SAVE THE DATE: SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2015

The 2015 Camdenville Paddock Community Garden Open Day will be held on Saturday November 21 - save the date! Once again we'll have delicious food, stalls of homemade pickles and produce, cakes, prints and ceramics, books and raffles - a day of enjoying the sunshine, shopping for locally made Christmas presents, games for kids, delicious lemonade and more. 

Come along and wander through this beautiful community space. We are at the bottom end of Wells St, Newtown, just off Edgeware Rd and adjacent to Camdenville Public School.

This week we got together some of the kids from Camdenville Public School with one of our fabulous mural artists, Neil Tomkins of Birdhat Art, the Mayor of Marrickville, Cr Jo Haylen, and Camdenville Public Principal and garden member, Sue Smith. It was a spring celebration of the glorious mural produced by Neil and his colleague Daniel O'Toole in a project working with children of Camdenville Public School earlier in the year. The project was generously funded by an Arts and Cultural Grant from Marrickville Council.

Camdenville Paddock members may have noticed a slowdown in the garden of late - but we've decided it’s time to come out of hibernation! You will have already heard about a change in the working bee schedule, from fortnightly to monthly, aimed at greater focus and revived energy.

The revival begins with a big picnic working bee day 
on Sunday, August 24, starting 10am.


This day is aimed at regrouping, getting together to brainstorm and plan achievable activities for spring. Jobs to be nutted out and allocated to focused teams include:

• Finishing the chook house
  
• Repairing and weatherproofing the eco-house
  
• Installing a new water tank
  
• Sign installation
  
• OH&S inductions for overdue members
  
• Brainstorming summer projects
  
• Open day planning

More details closer to the date - but please come!

And put the rest of the year's working bee dates in your diary now! 

• Saturday 20th September
  
• Sunday 19th October
  
• Saturday 15th November

By our Chook Co-ordinator, Belinda Sommer

Dear Gardeners,

Some of you may have noticed that Luke has been working away getting our magnificent chookshed ready. It's going into the cricket nets where the delights of keeping chooks will hit us all for six!

A feeder and water set have been bought. And we'll have the chickens in about 3-4 weeks depending on the shed progress.

What sort of chooks are we getting? 

It's likely to be a total of eight chooks - Buff Sussex, Langshans, Isa Browns or a combination of these, depending on what’s available when we're ready. Buff Sussex have a reputation as good layers, good lookers and having friendly natures. What more could we ask?

How will we look after the chooks? 

We'll have a weekly roster. If it's your turn on the roster, you'll need to check on the hens once a day for that week. I could arrange the roster through a Google Doc that everyone can access and send out a reminder email a few days before when it's your turn. If you can't look after them and can't get another member to help you out, then you could contact me and I could rearrange the roster. 

So let's say you're on duty, you'd check water, feed, perhaps sweep shed floor and replace with clean hay and collect the eggs.

How do we distribute the eggs? 

This is the question everyone asks  My suggestion is we have two rosters - one for looking after the hens and another for the eggs. The person looking after the hens will collect the eggs and fill up an egg carton for the next person on the egg roster. Once a carton is filled, they'll write the name of the family whose turn it is to get the eggs on the carton. If there are more eggs you'll start filling up the next carton for the next plot member on the list. Contact details of members will be on the roster in the shed so they can be alerted by text that their eggs are ready. I will keep an eye on things to help make sure things run smoothly, particularly when we get started. 

Send me any thoughts or alternative ideas at belindasommer@gmail.com or 0409 447 933. If being keeping chooks is something you don't want to be involved in, just let me know. 

Naming competition

Our chooks will need names, so send in your ideas to me via admin@camdenvillepaddock.com - best names will be chosen and a suitable prize will be bestowed upon the winner along with the honour and glory of being an inaugural Camdenville Paddock Chicken Christener. 

Thanks,

Belinda

Info adapted from www.gardenate.com - all input welcome in the comments section!

Beetroot  
Sow in garden. Harvest from November

Cabbage  
Sow in seed trays & cover till sturdy, plant out in 4-6 weeks.            
Harvest from November

Eggplant
Sow in seed trays & cover till sturdy, plant out in 4-6 weeks.            
Harvest from December

Kohlrabi         
Sow in garden.          
Harvest from November

Leeks  
Sow in seed trays & cover till sturdy, plant out in 4-6 weeks.    
Harvest from December

Lettuce           
Sow in garden.
Harvest from October

Mint
Sow in seed trays & cover till sturdy, plant out in 4-6 weeks.
Harvest from November

Mustard greens  
Sow in garden.     
Harvest from October

Onion  
Sow in garden. 
Harvest from February

Parsnip
Sow in garden.
Harvest from January

Peas
Sow in garden.
Harvest from November

Radish
Sow in garden.
Harvest from October

Rocket
Sow in garden.
Harvest from October

Snow Peas
Sow in garden.
Harvest from December

Spring onions
Sow in garden.
Harvest from November

Strawberries
Sow in seed trays, cover till sturdy and plant out in 4-6 weeks. 
Harvest from 12 months

Sunflowers
Sow in garden.
Harvest from November

As the summer months approach, we’re thinking of new ways to use the garden and the eco-house. One of these is to start a Camdenville Paddock Summer Book Club, to meet around once a month on a midweek evening at the garden to share a glass of wine, something to nibble on and a spirited natter about a book. 

The book club will begin in November.

Any garden members keen to join the book club and help run it, please email Prue Sargent via admin@camdenvillepaddock.com.

More eco-house ideas please!
Our lovely eco-house is about to undergo a basic repair and rejuvenation makeover - but we need suggestions for ways to use it. Please send any ideas in. They don’t have to be strictly gardening-related, as long as they’re in sympathy with our aims and ideals. Send them to admin@camdenvillepaddock.com and we'll take them to the committee.