A sustainable lifestyle website wouldn’t be complete without a section on the garden. But we’ve called our garden category The Food Forest in honour of the permaculture design concept of the same name. The backyard food forest contains more than food – there’s space to live and play, space for wildlife, and maybe even pets – but inherent in the idea is the sense that the food part of the design is not limited to a small, discrete vegetable plot at the bottom of the garden. This garden is filled with food, for wildlife and people alike.
There are fast growing fruit trees espaliered along fence lines, evergreen Warrigal (New Zealand spinach), interspersed with other understory plants, blueberry bushes in tubs, rambling pumpkins trailing over shrubs and perhaps the front lawn. There may be chickens (chooks, in the Australian venacular) wandering around, or carefully placed in portable chook domes, a la Linda Woodrow. Or perhaps there’s a beehive or frog pond or worm farm, or all four sets of helpful workers inhabiting the garden.
Of course, a sustainable home doesn’t have to base it’s garden design around permaculture, but it’s certainaly a good place to start.
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) &...
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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...
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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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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Container 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 of herbs in one container,...
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Growing mushrooms in the home garden is not a new phenomenon – in fact, the Chinese have cultivated home grown mushrooms for more than 1,000 years. There are over 14,000 species of mushrooms but only 250 of them are edible. The exceptional flavour that fungi adds to meals can come with a hefty price...
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Vertical 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. The carbon footprint of this...
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One of the expectant joys of summer is a juicy, bright red strawberry that tastes like it was kissed by the sun. Farmed strawberries are typically grown with a lot of chemicals, which makes growing your own all the more appealing. Learning how to grow strawberries in your own garden is relatively simple and...
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So many people come to our article on Growing Blueberry Bushes, when they really want to buy the plants, that I thought I would add in this short article to tell you where to buy them online. As with most plants, the best place to buy your blueberry bushes is often your local nursery....
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Peas come in such a wonderful variety which makes growing them a rewarding and fun thing to do. They grow in a wide range of conditions and like many vegetables, need good rich improved soil and full sun. They are grown in the cooler months and also throughout spring which gives a good cropping...
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No food grower’s garden is worth its salt without a glorious bounty of tomatoes, and they taste even better with a pinch of salt! This is ironic, as botanically a tomato is a fruit – ie a seed bearing ovary. More commonly used as a vegetable, tomatoes are a mainstay of savoury dishes around...
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Although rhubarb looks like psychedelic celery, its striking bushy green foliage against its purple-red stems is a bright addition to the veggie patch or wherever you decide to plant it. Rhubarb is easy to grow and can be grown from crowns or seeds. By choosing crowns, which are a fleshy bundle of roots, you...
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Growing your own food is not only self-satisfying and rewarding, but it also provides food security. Using organic methods to grow food ensures that it is free from chemicals and contributes to a healthy environment. Organic gardening nurtures ecosystems and maintains the health of the soil, insects, water and people in the environment. With...
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Apples form the basis of folklore. ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ is a well-known phrase. Though this may be something of an exaggeration, apples are a healthy addition to children’s lunch boxes, perhaps even to give to their favourite teacher? A staple food throughout history, an apple was the biblical fruit...
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Sustainable farming has proven to be a rewarding practice both for people and the planet. Though gender roles are deeply rooted in many communities, educating women on agricultural growth is becoming more widely accepted. The benefits of encouraging women in agriculture extend to the entire family both in terms of health and economics. At...
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