Our collaboration with @organicbuyers.group has been such a joy since launching a few weeks ago! We are so stoked to be able to bring half price organic fruit and veg to our local community, by using the power of bulk buying alongside what we can produce and harvest from our urban farm.
Looking forward to another great meeting again this Thursday. If you'd like to trial or join and take home a HUGE box of veg, you can jump on this week's orders by Wednesday 5pm on the link below.
https://www.organicbuyers.group/camperdown
For the last couple of years we’ve struggled with bronze orange bugs (stink bugs) attacking the citrus trees all throughout the summer. Despite being native to Australia, they have very few natural predators. So last year, when we observed an adult assasin bug attacking a stink bug, we were absolutely thrilled! We’ve been working hard to establish a diverse selection of good-bug-friendly plants, and it seems our work is paying off. This week we observed this nest of baby assassin bugs on one of the lemon trees, hopefully preparing themselves to do stink bug control this coming summer. We’re all very happy to see them!
Need more bouncy chicken love in your life? Hen Solo, Joy and Pecky are fast becoming the stars of the show on site! If you have ever wanted to have your own backyard chickens but aren't sure you want to commit, or can’t given your living space, why not consider becoming a chicken carer? Our chicken carers pop in morning and evening on a rotating shift to check on the girls and make sure they are well cared for. There's a finders keepers rule on eggs and time commitment is as little as one shift per week. Get in touch at [email protected].
Teeny tiny wasps protecting the farm from aphids. These wasps parasitise aphids by laying their eggs inside the aphids, effectively mummifying them. The mummified aphids are the golden round shapes in this video, and the adult wasps have just emerged from them. They’re now off in search of more aphids! The wasps are attracted to umbel-shaped flowers like these fennel flowers, and move from there out to other crops being damaged by aphids. Thanks friends!
Back into a busy week 🐝
Did you know that bees have 5 eyes, 6 legs, and can move at 30km/h! How good must they be at multitasking!
It’s no surprise that the world’s busy bees like these are responsible for pollinating 90% of wild plants and 75% of crops 🌾 (Source: WWF)
This is exactly why we need to protect and support bees to thrive so that we can regenerate ecosystems and encourage climate resilience.
#pocketcityfarms #bee #busy #buzz #multitasking
Who ever said that pumpkins can’t grow on trees? 💭🎃
Be sure to check out these incredible pumpkins growing in our demonstration garden near the common pavilion. This is permaculture in its truest form 🌱🌿
#pocketcityfarms #permaculture #pumpkin #expecttheunexpected #autumn
Between the vines we're seeing our little grapes beginning to ripen up 🍇🍇
We've found that the grapes grown on the farm tend to be quite sweet. It's the result of being exposed to plenty of sun, warm weather, and good soil ☀️
It can take 3 years in many cases for vines to bear fruit, so patience is definitely required when growing. You can also tell the age of the vines too - the thicker the vine, the older it is!
#pocketcityfarms #pocketcityfarmssummer #urbanfarm #urbanfarming #grapes #grapevine #hearditthroughthegrapevine #grapeharvest #fruit #harvest #sun #soil #fruity #localfarm #sun #localgrown #farmfresh #farming #fresh #vine #vines #outdoor #freshandlocal #localgrown #summertime #sun #growyourown #innerwestsydney #sydney #australia
How we prune and train tomatoes 🍅
As with planting, there’s 101 ways to prune and train tomatoes.
This is the way Rich has had the most success in the past.
The Hard Prune Method.
- Tomatoes are densely planted to maximise the number of seedlings that can fit in the space
- A method of support for the plants is installed - be that stakes, mesh trellis, or string/wire.
- Identify the main stem of the plant from soil to growing tip.
- Remove all the small branches (suckers) that grow from the node above each of the leaves (Use scissors, flower snips or if they are fine enough, carefully snap the suckers by hand.) The aim is to grow the tomato plant as one long vine, without side branches, that can be trained vertically.
- If your tomatoes are not densely planted, you can leave one or two of those suckers to develop into additional branches.
- Remove a few of the lower leaves. This encourages the plant to grow taller. Once in fruit, removing the leaves below the last ripening fruit encourages the plant to ripen fruit rather than grow leaves. (There will be a video about this when we have an example to film)
- If your plant is tall enough, attach the tomato to your support. You can use plant clips, wire, twine, old stockings etc. Keep in mind that the stem will increase in size so tie loosely to avoid constricting it as it grows. Also please consider that finer things like twine and wire can more easily damage the stems when the plant moves against it in the wind.
- Now keep an eye on your plant as it grows. Continue to remove suckers, lower leaves, and tie the growing end of the stem to the support again as appropriate.
Stripping the leaves and suckers has a few advantages:
- We’re encouraging the plant to ripen fruit and grow taller rather than growing foliage.
- Removing the foliage increases airflow near the base of the plant which helps prevent potential disease and fungal issues.
- It lets light reach the soil which allows you to interplant with co
Look at this little fuzzy friend! Zag had a moment with this teddy bear bee on the farm recently. We're pretty sure it's an Ameguilla bombiformosis. These lovelies are solitary and generally nest in shallow burrows in the soil, and are so much fun to spot with the kids. The males have 7 stripes on their abdomen and the females have 6. Would love to hear anymore things you might know about this bee!
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@sydneynativebees @amelie_ecology @bush.bees @dirtgirlworldofficial @costasworld
A little snippet of this week's #farmchat Women Who Farm from Grow Love Project . The team at Grow Love Project make space for regenerative farmers to tell their stories, have a squiz at their website and episodes online!
