🎄Upcoming Events: 

Our first event in 2023 will be a social gathering at Tesh Park on Monday 9th January @10.00am. Children welcome. A simple networking get together. No speakers, no agenda, no RSVP.

🎄Meeting Notes For The Maleny Network Meeting - Monday 12th December 2022:

Karin opened the meeting.

Some ‘Handy Hints’:
- Ginger and tumeric can be kept fresh and juicy in a shallow bowl of water changed daily (in summer) or every few days (in winter).
- A “gas gun” can eliminate weeds with a flame. Bunnings have a gas torch kit for under $80. Be cautious about over-heating bricks and the roots of weeds may not be killed with this method.
- Another method of weed eradication is to spray with a solution of 4.5 (acidic) vinegar plus a few drops of orange peel oil and a few drops of detergent.
 

John Parker on Sprouting:
John Parker demonstrated his methods of sprouting seeds. He showed containers of sprouted mung, alfalfa, linseed and radish seeds which we tasted. The seeds are generally rinsed twice a day and left to drain in an upside-down jar, tilted at an angle. This drains moisture more efficiently lessening the chance of mould or dead seeds. Seeds must not dry out or be drowned. They need a light source to grow, but not direct sunlight. In cold weather, a heatpad can be used to promote growth.
John uses wide-mouth jars with insect screen cut larger than the size of the top and fastened with rubber bands for good drainage.
 

As well as sprouts, micro-greens can also be grown and used in salads. They differ from sprouts in that they are grown in indirect sunlight (direct sunlight is too harsh and will cause wilting) and harvested with scissors when there are two or more true leaves or earlier if desired - sprouts are eaten much smaller. These are slightly bigger and older than the sprouts, and are very nutritious.
Micro-greens can be grown on seed-raising mix, soil, on paper towels or shredded newspaper and cardboard. They need to be sprayed with water at least twice each day. Usually these plants are given a ‘haircut’ and used only once. Wheatgrass can be given up to three haircuts.
Small plastic containers (which may have contained berries, etc) can also be used to grow sprouts or microgreens. The lid can be partly closed if more humidity is needed.
 

Bulk heirloom and open-pollinated seeds can be bought on-line from: ‘Seed Mart’ https://seedmart.com.au/ and from our local ‘Green Harvest’ https://greenharvest.com.au/SproutingAndMicrogreens/SproutingAndMicrogreensIndex.html 
 

An instruction guide was handed out and can be downloaded from Greenharvest:
https://greenharvest.com.au/DownLoads/SproutingBooklet.pdf 
  
 

Chris Nixon on Water Filter Systems:

We then had a talk from Chris Nixon on various Water Filters:
- Clay pot style with ceramic candle filter. Good for reducing chlorine and suspended particles, improves the taste and appearance of the water.
- Plastic benchtop water dispensers with replaceable filter cartridges.
- Plastic filter housings with replaceable cylindrical cartridge. A single filter unit can sit on the sink, connected to the aerator on the end of the tap. These can filter more impurities such as chlorine, fluoride, even micro-organisms and heavy metals depending on the micron size.
- Multi-cartridge systems. Where there are two or three cartridges together. The first one has a larger micron rating. The second cartridge has smaller micron rating removing chlorine and other chemicals. A third cartridge has even smaller micron rating and removes the tiniest impurities such as heavy metals, flouride and micro-organisms. This system can be installed under the sink or in a whole-of-house setup.

Town water contains trace amounts of aluminium. There was recently a shortage of alum for state water purification on the East Coast of Australia due to the East-West rail link being flooded, prompting Chris’s research on aluminium. How healthy is our town water?
 

All these filters can be used for rain water as well. Can filter out suspended solids from leaf litter or sediment from the tank. A double cartridge instead of a triple may be enough, or a single instead of a double.
 

Reverse Osmosis. The filter membrane removes the smallest particles possible. Water is forced under pressure. Pure water comes out and a separate stream of waste water takes away impurities. Its a slow process so storage tank is used for pure water. These units can be small and portable or very large used with a dam. An ultraviolet steriliser can be added to our system as the final stage. Another stage is water conditioning which can put beneficial minerals back into the highly purified water.
These systems can also help balance the pH levels. 

The concrete in concrete water tanks will help to neutralise the pH level.
 

Chris bought his filter systems from Sentry Water Filters in Maroochydore. He recommends this firm and receives no benefits from them.

https://water-filter-sentry.com.au 
 

Also mentioned were Ultrastream Benchtop Filter & Home Edge Kinetic Water Energiser and the Kangen Water Machine.
 

🎄Seed Bank:

A timely reminder to be in touch with Brenda or Jennifer Hewson re: Our Seed Bank.

Thanks to Greg for this update:

Warning: Bill Gates has taken control of the global production and warehousing of seeds

https://strangesounds.org/2022/03/warning-bill-gates-has-taken-control-of-the-global-production-and-warehousing-of-seeds.html

🎄Community Support:

Please…If you’re feeling lonely, down or simply have a need, make a call to me (Jennifer 0400 771 143) or to someone else in the group…that is what our community is for…to be there to support each other when it’s needed!

🎄We wish everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas and we will see you again in 2023 🎉.

🎄Telegram Groups:

• The Network https://t.me/+NiAtuG726HM4NmQ1
• The Wellness Network https://t.me/+ULjK9Oswdp03Njll
• The Food Garden Network Maleny" https://t.me/+pHBXnr65QLJhZDhl