

A tour of Veg Out Community Gardens in St Kilda has been organised on Sunday 19 February for people who would like to participate in designing the Braybrook Community Garden expansion. Limited bus seats are available, you are also welcome to make your own way to the garden. Please contact Jennifer Witheridge if you would like to attend, RSVPs are essential. Please bring your own water and afternoon tea, wear closed toe shoes and dress appropriately for the weather.

Contact:
Jennifer Witheridge
Growing Food Growing Maribyrnong Coordinator
03 9688 0169
jennifer.witheridge@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au

Hire a Fowlers Vacola preserving kit from Seabrook Community Centre for just $10 (plus refundable deposit). Kit includes an easy to use electric preserving unit and an instruction book.

For more information see http://www.seabrookcc.com.au/pdfs/fowlers_vacola_hire.pdf
and for bookings contact
Seabrook Community Centre, 15 Truganina Avenue, Seabrook.
Ph 9395 3010.

Have a look at these vintage images at the Museum of Victoria http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/262522/catalogue-fowler-s-vacola-bottling-outfits-accessories-1941-42

Thankyou to the ‘My Smart Gardens Program’ for the information.