Growing the harvest Festival April 14-15 2012 

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LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION THINK GLOBAL –

EAT LOCAL

The Hub Plot

The Hub Plot, MASG’s food production garden group, meets each Monday  from 9 a.m and always have a cuppa at 11 am to garden and to exchange produce, recipes & seedlings. We also conduct garden/food related workshops and go on some interesting field trips.Feel free to drop in and join in or for further information email  Peter at bundara@netcon.net.au  or phone Heather on 0409 327791.

The Local Food Production working group was formed because a number of MASG members were concerned by the large ‘carbon footprint’ generated by our current food growing/processing/transporting/storage systems.

WHY LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION?

We must all play a part to reduce the human carbon footprint on our finite planet.  The situation is urgent and we must reduce the volume of climate altering ‘greenhouse gases’ we are each responsible for.  We owe it to the generations to come.

We have become used to the year round availability of most of our food – regardless of where it is produced, how it is produced, how it is processed and stored and how it is transported.  Each of these stages is to a very large extent dependent on non-renewable fossil resources.

We have lost our appreciation of the “seasonality” of our food.  We all instinctively know that food harvested at its peak of ripeness and eaten immediately, has a much ‘better flavour’ ….  just compare the tomatoes you buy in winter to home grown tomatoes freshly harvested in summer!

The food production cycle that has become part of our everyday existence, is very inefficient, wasteful and energy intensive. In many cases, the energy needed for all the above stages of the “food cycle” can be very large indeed when actually compared to the nutritional energy value of the food itself!
 
 Example 1:  It takes 1000KJ of energy just to transport a punnet of strawberries (out of season) with a nutritional energy value of 170KJ, from the country of production to the country of consumption – and this doesn’t include the energy used in production!  Think also citrus from California, garlic from Mexico.  To use a dollar analogy – this is equivalent to making an article for $10 and then selling it for $1!   We need to factor in the ‘true’ environmental cost of the non-renewable resources used in the food production process.

 Example 2:  Food produced locally is often transported hundreds of kilometres to a market or packaging warehouse, only to be returned to a supermarket just a few kilometres from where it was grown!  Think of Harcourt apples going to the Melbourne Market, only to be transported back to a Castlemaine Supermarket; or alternatively, apples in our supermarkets which have come from interstate when an abundance of fresh apples is growing 2 kilometres “down the road”!

By growing our own food we can control what inputs go into the food we eat.  Consider the inorganic fertilizers and chemical pesticides and herbicides (all non-renewable resource based) used in large scale monoculture production.

By growing our own food, we may also be able to help reduce exploitation of the work force in developing countries.

SO …….Local Food Production

• Reduces CO2 emissions by minimizing the distance over which food is transported
• Reduces the amount of energy needed for the processing packaging and storage of food
• Increases the efficiency of water used in food production
What are we doing? We are developing demonstration “backyard” food production garden at the rear of the MASG office at 233 Barker Street in the centre of Castlemaine.  By example we want to encourage people to have a go at being “locally productive”.

We aim to act as a focal point:

• To demonstrate different ways of growing food depending on resources available
• To demonstrate the latest ideas in dealing with grey water, collecting rain water and watering technologies
• To demonstrate ways of preserving surplus production.

WE HOPE THAT BY EXAMPLE AND ENCOURAGEMENT, WE CAN BECOME AGENTS OF CHANGE

The site

We commenced work on this site in August 2007.  We now have two 9000 litre rainwater tanks which are filled with water from the roof of the adjacent Baptist Church and hall …. some say our garden is sure to grow because we are using ‘holy water’!  The infrastructure for watering the garden beds is already in place, and a hothouse which requires no extra heating is almost complete – this will extend the growing season.

We have just established a “fruit forest” using different rootstock varieties and demonstrating different methods of pruning suitable for a small scale garden – for example espaliering and cordon training.  Members sponsored many of the fruit trees and the Diggers Club donated the six pear trees.

We have been fortunate to have had some vary valuable help from a Green Corp team, and of course, member volunteers.

The last stage of the project on this site will be to develop a shady “social space” with a wood fired BBQ and pizza oven.

A plan of the Demonstration Garden can be seen downloaded here (1.3Mb) .MASG Garden Plan

We also have plans:

• To have regular seed and seedling exchanges
• To run workshops on topics of interest – such as composting, watering systems, seed propagation etc.
• To establish a “community allotment” garden on a site at the edge of town for those who have no suitable land or who like a social component to their food production.
• To establish a demonstration integrated permaculture system on another local site.
• To run classes on “how to deal with surplus” – techniques for preserving, making jams and chutneys, preparing food for freezing etc.
• To hold regular fund raising “100 kilometre” dinners where all seasonal produce is sourced from a 100 kilometre radius (and drink of course too!)

What can I do?

• Join MASG
• Become a garden volunteer
• And above all, resolve to put your “green thumbs” to work.  You will be surprised just how rewarding it can be – good for your physical health, good for your nutritional health, good for your mental health and good for the health of our planet …. a quadruple win situation!

If you would like to know more, either contact Peter Sansom, at bundara@netcon.net.au or contact the MASG office Ph:5470 6978 or email info@masg.org.au.

 

  

The future

 

We also have plans:

• To have regular seed and seedling exchanges
• To run workshops on topics of interest – such as composting, watering systems, seed propagation etc.
•  To establish a “community allotment” garden on a site at the edge of town for those who have no suitable land or who like a social component to their food production.
• To establish a demonstration integrated permaculture system on another local site.
• To run classes on “how to deal with surplus” – techniques for preserving, making jams and chutneys, preparing food for freezing etc.
• To hold regular fund raising “100 kilometre” dinners where all seasonal produce is sourced from a 100 kilometre radius (and drink of course too!)

 What can I do?

•  Join MASG
• Become a garden volunteer
• And above all, resolve to put your “green thumbs” to work.  You will be surprised just how rewarding it can be – good for your physical health, good for your nutritional health, good for your mental health and good for the health of our planet …. a quadruple win situation!

 

If you would like to know more, either contact Peter Sansom, at bundara@netcon.net.au or contact the MASG office Ph:5470 6978 or email info@masg.org.au.