The Galston District Garden Club welcomes visitors and new members for the second time since resuming meetings after a long layoff time due to Covid Restrictions. Our meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, in the Galston Community Centre, 37 Arcadia Rd, Galston. Time 7.30pm. Visitors and new members are most welcome.
The speaker last month was Ken Turnidge, a long-time nurseryman and member of our garden club. Since retiring Ken has made it a hobby to grow his own coffee, ginger and turmeric. Ken explained the process from picking, drying and finally roasting the beans. Now I can appreciate why buying coffee beans is so expensive.
Ginger, on the other hand, didn’t seem quite a process to grow and harvest. The knobby ginger root is found in grocery stores. Ken’s hint was to choose a healthy plump looking ginger about 10-13 cm long. The advice is to buy organic as sometimes, like potatoes, they are sprayed with an inhibitor which stops them sprouting in the shops. Ginger takes about eight months to grow. Ken explained the process of how to crystallise the ginger as well. He uses the crystalised ginger and dates in lemonade scones. Yummy.
Turmeric is another rhizome that takes about ten months to mature. Then it can be boiled, sliced, and thoroughly dried in a humidifier before grinding. The powder keeps for many years according to Ken.
The speaker for the June meeting is Peter Hey, The Topic: Symbiotic Relations – Plants and fungi. Looking at the broad and beneficial interactions between most plants and microflora.
The Garden Club will be organising the Open Garden Weekend for the weekend of 15th- 17th October, 2021. The success of the weekend depends upon the generosity of garden owners to allow the public to ramble through their slice of paradise. The beneficiaries of this weekend are the many charities chosen by the garden owners as all the money raised goes to these charities. Planning for this Charity Event will begin very soon.
While reading the Our Gardens Magazine printed by Garden Clubs Australia, there was a comment by Judy Horton, the Editor, regarding “Plant-Killing mulch”.
I had never given it a thought before I read this comment. Apparently, the problem can occur when the mulch or compost is made from ingredients such as hay or straw that have been sprayed with selective herbicides.
The herbicide can stay active in the plant material for an extended period. If you are buying mulch, manure or compost, the solution is to choose certified “organic”. The article said, “Anything certified organic is checked all along the line. But it does need to be appropriately certified by one of the recognised organisations.
A product that says organic may simply mean it’s been made from natural sources.
The members are looking forward to meeting you at our meeting on the 9th June 2021 at 7.30. For further information regarding the club, visit: www.galstongardenclub.com.au or email: [email protected]
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