Beelarong and Networks

I had driven along Wynnum Road dundreds of times and seen the sign to "Beelarong Farm" and assumed that it was a community garden, but never ventured there - ever turned left at the sign.   As it turned out I was to visit the farm,  but it was via an invitation to someone who knew someone that I did.  Networks work very well.

Another Di contacted me.  (Yes, there are many of us, and yes, we do like to call ourselves "Lady Di").  She is one of the committee of the Beelarong Farm, which is a community garden at Morningside, an inner city suburb of Brisbane.

The day I chose to go was a very wet day, and it also was the same day that I was to pick up my new Mitsubishi Lancer from Zupps at Mt Gravatt, from my new friend and super salesman Sherman!  My  old car, my late father's Daihatsu Applause was duly cleaned and emptied (yes, I had no umbrella!), and I headed off to Beelarong to meet Di and the other volunteers.  They had a bamboo that they were concerned about, and I offered to link them with information from one of the Society of Bamboo friends.

Coffee and blueberry muffins for morning tea (must remember that - Wednesday mornings at Beelarong - coffee!) and meeting the other members before the rain eased and we tip toed (so not to walk in the very wet areas) through the grass to the wonderful stand of bamboo, which could well be the variety Oldhammii.  Members are worried that it might take over - but it is the clumping variety and a very healthy specimen.

Healthy Bamboo Shoot - yum, yum, but they are going to measure its growth.

This has grown from a small plant in a pot, to this and the photo does not capture the size - it is VERY tall.  It is the clumping variety and if harvested properly should cause no trouble, though it is shading some plants nearby, which is the issue for them.

After I departed Beelarong I set off to pick up my new car.  Wow.  It is the first new car I have had in some 30 years and it is all mine.  It is wonderful to drive, and I am still learning to use some of the features (radio, cd player etc really), but I am thrilled.

Now I have healthy wheels I can venture further to see more bamboo farms.

Community Gardens

These are set up to give people an opportunity to learn appreciate organic food.  There are groups everywhere, who work together to grow fruit and vegetables and other organic plants.  One such groups vision is 'to help create a sense of community through encouraging and promoting the growing and sharing of organic food."

It reminds me that as a child we grew all sorts of fruit and vegetables in our own back garden in Adelaide.  Organic?  Probably my parents used some simple chemicals but post war there was not the plethora of bottles of this and that to attack the myriad of bugs and diseases that can attack one's crops.

I still like to grow things but as a house sitter I get very little opportunity though I do cart with me some herbs, some bamboo, and a fig tree in a pot which this year produced just two figs.

I have learned that the community gardens are enthusiastic about bamboo, and often have workshops regarding some aspect of it.  Northey Street City Farm has a number of workshops on featuring bamboo in the next few days.  You can source information about them here.   I remember when Northey Street was full of houses on both sides of the road, and with heavy rain the area flooded.  Eventually the houses were removed from the area, and later on the community garden was created.

Our local community garden is Wynnum Manly Community Gardens Group, Inc and their website is here.

Again supporting and keeping in touch with these organisation can help you find out more about growing bamboo and other sustainable foods.