Malak Community Garden

RECIPES

Sweet Leaf and Soba Noodle Rice Paper rolls

Chopped Fresh Sweet Leaf
Sliced Red Onion
Chopped Corriander
Grated Carrot
Grated Beetroot
Diced Fresh Tomato
Cooked Buckwheat Soba Noodles
Balsamic Reduction
*Gather all prep ingredients in large bowl and mix with enough dressing then roll rice paper rolls.

Pesto

4 bunches of Basil Leaves
100g Parmesan Cheese
100mls of Virgin Olive Oil
200g of either Pinenuts or Cashews
Salt and Pepper to taste
* Blend all ingredients to gather.

Incredible Quiche

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1.5 cups milk
0.5 cup wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon salt
Garlic
Onion
Herbs of choice
3-4 large handfuls of chopped green leaves, such as sweet leaf, Ceylon salad leaves, amaranth, salad mallow, comfrey, Queensland greens, purslane, drumstick tree leaves, rocket, mukunu-wenna, and warringal greens

Directions:
1. Beat the eggs.
2. Add the milk, wholemeal flour, salt, garlic and onion, and season with herbs.
3. Add 3-4 large handfuls of chopped green leaves.
4. Tip mixture into a large oven dish and bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes, or until set.
5. Serve hot or cold. Suitable to be frozen for later use.
*Mushrooms, cheese, and other types of vegetables can be added if desired.

Art in the Garden.

Much has been happening in our little patch of dirt, including some beautiful art under the direction of community artist, Janie Andrews.

The rains have rained, but the gardeners have kept gardening. We’ve built the soil up, added manure and mulch and there’s a new irrigation system ready for next Dry season.

A toad fence was also built but we found that without a trap, we were just creating a barrier and the toads continued tohang out at the fences. The structure of the garden also meant we could onlythe defend a small area. And then there was the problem of who was going toclear the traps out each morning. As Community Gardener, Liam Golding said, "At the end of the day, we don’t really have the personel. The problem of cane toads is bigger than our garden, and really, toad fence or no toad fence, we’ve pretty much lost the battle. When toads first came to Darwin, everyone was really motivated, but that’s gone. The drive has gone out of the community for catching them. We’ve lost the battle of the toad."  

On a more joyous note, Art has come to the garden. Community artist, Janie Andrews worked with a group of people from My Sisters' Kitchen to create gorgeous flower beds from recycled fridges. Flowers will be planted in them next week. We were blessed to have the very kind support of Bunnings in the form of paints and brushes.Thank you Bunnings! 

December 10, 2010

“It’s an edible landscape, but the buildings aren’t gingerbread.” Liam Golding, Community Gardener.

The first stage of the Malak Community Garden is coming to the end of it’s dry season’s design.

At the moment we’re getting into Stage Two which involves remulching and getting some wet season plants in. Stage two also involves expanding to the other side of the building. This part is dark in the Dry, but gets really good sun in the Wet. 

This next part of the garden will be a bit more open plan. Members of My Sisters’ Kitchen can use it to plant vegies and herbs. The initial garden was a bit too small for lots of people to do lots of stuff without annoying each other - ‘hey! That’s my spinach!” More space means more spinach.

Stage three will involve planting fruit trees on the other side. These will be permanent and will grow tall and catch the sun. Stage Three will also involve using recycled fridges in a wicker box design. In this design, the bottom third of the fridge is full of empty stubbies, then there’s a layer of hessian. The top two thirds are full of earth. A hose takes water to the bottom and the plants take it up when they need it.  If there’s no rain, they need watering weekly. Less, of course, with all the rain. Wicker boxes save water and are good for balconies.  

More news soon, happy horticulture!