You are invited to Jan & Doug’s Garden

Join Kyneton’s own “Raspberry Queen” to:

• Get some free raspberry canes to grow in your own backyard
• Learn about raspberry growing from the “Queen”
• Help to stop the raspberries taking over the whole of Jan’s veggie patch
• Weed where those pesky little things manage to pop up around the raspberries

But mostly:

• To have some fun chatting with other garden-loving locals
• Enjoy a yummy afternoon tea
• Share some ideas for our involvement in the Kyneton Agricultural Show in November
• Restart the regular Garden Gatherings that have been in recess for some time (Garden Gatherings will be monthly from now. They’re usually between 2 and 4 pm on Sundays, and wrap up with afternoon tea provided).

Why?            It’s an opportunity to share your garden dreams and challenges, ask questions, learn and help others.

 When: Sunday 3^rd August from 2pm to 4pm

 Where: 10 Granite Hill Lane, Kyneton (take the first right after the Kyneton Golf Course)

 What to bring: gloves, water bottle, tools (especially for digging up raspberries)

 Any questions please call Julie McLaren on 5422 3023 or 0425 724 156
No need to RSVP, just turn up

 If you know someone who would be interested in joining us, please pass on this invitation. If you can come, please don’t forget to add it to your diary.

And if you’re interested in hosting your own garden gathering you just need to attend two or three for others to qualify. Please contact us for more information.

~ Looking forward to seeing you there ~

If you click on the link below you will find a great demonstration of how to make a wicking bed using a large apple bin.

Gardening Australia wicking bed demonstration

Kyneton Transition Hub’s first open gardens for edibles was a great success and it will be on again in spring, but this time as part of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival Open Gardens Program.

If you have an edible garden you would like to show off then please contact us. We would love to include new gardens as well as some favourites from the first open day.

About 50 people visited the gardens on the open day in March. There was a good mix of locals and those who had travelled from Melbourne, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Bendigo and beyond. Some of course were in Kyneton for the Lost Trades Fair and combined the two, but many were attracted just by the edible gardens, especially those interested in permaculture and community gardens.

After the hot summer, some of our gardeners were a little reluctant to open their gardens, but they were all glad they did. The feedback from the visitors was reward enough. The visitors commented on how much they were able to learn and the great variety of gardens open.

At the Kyneton Community Garden at the secondary college there was a lot of interest in how the garden is organised, wicking beds, native bee hotels, the chooks and especially their feeders that keep out rodents and sparrows. The day finished with a good downpour.

If you are interested in opening your edible garden to share with others, please contact us: kynetonth@gmail.com or phone Julie 5422 3023.

Seven very different edible gardens around Kyneton are opening their gates on Saturday 15 March for the inaugural Kyneton Transition Hub Edible Gardens Open day.

Gardens will be open on Saturday from 9am-4pm. The map and descriptions published below will help you plan your day. The gardeners will be happy to share what they’ve learned from their gardening experiences.

Download Open Day Map and Description as pdf here 

The map for the inaugural Kyneton Edible Gardens Open Day will be published here in the next few days. Please check back for your copy to download.

Garden grows beyond schoolyard at Kyneton Secondary College

By Angela Valente

21:42:PM 25/11/2013

All hands on deck: Julie McLaren in the garden with year 9 students (from left) Sam, Brodie, Finley, Chantelle and Jordan. Photo: Paul Rovere

A disused horticulture area at Kyneton Secondary College has been transformed into a community edible garden with help from Kyneton Transition Hub volunteers.

Hub convener Julie McLaren said the area already had a shade house, hot house tools and shed.

“We thought how could you not start a community garden when you have all this here already.”

The Kyneton college did not run a horticulture subject at the school this year, which gave Ms McLaren and a team of volunteers time to establish the garden.

There are plantings in wicking beds and seedlings in the hot house, and they have brought in chooks, bantams and a “truckload of soil”.

She said the garden was for community use, but students at the school were also taking advantage of the area.

Year 9 students have been helping in the garden as part of community service projects, while year 7 students collect eggs that are used in home economics classes.

“Engaging 15-year-olds can be tough, but they have worked really hard moving dirt and clearing sleepers,” Ms McLaren said.

“We haven’t had a community garden in Kyneton for some years.

“We hear that most people in Kyneton have big backyards so why would we need it? But there are people in rental places, people who don’t like gardening in their own spaces for whatever reason, and this is a place for people to learn and share.

“A lot of people like being in the company of others and it’s a social place, too.”

» People interested in volunteering should call Julie McLaren, 5422 3023

Euan Beaumont attended the Biochar Workshop we ran in April 2013. This is great news on his progress since then:

Full story click here.