Magic Harvest

This afternoon I went to the premiere screening of Magic Harvest at the Don Hopgood theatre at Noarlunga. I was very glad to get in to see it as I had not gotten around to booking even though I knew I wanted to see it.

Inspired by Lolo Houbein and her book One Magic Square, the Magic Harvest project ran over a growing season last year. Community participants, many with little gardening knowledge, learnt about growing their own vegetables and grew their own at home. They participated in workshops to share knowledge and resources and enjoyed a celebratory feast at the end of the season. Participants also agreed to pass on their newfound knowledge about growing and cooking to others. The documentary movie, Magic Harvest, was made to document the project from its beginnings to the end feast.

I first heard about the Magic Harvest project at the Sustainable Living Expo last year. I thought it sounded like a great idea. I had heard about and seen Lolo Houbein's book at Adelaide Writers' week early last year. After the expo I was very lucky to get hold of a copy through the library. Reading it was in part what inspired me to actually give gardening a go. I would still love to get my own copy sometime.

I enjoyed the movie this afternoon. There were some pangs of sadness and jealousy as I wish that I was involved in something like this. Thinking about it more afterwards I think my feelings are not so much about the project itself as that I would like to share meals with others more often. Something I have thought and felt for a while and probably something it is worth working on and trying to organise somehow. In a way I feel like I have had my own little magic harvest project. I haven't participated in workshops with others but I have shared my experiences of gardening in various ways. I have been surprised to find out about other's gardens when I have mentioned my own. I have had many conversations that would not have occurred had I not taken those initial steps of planting some seeds/ seedlings. I have shared gardening tools, advice , ideas and successes with friends. It was a great feeling to give away some of the vegies I grew myself. I often enjoy a short walk to the garden to see how things are going and any visitors usually get a tour of the garden.

Everyone who went to the screening today was given a seedling to take home so they could have some "magic" of their own. I have planted the silverbeet seedling into the garden.