Summer School: Permaculture Basics - with Carmel Harris and Adrian Holbeck

Native Stingless Bees with Dr Tobias Smith presenting Tim Heard's workshop

Growing and Cooking Bush Foods with Dick Copeman

Wild Child Gardens: Design for Backyard Nature Play with Tamsin Scott

and so much more!

Happy Holidays from City Farm Nursery

With the weather so oppressively hot and the rain only occurring in massive thunderstorms, if it falls at all, gardening can be a bit depressing in summer.

Many plants, including familiar herbs and vegetables get stressed and die off in summer.

To keep the produce pumping in your garden, focus on perennial plants and summer crops that survive with minimal attention.

It’s the holidays after all, spend time with your family, not protecting weak plants from bugs and fungus.

Greens that thrive over summer include: Sissoo/Brazilian spinach, rosella/gongura, Warrigal greens, amaranth leaf, sunflower shoots, and kang kong/water spinach.

Experiment with okra, adzuki, edamame, pigeon pea/toor dal, Madagascar bean, and snake bean. Needless to say these are all available from City Farm Nursery, right now.

Revel in the fact you can grow these “exotic” plants in your back yard without a fancy heated greenhouse, unlike our poor Northern hemisphere neighbours. I see your Pumpkin spice latte Instagram pics, and raise you Rosella and lemongrass iced tea. Check the City Farm Nursery Facebook page for the recipe.

Now is also the time for building soil and devising next year’s plan of attack. Beef up your soil while you take a break from gardening. Sow a green manure crop, keep throwing food scraps into the compost for next autumn, heavily mulch trees and shrubs. Then step back and breathe.

Decide where you can fit another dwarf citrus tree, (or three). This time next year, you'll be throwing some slices of homegrown lime in a glass of gin and tonic, or bottling up your own limoncello into cute little gifts with Pinterest inspired labels.

Find a spot for a dwarf mango tree and grow some passionfruit over that ugly fence. Next summer you can wow your family with homegrown mango and passion fruit sauce, patriotically drizzled over pavlova, or over something else festive and bad for you.

Enjoy your garden, enjoy your summer and have a great 2017.

Gavin's Go Fund me Campaign
Gavin first came to the farm three years ago and since then has filled a number of positions here. From volunteering, contracting and casual rolls. His passion for soil, plants and composting has inspired volunteers and work for the dole participants a like and we are very proud to have this passion in our community. Check out his very inspiring Gofundme campaign. We're sure you'll love it and want to get involved like the rest of us have!!Lets rally behind and donate to this great Brissy character!!"
https://www.gofundme.com/soil-biology-mentoring-program

Bretts Trade Talks Timber and Hardware

 We'd like to thank Bretts for their many years of on-going support and encourage the farm community to support them.  Bretts Trade has been part of the local Brisbane building landscape for over a century! Founded in 1912, our current Windsor store on Newmarket Rd is the very site we were first established. We specialise in timber and hardware, as well as bathroom and appliances in our Showroom. We also manufacture a range of aluminium doors and windows, timber frames and truss products. We’ve been talking timber and hardware for over 100 years, so come in store to chat to us about your latest projects! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@BrettsTrade) for the latest deals and promotions!