A successful Harvest

The Phillip Island Community Orchard's (PICO) annual Harvest Festival, held on Sunday March 29, was a great success with over 150 visitors enjoying the day's outing and activities on offer.

The day commenced with a welcome from the Community Orchard's President, Lars Olsen, followed by a few words from the event sponsor, Westernport Water's spokesperson, Kate McKenzie.

A highlight of the day were the guest presenters.

Craig Castree, horticulturist, author and educator, advised on the importance of nurturing healthy soils to grow successful quality organic produce.

Craig was available afterwards to answer people's gardening questions and sell his informative publications on edible gardening.

A talk on Seasonal Preserving was later given by Harriet Pellizzer, outlining general guidelines on preserving fresh produce to make the most of your harvest as a practical way to cut down on food waste and save money at the grocery checkout.

Harriet's talk was part of the Living Lightly 2026 program supported by the Bass Coast Shire Council and Bass Coast Adult Learning partnership.

In the break between speakers, local musician Travis Thompson provided a toe-tapping selection of music.

Other activities during the day included the popular Let's Make a Scarecrow, with lots of participants of all ages demonstrating their creative flair on frames provided.

The scarecrows will be used in the orchard and vegie plots to do their job for the next twelve months.

Of interest was also the inaugural Weird and Wonderful Fruit and Vegetable Competition, which saw some amazing entries, including the spectacular Tromboncini squash grown at the orchard, two pumpkins weighing in at over 15 kilos each and three giant tomatoes weighing over 500 grams each.

The Community Orchard provided homemade connoisseur cordials, hot food, including the popular vegie fritters and homemade chutney, and an amazing array of organically grown produce, including fresh fruit and vegetables, jams, preserves and pickles along with herbs, plant seeds, potted plants and handcrafted goods for sale.

A selection of Aussie native animals were part of the Wildlife Wrangler's display, with the team's educational venomous snake demonstration imparting fascinating details and information.

Other stall holders included Westernport Water's information van with free giveaways and Hydration Station along with Jess Moulynox's Backyard Botany, promoting her new children's book A to Z of Botany and native botanical-related products.

Good fun, good information, good food and good company marked the day as a winner all round.

The Phillip Island Community Orchard's next event is a Bee Keeping for Beginners demonstration by Gary Morton, on Saturday April 25 at 1pm.

Bookings at: events.humanitix.com/bee-keeping-for-beginners

For further information on PICO and its annual program please visit islandorchard.wordpress.com/