"GET SOME LIFE BACK INTO YOUR GARDEN"

Brisbane Organic Growers is co-coordinating a garden recovery program to assist our friends in Brisbane and Ipswich to re-establish their gardens following the recent devastating floods. We are encouraging all of our members to grow seedlings, transplants and cuttings. They should be grown in tubes, plastic pots or bags, polystyrene boxes or jiffy pots to be ready for distribution on 19 March 2011 at the Peace Hall, Windsor.

We purchased 2,600 jiffy pots and more than 1,000 were distributed to our members for planting at the 3rd February meeting. The remainder were planted at a working bee on the 8th February. Tom Ross is looking after them for us until the day. Very generous donations of seeds were made by Green Harvest and Eden Seeds and of potting medium by Coles and Phil's Organics.

We are encouraging our members to grow plants suitable for the establishment of vegetable gardens or flowers and ornamentals to begin the slow process of restoring gardens. Mid March should be an ideal time to start the restoration process. Although we aim to have all of the plants grown organically, we understand that this may not be possible in the circumstances.

We will be collecting all of the plants at the Peace Hall, 102 McDonald Rd., Windsor between 0900 and 1600 on Friday 18 March and between 0700 and 0900 on Saturday 19 March, for distribution between 1000 and 1500 on the same day. We envisage that on the day we will have several thousand plants and fresh cuttings and some books and tools to give away. We will also have information booths and demonstrations on post flood garden restoration, composting, worm farms and producing household vegetables in small containers etc. We are also engaging garden and service clubs in the affected areas to assist with distribution.

Many individuals and organisations have already joined us in this initiative, including Redlands Organic Growers Inc., Calyx Horticultural Services, Harbinger Consultants and Queensland Herb Society.

All we ask is that recipients give us their name and address on flyers which will be distributed in affected areas and at the Peace Hall on the day. This information will not be used for any purpose other than the distribution of the plants and all information collected will be destoyed.

Contact: president@bogi.org.au