Golden Growers
Increasing Vegetable consumption is a priority area within Golden Plains Shire Councils Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan, as according to the Victorian Population Health Survey (2017) 60.6% of Golden Plains Shire residents do not meet fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines.
The Golden Growers project aims to engage community in sharing skills and local knowledge with other residents to increase local growing and vegetable consumption. The Golden Growers webpage will feature a series of ‘how to’ videos showcasing tips and tricks on growing, preparing and cooking with a range of vegetables, recipes, and content submitted by community members and Council’s partner organisations. We are currently building this page based on local need and interest.
Edible Gardens Webinars
Golden Plains Shire Council is pleased to announce an all-new Edible Gardens online program and a Growing Tomatoes Online Masterclass webinar series will both begin this month.
Following a successful debut series in August, the popular Edible Gardens workshops will return this month with a new, free webinar series: Edible Gardens Online Workshops 2.
Part of the Golden Plains Shire Council Golden Growers and Victorian Government’s Community Activation and Social Isolation (CASI) initiatives, the series will feature three workshops about how to turn an existing garden into a new, vibrant space providing fresh home-grown produce, without the use of chemicals, in just a few weeks.
The webinars will explore common challenges for gardeners, including constraints on time and space in difficult growing climates, and how to overcome the obstacles. There will also be a new advanced webinar series: Growing Tomatoes Online Masterclass.
Qualified horticulturist Craig Castree, who has been crafting his own organic foods at home for the past 45 years, presents practical, easy and affordable edible gardening solutions in the series.
Edible Gardens Online Workshops 2.0
The Edible Gardens Online Workshops 2.0 webinar series is suitable for beginners and people wanting to improve their gardening skills. These will be held from 6.30pm to 7.30pm on:
-Thursday 18 November 2021 - Session 1: Seed Saving
-Thursday 2 December 2021 - Session 2: Composting Worm Farming
-Thursday 16 December 2021 - Session 3: Planting out the garden
Growing Tomatoes Online Masterclass
The Growing Tomatoes Online Masterclass series will teach gardeners the best way to plant, grow and care for tomatoes in Golden Plains. These will be held from 6.30 to 7.30pm on:
-Wednesday 24 November 2021 - Session 1: Growing Tomatoes Introduction
And from 6.30pm to 7.05pm on:
-Thursday 9 December 2021 - Session 2: Care for tomato seedlings
-Thursday 23 December 2021 - Session 3: Planting out tomatoes in the garden
The first 30 people to register will receive a free gardening starter kit including seedlings, trowel, soil, fertiliser and Craig Castree’s book, Edible Gardening.
Attendees of all three sessions in either the Edible Gardens Online Workshops 2 or Online Masterclass: Growing Tomatoes series will enter the draw to win Craig Castree’s book, A Simple Urban Life.
Growing
Seasonal Planting Guide
The price of fresh fruit and vegetables changes during the year. The more available fruit and vegetables are during certain times or year, commonly referred to as ‘in season,’ the lower the price will be. If you can be flexible and substitute your meal ingredients for something that is in season, then you will save money. Our seasonal chart shows what vegetables to buy each season so you can get a good value for money.
For fruits and vegetables that you like to enjoy all year round, canned and frozen options are a great alternative, which are often cheaper than fresh produce. Frozen and canned produce are processed immediately after harvesting which seals in the nutrients. Look for “no-added salt” canned vegetables and “canned in juice” fruits.
Recipes
Cooking with Meredith Learning Centre
Thanks to Meredith Community Centre for sharing this delicious vegetable-packed recipe, we love it!
Home Style Chicken Quesadillas with Guacamole and Tomato Salsa
Do you have a vegetable-packed family recipe that you would like to share? Contact the Council’s Health and Wellbeing team at 5220 7111 or email [email protected]
Making Veggies Fun
The Super Veggie Four
Designed to portray vegetables as fun, exciting, and super, this storybook was shaped by families and children from across Golden Plains Shire. It tells the story of three local children from Rokewood, Smythesdale and Cape Clear, who are visited by ‘super hero vegetables’ and helped in their journey to change traditional family meals from ‘ordinary to rainbow,’ discovering delicious and healthy vegetables. Woven throughout the book are simple tips and recipes to help support families to make vegetables a fun and attactive choice for children
Download 'The Super Veggie Four'
'Taste the Rainbow'
The 'Master Taste Tester' placemats were developed to encourage children to eat a variety of vegetables on a daily basis. It is recommended that children aged 4-8 years eat 4 ½ serves of vegetable per day.
A standard serve of vegetables is-
- ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
- ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils
- 1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
- ½ cup sweet corn
- ½ medium potato
- 1 medium tomato
Download and print the 'Master Taste Tester' placemats to encourge children to eat a variety of colourful veggies every day!
'Master Taste Tester ' Placemat
Resources
For more information on increasing vegetable consumption, visit any of the following websites which feature a range of tools, recipes, fact sheets and resources.
