Canberra Organic Growers Society (COGS) has held its 40th anniversary celebration in the Crace Community Garden. President Sue McCarthy said the group, of more than 400 members, takes a proud place in the context of local urban agriculture, the environment, sustainability and healthy eating movements.
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Minister for Health and Wellbeing Meegan Fitzharris spoke at the gathering and helped cut the carrot cake before an outdoor lunch in the garden.
There are 12 COGS-operated community gardens with hundreds of plot holders, Cotter (1987) now the Betty Cornhill Garden, Tuggeranong/Erindale, Charnwood, Oaks Estate, Mitchell, Cook, Holder, Kambah, Dickson, O'Connor, Kaleen and Crace. There is a backyard group for Canberrans who want to attend the meetings and receive the quarterly magazine filled with local planting, gathering and cooking information.
I visited COGS Crace early on the day before the party and met three generations of COGS gardeners all working in their plots. Patrick Goodchild (5) was raking soil between newly planted Queensland Blue pumpkins while his father Nathan Goodchild collected potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes and silverbeet, a legacy from the previous plot holder.
Aleshia and Martin Westgate have had their plot for a month, encouraged by their neighbours in Crace. They were busily tending four types of tomatoes, beans, amaranth and pumpkins which have grown from their worm castings.
Phillip Burroughs was watering his double plot which was shoulder-high with potatoes, tomatoes and rocket. The grapevine along the fence beside the plots is turned into wine by other plot holders. For four years, Burroughs and his wife have lived in a Green Smart award-winning rotating 'Girasole' house built by John Andriolo where Phillip has planted the front garden with strawberry plants instead of a lawn. The Burroughs are harvesting six punnets of strawberries a day.
2018 Gardening Diary
The Diggers Club is also celebrating 40 years of promoting heirloom seeds to gardeners and cooks as well as championing conservation and promoting organic solutions. They have produced a spiral-bound diary with seasonal planting advice, room for plant labels, pockets for seed packets and weekly garden facts.
Available from the Curatoreum shop at the National Portrait Gallery and National Arboretum Canberra ($24.95) as well as online from diggers.com.au
Dill
Two of my favourite Canberra hosts served blinis (with fish roe and smoked salmon) at recent parties. One of them added a dollop of Doodles Creek Dill and Lime mayonnaise. Owner Sarah Ross said the product was first made in 2002 in the farmyard kitchen on the family farm at Kangaloon in the Southern Highlands. It has been awarded a Good Egg Award by the RSPCA. Available from Mart Deli and Deli Planet at Fyshwick Markets, IGA Ainslie and Deakin, and Food Lovers at Belconnen Markets. The herb dill is easy to grow from seed or seedlings and is a select addition to top grilled seafood.
New from Doodles Creek is an Indian Wedding Chutney, perfect for January, which is carrot based, with dried apricots, dates and sultanas mixed with Garam Masala. Serve with leg ham or barbecued meats.
Forest Mushrooms
In January 2016 two mushroom enthusiasts left the corporate sector to found the Mushroom Emporium. They sell gourmet and medicinal mushrooms harvested from the forest floor in Europe and Australia. Their mushroom salts including porcini with Australian Inland Pink Salt flakes are available from Urban Providore Australia's showroom in Fyshwick. Their Australian-only food products include a Canberra range. I bought their gluten free Forest Mushroom Fettuccine ($5) made by the Pasta People.
Urban Providore has a mini pop-up shop in the Metropolitan Building 0/5 London Circuit in Canberra City West, open today to Friday from 7.30am-6pm for Christmas artisan edibles.
Brushes for vegies and barbies
The Garden in Dickson stocks artisan brushes from Redecker, a German family business since 1935. They use sustainable wood and natural fibres in the vegetable cleaning brush ($8.95) and gardener's nail brush plus a sturdy brush for cleaning the barbecue.
Yates stringless bean seed winners
There is a new Team Bean from entries for our giveaway. The winners are Greg Boland of Watson, Patrise Dowling of MacGregor, Carol Edwards of Farrer, Bernadette Griffin of Wanniassa, Peter Harris of Latham, Julie Hemmingway of Deakin, Jenny Horsfield of Kambah, Elly McGuiness of Wanniassa, Angela Ivanovici of Narrabundah, Jeanette Ruxton of Ainslie, Jerry Tipping of Weetangera and Jessica Usback of Evatt. The New Year challenge is who will harvest the first beans.
The winner of 'Fast Ed' Halmagyi's book The Everyday Kitchen is Adrian Best of Conder. He, and other readers, have sent recipes to share in 2018. Happy Festive Season to all.
Susan Parsons is a Canberra writer.
