Hi, I’m Robert McDougall, a PhD student from the University of New England researching urban agriculture. For the last year I’ve been carrying out a range of studies at MBCG and other gardens throughout Sydney and Wollongong looking at how productive these gardens are and the role that ecosystem services (mainly pollination and control of [more]
Botanical name: Lactuca sativa Description: Lettuce plants and their ancestors are native to Europe and Northern Asia. They are usually grown for their colourful green and red leaves that grow 15 to 30 cm high. They have been cultivated to a variety of colours, textures (soft and tender to crisp and crunchy) and shapes (dense [more]
Signs of infestation Young caterpillars feed on the foliage first before moving into flower buds or developing fruits. What is happening and why? Budworms are caterpillars of the Helicoverpa moth family. The moths lay their eggs at night on young foliage close to fruits or flower buds and the young caterpillars feed on the [more]
Peel broad beans, fresh from the garden, or use frozen broad beans. Blanch beans in boiling water for 90 seconds and refresh in cold water. ‘Double peel’ beans, i.e. remove the tough skin from each bean, so that you are left with the tender, vibrantly green heart of the broad bean. You will need about [more]
Ingredients: 1-3/4 cups plain flour (or besan/chickpea flour for gluten free) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup rolled oats (or rice flakes for gluten free) 1/2 cup sesame seeds (white or black or mixed) 1/2 cup flax seeds 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds 1/2 cup sunflower seeds 2 teaspoons salt 1 cup water 1/2 cup sunflower oil or other vegetable oil [more]
Botanical name: Vicia fava Description: Broad beans or fava beans are part of the legume family. The inedible pods of broad beans are thick and spongy, containing 2 to 7 large, flat, bright green tender beans. The plant builds 2 to 4 stems that grow up to 180 cm high. It shows white flowers with [more]
Here is a summary of the terrific talk MJ gave on one of the last working bees regarding our beautiful compost: Compost improving our soil At Mort Bay Community Garden we use compost as one of the key ingredients to top up our beds and to enrich our soil with organic matter. We recently improved [more]
Ingredients 250g beetroot 200g fine dark chocolate (70 per cent cocoa solids) 4 tbsp hot espresso 200g butter 135g plain flour a heaped tsp baking powder 3 tbsp good-quality cocoa powder 5 eggs 190g golden caster sugar crème fraîche and poppy seeds, to serve Method Lightly butter a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin and line the [more]