Transition The Grove

...transitioning to thriving resilience in a low-carbon low-oil-dependent future

in Ferny Grove, Upper Kedron, Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Keperra & Woolshed Grove
and the mountain catchments of Kedron Brook

Food Security

Local food suppliers

Local farming & livestock

"One of the greatest assets of a farm is the sheer ecstacy of life."

The Grove has a history of farms in this district. Most are being rapidly replaced by housing. We need to urgently think about preserving what local farmland and farming skills exist in this area. FoodConnect also offers a guarantee of income to farmers growing food for the local community.

Horticulture at Brisbane College of TAFE Grovely Campus. See also Brisbane College of TAFE Oxford Park Campus.
Agriculture at Ferny Grove Senior High School

The livestock of The Grove are currently diminishing in numbers, and if they are to be saved will need urgent attention. We have horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, quail in The Grove, on farms, at the Ferny Grove State High School, and on private properties. There used to be a pig farm in McGinn Rd.

Carbon farming and humates

Outback Biochar now commercially supplies Biochar for $20 + GST for 5.2kg bags (it is very light).

Carbon for Farmers: How to Survive and Profit one-day workshops for rural landholders. Contact admin@carbonhouse.com.au or 07 3844 4595. Cost $750 is said to be fully reimbursable under the Australian Government's Farm Ready Program, with up to $500 for travel, accomodation and child care. Workshops in Brisbane 28 January 2009. See others in What's on Elsewhere.

Food growing in home gardens

Many of us are learning and practising growing vegetables, fruit trees and palms, and nut trees around our homes.

Vegetable and herb seedlings are sold each weekend at Ferny Grove Markets.

Landshare is an idea that is taking off in Britain. Landshare connects people who want to grow their own food with space to grow it.

Wish list: A local network in The Grove of home food gardeners, organic gardeners and Permaculture gardeners, to encourage and learn from each other, and share produce and work and materials.

Wish list: Documentation of trees and shrubs around The Grove which are not needed in large numbers, but valuable to have scattered here and there. (Ex. Tamarind, curry leaf tree, bay tree)

Food production in streets and parks

The street verges in our suburbs, the parks and spaces in the local bushland all offer space, soil and sunlight that is potential growing area for food crops, especially tree crops, that could make our community much more secure as oil resources diminish rapidly.

It is important that street verge trees that do not produce useful products do not compete with food growing in people's own gardens.

Trees which produce food crops can also help reduce carbon in the atmosphere, and they can produce fuel and timber supplies, as well as making our suburbs cooler and shadier.

Trees take up a lot of room, but can be extremely productive food-supplies if managed well. This requires discussions about types and uses of trees, how to acquire and plant them, where to plant them, how to manage them, where to grow them, and how to manage food produced .

The Sub-Tropical Fruit Growers meet at the Peace Hall at Albion every second month.
Some fruit trees are offered for sale at the Ferny Grove Markets on Sunday mornings.
Other sources of bulk supply are being negotiated.
Northey Street City Farm sells a wide range of food-producing plants.

Wish list: Jackfruit trees. olive trees, nut trees and other food-producing trees scattered throughout The Grove.

Wish list: Food-producing street trees and trees in parks. A variety of species suitable to this bio-region, and pest-resistant.

Community gardens, orchards & livestock

"I beg your pardon, What's a FARDEN?" Byron Adams

A community garden can be a place for people to meet and enjoy working together learning to grow food crops, and sharing the produce grown.

Community gardens can also be places where things can be grown, or animals kept, that don't fit readily into a backyard. Goats to milk, a few pigs or sheep, larger numbers of poultry, ducks or geese, a cow, roosters, orchards of trees and palms, such as a large banana grove could all go well on community land.

One site that could be suitable for a community food garden between the boundary of  Ferny Grove State High School, and Cedar Creek. It has good light. The area was kept eaten down low by sheep and goats belonging to the High School before the Storm.

Storehouses and warehouses

Foods need to be harvested, preserved and stored safely to protect them from damage by rats, weevils, mould and loss of nutrition.

Food cooperatives

FoodConnect

OOBY stores: Our Own Back Yard production. One-stop food-growing shops. An opportunity waiting to happen here!

Permaculture & organic gardening

Growing food needs lots of knowledge about how to build up the soil nutrients to feed the crops. As fertiliser made from oil becomes scarcer, it will become very important to learn how to compost and develop good quality soil for growing food.  Phil Ryan 3351 2041

There are qualified Permaculture teachers and practitioners in The Grove. 3851 1016

Hydroponics, aquaponics, fish-farming

Combining fish farming and hydroponics is an effective way to grow protein and good crops. There is a lot of information around now on how to do it.

Bee-keeping

Yes, we have local bee-keepers who also teach how to keep bees and harvest honey.

Home-brewing

3851 1016
The Year 12 Chemistry course at Ferny Grove Senior High School includes wine-making, and is apparently known for winning prizes at the annual show.

Food preparation & preservation

Soil enrichment

On the whole, the soil in The Grove requires a lot of attention to make it fertile for growing food crops. Production of manures and minerals and compost and organic matter to enrich the soil must be one of the highest priorities.

Carbon farming to capture carbon in soils

Livestock

The livestock of The Grove are currently diminishing in numbers, and if they are to be saved will need urgent attention. We have horses, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, quail in The Grove, on farms, at the Ferny Grove State High School, and on private properties. There used to be a pig farm in McGinn Rd.

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