Welcome to the second edition of Watermelon & Waves.
In this season of Djeran we look at another of our founding members, Lian Yeap and how she originally became involved. We welcome more new members, look at gardening jobs for this season and more.
We aim to have Watermelon & Waves come out at the start of every Noongar Season. The Noongar calendar has six seasons including two summers and two springs. We are now entering the Djeran Season which covers from April to May. Djeran season brings a break in our really hot weather as days shorten, morning and nights are becoming cooler with an occasional greeting of morning dew. The winds, losing their intensity, have swung around to the southwest, bringing night temperatures down. We may even see the first of the rains, an indication of what’s to come. As Bunuru Season was known for the white flowers, Djeran is known for the red flowers. Keep your eyes open for the Corimbia ficifolia or Red Flowering Gum and the Beaufortia aestiva or Summer Flame with its more delicate red flowers. Sheoaks (Allocasuarina fraseriana), as their cones begin to develop, display them in rust red. Banksias are also in flower providing nectar for birds, native bees and small mammals. You may also have noticed the ants are out in abundance, Djeran is also known as the ant season.
Link to this seasons updates:
- Members Story – Another founding member
- What’s Happening in Our Garden
- New Members
- Up and Coming Events
- Gardening Jobs During this Season: April – May
- What to Plant Now
- Fruits and Vegies in Season
- This Issues Native Plant – Coastal Daisybush
We thought you would like to know some of the background of how our garden began. In these first few updates we would like to share with you stories of the birth and growth of this wonderful project. In this our second edition we have asked Lian Yeap to share why she became involved.
Members Story – A brief overview of our early beginnings – another founding member
Lian Yeap’s Story –
I’ve been a keen gardener since I was a child – probably inherited my interest in gardening from my grandmother who had a huge garden and green thumb. I’ve always pottered around in the garden and am lucky enough to have a large backyard to grow things in. I love growing tropical plants (or trying to) as well as fruit trees and a veggie garden. Gardening on the coast can be challenging!
I am an academic at Murdoch University and teach wildlife and conservation medicine so I’m very interested in sustainability, climate change and what we can do as individuals to make a difference to animals and the environment. Growing your own food is a big part of that. Growing community is also important! I started and continue to run a Facebook homesteading and gardening group. Gardening is my way of unwinding and relaxing – except when rats and insects are trashing the garden!
I saw the discussions on Coast Whispers about a potential coastal community garden near the North Beach shopping centre and volunteered to join the committee when Nat Charlton put her hand up to start running things. We’ve been plugging away for the last few years – first finding a suitable site, consulting with the community and working with the City of Stirling to sort out all of the paperwork and technical details. Looking forward to actually digging in the dirt at the garden soon.
What’s Happening in Our Garden – Work done recently
Dan and his team from The Artisan Co, some of our committee members and volunteers have been very busy lately. There were pavers, bricks and materials moved from the top carpark to the garden, two days of earthworks with two huge truckloads of waste being removed from the site and grass stripping to make way for the shed slab. The area around the top carpark was also cleaned of undesirable drug paraphernalia, seating logs arranged under our lovely trees and the first of the paving about to be laid.
The earthworks related to the footpaths and shed slab for stage one of our project has been completed. All the materials from the top carpark have now been brought to site including pavers and sand. All the reticulation products and solar panels for the water pump have been received and soon to be installed thanks to Dan at The Artisan Co. Dan’s team plus volunteers will help lay the pavers.
Dan is also looking for volunteers to help with work on site. If you are able to help in any way please email Dan through our email link below.
Before we put the spades to the dirt and backs into the labour we would love you to get involved.
CCG would like to welcome members who have so generously contributed before the garden was even established. Members’ fees are being put towards necessary projects in our garden, our bi-monthly newsletters, updates of what’s happening throughout the year as well as shared produce from the garden once available. Please pass the word around as we are looking for new members. This year only we are offering founding members a special deal of $30 membership up until June 2024. If you would like to become a member, please email us. If you do not want your name to appear in our newsletter please inform us. Thank you.
Fundraiser: Can you help? A fundraising opportunity was offered to us by the NB Tennis Club during their junior tournaments this April. It’s during the school holidays on Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th of April. We need volunteers to help make and sell toasted sandwiches and icy-poles from the North Beach Tennis Club kitchen. If you are available from 12-2pm please follow this Link to signup:
If you have a sandwich press you can bring, please let us know by return email. Thank you in advance.
Please forward this email to your friends and post it on Facebook to spread the word. Thank you.
We would also like to give thanks to the North Beach Tennis Club for inviting us to use this event to fundraise for our community garden and to Woolworths Karrinyup for their gift card donation.
Gardening Jobs During Djeran Season:
Please continue to remember to slip, slop, slap and keep hydrated during this time of the year. In fact keep out of the garden during the heat of the day. Our days are getting shorter so take advantage of the cooler mornings and evenings as this is the best time for gardening.
Cluster outdoor pots together so that they can protect each other and help prevent them drying out. Check regularly by sticking your finger into the top 50cm of soil and if your finger comes out clean, your pots will probably need watering. It is also a good idea to make sure the top layer is covered with mulch to help retain the moisture and prevent evaporation.
When the weather has cooled and native shrubs have stopped flowering, trim by about one third. Rosemary and lavender hedges can also be pruned at this time.
On days when temperatures are reaching high 30’s, protect your more sensitive plants with a shade cloth where possible. Beach umbrellas and make-shift covers can easily be dismantled during windy days. Hand watering may be necessary during long periods of hot dry conditions. As weather becomes cooler, prune and repot plants that have overgrown their pots.
Continue to check that soil both in the garden and in pots is not hydrophobic; if it is, a wetting agent should be applied. Those with lawns, now is also a good time to aerate with a garden fork.
If you have fruit trees, remove any dead or diseased fruit from on and under the trees to prevent the spread of fruit flies. Bag and dispose of them; do not add them to compost bins. Prune summer fruiting trees after cropping; this reduces the risk of fungal disease and gives the trees a chance to put on some growth before winter.
Empty your compost bins before filling them again with fallen leaves. Do not put diseased leaves or plants into the bin as this will only spread the problem. This is a good time to use your compost to prepare your vegetable gardens ready for autumn planting.
APRIL – MAY
Flowers: alyssum, cineraria, cornflower, snapdragon, stock, statice, pansy, poppy, primula, sweet pea and viola.
Vegetables: Jerusalem globe, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Garlic, Kale, Leek, Lettuce, Onions, Parsnips, Peas – Snow and Sugar, Radish, Shallots, Spring onions, Silverbeet, Spinach and Turnips.
W.A Fruits and Vegies in Season:
Apples including – Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Bananas, Figs, Grapes, Guavas, Kiwi Fruit, Kumquats, Mandarins, Nashi Pears, Olives, Passionfruit, Pawpaw, Pears, Quinces, Rockmelon, Watermelon.
Beans – climbing, dwarf, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Chillies, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Jerusalem Artichoke, Kale, Lettuce, Onion, Parsnips, Peas, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radish, Rhubarb, Silver Beets, Spring onions, Squash, Swedes, Sweet Corn, Sweet potatoes, Tomatoes, Turnips and Zucchini.
This Issues Native Plant:(for our coastal region the Bassendean and Spearwood dune sands Perth)
Our plant for this issue is the Olearia axillaris or Coastal Daisybush
With its distinctive grey foliage Olearia axillaris is one of Perth’s most iconic coastal shrubs. Although a member of the Daisy family (Asteraceae) this bush grows to a height of 1-3 metres, occurring naturally in the sand dunes and along our limestone coast.
It is a compact plant producing insignificant small yellow flowers throughout the year including shortly after summer rains but commonly between March and August. The flowers attract pollinating insects while the bushes provide habitat for invertebrates and small reptiles.
With its highly ornamental foliage it’s great for cut flower arrangements. Can be formed into a hedge.
It is believed to have been eaten as a herb by the Dutch sailors and Willem de Vlamingh when they anchored off Rottnest Island in the 1690s.
Plant care
Drought tolerant, no fertiliser is required tip prune a couple of times a year to keep it compact.
Easy to propagate from cuttings taken at any time of the year or from seeds.
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In the near future we are hoping to include a calendar of events on our new website. I do hope you enjoy looking around the site. These updates will be posted under the heading ‘The Patch’. This is where we catch up with what activities we have all been doing in our garden patch plus all the stories from our posts. Read past Blogs and updates from the Archives also on this page.
As a part of our gardening family we would love to hear your thoughts and what you would like to see in our newsletter.
Thank you for being part of our gardening community.
Yours in the garden,
The Coastal Community Garden team
Contact email: coastalcommunitygarden@gmail.com
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