farm yarns Spring 2010
Farm Manager Alex Walker Winter has seen many different things happen across the Farm, from Family day’s to Farmers Market to bonfire to School Holiday Programs and the start of the Farmforce program. The School Holiday Program was once again full booked out and all the kids in the program had a great time. Bridget did a great job of organizing the chores for the kids to do with staff while Brodie and Liz were once again outstanding with all the horse riding program. The public crowds during the School Holidays varied as much as the weather and our largest crowd was on Naidoc Day put on by Aboriginal Housing Victoria and the City of Yarra. The July Family Day was very busy with the Australian Rat Fanciers Society Inc while once again the Walers help us celebrate Horses Birthday at the August Family Day. On the Monday after the Bonfire we cleared the mound and seeded it which has ensured we have grass growing back on it now and hopefully it will continue to grow thus cutting out a dust problem we can sometimes encounter. Thank You to all attended the Bonfire but because of the crowd size we will have to limit ticket sales next year with Members having first chance to buy them so watch for the upcoming Newsletters with information of when tickets go on sale. The Farmforce program has so far employed twenty three workers and they have been finishing off around the shed , install tanks to collect water, building new chicken pens, starting on the stables extension as well as anew Lambing Shed, fencing projects around the farm and some landcare work along the banks of the Yarra. They have all fitted well into the farm and look forward to help improving it. Of cause with Spring comes our new Babies come on down and enjoy the sight of Spring Lambs bounce around the paddock, goats and their kids strolling around while the piglets are up to all sorts of Mischief.
Have your next event at the Farm Weddings Celebrations Corporate Events A beautiful and memorable location Page 2..
Young Farmer’s Program Brodie Harrison The Young Farmer’s Program has been super busy even over the winter months. Horse riding continued until the end of term 2 with the Saturday group having a bit of a games day to finish off the term and wish the horses a happy holiday! Most of the horses have now gone on holidays with Charlie Benson, Shannon, Stumpy Joe, Zac and April spending their time in Christmas Hills together. Hopefully they all have fun and don’t get up to too much mischief! Annie and Maggie have now both gone to new retirement homes near Daylesford so let’s hope they enjoy their life of leisure. Boss has also returned to Ride ability where he will be semi-retired and all 3 of them will be missed by all of the young farmers. With the horses gone we have been keeping busy and warm working hard on the farm. As always paddocks have needed cleaning, animals fed and water troughs scrubbed. We have also been cooking, with a fantastic stinging nettle and potato soup by Susan and a group of the kids being one of the favorites. We had fun making a two layered carrot cake with molasses, oats and apples for the horse’s birthday and that went down a treat.
We have been practicing leading the goats ready for the goat show on Family Day in October. Walking a group of young goats in a circle in a paddock then standing them up evenly is much harder to achieve than it may sound. However it has been fun and given all of the Young Farmers and good laugh. Fingers crossed that we will be a little better prepared when showing time comes around this year. Last week Pierre the calf got lead down to the stables and tied up for the first time and he was perfect for us to brush and give a little bit of attention. This is good practice for when two new heifers (girl cows that have not had a calf yet) come for a visit at the farm in the next month. Warialda Belted Galloways have kindly agreed to lend us Sally and Dora for the Young Farmers to learn how to handle, look after and show beef cattle. We are all very excited about this! Hopefully until the next Farm Yarns we can keep just as busy and with another trip to Sutton Grange Organic Goat Farm (where Holy Goat cheese is made) planned for spring, and maybe even a trip to one of the agricultural shows, it should be. We are all looking forward to spring babies and for the horses to come back from holidays (we miss them already). So till then, Happy Farming from all of the Young Farmers.
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Horticulturalist Toni Phillips Rain, Prune and Re-invigorate! The rains came and it was wonderful, Let us hope that this will continue and the trees can be revitalized and the gardens be the most productive they have been for a few years. Volunteers, staff, and students have all been very busy pruning most of the farms fruit trees. Some of the trees, most obviously the Fig tree at the farm gate, have been radically pruned to give it the most chance of reinvigoration. The new tool shed is big and spacious, and wonderful but not yet as attractive as it could be, that is until the new plantings have time to grow. Plants here are drought tolerant, and highly valued for the Tussie Mussies.
Spring Planting Now we are having some sunny days we just want to start planting summer vegetables and flowers. However, nights are still quite cold and expect change, we can have sudden cold, even frost quite late, that will damage if not set back many summer veggies. Plants such as eggplant, cucumber, melons, corn, okra etc require warm temperatures and long sunlight periods to adequately produce, so provide protection by position -sheltered and north facing, or use pots, sculpture, plastic, cloth, glass sheeting, but remember to remove it during the day. Or just wait until the soil has warmed to around 20 0 will produce vigorous plants that quickly surpass those that were planted earlier. Cultivated soil will warm up much quicker than soil that is dense or covered with mulch. Mulch is great to reduce evaporation when it the weather is hot, to prevent weeds especially around trees, and protect frost tender plants at night.
Time to plant Now is a good time to plant early potatoes. Onion seedlings can be transplanted now, also continue planting Kale and Asian members of the cabbage family like Wong Bok and Bok Choi, Peas, Salad greens and Lettuce. Seed direct into the garden Beans, Beetroot, coriander, carrot, lettuce, marrow, parsnip, pea, radish. Cucumber, melon, pumpkin, sweet-corn, zucchini and all those with large seeds, are best planted straight into the ground (after frost) or in pots. Sow seed in containers Asparagus, Broccoli, Cabbage, Capsicum, Celery, Chives, Chili, Dill, Eggplant, Parsley, Tomatoes. Grow on seedlings of tomato, eggplant, squashes, basil, celery, okra etc until large enough to survive if half eaten. When planting out consider covering with the cut off soft drink bottle or make a little fence out of 2L milk containers with both ends cut off, to offer some protection from slugs and snails as well as insulation.
Wild food Chickweed not just for Chicks! Chickweed (Stellaria media) - Is a common weed of veggie gardens all around the world and a sign that the soil is fertile containing potassium, Ascorbic-acid, Betacarotene, Calcium, Magnesium, Niacin, Potassium, Riboflavin, Rutin, Selenium, Thiamin, and Zinc. Chickweed is an accumulator of copper in the soil making it available to other plants and extremely valuable in the compost.
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NMIT horticulture students about to revitalize the orchard trees
As you may guess it is loved by chickens and caged birds. It has long been used as a bird feed, and in winter provides one of the few sources of fresh seed for them. It is also enjoyed by pigs, cows and horses, sheep and goats also enjoy it though it is necessary to limit their intake as chickweed is so rich it can lead to scouring if they eat too much. Chickweed is also the original ingredient for Chick- a-Leeky a soup similar to spinach, not chicken as many people assume. Chickweed is edible and nutritious, and is used as spinach either in cooking or raw as in salads or in juice. Chickweed is very high in Protein and minerals. It is very high in Vitamin C and is excellent for helping to dissolve fats in the body It is one of the 7 ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival. Traditionally as a tea or other topical application, Chickweed has been used for skin complaints since skin started complaining, it is very effective for itches, eczema, rashes especially Nappy Rash and chapped skin. Used as a poultice it is wonderful for extreme rashes and sores and a great scrub for acne. Taken internally as a tea or food it is excellent for weight reduction, particularly for discouraging fat retention.
Side Effects and Safety-Side effects may include contact dermatitis after skin contact with the herb. People with allergies to the daisy plant family may also react to chickweed. Chickweed should not be used internally as medicine by pregnant or nursing women or young children.
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Land Management Bridget Bainbridge Everyone has their babies in the Spring, including the people! We welcome the Charlottes: Congratulations to Julia, who is the proud first time grandmother of Charlotte; to Tom and Pip from the cafe on the birth of another Charlotte, sister for Minnie; and to Nick and Catherine, who had a baby boy, Charlie, a sibling for Jonah. Welcome to the babies!
The animals are a little way behind in the birth stakes this year- the first of the sheep are due from next week, followed by the goats. The pigs are also due, Greta is due from the first of August (were nor sure exactly when..) Heather the cow is still down in Gippsland with her bull friend, and will remain there until she is about 1 month off calving. Patsy meanwhile is producing milk by the bucketful which is feeding her calf, Pierre, and the chooks. The chook incubation will begin in late august, this year in our new incubation shed (which will be completed shortly) complete with water, electricity, insulation and skylights!! Once incubated, they will be moved to another new pen, divided into 3, which will house the young chicks to pullet stage. These buildings will improve the ease the congestion in some of our grower pens of late, enabling us to produce better quality, healthier happier hens more easily. The horses are going on holidays up to the Horse Resort in Christmas Hills (a yummy 10 acre paddock with a big dam!). Brandy and Ted are staying to hold the fort and do pony rides for birthday parties, Boss has finished his stint with us and returned to the RDA in Officer-thank you Boss and RDA for your help. Annie and Maggie are retiring (again) to go to separate homes in the Daylesford area, where they will still see each other occasionally. Page 6..
The Young Farmers Program is bubbling away. Despite the horses going on holiday for the term (how WILL they cope??!) there’s lots of things to do. Cooking, gardening, helping out with setting up for events, and even picking up poo somehow ends up being fun when the young farmers are around.
Landcare There is heaps of weeding activity along the riverbank thanks to Dennis and the Taskforce team. They are slowly clearing a HUGE mountain of Tradescantia that has been growing along the riverbank for some time. Additionally we have had the Citipower planting day, where we have planted about 400 plants in 2 hours. Come and be a
Farmer for a Day School Holiday Program Tend and feed the animals, learn grooming, saddling and horsemanship, milk the cows, round up the chooks and generally help run the farm
Every Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of the school holidays. Cost—$60 per day. Ages of 8 and 16. To enrol : trybooking.com
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S NK L S A L R TH O A TEE T N LU VO
Community garden news Toni Phillips The Community Gardens Plots are a hive of activity and still the most popular plots in Melbourne.
Hard -working Plotters help to make the plots enjoyable and interesting for all Farm visitors. This happy bunch have just completed their obligation of attending working bees or assisting the Pancake or Farm stall at the Farmers Market or Family Day.
Working Bees at the plots is fun and a great use of energy for everyone. Page 8..
Planning for a sustainable future Planning sub-committee Our Mission Statement The Collingwood Children's Farm is a fun and inspiring country experience for city folk As described in the last few editions of Farm Yarns, the first half of 2010 saw the committee of management focused on developing a ‘plan for the future’ to establish and embed good governance, work practices and programs that would support the ongoing sustainability of the farm. The process, supported by the Myer foundation, aimed to be inclusive of our broad farm community. Workshops were conducted with farm staff and the Committee, we conducted our first member and visitor survey and we kept our community members updated with regular communications. Many topics were discussed and debated – growth, values, education, accountability, community, inclusion. These sessions culminated in the development of our mission statement (above) and a series of statements which will guide staff and committee decision making over the next three years. We:
-embrace social justice and inclusion -manage our resources for now and the future -deliver enriching, educational experiences and activities for children -continue to be a rustic, community, working Farm -operate effectively with a welcoming and skilled team of staff and volunteers -govern responsibly and accountably
The process also resulted in the development of a detailed plan of initiatives for the next three years covering various areas of the farm from visitor program and experience design to building the farm community. The Committee and staff will now set to work on implementing the plan to provide a fun and inspiring experience for city folk. Agi Luczak, Netta McArthur, Helen Semmler, Alex Walker, Pip Hay, Julia Smallwood
Would you like to be part of the Committee of management for a community focused not for profit organisation? The Collingwood Children's farm Committee of Management provides strategic direction and oversees the organisation. We are looking to grow the diversity and strength of our team and seek highly committed and passionate candidates who have some or any of the following skills: - Finance - Animal management / husbandry or veterinary - Land care Please contact Farm Manager Alex Walker on 9417 5806 for more information on how to be involved. Page 9..
Royal Agricultural Society Cattle Handlers CampDuring the July school holidays I was fortunate enough to spend 3 days and nights at the Melbourne Show Grounds on a camp organized through the Royal Agricultural Society and Stud Beef Victoria. The camp is run for kids aged 8 up to adults to learn how to handle and show stud beef cattle and is a very hands on few days. The camp started on Tuesday evening with all the campers and cows arriving and everything being sorted out. Over half of the campers were using animals supplied though the camp so deciding who was getting each cow took time. I was fortunate enough to have Dora the Explorer, a Belted Galloway heifer kindly provided by Warialda Belted Galloways, one of our stall holders at the Farmer’s Market. We had to put wood shavings down in their tie up area, give them water, hay and hard feeds. We then set up our bedding in one of the big sheds. I was very, very glad that I had a swag, down sleeping bag and a doona as it was freezing! The following day we made rope halters and leads, learned how to tie up correctly, a seminar on cattle nutrition and feeding then preparing your cow for show. Now this is much more involved than it sounds. First there is the shampooing, scrubbing and conditioning before the brushing and blow drying. That’s correct, blow drying! They have big industrial strength blow-dryers and the cows just happily stand there being dried and brushed to perfection. As Dora has quite long hair this took me an hour and a half and I was very thankful that I didn’t have the highland cow the girl next to me was drying as she was there for nearly 3 hours.
With Dora looking sparkling clean it was time to practice leading, so with cow halter on, nose clip in and with my cattle cane in hand I was ready to go. Dora is a fairly quiet cow and that provided a good stepping stone for me in all the ins and outs of cow handling and showing. I found out that cows are not has happy to lead as horses and when they decide to stop or go check out the grass over the other side of the path it is much harder to tell them that you are the boss. Also getting them to stand up square, so you are showing them off to their best for the judge is another acquired skill. The following day we did more practice with the camp concluding in a handlers show on the last morning. Overall the week was a fantastic experience that we are hoping next year that some of the Young Farmers will come as well. All of the kids on camp had an absolute blast and it would be great to see some of our kids being involved in the future. Allen and Lizette from Warialda Belted Galloways are kindly lending the farm Dora and her mate Sally in the next month, so the Young Farmers can start to get an idea about the cow handling and this showing business. So watch out cattle showing world, here come Collingwood Children’s Farm!
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Collingwood Children’s Farm PO Box 80 Abbotsford 3067 Farm phone: 9417 5806 Email: enquiry@farm.org.au Website: www.farm.org.au
Stamp goes here
Address sticker goes here
Family Fun Days Sept 5th Oct 3rd Nov 7th Dec 5th
Farmer’s Market held the second Saturday of every month for beautiful fresh, quality produce.
Also enjoy hay rides and pony rides, and other farm activities all for price of entry.
St Heliers Street Abbotsford Melway Ref 44G5 Open every day of the year Entry: $16 Family $8 Adult $4 Child
Phone:
9417 5806
Email:
enquiry@farm.org.au
Web site:
www.farm.org.au