Welcome to Watermelon & Waves.
We at Coastal Community Garden would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, safe holiday and a Happy New 2025!
December is the start of two Noogar summers; the first being, Birak. The Birak summer extends from December through to January and is one of six seasons for the Noogar people. This season brings with it a daily pattern of scorching easterlies which change to cooler south westerlies breeze, late afternoon or sometimes even later during the night; the ‘Fremantle Doctor’.
The warmer weather ramps up with rains diminishing. The waterways begin to dry up and tadpoles complete their metamorphosis to frogs while fledglings leave their nests as they learn to fend for themselves. Reptiles shed their old skin making room for new growth.
Summer has arrived!
What to expect in this issue:
- Member’s Story – Another committee member –
- What’s Happening in Our Garden
- New Members
- Up and Coming Events
- Gardening Jobs During this Season: December – January
- What to Plant Now
- This Issue’s Native Plant– Leptospermum sericeum
If you are a CCG member and would like to share your story on how you have become involved in our garden patch please send it in via email. We would love to share it to encourage more members to come join us and get involved.
Member’s Story
Steve & Kerri Waterman story –
Having recently retired and as lovers of the great outdoors with a few handyman and gardening skills, we were looking to give back to the community with some volunteer work and the Coastal Community Garden seemed a nice space to join and help out. Although funnily enough, being retired hasn’t really given us anymore spare time, we seem to be even busier!!
We are looking forward to expanding our knowledge of vegetable growing and meeting like minded community members, so don’t be shy, come on down to one of our busy bees (follow the Facebook page for updates) to help make this a great place to share ideas, produce and community spirit.
What’s Happening in Our Garden – Work done recently
We have been continuing with our fortnightly Busy Bees which are a great way to get involved and meet other members. There was a huge effort put in by members preparing for Open Day which was a great success. Check out our amazing video on our home page.
Thanks to all our committed gardeners who have kept the water up during the dry days. We now have abundant crops of vegies instead of weeds. The cardboard and chip wood have now been extended which hopefully will bring many of the weeds under control, giving our young plants room to grow and mature.
We have planted more fruit bearing trees, making a lovely outer ring to the existing garden area. As time progresses and more finance comes in we will be able to extend this are further south to untamed, mostly unexplored boundary.
Our amazing wicking beds and our in-ground garden are thriving with both productive vegies, herbs and flowers as is the native garden at the entrance, in front of our blue container shed, which now has our beautiful sign, infront of the blue container, made by the Men’s Shed.
Have you checked out all our wonderful progress through the photo’s on our GALLERY page?
We are looking for a competent Web designer to help us with our payment portal which has been giving us strife since first being installed. If you know anyone please email ATTENTION Sally: coastalcommunitygarden@gmail.com
Please let us know if you are wanting to be involved in the Coastal Community Garden in any way through our Facebook page and please come on down to the patch on our Busy Bee days.
Join us as we put our backs to work and spades in the dirt establishing our productive garden.
New Members:
CCG would like to welcome members who have so generously contributed to the work in our garden both financially and physically. Member’s fees are being put towards establishing our garden infrastructure, beds and upkeep of the garden.
Up and Coming Events:
Please check out our Facebook page for any up and coming events and where you might like to get involved. There’s still lots to do and all hands are much appreciated. Please remember to bring sun protection, gloves and water.
Mark your calendars for these up and coming events:
- We are looking to grow our committee and welcome nominations for membership. We are sad but excited for our beloved Natalie who is stepping down as chairperson as she heads off with her family on an Australian adventure For more information please email us at: coastalcommunitygarden@gmail.com
- Fortnightly busy bee – don’t worry if you don’t have gloves or gardening tools; there are plenty in our shed.
- With Christmas and New Year during this season there are no major activities scheduled although help watering the garden continues. If you are able to help out please let us know. Those who do reap the benefits.
In the meantime, stay safe and have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.
Gardening Jobs During Birak Season:
Perth’s summer heat can be extra challenging so it’s good to start preparations before it begins. Firstly look after yourself and the family – slip, slop, slap, working only in the cool of the day, early mornings and later in the evenings. Small bursts in the cool of the day are better than over doing it in the heat. Keep hydrated and take regular breaks.
Here are some jobs around the garden to get you started:
Watering:
- Run your reticulation making sure it’s running on the correct days and is in good working order. Replace any broken parts and flush out runs to prevent blockages in sprinkler heads. Is it reaching all the areas in the garden?
- Move potted plants to a cooler, shady spot in the garden.
- Hand water pots and vegetable gardens regularly.
Fertilise:
- Apply a wetting agent to all garden beds, pots and lawn and water in well.
- Apply seaweed extract fortnightly. It will help to thicken the cell walls of the plants so they can withstand the extreme heat more effectively.
- Fertilise native plants with blood and bone or a native-specific fertiliser.
- Keep compost heaps moist.
Ponds:
- Check pond water regularly during the heat to make sure the levels don’t drop and that algae doesn’t take over.
- Remove floating vegetation and excess pond weed.
Clean Up and Reduce:
- Keep weeds under control to prevent spreading.
- Tidy, weed and feed the vegetables.
- Harvest to keep herbs compact.
Mulching:
- Mulch citrus trees and don’t allow them to dry out to help them hold their crop. Fertilise with a citrus fertiliser.
- Mulch throughout the garden to keep the earth protected from the sun heat and on top of pots to help retain moisture. Use chunky mulch for the garden and Lucern hay for vegetables.
Lawns:
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What to plant now:
Flowers
Ageratum, alyssum, aster, begonia, boronia, calendula, cyclamen, dahlia, forget-me-not, gerbera, impatiens, linaria, marigold, nasturtium, pansy, petunia, portulaca, salvia, stock, sunflower, sweet pea, verbena, vinca, viola, wallflower and zinnia.
Vegetables
Plants to consider growing now include: basil, beans (snake beans highly recommended for summer), beetroot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chilli, chokos, cucumber, eggplant, endive, ginger, herbs, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, malabar spinach, melons, okra, parsnips, pumpkin, radish, rockmelon, rosella, rhubarb crowns, silverbeet, spring onions, squash, strawberries, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomatoes, turnip, watermelon, zucchini.
This Issue’s Native Plant:
(for our coastal region the Bassendean and Spearwood dune sands Perth)
Pencil Esperance Teatree or Silver Teatree (Leptospermum sericeum)Hardy shrub with attractive slivery foliage endemic to southwest WA which grows to 2m high and 1m across. Beautiful, fragrant large silky dark pink wax flowers that fade into pale pink or white. It flowers from May to October. Its natural habitat is limited to a small area on the west coast around Perth and the south coast near Esperance.
This plant is ideal for a feature hedge and suitable for coastal conditions as it tolerates salt spray and strong winds. It can handle full sun to part shade. Attracts birds, butterflies and bees. Flowers are ideal for cut flowers as they are long lasting.
Plant Care
The Silver Teatree prefers a light to medium soil in an open sunny position. It is drought and frost resistant. It can be propagated from seed and cuttings. Pruning after flowering will promote new growth and maintain shape. Water during extended dry periods.
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Coastal Community Garden would once again like to take the opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and safe holiday season. We are hoping to see you down at the patch soon.
Yours in the garden,
The Costal Community Garden team
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