Seedsavers Conference 2008

Seedsavers held their 20th conference at Gulgong Showground (near Mudgee) on the 29th and 30th March, 2008. You can find out more at the Seedsavers Website

Survey Results from BMPN members

Over the busy Summer/Christmas school holidays 20 members were able to respond to the survey and they overwhelmingly asked for opportunities to meet informally to exchange information, produce and plants.

Marianne summed this up beautifully "A regular gathering/'market' for seed and cutting or home grown produce exchange/purchase would be nice. I would like a communal space where we could drink tea and relax or are creative together while we socialise and meet new people, exchange handy hints, tips and recipes: A bit like a gardening magazine, but with face-to-face rather than written information. This is not to exclude to finally gather this information and include it in the newsletters for all to share."

Here are the survey results in more detail:

20/20 wanted to remain on this contact list.
7/20 were able to contribute or assist in editing articles.
13/20 want informal gatherings monthly or bi-monthly.
13/20 were happy to participate in working bees.
17/20 were very keen to visit PC garden. Paul made a special request for Cittaslow Kitchen Garden and Kathy and Murray are interested in bee keeping.
16/20 welcomed guest speakers/workshops. Anna suggested they be held quarterly. Jackie suggested that they coincide with existing festivals eg Blues and Folk or Winter Magic and along with Marianne and Ian, requested information on small scale poultry farming in the mountains. Raymond produced a list: "Intensive Small Area Gardening; Propagation/Pruning Techniques; Sustainable Living Practices; Seed Saving".
9/20 were interested in some form of PC education, however David made the valuable point that "The idea of the courses is good but previous experience has been that such courses are too expensive."

Additional information was supplied by these members:

Vera: "I would like to set up a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) set up with a farmer/s as close as possible to the Blue Mountains" and welcomed contact through BMPN from consumers or growers." She also suggested a film night showing The Real Dirt on Farmer John with "guest speakers like Michael Burlace, Stuart Hill to talk about the subject".

David: "...we are interested in productive gardens, alternative building techniques and food networks." He also offered quarterly workshops or demonstations to coincide with seasonal activities eg Spring and Harvest festivals. Thank you David.

In order to meet bimonthly or seasonally, we now need a suitable venue in a location convenient to the majority of the members. Help me make an accurate choice by responding to my email asking for your postcode and any suggestions. Also please email me directly Maryanne@belldesigns.info if you would like to attend our meetings. (My apologies if I have misquoted anybody.) Maryanne Bell

Seedsavers Report Dec 2007

By John McNaull - Mid Mountains Seed Savers Group

Mid Mountains Seedsavers Group - Next Meeting December 9 2007

WE ARE NOW ONLINE!!! This text can be found at http://midbluemountainseedsavers.wikispaces.com/ This is a collective responsibility website that everone who joins can edit, contribute and maintain. Please try it out and let me know what you think and any suggestions for turning it into a useful tool.

We now have the following seeds in our seedbank:

• Coriander
• Blue popping corn
• Garlic chives
• Bush beans: brown beauty
• Climbing beans: mollys zebra, scarlet runner, white monarch, Mostollier wild goose, purple king
• Parsley: italian, triple curl
• Lettuce: perpetual curly
• Pumpkin: potymaron
• Dryland/winter cress
• Onion: max welsh
• Chillies (we still have to identify several of our chillies!)
• Sunflower: golden harvest

Also generously given out at the last meeting were tomato seedlings "Tommy Toe", beautiful iris plants, pink yarrow plants, and amaranth seedlings. Thanks to Louisa for the delicious home baked (and still warm) muffins and to everyone else who brought along sustenance.