October at Baroona Farm
Plant and Egg Sales a Success!
Over the last two months Baroona Farm volunteers were busy selling hybrid tomato seedlings and fresh eggs at various locations such as Mongrel Bar in Milton, Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Fortitude Valley, St Paul's Anglican Church in Ashgrove and St John's Anglican Cathedral in the City. We have sold out of tomato plants but there are always fresh free-range eggs available for $5 a dozen - please get in touch with us if you would like to buy some. All money raised goes back into the farm to continue building on the project and maintaining our current setup.
A huge 'thank you' to our fantastic partners in allowing us to sell plants at your place as well as to those who sold them!
Website Launched!
We are excited to announce that we recently launched the Baroona Farm website. While only still in its infancy there is still the ability to sign up to our monthly newsletters as well as donate to the project. Keep an eye out for new content.
With this launch was also the Baroona Farm Facebook page and can be accessed HERE.
Both of these platforms provide means by which to keep you, our faithful supporters, informed and up to date with how the project is going as well as upcoming gatherings.
Many thanks to our volunteer IT people Glynn Holland-Leem and Scott Breton for all you work in getting this together.
To bee or not to bee...
As the Spring flowers bring incredible vibrancy to our gardens and street scapes it is sometimes easy to forget the reason for flowers in the reproductive cycles and the new life which emerges. Much of our plants rely heavily upon the work of pollinating insects such as bees for this cycle to occur.
European honey bee at work in our Broad Beans at Baroona Farm - photo taken by Angie Mooney.
However, as with last season, we have already noticed a drastic reduction in numbers of bees (both native and introduced) visiting the farm. Much of the reason has been attributed to our drought conditions but it is also due to overuse of pesticides and herbicides both commercially and residentially. Sadly, this has a significant effect on crops yields both for us and for major crop producers and thus reduces quantity of food able to be grown. Below is a picture of our currently flowering and fruiting zucchini plants which, as an example of little or no pollinators present, have been aborting their fruit early (they shrivel and go yellow) as the plants detects there is not enough fertilised seed by which to germinate new plants.
We will be continuing to plant out more bee attracting plants at Baroona Farm and at St Francis College to promote bigger numbers but everyone can help by doing this also. An article which was recently sent to us by 'Plantedwell' titled 12 Best Flowers for Bees & How to Create a Bee Garden provides some great tips if you want to be more 'bee conscious' in your own garden. You can read the article by clicking the link HERE. We also look forward to introducing another native bee hive or two onsite.
Campfire Film Night: David Attenborough's 'A life on our Planet'
This month at our Campfire night we will be watching the new David Attenborough film 'A life on our Planet'. This will be followed by a discussion around the fire for those who would like to stay on.
Described by some as a 'horror movie', Attenborough films this harrowing account of the state of the world's ecosystems from his studies of it over his lifetime.
"The most devastating sequence finds Attenborough charting the disasters we face in future decades — global crises that he, as a man now in his 90s, will not experience. Yet he finds hope by extrapolating small successes". (NY Times)
This film is sure to raise many questions and thoughts as we look towards hope and take action now for the conservation of our planet.
A bbq dinner will proceed the movie and popcorn will be served during.
This event is a collaboration between Baroona Farm and Community of the Way. Campfire nights are an informal gathering on the third Monday of each month where food is shared (when not prevented by COVID) and matters of life and faith are explored.
For your Diary
17 October, Saturday - Working Bee, 9:30am to 11:30am*
19 October, Monday - Campfire film night 'David Attenborough's 'A Life on Our Planet', 6pm
27 October, Tuesday - Baroona Farm Working Group meeting, 7pm
6 November, Friday - Working Bee, 9:30am to 11:30am*
*Working bees generally occur on the 1st Friday of the month and the 3rd Saturday of the month.
Donate to Baroona Farm
Baroona Farm is a not for profit organisation that relies on donations as well as sales of eggs and plants to continue our work. If you would like to donate to Baroona Farm please click here or use the following details for direct transfer.
Name: Baroona Farm
BSB: 704 901
Account Number: 00015479
Baroona Farm is a ministry of the Anglican Church Southern Queensland
located at St Francis College in Milton.
Our vision
'To Grow food and community with and for the nutritionally vulnerable'
Baroona Farm acknowledges the lands of the Jagera and Turrbal people on which we are located and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and commit ourselves to the ongoing work of reconciliation throughout Australia.
We acknowledge too their care and management of the land, using it to provide food and community for their people as well as in hospitality for others - may we too follow in their footsteps.
Copyright © 2020, Baroona Farm, All rights reserved.
