Costa, Costa what does it Costa?

Weeds, apparantly! That's what we community gardeners are. Burrowing down relentlessly, finding that little crack in the asphalt, sending down roots, determined and resolute. Unwavering in our resolve to spread the word, grow the plants and be a community. Words of wisdom from a famous garden guru, Costa, who came to our fair town last week to be part of the launching of local PlaceStories.

Ms Tagalong must slap her hand for that hubris of a rising blush at seeing the home page of this little blog up on the big screen. How wonderfully exciting. Who needs thousands of followers in cyberspace? Here it was being displayed and featured for all to see on the website. And of course, more blushes, in front of Costa! What a thrill, what a celebrity to come and give an impromptu talk on communities and what they mean. He seemed determined to come back to Newcastle and see some of these wonderful sites and by the end of the night, Ms Mova, Ms Designer, Paint Pot Pat and Ms Tagalong had developed a whole itinerary for him to visit in our wonderful community.

Perhaps he should have stayed for the Christmas spirit and the elves' visit together with the heavenly choir who performed last Friday night. What a treat, even the tone deaf Ms Tagalong sangalong.


Later in the week, welcome rain washed the ground and refreshed the plants and seedlings hopefully planted by Mr Ideasman. He is patiently waiting for beetroot and according to Ms Tagalong he will be waiting a long time. The newly acquired sowing times and moon phases show that this is not a summer planting crop! The enthusiasm, the ideas! he's not called Mr Ideasman for nothing!

So off we trot exploring pastures new for the holidays. Ms Tagalong is determined to visit some other gardens along the way, to describe them and provide photos for your delectation. She does, however beg your indulgence, as the wonderful, long-promised broadband coverage does not yet extend to all of our fair land and especially to the wonderful, wild National Park areas Ms Tagalong and Mr Ideasman intend to visit.
Be patient. And anyway all of you will be enjoying the festive season, carousing and carolling and not be looking at blogs! Don't neglect the chickens or the plants though! They will be crying out to me if hungry or wilting!

A round-up of the week's events!

Saturday morning was clear, hot and humid. Wandering in the garden after letting out the clamouring ladies, I suddenly espied a very yellow rhubarb plant, followed upon closer examination another one and several very pale sick looking lettuces. Consternation! What could have happened? Those readers who have followed my delight with our flourishing rhubarb plants will know how devastated I was feeling. As I wended my sad way home I mused on the causes and suddenly thought, that looks like poison. From flourishing plants the night before to this! What else could cause such disaster?

Later in the day, I went back and my eagle eye spotted some tell-tale signs of drooping castor oil plants at the back of the garden over the fence. Those who have visited realise that our little plot is precariously poised on a built-up bank of concrete as high as the roofs of the surrounding light industrial area. Suddenly it all became clear. Our industrial neighbour, tired of the burgeoning wonders had obviously hired someone to stand down below and spray upward onto the plants as they clung to the wall. Well of course that someone either didn't realise or didn't want to realise that the drift was going to affect a lot of the growing veggies in our garden. My worst fear was confirmed as during the working bee we extracted many sickly, yellow looking plants. My google search on round-up showed that we should not plant anything for seven days and that anything even remotely touched will take the poison systemically into the plant through the leaves into the roots. Everything dies! What a great chemical to have lurking around our neighbourhood, don't we love the companies who promote its wonder? Plants' demise may take overnight to three weeks so we still do not know the extent of our losses.


On a jollier note, as mentioned last week, our garden, with the help of an Ideasman erected tarpaulin, became a perfect wedding party venue. The sun shone very hotly and everyone was glad of the shade it cast, even if by the time the event started most of the shade had slid into the veggie garden itself!
We ate, we drank, we talked and ate a scrumptious cake which Ms Mova and Ms '2011 will be my year' made together and lovingly shaped into hearts.
Today it has rained, the tarp is becoming an additional catchment into a barrel. I am glad I am not camping! Mr Ideasman will sit drinking his tea, jumping up every now and then to slide a pole up or down to cascade the collected water. Remembrances of things to come! Is January going to be the wettest summer ever? Good for the garden as respite from the audacious heat but not good for dry bedding and food!

Ms Mova and Ms Tagalong are doing a presentation this week on a pictorial of the progress of the garden. Ms Tagalong can't remember who it is for but I'm sure all will be revealed. We have also been cajoled into dictating our stories for the PlaceStories project by Jenny Cameron of the University of Newcastle. We are very excited about Costa coming to launch this sometime in early December. So as we head towards the Christmas season come and celebrate with us, watch The Power of Community, drink some cocktails at the end of the month and sow some more seedlings! I must add that we are in receipt of a large rhubarb plant as a wedding present - and a bag of smaller ones to create a new and spectacular rhubarb patch!