Gardening in the Winter Months

An update from the Hills Organic Garden

What a difference the cooler weather makes. Over the last few weeks we have been very busy planting vegetables for our spring harvest and with the cooler weather, our little seedlings are now starting to flourish.

We have Bok Choy, Leeks, Shallots, Baby Spinach, Beetroot, Lettuce, Silverbeet, Tomatoes, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Beans, Snow peas, Eggplant, Carrots and Strawberries all doing very well.

The baby spinach and lettuce are now ready to pick along with the silverbeet. It is so nice to be taking home some produce already.

Our members are all enjoying their time at the garden as it is so pleasant to be out in the sunshine watering and weeding and maintaining our beautiful community garden. We have a wonderful bunch of keen gardeners who are all willing to lend a hand and each Sunday afternoon we gather at the garden to tend to the plants and keep the surrounds neat and tidy. At the moment our herb garden has flowering basil which is attracting the bees, society garlic (which has beautiful edible lavender flowers), thyme, tarragon, mother of herbs, and garlic chives.

The HOG community is a friendly group who offer people in the Hills District the opportunity to grow vegetables using organic principles. Age is no barrier so feel free to come along one Sunday afternoon to have a chat and a look around our beautiful garden.

As the days are getting shorter and cooler, we have decided to change our working bee time on a Sunday afternoon. The new time will be from 2.00 p.m. to 4.00p.m. As well, our members attend the garden through the week to water and do general maintenance.

You will find us at 416 Bunya Road, Bunya next to the Off Leash Dog Park. Membership Fees per year are $20 for adults, $30 for family and $10 for Juniors. Visit hog.org.au, search “The Hills Organic Garden” on Facebook or phone 0415 856 532 for information. We look forward to meeting you.

John Oxley District Orchid Society Annual Winter Show

Tips for the Cold & Chilly Season

An update from the Mitchelton and Districts Garden Club

Wow! Already we are in the second half year of 2023. How time flies!

During the last few weeks, the executive members of the Mitchelton and Districts Garden Club Inc. have been very busy with an EXPO at Arana Hills. The June General Meeting also took place which included a farewell function for Pat Killoran, a long serving president who retired towards the end of last year. Unfortunately Pat was ill and unable to attend. The members who took part in preparing for this function are to be congratulated for their splendid efforts. A card and gifts from the club were delivered to Pat’s home the next week.

Remember to hose your garden between the hours of 9am and 4pm in winter. This allows the foliage to dry before nightfall. Dampness encourages attack by disease and mildew, especially powdery mildew, so try to avoid it. Check citrus trees for gall wasp and citrus leaf miner. Prune off offending pieces. Tie them up in a plastic bag to go in the rubbish bin. Spring flowering annuals and vegetable plants would benefit from a liquid fertilizer at this time. If lots of little weeds are showing in your lawn, in dry weather give the areas a sprinkle of sulphate of ammonia. The next morning’s dew will melt the sulphate of ammonia which will burn and kill the weeds. The grass will be burnt too, but the chemical will also provide nourishment and it will not be long before the lawn is green again.

The next meeting of this club is at the Enoggera Memorial Hall (entrance at 36 Trundle Street) on Thursday morning, 3rd August. The topic of the guest speaker, Rose Graham, is Herbal Teas. Herbs have always played an important role in the well being of humans and animals, but they must be used according to directions. Visitors and new members are most welcome to attend. Morning tea is served from 9.45am and the meeting commences about 10am

For more information please email mitcheltongc@ gmail.com or check out their Facebook page @ mitcheltongardenclub

Learn About the Gorgeous Geraniums

Saturday 29th July 8.30am - 4pm

Sunday 30th July 9am to 3pm

Auditorium Botanic Gardens Mount Coot-tha

Admission $4.00 Children Free

Displays of hybrid, species, and native orchids. Perfect opportunity for photographers. Plants and growing accessories or sale. Potting demonstrations both days at approximately 10am and 1pm. Brisbane City Council runs a bus service to the gardens. There is off street parking, with disabled parking at the front door.

From the Ferny Grove Garden Club

The July meeting of the Ferny Grove Garden Club will be on Friday, 28 July, at 1 pm. The club meets in St Matthew’s Church Hall, Church Road, Mitchelton. Helen Rattenbury will be speaking about the popular geranium plant. While pelargoniums and geraniums are certainly tough and very easy to grow, they still require tending to maintain their health and keep them looking their best for the next season. With Helen’s advice we will be looking forward to a bright spring. For more information please telephone Elizabeth 07 3851 0568.

You may have noticed the trademark Evermore Plumbing & Gas vehicles darting around north west Brisbane in recent times. This local business has gained quite the reputation for providing quality and timely plumbing services to the local community. The company is headed by tradesman Damian Connor, who he brings vast experience to the table and holds great pride in the services Evermore Plumbing & Gas has to offer.

Growing up in McDowall, Damian was raised by two hairdressers, although his passion always lay in the construction industry. He tried a few trades, however plumbing is where his heart lay so in 2006, fresh out of high school, he embarked on his journey into the industry through an apprenticeship program with All Trades Queensland. From early on in his training, Damian experienced a variety of different aspects of plumbing ranging from general maintenance plumbing, construction plumbing, commercial maintenance plumbing and medical gas to name a few. Upon finishing his apprenticeship, Damian worked primarily in the field of maintenance plumbing with the occasional period working in medical gas on large projects.

With a plethora of knowledge and experience under his belt, he was keen to set out on his own and founded Evermore Plumbing & Gas in 2017, operating from home with the help of his wife, Hannah.

Over the last 6 years, the company has seen exponential growth and has expanded to include a team of nine, with their headquarters located at a commercial premises in Arana Hills.

Damian is dedicated to changing the perception and breaking stereotypes about the trade industry as a whole. He always strives to provide exceptional plumbing services by prioritizing promptness, reliability and quality craftsmanship. It is then of no surprise to hear that Evermore Plumbing & Gas were the 2022 winners of the MPAQ Service Excellence Award for all of Queensland.

P: 3335 5067

E: admin@evermoreplumbing.com.au www.evermoreplumbing.com.au

Warwick Brown

Farmer Brown’s Pizzas, has earnt its title as one of the area’s most popular mobile catering services in The Hills District, but how did it all begin?

The answer is Warwick Brown, a man who spent his childhood living the farm life on the outskirts of Dayboro. From chasing cows to getting chased by cows, to stacking motorbikes and learning how to gracefully fall off horses, Warwick sure made the most of it. The food especially. In the Brown household, meals were always fresh and jam-packed with flavour due to the numerous veggie patches and fruit trees on their doorstep. However, once childhood was over and Warwick had gained experience working in management, he set out to chase his dream of operating his own small business. Pizza was his passion, and Warwick wanted to share it with our community. December 2015 marked the official launch of his fully licensed, mobile wood-fired pizza set up, Farmer Brown’s Pizzas. All the ingredients are fresh as day, some home grown and some sourced locally. With Warwick’s dedication and young driven team, the business has thrived over the past 6 years, now consisting of 22 capable staff and the addition of 7 trailers to the Farmer Browns fleet. This has also enabled the business to launch a permanent brick and mortar pizza store in Ferny Hills- the Farm Shack.

Warwick and his pride-filled staff are renowned for their catering skills, their customer service, their personal interactions with patrons, and their ability to deliver molto bene meals to all. The team usually caters for events such as parties, festivals, special occasions, weddings, and fetes.

Clearly, Warwick and his dream have come a long way. Farmer Browns Pizzas is now fortunate enough to be booked out most Saturday nights for a few months in advance and The Farm Shack is thriving. Best yet, with all his success in the suburbs, Warwick never abandoned his roots; still at home in Dayboro.

P: 0449 944 406

TheFarmShack1 www.fbpizzas.com.au