The turnout for the harvest swap this morning was amazing. People brought along plants, tree seedlings, all kinds of food (from fruit to vegetables), home made teas, cut flower bunches, smudge sticks, relishes and chutney, soup, recipes, and packets of seeds.
Amongst a wealth of other stuff, there were avocado and pawpaw trees, passionfruit, mini melon and choko vines, herb seedlings, sweet potatoes, limes, lemons and mandarins, custard apples, chokos, berries, asian greens and silverbeet, pickles, tomato relish, recipe printouts, soup and much more. It was a feast for the eyes and stomach!
There were people of all ages, and they chatted and swapped ideas, gardening tips, information about plants and met people they hadn’t seen for ages. The children ran around and played, and some of them tried to find pumpkins on our vine. “They are only this big,” one boy said, disappointed they were not ready yet.
It was really great to see people walk up with baskets of things, and leave with an empty basket, a smile on their faces and armfuls of other things. Who needs money when you can swap your stuff for other people’s locally grown or crafted goods? Many of the things available would never be sold in conventional shops.
The next harvest swap will be at 9am on Saturday 12 June. Everyone welcome!