Sap Rising: The Complete Urban Farmer. 21 Days of Crowdsaucing
Everything feels political these post-truth days – if you search the phrase “gardening as a political act” you will discover no end of articles talking up vegetable growing as an avenue of resistance. You may even come across “Gardening is Gangsta” a Texan rotary-hoeing rap crew’s call to community gardeners world-wide to opt-out of the financial-military-industrial complex and plant […]
AFSA: Fighting the good fight for farmers / Tamil Feasts goes up flights, reaches new heights.
I often wonder how many Tammi Jonas’s there actually are. That’s Tammi above on the left in the brown chequered shirt surrounded by volunteer helpers in a barn/classroom raised especially for Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance’s (AFSA) recent sellout fundraiser at Jonai Farms. Not only is Tammi a farmer, a retailer and a parent, she has also […]
Aki's wombok, carrot & apple salad / Behind the scenes of Beetroot & Parsnip Fortnight
Behind the scenes of Beetroot & Parsnip Fortnight The other day Kane Busch called from his family’s farm near Bairnsdale on the banks of the Mitchell River. “We’ve got a lot of beetroot and parsnips, could you help us out?” “I reckon we could do something. How much do you have?” “A lot.” “Well….we could make it beetroot and parsnip fortnight.” […]
Ian and his intense kiwi / Beetroot & Parsnip Fortnight
Like seasonal clockwork feijoas drift out of our fruit bowls as kiwis appear. Hoddles Creek kiwi grower, Ian Cuming, spent the beginning of May with five highly motivated young backpackers (three Germans & two South Africans) picking his 15 tonne kiwi crop in two weeks versus the usual four. When they finished Ian left a couple of kiwi pallets out of his […]
CERES: different & good / Tamil Feasts go on the road
CERES doing different and good In the beginning, back in the early eighties when Brunswick’s textile industry was packing up and heading for China. Back when local businesses were still using the Merri Creek as a sewer. Back when a culture of community mindedness was becoming swamped by a culture of shopping. A small group of people decided to do something different, something good […]
First principles: it all comes back to lemons & boxes.
The lemon economy Back in 2000 right around winter solstice while I was walking down a quiet Thornbury street I saw a basket of lemons sitting at somebody’s front gate with a “take one” sign. I gratefully pocketed my lemon and went about my day. But the lemon basket sparked an idea that grew to become the Urban Orchard […]
