Many of us have often wondered if we could really live off the land and become self-sufficient, at least regarding the food we eat. Well the truth is that many local residents achieve a high level of self-sufficiency. And while being 100 per cent self-sufficient for food can be really hard work, getting 80 per cent of the way is certainly achievable. Even for busy people working fulltime jobs!
At this year’s Uralla Show the local Uralla and District Garden Club is going to demonstrate some of the tricks to achieving this. Many Garden Club members not only have nice flowers in their gardens, but have very productive veggie patches and fruit trees. So as well as providing some beautiful flower displays and tips on flower arranging, they are going to be on hand to pass on their experience, helping people with the basic questions about home food gardens.
How can I set up a garden in my small backyard? And make it flourish enough to feed a family all year round?
What area of potatoes and onions do I need to feed my family? And how can I store them to last well into the year?
How can I preserve fruit and veggies to have home-grown produce all year round? What is the essential equipment and how does it work?
Garden Club members, Owen Croft and Sandra Low, are running demonstrations on Vacola preserving, high pressure canning and drying of fruit and veggies.
Many of the Garden Club’s highly experienced members will be on hand to answer questions on pests and diseases, plus plant identification, and most importantly which plants will survive the harsh New England winters.
There are many ways of growing your food – some like their own plot in the backyard for fresh produce like tomatoes, herbs, spinach and beans, which call all be grown in a small space. While others have grander plans that need more area. This has lead to shared gardens where one family has the land and a small group of like-minded people work together to tend a large garden.
This is the way that the Rudd and Low families operate in Uralla, with a garden plot that feeds both families plus surpluses that are shared amongst friends. Last year the surplus figs went to Café Gusto where lots of local visitors got to taste fresh figs for the four weeks they were in season.
“We didn’t really appreciate how much of our food was coming from the garden until we went on holidays at Christmas time” says Peter Low.
“We seemed to be down at the supermarket buying food twice a day, while at home all we buy are staples like rice and pasta and olive oil. It makes an enormous difference to the grocery bill, and nothing tastes better than fresh berries and new potatoes straight from the garden.”
One of the keys to successful gardening is being able to try different plants and approaches. It can be expensive to buy seed and fruit trees, especially when they don’t survive the harsh weather. Within the Garden Club people swap produce and plants, seeds, cuttings and fruit trees. One member had lost her expensive fig tree to the cold last winter and was able to establish a new one with cuttings from another member’s garden.
Come along and see the produce display and demonstration happening all day on Saturday, February 4 at the Uralla Show 2012; and try your hand at flower arranging with a prize at the end of the day for the best arrangement made by a visitor.
For more details on the Uralla and District Garden Club display at the upcoming Uralla Show please contact Peter Low on 0447 277 717.Fruit and Veg for the Show Exhibit Classes must be in before 9:30am on Friday, February 3. Show Schedules are available from the Uralla Newsagency.
