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10 June 2009'In this Issue:
‘Mrs Grants Last Stand’ Last winter while searching out the old orchards around Balfour we were directed to speak with Elaine Grant who had recently helped write the history of the area. She gave us good clues about where to start looking. She mentioned that they themselves had once had a large orchard on their family farm but many years ago her husband decided it was ‘past it’ and so he set about bulldozing it down to make more pasture. Elaine was adamant that her favourite cooking tree was not going to go under so she stood by it and as a result, the tree remains there to this day! She told us she believed it had stopped growing and there had been no new growth on it for some years (‘new growth is what is needed for grafting). We enquired of the location just in case there was still life in the tree. It was not too hard to find the single fruit tree on the farm and, once we’d located it, we looked closely to find any new shoots…. yes….with our experienced eyes, on a very high branch, we spotted one tiny new piece of this season’s growth so we clambered up, risking life and limb, to get the scion wood. We named the tree Mrs Grant’s Last Stand and in spring we managed to turn that one twig from the tree into three baby grafted trees.  This year I was thrilled to be able to give Mrs Grant one of the new trees to go out in a safer spot on the family farm, now run by her son. Going to look at the tree to see if there were any apples to help us identify the variety was a surprise. One side was totally laden with healthy, absolutely massive, green apples with an orange blush…I haven’t seen another like it in all the old Southland orchards. I look forward to finding out what variety it is and where in the world it originated from. So good on Mrs Grant for making her stand! We will keep Mrs Grant’s Last Stand going and share it around with Southlanders for all to enjoy. YEAR OF THE FIBRE We are planning a weekend of workshops and displays this year and will be having a planning meeting this Tuesday 16th June from 8.15 - 9.15pm. We envisage the workshops will include paper making from different fibres, spinning, weaving, knitting, hand shearing wool, flax fibre and weaving- a group visit or two to the Templeton flax mill etc. Bring along your ideas and suggestions. Our June SCES committee meeting will be held earlier that evening 7pm – 8.15 both meetings postponed due to the passing away of Robert’s mother on the 5th June. SCES AGM 14 July 7pm All welcome We have a committee of 14 and have 4 spaces this year for new members. We are purposefully a large group so many hands make light work of running our Society and Centre. Come and join our team you will be proud to be part of our great organisation. Thank you for you membership /subscriptions Thank you to all those who have paid their subs for 2009/10 If you haven’t paid before our AGM in July we will take you off our mailing list because now we are doing newsletters monthly we can no longer post them out for free. This will be your last newsletter. We are setting up an email newsletter for members who would like the newsletter emailed to them rather than posted. This means your membership money can go towards the Society’s work. However the good thing about paper copies is they can be shared around and referred back to. We don’t mind either way. We will start emailing to those members who request it from July. Cycling in Western Southland I grew up in a small town in the South of England, where cycling for enjoyment is easy. Hop on the bike, pedal out of town, and wander from village to village along quiet, smooth-surfaced country lanes, enjoying constantly changing views of an intimate landscape of fields, hedgerows, old farm buildings, churches and country pubs. When looking for something different, I took my trusty bicycle on a local train to places with slightly different landscapes, architecture and beer. Now that I live in Western Southland I'd like to get in the saddle again, but much is different here. The roads are harder going, either chip-seal or gravel, and there is often not a lot of shelter from the elements. It's a long way between places (most of which don't have pubs!) and the landscape changes slowly. The better-surfaced roads often have fast-moving vehicles, rushing from A to B and not expecting to see the likes of me trundling along as they come whizzing round the corners... Many people have found an answer: hitch a mountain bike on the back of the car and head for an off-road track. Dirt, hard pedalling and occasional thrills and spills seem to appeal particularly to younger people, and perhaps families appreciate the relative safety away from the road traffic. Still, I do yearn to go wandering again, and it would be a pleasant way to get fit. Perhaps there are other people who would appreciate rolling gently along the back roads. In time there may be a cycle track joining Riverton with Tuatapere and points north, I hear rumours of it. In the meantime, happy cycling everyone. G.D. Sustainable Transport for Southland With the expected continuing rise in petrol prices, moving towards setting up a variety of networks throughout Southland before they are needed is common sense. If you wanted to walk, cycle or use public transport what would suit you in your township or neighbourhood. Ken Wuschke investigating the needs and possibilities and is keen to talk to as many people as possible about what would work in each area of Southland. He will be coming out to Riverton regularly so try and catch him there - we will put the dates and times up in the Centre and on our website. His findings will be used by the councils concerned. We are working with Ken to have a special weekend next year in Bike Wise Month. Promoting cycling in some fun and interesting ways. We have a collection of 28” bicycles we will get into operation again - 100 years old and still going strong. If you are interested in helping us get them all road worthy we will be holding a working bee or two on them – let us know…. Organic Group News We have made up some great lists about what you can do over the winter months in your garden – they will be loaded on to the website very soon. Mid-winters night we are going for a mid-winter feast and sleep-over at Paul and Michelle Nichol’s at Edievale- contact Centre for more details. Southland- self sufficient by 2012? I have had an interesting time researching Southland of 150 years ago for our Heritage Orchard project. A booklet I came out encouraging folk to emigrate here in 1864 and outline what supplies were needed to survive for their first 2 years. For the first two years it was pretty much buy rolled oats, flour, salt, sugar, tea and everything else you grew / raised yourself on a 60 or 120 acre farm that was mainly bush at that time! You were advised to have hens, a milking cow, a few sheep and grow your own fruit and veges. The first year you planted oats (you no longer needed to buy them) and potatoes then the following year wheat (then you ground your own flour) and swedes as well. This was while you were developing your pasture from bush to accommodate more animals and building your house at the same time as you are living in a fern hut! If in those tough early years it was possible it most certainly would be now. So in theory as fully localised economy Southland can sustain a full range of food to feed itself now and there is no reason why any corner of Southland could not become self sufficient in most food - I think our western world has had it too easy for too long and have become disconnected from their food and food source and maybe having to eat what we need, rather than what we want, might be a healthy side effect of relocalisation- how many obese children and adults in NZ now? So in theory our aim should be that 75% of our food should be sourced within 100km of where we live a further 20 % from elsewhere in NZ and only 5% from overseas. Presently a huge percentage of our food in the supermarket is from overseas- does anyone know of any research on what percentage is? Have a closer look next time you are at the supermarket and challenge yourself to only buy NZ made, grown and processed food. Can you even find that information on some products? I suspect NZ as a whole is producing masses meat and dairy products, say 1000 more times more than our country needs, then many other food stuffs are grossly under- represented - most probably a small percentage of what we need. We live in an isolated country that earns its money from exporting and spends that money on importing - someone higher up should stock take and do some figures then adjust agriculture to suit over time so our very isolated NZ can truly be self sufficient in the basics when the need arises. I know other countries are thinking that way- e.g. Japan is stockpiling wood. China is gathering up copper and coal. For our part our family has many meals made solely from our own land on purpose so we can learn how we can eat independently during the seasons. I am really keen to include meals solely from wild foods we have gathered as another good knowledge bank. I will collate those recipes as it pertains to Southland and maybe one day it would be of use. Gwen Skinners book called 'simply living' is great start for gathering wild food in NZ. We have ‘buy NZ made’ why not have a ‘buy Southland made’ branding- could be as simple as putting a gold star on all the Southland produce and products ‘Look for the Southland Star’ Support your local farmers market. Riverton Organic Farmers market now 10.30-12.30 Sat mornings Southland Winter Vegetarian Recipes Our Food-Coop has put together their top winter recipes- they are on our website and also the six pages can be picked up for $1.50 next time you’re are in the Centre. Permaculture Hui 2009 where? Adam was the only second generation permaculturist and also the only Southlander at the Hui but he represented us very well- we seem to get lots done down here in Southland and many attending are planning trips down South to see us in action. It seems that many practising and ‘would-be’ permaculturalists are achieving less than they would like to and need a boost from seeing on the ground, successful examples of permaculture, especially food forests that are producing the abundance that permaculture promises. There are some very creative and bold people in the ‘movement’ and if we can attract them to our part of the world, even for a visit, both parties will benefit. Courses Available This WinterNOTE: Workshops take 1.5 to 2 hours and can be combined in one day for your area $10 session or $25 for three sessions. (Unwaged $7.50 a workshop or $20 for three) Riverton based courses run with a minimum of 5, courses elsewhere minimum of 8. All courses have a maximum of 15. Have a different idea for a course - let us know! Chemical Free Cleaning Sick of loading up your trolley with expensive commercial cleaners and adding to the plastic waste? Save money and learn how great it is to use natural cleaners. These tried and true methods are just as effective and much better for your health. Cost $10 and receive, free, a Natural Cleaners Chart Make your own Cosmetics 1 or 2 sessions. Everything you put on your skin is absorbed into your body - make sure what you put in is mainly edible. A practical course making and trialling our favourite recipes... Hand creams, moisturisers, face packs, bath bags and more.... feel the difference! Cost $10 session Winter Gardening How can we grow veges through the winter? What can we do now to prepare for the Spring Garden? How to plant, what to plant, where and how much will I need? Come along and plan your spring garden and learn how to grow fresh veges through the winter. Cost $10 Session Starting out with fruit trees - get off to a great start! Everything you need to know about varieties for Southland, root stocks, planning and planting. What to look for when buying trees - don't get caught out! Trees are expensive so get it right first time and you will have a fruitful future. Cost $10 session includes free Orchard Handout. JULY and AUGUST PRUNING WORKSHOPS
Practical hands-on workshops to give you the skills to look after your own trees. $10 a session or all three for $25 SEPT HERITAGE APPLE GRAFTING WORKSHOPS Learn the simplest way to graft fruit trees and take home two grafted heritage trees of your choice that you have grafted yourself. $10 a session plus $5 for materials. SEPT / OCT / NOV ‘BOUNTIFUL BACKYARD SERIES’ will be back on offer. |