26 April 2015

Spring Garden Planning workshop, and Margaret's May gardening notes

Spring Garden Planning Workshop

Permaculture Tasmania is advertising what looks like a wonderful winter workshop on preparing the garden for Spring. 
Spring Garden Planning
Sunday 26th July, 9:00am – 4:00pm
The Little Seed, Franklin
Many factors influence the amount of produce that we harvest from our gardens, and there is no doubt that forward planning increases yield. Winter is the perfect time to do this planning, and get all the beds prepared before the mad dash that hits us during spring in Tasmania.
The workshop covers:
  • Building healthy soil
  • Garden base maps
  • Timing – what to grow and when to sow
  • Crop rotation
  • Companion planting
  • Bed preparation and planting out
There will be an opportunity to plan your own bountiful harvests during the workshop, so bring a rough sketch showing a few of your garden beds, with a note about what is currently growing in the beds and when the beds will be empty.
The workshop is being hosted by Penny Milburn, an experienced practitioner and trainer who completed her Permaculture Design Certificate in 2008 with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton. She has since trained over 300 people at workshops in both Sydney and Tasmania, and currently works for the National Environment Centre teaching on-line Accredited Permaculture Training to students across Australia and as far away as Italy and Samoa.
The venue is The Little Seed, a 15-acre permaculture property overlooking the Huon River. The strawbale home with earthen floors and innovative grey water system have both featured in the Owner Builder Magazine, and the water harvesting system with established food forest incorporating chickens and ducks is an excellent demonstration of the productivity that can be achieved, even on a south facing landscape at 43 degrees.
Cost: $75 / $65 Permaculture Tasmania members (includes a scrumptious lunch)
For enquiries call Penny on 0408 269 765 or email thelittleseed@yahoo.com
 
I also spotted a useful article:
https://www.pipmagazine.com.au/april-gardening-guide-cool-climate-australia/

Planting Notes for May


MAY Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
Sugar Snap Peas  x x x
(1st planting -pregerminate and then sow direct)



Snowpea x x x
(1st planting -pregerminate and then sow direct)



Protect from birds until 100mm high.








Into Punnets:



Lettuce (slow) Plant out in July

x x
Cabbages  (small species) Plant out in July
x x x
Cauliflower "Garant" - Plant out in July
x x x