Murnong Gathering

Our local 10th Murnong Gathering Photos are now on FB. Well, some of them - dance photos still to come; later there will also be a video, not bad for a small group of volunteers!

So relive this very special community event and tag photos as needed/wanted.

Stay tuned also for what Merri Murnong will offer in 2019, a few different things are in store.

Feel very free to get in touch too if you want to get involved with what we do or have great ideas you have energy for.  After 10 years, 2019 will be a year for renewal so we are keen to welcome fresh zest and inputs

https://www.facebook.com/pg/meccarg/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2242997835957667

There is also a place for adding your own photos of the day if you wish

https://www.facebook.com/pg/meccarg/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2243223312601786

Murnong Gathering

Murnong Gathering

Merri Murnong Gathering

Thursday 1st November Blooming Fantastic Weeding at Merri Murnong

Regular hand weeding keeps us in touch with nature and Merri Murnong site's happenings...

Such as noticing that the Native Flax flowers when this now uncommon but pesky weed, Vulpia, becomes noticeable and distinguishable from Native Grasses.

Join us for our last opportunity before our 10th Murnong Gathering on Sunday 11/11 to share a cup of Native Mint Tea - iced this time due to the weather forecasted. 

We will try to spend most of the weeding time in the shade.

Merri Murnong Group

Boloming Fantastic Weeding

Blooming Fantastic Weeding at Merri Murnong Patch

is THIS SATURDAY 13/10 - 11 to 12 noon - off Connolly Avenue. 

Lilies to see, Native Peas to spot at their various stages of opening up to the world!

Blooming Fantastic Weeding at Merri Murnong Patch

The weather forecast is set to pleasant, Tuesday's rains have come our way to nicely soften the soil. So it is the perfect time to tackle some of the last weeds of the season. 

Exploring hidden treasures like this Spreading Bossiaea reveals the beauty in life and its myriad of diversity. 

Can you see the little grub on the bud? 

It is feasting on what must be a yummy snack!

Merri Murnong Weeding

Blooming fantastic weeding Thursday 4/10 2-3 pm at Merri Murnong Patch!

The big dry has stumped chickweed, no second flush it seems so far. But weedy grasses  are now flowering making them possible to identify even for the inexperienced eye.

In any case, we can also play the 'Bet which one will bloom first' game. And of course, feed them chickens!

Children welcome. They can help or do respectful Bush Play.

Merri Murnong Weeding

Hi all,

For those who love the mindfullness of easing then gently pulling onion grass so that it comes out whole, here's your chance for this year before it disappears for summer. 

Any amount of help wholeheartedly appreciated.

The map attached shows where there is many of them (mostly small ones) in a semi circle below the one grevillea we have at the Merri Murnong Patch. Feel free to go and explore, screw driver in hand while spotting the many lilies.

The photo shows how older specimen are now sending out extra leaves and floral stem to produce seeds. The flowers are pink, flower one day only in the middle of a sunny day. This can make them easy to spot ... and wildflowers are also likely to open up too. Double treat.

The other main weed independent weeders could tackle is chickweed. Most is dying off quickly now so it is important to remove as much as possible before the seeds drops. Some are still green and flowering and can also of course be targeted.

For those who prefer company, 2 upcoming options:

- Starting fortnightly Thursday 2-3 pm, weather permitting. Tomorrow is the first one and the weather is forecasted to just brilliant. 

Next 4/10, 18/10, 1/11 to hopefully have things all lovely by our 10th Murnong Gathering on the 11th of November.

- School term break. Combination of no study nor work for me is the right time for bloomingly fantastic weeding sessions at the Merri Murnong Patch. I will head there many times until 8/10 at various times of the week or WE. Either take your chance or drop me an email pascalelocal@hotmail.com to see if we can find a common time.

Yes, children are welcome. They can help or do some bush play.

Hope to catch up with some of you.

Pascale.

Weeding at the Patch

Glorious weeding! Thursday 13/9 2-3 pm at the Merri Murnong Patch, along Connolly Avenue.

This is the time of the year when weeds but also pretty wilflowers are plenty.

The reason we have so many special wildflowers at the Merri Murnong Patch is because we have been hand weeding (no herbicides) for over 10 years now. 

If your mind brings on visions of boring and destructive weeding, think again. We practice the gentle art of mindful weeding that allows us to see so much more of the treasures the Merri Murnong Patch offers. 

Newlanders, come and show love to your local Patch. So much to learn from it!

Merri Murnong Patch

Adopt a Native Pea at the Merri Murnong Patch 

Choice of 5 different native Peas species, all very special.

Meet at bench opposite 103 Connolly Avenue.

Saturday 1st September 1-3pm.

Best present to a Dad, the planet, showing yourself you care ...

https://www.facebook.com/meccarg/

Merri Murnong

Adopt a Native Pea at the Merri Murnong Patch 

Choice of 5 different native Peas species, all very special

Meet at bench opposite 103 Connolly Avenue

Saturday 1st September 1-3pm 

Best present to a Dad, the Planet, showing yourself you care ...

https://www.facebook.com/meccarg/

Magical Monday Weeding

Hi all,

It looks like the weather will be just fine for Monday 2-3pm with a bit of rain overnight and in the morning.

With the weather definitively warming up (at least during the day) some of the Onion Grass (probably old ones) are thickening and planning to flower (see first photo). We certainly do not want them to produce seeds but on the other hand, each very short lived pink flower makes that weed much easier to spot and deal with - nice screwdriver in hand. That flower seems to only open in the middle of sunny days ie not first thing in the morning nor later in the day.

The more Onion Grass get extracted now the better as they disappear underground until next year after fruiting . We will certainly target them tomorrow Monday, but if you have time any other day, please go for a wonder, screw driver in hand. When you see one, oh so gently ease them out to keep the plant whole then pull them out. Each successful extirpation saves years.

Some of the area where they are will be burnt this year which seems to make their spotting easier too. So overtime they won't be any left, there are already significantly less of them by a long mile.

For good measure, and your enjoyment, the second photo is of an area I weeded yesterday. I had a lovely time and filled up a crate. It is only at the very end that I spotted the young Bulbine. A great reminder that the weeding art at the Patch is to: 

- spot the problem

- circle it to well define the problem

- pull it gently so as to leave the rest in place

Use that photo to see how long it takes you to spot the bulbine. If you can't or do not know what a bulbine looks like, great time to ask! 😊

Thanks to those who already told me they are or they are not coming. I hope to see some of you tomorrow or at the Adopt a Native Pea this Saturday 1st Sept  or the Wildflower Walk and Weed on the 15th of Sept. Or I may bump into you when I randomly go and weed there.

Enjoy the coming of Spring!

Pascale.

Merri Murnong

Monday Magical Weeding!

Monday 27 August 2-3 pm - Meet at the bench opposite 103 Connoly Avenue.

Much is happening at the Merri Murnong Patch in preparation to spring flowers and Adopt a Pea on Saturday 1st of September 1-3 pm.

Yes, flowers are gearing up so it should be quite magical to witness. Chocolate Lilies and Bulbine Lilies stems are rising, a few Bulbine flowers are already opening, Rice Flowers floral buds are swelling. 

We have also noticed a fresh flush of baby Murnongs in some of our "old" stock boxes. This could be an indication that if any Murnongs are to come up in the Patch, attentive handweeding could be just the thing to spot them.

So join us for a Monday Magical Weeding Discovery. 

No skills required, just the willingness to look and look again. 

PS Can you count how many Murnongs are in that photo? Regular visual practice makes weeding perfect.

Merri Murnong

Hello fellow weeders,

Days are longer and weather is warmer, so weeds are popping out and growing faster.

Time for action!

Find at the end of this email 3 dates when , if weather is not despicable, I will be at The Patch for those who like good weeding company, have questions, have great ideas or stories to share ... as well as our upcoming general public activities dates.

I selected 3 different days week days to accomodate most I hope. During the school term break I will go to The Patch very likely very often (unless you guys do so much self-guided weeding by then that I can just go there to watch indigenous plants do their thing).

Weed targets:

There are still some of the Onion Grass (Romulea rosea) to tackle - the one that get loosened up with a screwdriver. 

If you have not weeded that one before, please try to come to one of the times I'll be there and I'll show you or contact me if you are keen and we can make a time. Next year, I'll try to have another colour handout for that one.

Onion Grass do not all come up at the same time and if the top breaks and the bulb is left behind, it has another go. Therefore, regular meanders through the sections where they grow is a great strategy. 

Some will soon start flowering (roughly between 10 am and 2 pm) which is a good time to spot lonely ones that got missed. 

Remember to first tune your ID skills with what a Bulbine Lily feels and looks like: lighter green, matt not glossy, leaves 'spongy' rather than full. This time of the year, it is less likely to confuse them. Earlier, when little Bulbines come up, it can be a bit more 'interesting'.

The 3 weeds targets in the document attached. Some of you have a paper copy but I thought  it would be good for the Wonderfull Willing Weeders to have their own digital copy. (I hope you are feeling special!)

Chicken Weed in particular is starting to flower and these can be the top priority.

Now for the dates I will make sure that I am at The Patch as well as the general public activities:

Wednesday 15/8 - 8-9am I'll be showing the patch to a visitor so you can join in.

Wednesday 15/8 - 2-3 pm -  Seek the Onion Grass, flowering Chickweed and 5 very special Rice Flowers - Pimelea glauca to plant with love.

Sunday 19/8 1-3 pm Drawing the Murnong Daisy (Botanical Illustration): Fundraiser follow the link to register https://www.facebook.com/events/264678264258813/

Monday 27/8 2-3 pm - Magical weeding - Lilies may be thinking of flowering.

Saturday 1/9 1-3 pm - Adopt a Native Pea - Some pretty special Native Peas to plant plus tag to find them again so that you can nurture them a bit over their first summer.

Thursday 13/9 2-3 pm - Glorious weeding -The Lilies (and others) will definitively be having a go.

Saturday 15/9 1-3 pm - Wildflower Walk and Weed with Friends of Merri Creek.

School term 22/9 to 7/10 - Stupendous weeding - Plenty of opportunities to see sooooo much ...

Hope to see you all soon somehow

Pascale

Merri Murnong Patch

ADOPT A PLANT at the

MERRI MURNONG PATCH

Plant 1 or 2 rare wildflowers and nurture it/them until summer is over

Saturdays 4 Aug + 1 Sept from 1-3.

Meet at the bench opposite 103 Connolly Av.

Merri Murnong Patch

Hello Wonderful Willing Weeders at Merri Murnong Patch!

First a lovely photo from our last activity Sunday 22nd - Wildflowers Walk and Weed, where for a while we tackled onion grass. I nearly had a hard time extracting people towards the next discovery! They really enjoyed the great satisfaction of loosening the ground and pulling oh  so gently to get the whole tuber. I call it meditation in action.

With days getting longer and somewhat warmer in the afternoon, it is time to plan some semi regular weeding before the weeds get away! And yes, there is still some onion grass to seek and dig out.

So, with short notice sorry, I'll kick the ball rolling with this Wednesday 1:30 to 3pm for a Patch Weeding.

I know it won't fit everybody and it is short notice so please, if you would like to suggest future dates and times, I will compile suggestions.

For this Wednesday, I am thinking to target 3 different areas and 3 different weeds so that it is neither boring nor overwhelming.

There is also a parent group starting this Friday and some other Fridays in the future - they have a FB that we will have to post on our own FB. Their first get together may or may not involve weeding and dicondra planting near paths. The general idea is that, with increased confidence - just like any of you in the future I hope, they may tackle specific weeds in specific areas while a few parents play with kids.

2 other opportunities to come and have fun at the Merri Murnong Patch while developing your Caring for Country are on the next 2 first Saturdays on the Month: 4/8 and 1/9. 

"Adopt a plant" focus on special wildflowers. To increase their chance of survival, people record on a map  their planting, add a tag with a mark of their choice, commit to come and check on them with 2/3 waterings over summer. We had some great success with this last year.

So if you want to join in, please do come to one or both "Adopt a Plant" sessions.

Finally, a photo evidence that yes, we do feed some weeds to local chooks - and they are hungry for more ...

I hope to see you soon,

Pascale.

Merri Murnong Patch

ADOPT A PLANT at the

MERRI MURNONG PATCH

Plant 1 or 2 rare wildflowers and nurture it/them until summer is over.

Saturdays 4 Aug + 1 Sept

Meet at the bench opposite 103 Connolly Av.