I love waking up in the morning to find that my neighbour has left a basket of eggs on the back porch. I take great solace in knowing where my food comes from and how it is raised. We have a reciprocal exchange of food with our neighbours; they...
Read more‘I’ve realised wanting to do too much is almost as toxic as wanting too much stuff.’ (Tricia Hogbin @ Little Eco Footprints) I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘slow’ lately, as embodied by the slow movement, and I’ve been wondering: is our fast paced lifestyle inherently...
Read moreContainer herb gardens really are the business. Wherever you live in the world you can take account of your climate and your cooking needs, and get together suitable edible plants in one place, ideally within easy reach of your kitchen. A container herb garden is quite simply a collection...
Read moreVertical gardening is just plain trendy right now, and it’s definitely a trend worth considering. If you’re green as well as green fingered (and I’m guessing as you’re on Sustainable Suburbia that’ll be about right!) this method of food growing will suit you (up and) down to the ground....
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For months I’ve been meaning to write a review of One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein, and then today I heard a great interview with her on the radio. She has a new book! Outside the Magic Square: A Handbook for Food Security. Who can resist a title like that? But that’s not the...
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‘The compulsion to identify with consumer products reaches deep into our lives – from our choice of homes to what we put in them.’ (The Joy of Less, Francine Jay, 2010) I’ve been reading (the kindle edition of) The Joy of Less: a Minimalist Living Guide, by Francine Jay, and also her short ebook...
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It’s getting decidedly colder where I live now, in Canberra (Australia’s capital city), and I don’t think Kim Kardashian’s ever even been here, though she might have eaten some of our tomatoes. Gardenate tells me that I live in a cold/mountain zone, though I think Canberra really falls somewhere between cold and temperate. We...
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Our Earth is changing. It is no longer the same planet that our grandparents or even our parents inhabited; however, this does not mean that it is time to throw in the towel and leave it for the next generation to figure out. Rather than waiting for others to change, getting busy ourselves can...
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I love waking up in the morning to find that my neighbour has left a basket of eggs on the back porch. I take great solace in knowing where my food comes from and how it is raised. We have a reciprocal exchange of food with our neighbours; they give us eggs and we...
Read More »
‘I’ve realised wanting to do too much is almost as toxic as wanting too much stuff.’ (Tricia Hogbin @ Little Eco Footprints) I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of ‘slow’ lately, as embodied by the slow movement, and I’ve been wondering: is our fast paced lifestyle inherently unsustainable? I don’t mean unsustainable...
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A lot of attention has been given to the graphene in recent months. The product of an experiment in...
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The Australian Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (what a mouthful!), has recently added an Education Portal...
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The price of solar panels fell by almost 50% over 2011, contributing to a boom year for the solar...
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“Going green isn’t about buying green – it’s about NOT buying.” This is the focus of a workshop coming...
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US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced a six-year, US$180 million initiative to capture wind energy off American coasts,...
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If you use a GPS or satellite navigation device in your car, then ou may be doing your bit...
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Did you read Eileen’s articles on vertical vegetable gardening and how to grow drought tolerant herbs? Here’s an infographic showing how to build a vertical garden out of a wooden pallet, as she describes in the article on herbs. But first, the credits. This infographic was: inspired by Fern Richardson (Life on the Balcony) &...
Every year, large amounts of organic wastes head to the landfills, taking up extraordinary amounts of space and creating methane off-gas. It is estimated that about 60% of a household’s waste is organic. In Australia in 2006-2007, 13.6 million tonnes of organic wastes went to landfill (PDF, 880KB). Learning how to make compost decreases...
For months I’ve been meaning to write a review of One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein, and then today I heard a great interview with her on the radio. She has a new book! Outside the Magic Square: A Handbook for Food Security. Who can resist a title like that? But that’s not the...
Crisp, fresh-from-the-vine cucumbers are the epitome of warm summer evenings. From the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, cucumbers can be pickled or sliced and depending on the variety, can be cylindrical or elongated in shape. Traditionally thought of as an out-of-control vine rambling across the yard, it may surprise you to know that cucumbers also grow...
Sweet potatoes are a wonderful source of Vitamins A, E and C, as well as fibre, and are actually a member of the convolvuli (morning glory) family and not at all related to the ordinary potato. They have a rich indulgent taste and have no cholesterol or fat. Great with a roast, cold in...
Though you may assume that, like the water loving herbs in my last article, all your herbs will benefit from being planted in organic, loamy soil in a sunny area, then fed and watered well, actually some herbs positively thrive in barren conditions. Native Mediterranean herbs like marjoram, thyme, oregano and rosemary grow best...
Following on from Growing A Container Herb Garden, here is some more specific information about growing particular herbs. The following herbs all like similarly moist conditions, so could be grouped together in pots, or grown in the same container – though it is probably advisable to grow mint in its own pot, as it...
Our Earth is changing. It is no longer the same planet that our grandparents or even our parents inhabited; however, this does not mean that it is time to throw in the towel and leave it for the next generation to figure out. Rather than waiting for others to change, getting busy ourselves can...
I love waking up in the morning to find that my neighbour has left a basket of eggs on the back porch. I take great solace in knowing where my food comes from and how it is raised. We have a reciprocal exchange of food with our neighbours; they give us eggs and we...
The price of solar panels fell by almost 50% over 2011, contributing to a...
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced a six-year, US$180 million initiative to capture...
Many homeowners in the US are interested in solar power systems for their homes...
In 2010 China was the world leader in investment in renewable energy technology according...
We’ve recently had articles on a ground source heat pump and on other alternative...
The world’s first mass market, zero emmission car will arrive in Australia in 2012,...
