But first, the credits. This infographic was:

• inspired by Fern Richardson (Life on the Balcony) & Stephanie Lawrence (Design*Sponge), and
• designed by Branded3, with
• images courtesy of  Design*Sponge.

Source: Bridgman

Text only version:

DIY Vertical Garden Wall

1. Get Supplies

You will need…

• A wooden pallet
• Sandpaper
• Staple gun
• Staples
• Hammer & nails
• Landscaping paper
• Planting soil
• 1/4 inch thick MDF

2. Prepare the pallet

Sand down any rough patches on the pallet, and corners if they are sharp. If the pallet has no backing, use the MDF board and nail it into place (using approximately 12 nails). This is to prevent the soil spilling out the back of the pallet.

3. Staple paper to the pallet

Double your landscaping paper up & pull your staple gun out of its holster. Staple the fabric along the sides, bottom and back of the pallet.

4. Fill the pallet with soil.

Lay your pallet flat and get ready to get your hands dirty. Fill the pallet with planting soil, ensuring to press down firmly but leave enough room for planting.

5. Start planting.

Begin planting – starting at the bottom of the pallet. As you work your way up, make sure each of the plants are packed in tight before moving to the next layer.

6. Water and leave for 2 weeks.

Once all of the plants are planted, water your garden thoroughly.

Leave the pallet horizontal for two weeks to allow the plants to take root.

7. Stand upright and enjoy!

What is compost?

Want to know more? This book turns the compost bin upside down with the authors' liberating system of keeping compost heaps right in the garden, rather than in some dark corner behind the garage. The compost and the plants live together from the beginning in a nourishing, organic environment. Says one reader: "It only took the reading of a few pages to realize that there are many ways to compost without spending a lot of money."

Making compost is the earth’s way of recycling organic waste.

To successfully make compost at home, you must remember four ingredients: green, brown, water and air. The correct ratio of each ingredient will ensure healthy, rich compost.

Green: Green ingredients drive the nitrogen that provides proteins to the microbes so they can break down and decompose organic waste. Green ingredients include grass clippings, raw food scraps, tea bags and coffee grounds. Do not compost items like meat, dairy or oils.

Brown: Brown ingredients build the carbon, which is the compost’s energy source. Brown ingredients can be dead leaves, straw, shredded paper, egg boxes and wood shavings.

Water: The compost mixture should be wet to the touch and release one or two drops of water when squeezed without being sodden.

Air: Making compost is an aerobic activity; therefore, turning the compost to aerate it will speed up the decomposition process.

Where should you put your compost pile?

While this seems like a straightforward question, thoughtful consideration is needed to make the decomposing process efficient. Left long enough, any organic waste will break down over time, but speeding up the process is the goal here.

The site should have good drainage and should avoid direct sunlight and strong winds as they can dry out and cool the pile. A half-day of sunlight is ideal.

The site should be conveniently located so you don’t have to put on your hiking boots just to add kitchen scraps. Make sure that the pile does not come into contact with the house, fence or trees, as the wood will rot. If you live in close proximity to your neighbours, you may want to consider the aesthetics of it. You may view it as a fine, organic work of art; however, your neighbours may see it as something entirely different. You can make it less obvious by planting a vine on a trellis or growing a tall flower garden in front of it.

Pile, Bin or the fancy Rotary?

Compost can be made in a variety of ways. A compost pile requires very little to get started and is relatively carefree. It requires some physical exertion however, as you have to get in there and give it a good turning over every few weeks. Because compost piles are in direct contact with the earth, they are inviting for great decomposers like worms to make their homes there.

An on-the-ground bin keeps all of the organic waste contained and in contact with the earth. The moisture is better regulated and allows for microbes and worms to lend a helping hand. If you have the space, two bins can be ideal – one to pull the ready compost from and the other to add new waste to.

The rotary style also keeps the organic waste contained and takes up little space. Additionally, compost can be easily aerated because they turn easily. On the downside, they tend to dry out quickly.

Heap it on – How to Make a Compost Pile

Making a compost pile should mimic making lasagne with an ideal size being 1 metre high x 1 metre wide x 1 metre deep. The layers should be relatively thin and even.

Begin by placing a layer of brown ingredients such as straw, twigs and leaves on the ground. Top this with 5-10 cm of green materials. Add a thin layer of garden soil followed by another layer of brown ingredients. You can also add a thin layer of manure from animals like cows or horses. This serves as an activator and accelerates the initial heating of the pile.

Moisten the layers and continue to layer in this fashion until the pile reaches 1 metre high. Once the height is reached, turn the pile with a fork every one to two weeks bringing the matter in the middle to the outside and the outside matter into the centre of the pile. The pile may steam when turning, indicating that the aerobic microbes are doing their job and decomposition is taking place.

For bins and rotary styles, you can forego the lasagne method and simply add equal parts of green and brown matter. Alternatively, keep a “collection” pile of leaves, twigs and trimmings. As you accumulate kitchen scraps, you then have a pile of brown matter ready to go. If you predominantly have kitchen scraps, mix them with shredded paper, cardboard tubes or egg boxes to keep the pile balanced in carbon and nitrogen.

With proper heat, aeration, carbon/nitrogen balance and moisture, compost can be ready in as little as six weeks or as long as six months to a year.

It’s Ready!

Compost is ready when it is dark, crumbly and has a sweet, earthy odour. You should not be able to distinguish the original materials in it. Compost can be dug into the garden, used as a potting mix or sprinkled as mulch. If some pieces are too large, use a screen to sift it and return the large pieces back to the pile or bin for further decomposition.

Remember that compost is alive with natural materials and living organisms. Practice good hygiene and wash your hands after handling compost. Wear gloves to protect broken skin.

But that’s not the book I’m giving away. I have One Magic Square: The Easy, Organic Way to Grow Your Own Food on a 3-Foot Square. This, you may notice, is not quite the same title as the one I linked to. Its subtitle is “Grow Your Own Food on One Square Meter”. That’s because I have the US version, which I bought when I was visiting friends and family in the US last year. It’s a great book, packed with useful information and ideas, but I am decluttering my house, and the truth is I already have more gardening books than I really need. So I’m passing this one on for someone else to make use of. See the bottom of this post for details on how to enter the giveaway.

Lolo Houbein is 78 years old. She moved to Australia as an adult, having grown up in the Netherlands and lived through real and devastating famine at the end of the second world war. Understandably then, food security has been an ongoing preoccupation for her.

“Now”, she says “I witness the the world’s food producing regions declining again through wars, landmines, and farmers’ deaths.” In a paragraph that reminds me inevitably of Angela Christensen’s recent article on local food security,  Houbein introduces her book saying

“By growing some of your own food and starting a pantry collection of staples, you take control of your food needs if times of chaos should arrive. Meanwhile, you eat healthier, fresher, tastier food, enjoy gentle exercise, and make new friends. Nothing unites people more congenially than eating, swapping and comparing locally grown good food. Food gardening is the most intelligent adult endeavor on earth and ought to be understood by anyone who eats.”

One Magic Square is something of an entry level food gardening book, accessible to the absolute beginner, but at the same time containing masses of useful information and ideas for experienced gardeners. It starts out with some  inspiration and motivation (with sections like ‘The Terrifying Importance of Growing Food’ and ‘How to Find Time to Grow Food’), then follows that up with some practical advice on subjects like composting and companion planting, problem solving and predators, plus an A to Z to of Problems & Pests, interspersed with great tips like the toilet paper roll starting pots I keep seeing everywhere just lately.

The second half of the book is made up of the sections on plants and plots. The book “presents plot designs graded from the easiest and most robust to the complex and tender.” The plots are also divided into the best season for planting. So what do you plant in a square metre plot? Is there really room for more than one or two vegetables? But yes, as a matter of fact, there is. Houbein is an advocate of mixing up lots of plants in small space, confusing predators and maximising production, a la permaculture garden designs (she has a section on permaculture too).

I’ll give you an example. The Autumn & Winter Soup Plot contains carrots, onions, garlic, Siberian kale, beetroot, sorrel, drumhead cabbages and leeks. But what on earth do you do with kale and sorrel, I hear you ask. The thing I really like about this book? She doesn’t just give you a list of foods to plant and then leave you to it. She tells you how to use them.

So her Soup Plot is followed by a section on winter soups. Borsht, Cabbage Soup, French Onion Soup, Garlic Soup, Leek and Potato Soup with Sorrel, Siberian Kale Soup, Cucumber and Yogurt Soup and Gazpacho. Okay, I admit, not all the ingredients are covered in that little plot, but you will learn how to use everything you planted.

Not all the plots have corresponding recipes (do you really need one for the Pizza/Pasta plot? Thought not), in fact most of them don’t. But there is a lot of information sprinkled through the book about eating the food you produce.

For the seasoned gardener, there is a lot in this book if you can take the time to browse through it. Read it at night after the kids are in bed for some inspiration and motivation. Try some of her plots and eat some new foods. For the beginner, the advice Holbein gives in her chapter ‘How to Get Started’ is spot on:

“To start growing your own food without delay, put down this book, go out into the garden, and select a spot in the sun. Dig over one square yard with a garden fork and remove all the weeds by hand. <snip>

“Come inside again and thoroughly wash your hands and clean your nails, as you must always do after working with soil. Pick up this book and in Part 1 (page 1) find all the information you need to make your Magic Square flourish. The turn to [page 161] to select what you want to grow in your first salad plot.” (p.12)

The Giveaway

Would you like a copy of this book? It’s in almost as-new condition, very slightly dog-eared on the corners, but really, packed full of good information. I have one copy, which I will post to one lucky reader (anywhere in the world).

To enter, just mention this giveaway on your blog (with a link back to this post) and leave a comment here telling me you’ve done it, and that you’d love the book. Don’t have a blog? No worries, follow me on twitter and either retweet my tweet about the giveaway (and leave a comment here), or send your own tweet, but be sure to include @SustainSuburb in the tweet so I see it (and, leave a comment here). No twitter account either? Facebook is your last hope. Like our facebook page and ‘share’ the post linking to this giveaway (and, you guessed it, leave a comment here).

Double entries for anyone who has the sustainable suburbia linky lists button on their front page (mention it in your comment).

I will draw a name out of a hat on May 31st, and post the book in June.

(By the way, I am counting this review towards my commitment to the Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading and Reviewing Challenge, as per my commitment here).

Traditionally thought of as an out-of-control vine rambling across the yard, it may surprise you to know that cucumbers also grow exceptionally well on a trellis, fence or even up corn stalks. Learning how to grow cucumbers sets you well on your way to enjoying the best that summer has to offer.

When to plant

Cucumbers are warm season plants so if you plan to sow seeds directly into the soil, do so a few weeks after the last frost. Cucumber seedlings do not transplant well. If your summer tends to be on the shorter and cooler side, you can speed up the growing process by sprouting the seeds indoors a couple of days before planting them outside. Simply place the seeds between damp, warm paper towels and place them in a warm, lit area. Once the seeds sprout, plant them in the garden immediately.

To prolong their growing season, plant different varieties of cucumbers, which in turn, can help you to get creative in the kitchen.

Site Selection and Preparation

Cucumbers love sunlight and warm temperatures. Choose a place in your garden that receives ample sun and is free from frosts. However, extremely hot conditions can also adversely affect the fruit set on the plants so give them some protection from the hot afternoon sun by providing dappled shade.

Cucumbers are gross feeders; therefore, rich, organic matter should be worked into well-draining soil. Thoroughly water the soil before planting.

After the vines develop their first flowers and runners, add additional compost, manure or organic fertiliser.

The Iconic Rambling Vine

Personally, I love a garden that has a bit of a wild look. I like companion planting and mimicking what I call “nature’s orderly chaos.” Therefore, I have a soft spot for sprawling vines. If the rambling vine is your calling too, you can plant seeds in rows or hills. For row planting, mound the soil to provide extra warmth and plant the seeds every 30 cm. For hill planting, each hill should be spaced about 90 cm apart and contain three plants.

Tidy on a Trellis

If it is space that you lack or just prefer a tidier look, cucumbers grow well on supports or trellises. Make sure to select a site that is protected from the wind as strong wind can wreak havoc on the vines.

Not only will growing cucumbers on a trellis make for easy picking, but it also aids in air circulation around the plant, which assists in the prevention of diseases associated with growing cucumbers.

Additionally, the shade created by the vine and trellis provides an ideal habitat for lettuce or other greens such as spinach, bok choi or tatsoi.

(Ed. Note: for more Vertical Vegetable Gardening Ideas, see our recent article by Eileen O’Sullivan)

Care

Cucumbers are over 90% water; therefore, it comes as no surprise that they require a good deal of it to prevent bitter, deformed fruit.  The soil should be consistently moist. With the arrival of summer, mulch around the plants with an organic mulch such as leaves, straw or hay. Good mulching will retain moisture, keep the fruit clean and minimise weed growth.

Companion Planting

Planting cucumbers amongst other plants can have great advantages. They do very well among corn and beans as all three plants require the same growing conditions. The corn also makes a great pole for the cucumber to climb. Another great support for the vines is sunflowers.

Cucumbers do well amid radishes, as radishes are natural deterrents for the pesky cucumber beetle. The beetles often carry bacterial wilt disease that causes plants to rapidly wilt and die. Adding dill to the mix can help attract beneficial insects, which attack predators like cucumber beetles and aphids, who harbour and spread cucumber mosaic virus. Plus, the dill will be incredibly handy for making dill pickles – my favourite!

Plant some nasturtiums nearby for some added garden colour and to repel the cucumber beetle – the flowers are also known to aid in the growth of the cucumber and to improve their flavour.

Harvesting

You can expect cucumbers to be ready anywhere between 50-70 days after planting. Size varies with the variety planted but the fruit should be uniformly green (unless it is a lemon cucumber), firm and crisp.

For eating purposes, do not let the fruit turn yellow – it will be bitter. Remove the fruit with scissors or a sharp knife.

Harvest cucumbers frequently to encourage prolonged production and good flavour. Rinse, gently pat dry and store immediately in the refrigerator.

Seed Saving

Although you may be tempted to indulge in your most perfect cucumbers, save a few of them to harvest the seeds for more cucumbers the following year!

Let open-pollinated varieties turn leathery yellow or brown on the vine. Slice away the rinds without cutting into the seeds and place the core of the fruit into a bucket filled with water. Mash the fruit thoroughly with your hands. After two days, scoop out the seeds that have settled on the bottom of the bucket (discard any floating seeds) and allow them to dry on newspaper for two weeks. Save the largest seeds and store in a cool, dry place.

Eat

Cucumbers are extremely versatile and can be added to water for a refreshing drink, sliced into sticks for sushi rolls, chopped with tomatoes, jalapenos, cilantro and onion for a salsa to accompany fish tacos, added to a gazpacho, or simply enjoyed between two slices of freshly baked bread.

Preparation

Sweet potatoes like a free draining, organic-matter-rich soil which can be slightly acid (between 5 and 6.5). Although they do like some fertiliser, avoid using a product that is too high in nitrogen or you will grow leaves at the expense of the tubers.  Sand is the best soil type, and sand with the addition of mature compost is ideal.  You may struggle with clay so perhaps mix some sandy material in with the clay and dig more deeply.  Another option is to heap the mounds a little higher, above the clay base.

Location

Orange Sweet Potatoes, Photo by Ed Yourdon

They are sun lovers and prefer a semi tropical climate with at least 4-6 months of frost free growing.  You can grow in cooler climates but you have to take precautions with frost.  They do need space so be prepared to let them ramble.

Planting

Sweet potatoes are best grown from cuttings or slips, which can be planted in seed bed rows about 15cm (6″) high, and 30-40cm (12-15″) apart.   The cuttings need to be stripped of all leaves except the top tips and plant about 5-7cm of the cutting into the soil. Although best planted at the end of winter, some plastic sheeting across the top of the bed will assist in promoting soil warmth.  Harvest time will be from late summer.  Progressive planting is best as they don’t store particularly well, and perhaps plant a few cutting s every 2 weeks.  They just take a little longer to mature as the weather cools again.

If you have lots of space and aren’t after a neat look then plant lots and let them have their way.  Sweet Potatoes are fairly self- sufficient as they don’t need a lot of water or food once established, and love to flourish and spread.  As for food, avoid any nitrogen rich options and go for compost which can provide potassium and phosphorus as root vegetables love these.

If you lack the space you can still grow sweet potatoes in containers.  They may end up a bit small, but they ought not to be ruled out just because of this.   It is also possible to propagate by using, yes, you guessed it, a sweet potato, and there is a great post about this to be found at The Journey to Simple.

Growing Problems

Weevils are the main enemy here as they will eat the roots, the tubers and the leaves so can be a major concern. As well as weevils there are lots of bugs that love to feast on the leaves, but these are less serious. Sweet potatoes can also be affected by  fungus and blight. The latter can be mitigated by raising the seed beds to provide better drainage, and the leafy bugs can be kept at bay with an organic solution such as soapy water, chilli or garlic spray.

Also to  help avoid fungus try sprinkling a bit of corn meal on the ground, or a brew of baking soda diluted with water.  This effectively changes the pH of the plant slightly with the idea of making it uncomfortable to the fungus.  Bordeaux spray is often recommended but this contains copper, however chamomile spray can also be useful.  This is just a teabag based brew, which is an interesting solution.  A variety of organic techniques is a good balanced approach.

As for the weevils, there are lots of nasty chemicals available, however these don’t guarantee a weevil free crop and it seems the best prevention is to destroy plants as you notice weevil activity or distorted growth in the crop.  There are pheromone based sex traps that can help, but keeping the ground surface free of weeds, using good organic compost to keep them growing strongly, and some companion planting may assist.  The best companion plants for sweet potatoes are aromatic herbs such as dill, thyme and oregano.  Summer savory is also reported as being beneficial.  Crop rotation is a must so you will need to find a fresh planting space annually to minimise this problem.

As in all things garden, speak to your local nursery who can advise more resistant types.  After all there is not much to gain trying to grow a variety that is known to perform poorly in your area. Resistant strains of vegetables generally produce far more satisfying results, so my advice is not to fight it, and go for what works! After all you want to be enjoying the process not fighting it!

Harvesting

"More Than 100 Ways to Enjoy one of the World's Healthiest Foods"

Your sweet potato crop should be ready anywhere from 14 to 20 weeks after planting.  The only good way to see if they are ready is to have a look!  Gently wriggle around with a garden fork and if they have grown well there should be several roots ready for you to snip off.

Once dug out of the ground leave them in the sun to dry for a while.  They are best left to cure (heal) for a week or so although you can eat them straight away if you prefer.  Some professionals leave them in the ground to store as they don’t keep very long out of the ground.   Like potatoes they are best kept in a cool place.

Varieties and Nutrition

According to the International Potato Centre (who would have thought there would be such a place!) there are apparently 6,500 different varieties of sweet potato.  In Australia typically, there are a few different colours of sweet potatoes available, which are also known as yams or kumara. These range from orange to red to white and purple white.  The most popular American and Australia varieties are Beauregard or Jewell, which are the longer red coloured variety.

Some people favour the leaves as well which can be used a little like spinach.

Planting a Pizza Garden

Because they favour similar growing conditions, Mediterranean varieties are good herbs to plant together in a large pot.  Always follow the basic rule, that around six herbs planted together will need a container of about 30 cm (12″) in diameter – later as they grow, they can be separated. Also because they originate from Mediterranean countries, you can plant them together to make a ‘Pizza Garden’ – which is really fun for children.  This is a container garden created from plants which are good on pizzas, or used more generally in Mediterranean cuisine.

"Herbs give big rewards with a small amount of work—even the most inexperienced, space-strapped gardener will have success."

If you want to include a tomato plant, basil and garlic it would be a good idea to place these nearby in a separate container, as they favour more watering and feeding, and benefit from some shade.  Although used in Mediterranean cooking, basil is originally from India, and requires more moisture than native Mediterranean herbs. (see ‘How to Grow Basil‘)

How to Grow Rosemary

Either source a small plant from a nursery or propagate your rosemary from a small cutting, as it can be difficult to germinate rosemary seeds.  If you take about 5cm (2″ ) of soft new growth from an established plant, then strip the lower half of leaves, you can put the cutting in rooting compost (sourced from any garden centre) and wait until it grows roots.  Sometimes you can successfully root a cutting in clear water, so if you prefer you could try this first.  Then plant in a seed starting medium, which is well draining, place on a warm windowsill or in a greenhouse and keep moist.  Soon you will have a small rosemary plant, which you can place in its own container, or with other herbs.

A rosemary plant is perennial, and can live up to twenty years.  Prune back yearly, otherwise there’s not a lot you need to do.  It can withstand drought, and will tolerate lots of different soils, though it prefers them to be slightly limey – just don’t over water.  A very pretty flowering plant, rosemary leaves dry well so can be used in cooking throughout the winter even in the snowiest weather.  Of course, in milder regions you can just pick it fresh throughout the year. As it can grow so big, rosemary may be best grown in its own container as it could overshadow other herbs planted with it.

How to Grow Oregano and Marjoram

Oregano and Marjoram are basically the same genus of Mediterranean herb, called origanum, and wild marjoram is ‘origanum vulgare’ – or common oregano.  They like sandy, well draining soil and lots of sun.  It is easy to germinate their seeds on a warm windowsill, covered with a plastic bag – and they will sprout in about 10 days.  Just sprinkle seeds on the surface of the soil, and keep lightly moist, but not too wet.  You can grow marjoram and oregano together in one container, or sow the seeds separately if you prefer to differentiate the subtle flavours of the two herbs.

Oregano and thyme grow together in a large container, along with some lovage (just seen on the left)

After transplanting the small plants to a container, if you want to move it outside onto the patio, make sure there’s no longer any danger of frost, and introduce it to the sun in stages to avoid scorching. This is the beauty of container planting – it’s simple to just change the position of the pot each day until it’s in full sun.  You should divide mature plants about every three years.  Basically, you need to dig up the entire plant, making sure you clear all the roots.  Then place two pitch forks back to back in the centre of the plant, and prise them apart to make two plants.  Put one plant back in the original hole – with some compost and lots of water.  Replant the other half and you have two plants.

How to Grow Thyme

There are over 300 varieties of thyme.  Like rosemary it is a pretty, woody flowering plant which likes sandy soil and hot, dry conditions.  It is evergreen and bees love its pink, white or lavender flowers.  Thyme can be bought in trailing varieties, so is a good plant for placing round the edge of a herb container.  Thyme doesn’t like to be messed about with, and doesn’t need much feeding or watering.  Prune back in the spring to avoid the plant becoming too woody.

Vertical Herb Gardens

There are many ways to create a vertical garden (see my article ‘Vertical Vegetable Gardening Ideas‘ here on Sustainable Suburbia), and possibly the simplest possible vertical herb garden is one planted into a builder’s wooden pallet.  Basically, you staple weatherproof fabric onto the back, bottom and sides of a pallet, and fill it with compost.  Then plant herbs into all the horizontal spaces, packed tightly.  You could plant flowering herbs along the top, once the pallet is turned upright.

If you want a mixed herb garden, why not plant water loving herbs in the bottom half, in loamy compost, and dry loving herbs in the top half and along the top ‘shelf’ of the pallet, in more sandy soil?  Then when you water, water the bottom half more frequently.

Leave the pallet flat for a couple of weeks in a slightly shady area to let the plants ‘bed’ in.  Make sure they’re packed in tightly so when you turn the pallet upright, the soil does not fall out.  Then plant herbs along the top and place against a sunny wall – perfect!  If it’s near your kitchen door, maybe on a balcony or a patio, then it’s convenient to cultivate as well as to harvest for all of your culinary treats.

Another dead easy way to plant a vertical herb garden is to take a plastic hanging shoe organizer, puncture holes in the compartments, and plant herbs in them. To make it even simpler, a canvas organizer dispenses with the need for holes, though the water will eventually rot the base of the compartments.   Hang up on a sunny wall, a fence or the side of a shed.  Just make sure you put herbs together which like similar conditions.  Trailing herbs are good for this type of vertical garden.

Here’s an infographic on how to build your DIY vertical garden out of wooden pallets. Click to see it in a readable size!

Click to see the full image plus a text only version.

(Source: Bridgman)

‘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 Miss Minimalist: Inspiration to Downsize , Declutter, and Simplify (really a collection of her Miss Minimalist blog posts, but for $0.99, it was worth the price to have them all together on my mobile phone). Now, I am not now, nor am ever likely to be a true minimalist. As I’ve said before Joshua Becker’s ‘rational minimalist‘ approach works for me. And it’s worth noting that where Joshua has children, Jay does not. But that doesn’t detract from the value for me – both inspirational and practical – of Jay’s books.

In fact, although Jay really is a minimalist in the true sense of the word, what she advocates is not having next to nothing, but only having what you need: ‘minimalist living is not so much about living with as little as possible – but rather, as little as possible to meet your needs.’ Even then, her definition of needs is loose enough to allow for my need for (say) a food processor, because I do a lot of cooking and use it every day (actually I don’t have a food processor, though I suspect I would use it frequently if I did have one).

For Jay, once she began decluttering, she found it exhilarating and consequently much easier than she had expected.  As I’ve said before, while I love the feeling of accomplishment I get with each bag of stuff I drop off to the charity shop, overall I find the process hard. I have too much attachment to stuff, too much respect for the ‘what if’ scenarios my brain just can’t stop throwing at me. For goodness sakes, I was collecting items for my ‘useful box‘ (the link is for those who never watched Play School) before I was even trying to get pregnant with my first child. Just very special things that you don’t come across every day, but still. It’s a pretty telling habit.

So for me, reading the decluttering blogs and books is a good way to help maintain my motivation. I’m never going to have a house like Jay’s – and I don’t want one. But I do want a house where there’s a place for everything, and nothing just shoved onto a shelf or into a basket because there’s no-where else to put it.

For me, decluttering has two main goals. One is to have a clearer, cleaner, tidier house. One in which everything is easy to find and easy to put away. One in which the children’s imagination can run wild, uncluttered by the vast array of stuff we have now. The other goal is really about modelling – and living – a way of being that is the opposite of conspicuous consumption. Where resources are not wasted, money is not spent wastefully, and the earth is respected and understood, so that the material we take from it is valued and used well.

But there’s a third one as well. In The Joy of Less, Jay identifies different categories of the things we own – things that are useful, and things that are only potentially useful, for instance. One of the sub-categories she comes up with is ‘aspirational  stuff’.

‘Contrary to what marketers will have you believe,’ she writes, ‘you are not what you own.’

‘Nevertheless, we occasionally fall prey to the advertisers pitch. Therefore, we must account for another subcategory of items we own: ‘aspirational stuff’. These are the things we buy to impress others, or to indulge our ‘fantasy selves’ – you know, the ones that’s twenty pounds thinner, travels the world, attends cocktail parties or plays in a rock band.’

I would add to that, the one that’s twenty years younger. The one you perhaps used to be, in a different time and place. Do I really need that dress I bought when I was 22? Even if I lose that 10, or okay 20 pounds, will I actually wear it again? Do I need the books I read at university but let’s face it, am not ever going to open again? Why do I keep them? So that people can look at my bookshelf and see that I once read Literary Theory and Philosophy? Who am I kidding here?

Okay, keeping those lit crit books on my shelf is probably not doing any major harm on its own, but I do feel that adopting a more minimalist lifestyle can send an important message to my children. You are not what you own. You do not need the latest Pokemon book, Lego set, or even Berenstain bears book to be happy or cool or fun. And you do not need to own things you can borrow from the library, read, and return. You can always borrow them again if you want to. At the moment my kids don’t have much issue with this (I’m pretty sure). They don’t want things in order to project an image, but there is a definite sense that having more things will create more happiness. Already Mikeala, who’s five, will ‘read’ a book and then examine the back page with the pictures of other books in the same series, telling me which ones she ‘really wants’, sometimes before I’ve even read the first book to her.  Liam (who’s ten) will do the same with the  catalogues that come with each set of Lego.

One suggestion Jay has for helping to thin out kids’ stuff, is to offer to buy their less used (or unused) toys, at perhaps a dollar an item, and then donate them to charity. I’m in two minds about this, as I’d love them to just give things to charity themselves, and I don’t want to create a sense of entitlement (any more than they already have). When they have finished using something, either because they are too old for it or simply bored with it, I would like it to feel just normal to them to pass it on to a younger sibling, or to simply give it away.

However, they are how they are, and there is definitely something to be said for working within the bounds of reality. Maybe by decluttering now, I’ll help Eliane, who’s only just turned two, start out with better habits. I just got rid of a whole bunch of her old toys (most of which had admittedly once belonged to the older kids), and put a few others away for when my one-year-old nephew moves back to Australia later this year (with his parents). Hopefully, Elli’s still young enough that she won’t even notice.

What about you? How do you go about decluttering (or avoiding cluttering) your children’s stuff, if you have them? Or how about your own ‘aspirational’ items – do you find it hard to let go of the things you bought because you want to be someone who will wear/use/be that item? Or do you not have that sort of stuff in your house?

China’s Competitive Advantage

In various areas, China is able to produce items such as commercial solar panels at a lower cost than many countries around the world. There are several reasons behind this such as cheap labour, more relaxed environmental regulations and a favourable exchange rate controlled by the Chinese government, in addition of any subsidies.  Many governments choose to turn a blind eye to these practices as many of their domestic companies outsource their manufacturing processes to China to take advantage of the lower production costs and maximise profits. However, the petition lodged by the Coalition of American Solar Manufacturing seems to have sparked a powerful debate leading to tariffs being placed on the importation of Chinese solar panels in the US.

Consequences for the Solar Industry

This may have significant consequences for the US solar industry, with US-based manufacturing companies given a greater opportunity to compete, but higher costs resulting for solar power installation companies. Depending on which part of the supply chain the company is part of, the introduction of tariffs could benefit their business or alternatively increase their supply costs. Consequently there will be various companies lobbying for and against the tariffs being enforced. It is likely that the increased supply costs will be passed onto the consumer and demand for solar panels will decline. To what extent is unclear at this stage but the recent high growth experienced in the solar market is likely to decrease.

Existing and new government incentives, such as the feed-in tariff to be introduced in LA, have the ability to mitigate this to some extent, and indeed government programs around the world can be seen to have contributed significantly to the growth in the industry in recent years, in combination with decreasing costs. Rising electricity costs can also continue to drive consumers towards solar power, as saving money on electricity becomes more important.

Good News for the US Manufacturing Sector?

The introduction of the tariffs may arguably be a positive move for the US economy as it recovers from recession, with the government showing a willingness to protect US manufacturing companies and to help them to compete, though in the long run tariffs generally are not considered good solutions, allowing industry to remain complacent. However with the importance of renewable energy likely to grow over the next couple of decades, it is seen as important for the US to develop their companies in this sector in order to compete in the future, and the tariffs in this case are very small, matching those the Chinese industry is receiving. China has already recognised the need for renewable energy and has already invested greatly in the industry on a large scale. One thing is certain, solar energy is here to stay and companies have already begun the battle to become the market leader for a greener environment.

Ryan Shipley believes in the importance of renewable and green energy to remove the dependence on non-renewable sources that pollute the environment. He currently works for All Eco Energy who are solar panel suppliers.

How to Grow Mint

Growing your own container herbs can be thoroughly enjoyable, and it can also be a challenge.  So let’s start with the easiest – and you just can’t beat mint for ease of growth and variety of use.  In sun or in shade, whether spearmint or peppermint (or any of several other varieties depending on your preference) mint likes to grow!  Growing mint in a container will stop it taking over your entire garden, and being such a copious and luxuriantly growing plant you’ll have all you need in one pot.  Don’t worry about sourcing a plant from a nursery.  Any little sprig of mint (do your friends have a plant? Is it taking over next door’s garden?) can be turned into a container plant that will grow as big as you like, limited only to the size of the container.

Mint flourishes in a pot, almost over-running the lovage planted in the middle of it.

So you’ve sourced your cutting – take the lower leaves off the stalk, leaving just two opposing ‘couplets’ of leaves at the top, and bury the stalk in cutting compost.  Just in case it doesn’t ‘take’, do this several times, with space between each sprig of mint.  If any wither within a few days, then start again.  As with most herbs, as long as you use well draining soil, and place shards of pot over the drainage holes before you put your compost in the container, your mint will thrive.  Feed twice a year with bone meal.

Mint prefers partial shade and frequent watering as it doesn’t like to be too dry, and regular mulching will help keep the roots moist.  Mint is best left to grow alone, as it will probably take over any herbs planted with it.  The main scourge of mint is rust – if you see orange spots on the bottom of the leaves, remove them and don’t put them in the compost!  If the whole plant is taken over and you don’t want to use chemicals to solve the problem, then take it out and burn it.  Just grow another one!

How to Grow Parsley

Parsley is great grown with tomato plants (see my previous article Growing Tomatoes in Pots), and it is good grown alone.  Parsley likes lots of watering, and here’s a good tip – if you squirt some washing up liquid in your water, it soaks the soil more thoroughly ie it acts as a wetting agent.  Otherwise, water can trickle round the sides of your pot, come out at the bottom, and leave the roots in the centre of the pot fairly dry.  Daily watering is essential unless you have self watering pots.

Parsley also likes good, rich soil, and full sun.   It can grow in fairly cool conditions but it is essential that when sun is scarce, the soil should be well drained and fertilized about once a month.  Mulch round the roots to keep in moisture.  If you want to germinate parsley from seeds, then put them inside on a warm windowsill as they like heat, and cover the top of the pot with a clear plastic bag.  Plant out singly in pots once they reach about 8cm (3″) high.  Basically parsley needs weekly feeding with liquid food, frequent watering and lots of sun.

"Herbs give big rewards with a small amount of work - even the most inexperienced, space-strapped gardener will have success."

How To Grow Basil

Plenty of sunlight, plenty of water – plenty of basil!  Always keep inside on a sunny window sill in Autumn or Winter, and to avoid water logging your plant, put water in the dish containing the pot, and don’t water via the roots.  If you want to germinate basil from seed, it may be a good idea to start with a small plant – then use its seeds for the next season, once you get the hang of growing basil.  Just take the small plant from its pot, cover with well draining compost and with the root ball in a hole twice its width and depth, and water well.  As it likes good drainage you could put gravel at the base of the pot before the compost, with shards of pot on the drainage holes.

If you go on to germinate the seeds – place them on a warm windowsill, cover with about a quarter inch or a few millimetres of compost, water well and cover in a transparent plastic bag to keep in moisture and warmth. Basil prefers to be left to get on with it  – don’t over feed, just put it in well draining soil and water it a lot.  When each seedling has two sets of opposing leaves, try thinning out to the strongest specimens.  Now your plants will flourish.

After you’ve harvested one whole set of leaves, by pinching out from the tops of growing shoots, then cut the shoots to about half way down, just above tiny new leaves.  Leave for a month or so, and you’ll have new growth.  Between bouts of harvesting, basil likes to recover.  When your basil flowers at the end of the summer, remove all blooms to retain flavour in the leaves.

How to Grow Chives

Chives are great ‘companion’ plants.  If you grow your chives in outdoor containers, flowering chives are irresistible to bees.  Related to garlic and onions, chives are also very good at repelling mildew and fungus and unwelcome insect pests, and ground up they make a great ‘herb tea’ to put around your garden.

Chives like similar growing conditions to all water loving leafy herbs.  They grow from tiny bulbs – and are best in clumps of about four or five bulbs per clump.  As they grow and ‘pad’ out, you can thin them out in spring or autumn to establish new plants in their own containers (of about 12″ across).  Don’t allow the pots to dry out, feed monthly with a liquid fertilizer like compost tea, and keep in full sun or part shade.  Unless you want to gather their seeds, or encourage bees to your garden, remove flowers as they grow, to retain the flavour in your chives.

How To Grow Coriander (also called Cilantro)

Now coriander can be tricky.  Like the other herbs mentioned, it likes a lot of water and lots of sun.  However coriander is easily stressed, and it will produce seeds and flower too early if conditions aren’t ideal.  Firstly, it needs to be grown from seeds, as it hates to be transplanted.  Wait until your coriander produces seeds, then sow some more, but buy the first plant in its own pot, and keep an eye on it – maybe on a sunny  windowsill  - until it becomes well established.

If coriander is allowed to dry out and gets too hot, it will flower and produce seeds before you’ve had an abundant show of leaves and stems.  This is fine if you want a good crop of coriander seeds – which taste great when dried out.  If it’s the leaves you’re after (also known as cilantro),  then remove the flowers as soon as they appear.  Water when dry, feed with a liquid fertilizer if they’re looking worse for wear, and only harvest the leaves when the plant is well established and healthy.  If the plant flowers and produces seeds, you can sow new plants about every three weeks or so throughout the summer.

Insects and mites such as mosquitoes or ticks thrive in the heat. In fact, the cold months during winter every year has been pretty much the only thing keeping our planet from being overrun with these blood-sucking creatures. In 2011, global temperatures were markedly lower than they have been in past years, and experts agree that we are all going to be facing a very serious threat from insects and the diseases they carry in the northern summer of 2012.

Ticks in America are already known to carry a number of deadly diseases that can be transmitted to humans and other animals. Tularemia, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Colorado Tick fever, Ricketts (Rickettsia parkeri Rickettsiosis) and relapsing fever are only a few of the potentially deadly diseases that you might find on a tick in America.

The USDA, along with many other organizations and scientific institutions around the world, are constantly working to find a way to prevent the damages caused by insects and keep the people of the world safe from the diseases they carry. Field research that was done by the United States Department of Agriculture on various tick repellents showed that a very unique strain of garlic extract is able to repel ticks for four weeks and kill any tick larvae in the area – a garlic extract known as Mosquito Barrier.

Mosquito Barrier was created by the Garlic Research Labs of Glendale, California in an effort to provide a natural solution to ticks and other insects that actually worked better than the dangerous and damaging pesticides currently being used by many, and that is exactly what they did. Today, Mosquito Barrier is used by golf courses, government-owned parks, and in the backyards of countless households as a natural tick repellent, and the fact that it has been around for 21 years gives you an idea of just how well it works.

Ticks are perfectly comfortable waiting for their next host (and meal) on a blade of grass, leaf, tree, wooden wall, on the floor, or just about anywhere else you can think of. In other words, your back or front yard is most definitely the perfect habitat for a tick; even a small walkway or patio in the front of an apartment could prove a perfect place for a tick to find its next meal. During tick season, spraying down your property with Mosquito Barrier once every 4 weeks will keep ticks from coming near it, and it will also kill all of the larvae that might be on the floor.

It has been noted that Lyme disease, the most common disease that is transmitted by ticks, is more often transmitted to their host when ticks are still in their early stages of life. That being said, it is clear that the main issue lies in the small tick larvae that you can’t even see. Mosquito Barrier’s ability to eliminate tick larvae in any sprayed area without using any damaging chemicals or pesticides has been an extremely important breakthrough for our environment and ecosystem, and any home owner or renter couldn’t ask for a better product when it comes to safety, cost, and effectiveness.

This article was submitted by the Mosquito Barrier website, where you can place orders directly and learn more about this natural tick repellent. Every purchase comes with a money-back guarantee, and this product has been proven to be very effective in keeping ticks, fleas, gnats, mosquitoes and fire ants off your property and far away from your family and pets.

As for Kim, you’ll need to check out the inspiring reads below if you want to know more about her relationship to tomatoes and blog post titles. See if you can figure it out.

Even with the cold it’s not too late to plant more in the vegetable garden though, and I got some more seedlings in last weekend. Leeks, spring onions, silverbeet, beetroot, lettuces and garlic filled up my small available space nicely. Next month I will add some snow peas too, and more garlic and probably some more greens (pak choy or something similar). That’s probably all though, because come the Spring we’re planning on re-arranging our garden space, so we don’t want to be planting too much that we can’t harvest by around September/October. Also we don’t have a lot of space at the moment, as a big compost pile is taking up a good third of our usual vegetable garden.

In January this year I decided I would make my particular focus for this year be on our food supply – eating more ethically and particularly locally, and seasonally. That’s been reflected in the articles here on Sustainable Suburbia, with lots of “How to grow” articles, as well as some interesting topics like Angela Christensen’s article Rediscovering Food: Local Food Security and What it Means For You and Eileen O’Sullivan’s article on Vertical Vegetable Gardening Ideas. We’ve been a bit slack about our vegetable garden for the past couple of years (since baby number three was born, in fact), but it’s coming back into itself now.

Elsewhere in Autumn (and Spring, for those on the other side of the world) there have been some fantastically thoughtful, inspiring and amusing posts as always. Here are a few that stood out for me, many maintaining the food focus:

• What on earth do I do all day? “Deep breath. Kitchen and house in general is a mess so I give it a quick clean but honestly couldn’t be stuffed so I put the kettle on instead for a cuppa. Sit down with said cuppa only to realise your PE shirt is still in the wash. Get up hang it out and call a friend to ask the name of what manual worming solution is. Tea goes cold.” From Murra Mumma.
• Five Ways to Incorporate Bush Tucker into Your Diet “…the one that resonated with me the most was the observation that Australians are very, very good at accepting and incorporating other ‘ethnic’ cuisines into our diet, and yet we’ve all but ignored the foods of our own country.” From Frugal and Thriving .
• From there to here – “You’ve heard it before, but we have to grow more of our own food. And if you’re city-bound and can’t, we have to find ways to step outside the vulnerable industrial system and create networks that can.” But to make sense of this post you will first have to read her ‘game on‘ post. From inner pickle.
• Why are we urban homesteading? “It’s more than just preparedness, it is about education, entertainment, satisfaction, contentment, increasing our skills and knowledge, family time, being good role models, community building, improved health, and of course, we feel it is a good way to lower the impact our lifestyle has on the planet too.” From Eat at Dixiebelle’s.
•  What I had in mind “So, we were all splattered in mud and our feet caked in the stuff and we were climbing fences and throwing bikes over to the other side and it was getting quite hot and sticky and the kids were grizzling at full force and I suddenly thought ‘wouldn’t it have been easier just to stay at home and stab myself in the face with a fork?’” from Blue Milk.
• Exiting the Rat Race “Not only did I feel fully connected to my family, which brought me great joy, I began to feel connected to the Earth, through my gardening endeavours. I may have said this before, but growing your own food is one of the most uplifting and spiritual things I have ever done, and certainly one of the most fulfilling.” from The Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op.
• Meat delivered from the farm “In our little family, and to my local community, I would like to think that the small changes we are making will make some kind of a difference.  Reducing consumption, supporting local producers, growing as much as possible in my garden, reducing waste, and feeding my family unprocessed fresh food are things at the top of my list at the moment and things I am thankful I can effect a change in.” From A Fresh Legacy.
• Kim Kardashian’s Tomatoes: 5 Thoughts on Blogging “Recently, for reasons I find flatteringly inexplicable, a few people have asked me for tips on blogging. It turns out my advice is basically the same: ‘pay attention to what resonates with your readers, and write a lot.’” From NorthWest Edible Life. (And if you want to know what the deal with Kim Kardashian and her tomatoes is, you’ll just have to read the post!)
• Planning an Edible Garden “To me it makes sense that most of the garden space I have should be used to feed me and my family. I would encourage others who are thinking about planting edible plants to take the plunge -you won’t regret it. Even committing to grow a few of your favourite herbs in a few pots by your back door can be a rewarding experience. ” Another from A Fresh Legacy, but this was a guest post from Natasha Kuperman of Swap Shuffle Share.
• The Incredible Power of Habit ”Growing a garden is great, and if you have the dirt I encourage you to give it a try. But I can tell you one of the biggest and most common gardening challenges, it’s one they basically never discuss in gardening books– Eating what you grow.” From Apron Stringz.

The ideology behind permaculture encompasses particular skills and ways of doing things to empower us to be responsible, productive community citizens rather than consumers dependent on others to satisfy our basic needs. Bill Mollison and David Holmgren coined the word permaculture in the 1970s in an attempt to face and challenge the environmental crisis facing modern society. They describe permaculture as “Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs” (Holmgren, xix).

Mindful Observation

Permaculture design cannot happen overnight, so be prepared to dedicate time and to practice the art of “slow.” First, you must simply start with observation. In today’s fast paced society, mindful observation seems almost counterproductive, as if we should always be doing instead of just observing. However, “good design depends on a free and harmonious relationship to nature and people, in which careful observation and thoughtful interaction provide the design inspiration, repertoire and patterns” (Holmgren, 13).

Open up all of your senses. Smell the soil, listen to the insects and birds, and watch the shadows. Permaculture is about working with nature rather than against it. Modern society teaches us to battle nature with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. The negative connotations that come with words like weeds or pests must be rethought. These things may actually be indicators of the health of the soil or other environmental factors, so rather than go on the immediate attack, try to discover why the “pests” may be present in the first place.

Understanding and Utilising Nature’s Energy

Nature has four main stores of energy – water, living soil, trees and seed. Incorporating these cornerstones of energy into your permaculture design will, over time, provide your garden with the energy required to make it self-sufficient.

Water: Catching and storing water should be one of your top priorities when considering permaculture design. Observe how water flows at your selected site. I had the opportunity to attend a community presentation by Brad Lancaster, a permaculture consultant from Tucson, Arizona. He is an advocate for rainwater harvesting and suggests slowing, spreading and infiltrating the flow of water. In the hot, dry desert of Arizona, Lancaster harvests 100,000 gallons of rainwater per year on a 1/8 acre urban lot, creating an oasis of food-bearing trees and gardens while providing wildlife habitat.

Living Soil: The ability for soil to store nutrients and water will determine the success of your permaculture design. Build your soil to contain adequate organic matter, minerals and microbes by incorporating organic manures, compost and worms. David Holmgren remarks, “When the earth beneath our feet is less like a dead concrete slab and more like a moist living sponge, then we know we are on the right track” (40).

Trees: Trees are great at absorbing and storing water and nutrients, and sequestering carbon from the air. In addition, they provide a shade canopy from the hot sun and a habitat for many forms of life. They create microclimates, they form windbreaks and they can act as fences or trellises. They also help to provide necessary mulch in the form of leaves and bark.

Seed: Seed saving is a critical component to capturing and storing energy. It is a relatively simple process and has immense benefits. Make sure to read up on saving seeds before you begin as different varieties have different requirements and some cross-pollinate fairly easy. Food plants go extinct each year as corporate agriculture and the patenting of seeds slowly erodes the genetic diversity of our food system. When you save seeds, you are saving cultural, historical and environmental information that can never be regained once it is lost.

Mimic Mother Nature

By observing and copying nature, it is possible to obtain high yields of food with less effort and energy. Permaculture is based on cyclical time rather than on the linear time that we have become so familiar with. In other words, everything has cycles, patterns and waves that flow between permanence and change. For example, food scraps and dead plants should be returned to the earth as compost to become rich soil.

Love Diversity

Diversity is another key element in permaculture garden design. The natural world is complex and diverse. Over the last century, modern, large-scale agriculture has largely turned to monoculture landscapes void of diversity. It is within these monocultures that the widespread use of toxic chemicals and energy in the form of fertilisers arise, causing devastating impacts on human health and the environment. Incorporating diverse plants attract different insects and can help balance your garden by creating mutually beneficial relationships.

Zoning

This mini-chook dome is based on Linda Woodrow's design (for a larger one) in her book, The Permaculture Home Garden.

As you plan your permaculture garden, take the time to consider each plant and how you will use it and how often. Plan to plant varieties that will require extra attention closer to the house (Zone 1) and work outwards as plants require less care. Even if you have a small space, you can still end your design with a Zone 5, which may be an undisturbed area for wildlife. Therefore, Zone 1 will be your busiest zone and Zone 5 will require the least amount of care.

Permaculture has many facets and is not only about gardening but a whole way of living more sustainably on the planet. Do not overextend by taking on too much at once – this defeats the underlying principles of permaculture. Holmgren reminds us,

It is the steady, cyclical and humble engagement with nature that provides the sustenance for the spark of insight and integration, which, in turn, informs and transforms the practice. The first is harmonious and enduring, the second is episodic and powerful. The joyful asymmetric balance between the two expresses our humanity (271).

Finding balance between our lives and nature is the first step in sustainable living. Nature’s designs have been successful for millions of years, perhaps we could learn a thing or two if we just stop to observe.

Reference

Holmgren, David, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability,  Victoria: Holmgren Design Services, 2002

The ability to source food from places other than grocery stores is an important step in addressing food security. Throughout history, humans relied on what they grew and on local trade to meet their dietary needs. It was more common than not to milk cows on the farm, to thresh and mill grain, to collect eggs daily and to grow produce in the fields. Today, a majority of people rely solely on the grocery store to fill their weekly shopping trolleys. The convenience and relative ease of sourcing food from the grocery store has distanced us more from our food than we have ever been in history.

Modern transportation whisks food around the globe and leaves it virtually untraceable for the consumer. Trips to the store leave us in the middle of the aisles scrutinising every label to decipher where the contents came from. If you are like me, I prefer to buy locally sourced food whenever possible.

As consumers, we are led to believe that we no longer have to wait for summer to get tomatoes or strawberries or peaches, yet if you want any flavour at all in your food, I would advise you to abstain from that tomato or peach in the middle of winter. Despite the documented health and economic benefits of eating seasonally, the notion of eating seasonally is not commonly thought about nor acted upon.

Michael Pollan, in the Omnivore’s Dilemma, affirms that the pseudo-security of seasonal produce available throughout the year hides the fragility of a food system based on non-renewable resources and the social, economic and environmental injustices attached to it. By purchasing “global” food, you may unwittingly be supporting environmental degradation, economic inequality and poor, inhumane working conditions, not to mention the incredible amounts of oil it takes to transport food.

Produce at a community food swap event

So, what exactly is food security? The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” In addition to this, I would add that in order to have sufficient, safe and nutritious food, communities must practice and engage in civic agriculture.

Civic agriculture is an idea that promotes citizenship and environmental sustainability within rural and urban areas through economy, intimate bonds to place and physical interaction with that place. It is a ground-up model that highlights a more direct and self-reliant approach to food – from production through to consumption.

Civic agriculture can take many forms. It can be a farmers market, a CSA (community supported agriculture), a community garden or your own backyard food forest. The idea aims to move food away from being solely an economic enterprise to one that encompasses environment, people and communities.

Supporting local farmers and buying seasonal produce is definitely one way to address food security in your area. A growing body of literature and many studies show that keeping local, small-scale farmers on the land coincides with greater economic stability, income equity and healthier community infrastructure.

Additionally, taking steps to establish your own food garden has many rewards. Gardens provide us with food, help us to create a deeper connection with our surroundings, teach our children and grandchildren where healthy food comes from, builds healthy ecosystems and helps to create borderless communities where people actually know and talk to each other.

More and more commonly, urban and suburban dwellers are bringing agriculture back into the cities and suburbs. Referred to as urban homesteaders, people concerned with food security are transforming the traditional green lawns of suburbia into backyard and even front yard food forests complete with chicken coops, herbs, beehives and flowers. Yes, the food forests provide food, but they also promote a healthy environment and a medium from which to engage and communicate with those around you; they help build community. Imagine the possibilities if everyone on your block grew food and then actually shared it with one another. Imagine the variety of foods at your dinner table. Food security would be addressed on a local level AND you would actually know your neighbours.

Food security is not only about feeding your belly but also about creating a community and a culture around enjoying healthy, nutritious meals. Mealtime should be a time to reflect on the wonders of nature and to truly enjoy the harvest of your work. Michael Pollan writes,

“…as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world.”

With this in mind, help create local food security and become involved with the food that you eat, whether it is supporting local growers, digging in mulch at the community garden, buying a share with a CSA or putting on a pair of gloves and getting busy yourself.

Angela Christensen holds a Masters degree in Sustainable Communities where her passion lies in small-scale, sustainable agriculture. When she isn’t playing with her two young children, she is kept busy gardening, canning, cooking and generally hanging out in nature.

Sure there is some government information about green building projects and tens of companies offering ‘green building services’, however unfortunately there is still an air of confusion surrounding environmentally friendly building.

Most elements of your home can be remodelled or made more energy efficient; however this often comes at a cost. This article aims to highlight affordable DIY green projects which will lower your carbon footprint whilst not breaking the bank at the same time.

Install a low U-value front door

Some reports suggest as much as 15% of your home’s heat is lost through inefficient front doors. This means you could effectively save 15% on your energy bills and reduce your carbon footprint through installing a more efficient one. Door energy ratings are measured in U-values (the measurement of heat transfer through a given building material, glass, etc) the lower the U-value the better. (Source: http://www.darlington.gov.uk) In Australia, look for the WERS (window energy rating scheme) label if your door has glass in it, which has a star rating for protection against cold, and a separate one for protection against heat.

Insulate hot water pipes

Without insulation the pipes carrying hot water throughout your home are effectively radiating heat. This means that due to heat loss, water which would otherwise be hot enough to wash with or fill a pot needs to be reheated; using unnecessary amounts of energy. Pipe insulation comes in either rubber or foam tubing with slits down the centre making it easy to apply to pretty much any pipe you can see. Tests suggest that cooling rates are 3 times longer for insulated ¾ inch pipes than those with no insulation.

Install faucet aerators

Faucet aerators sound high-tech but basically all they are is thin mesh covers which are placed inside your faucets. The mesh results in more resistance which means that less water can pass through the same space, meaning your home wastes less water. A typical faucet without an aerator can allow as much as 18 litres a minute to flow; with an aerator installed this is reduced to around 3.5.

Wasting less water is important for itself, but unless you have solar hot water, saving hot water will also reduce your carbon footprint.

Insulate your roof

Out of this list, this is  the update which will undoubtedly have the biggest impact on your energy bill. If your attic isn’t insulated then unfortunately you have been effectively throwing money out of the window. The energy efficiency of insulation in measured in R values; the higher the better. A layer of 80mm glasswool in your attic provides 1.5R’s in Australian terms. According to sustainability.vic.gov.au 3.0R’s of loft insulation in Melbourne translates to a 12% saving on energy bills annually! The installation process is relatively straight forward if you aren’t using your attic for anything other than storage. If you have already converted your attic space the process is a little more complicated.

Install a programmable thermostat

If you haven’t got a programmable 7 day thermostat then go find one, if you have one but don’t use it to its full potential you are wasting a lot of money. Having a programmable 7 day thermostat allows you to customise when your heating/cooling comes on in line with yours or your family’s schedule. If everyone is out until 7pm on Tuesdays there isn’t much need in heating the house for lunch! Keep in mind that for every 1 degree above 70 degrees F can increase heating costs by 1-3% and each degree below 78F can increase cooling costs by 1-3%. (Source: https://energyaudit-sdge.sempra.com/library/thermcon.asp)

These tips and hints on relatively inexpensive ‘green’ DIY projects were brought to you by Yale Composite Doors UK. All new Yale front doors adhere to U-value ratings between 1.0 and 1.8 W/(m2.K).

‘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 only on a personal level, though there is that, but is it also an inseparable part of our global problem with pushing up against the earth’s limits? Is it, in fact, an inevitable result of our global obsession with continual economic growth, which Paul Gilding convincingly argues it is impossible to sustain on a finite planet?

What is the Slow Movement?

Image by Danielle Defrancesco

Geoff Hudson,  Chairman of Slow Food Australia, describes the basic principles of slow food as being about ‘good, clean and fair’ (FutureTense, Sept 2010). Slow Food began in Italy in 1986, when Carlo Petrini organised a demonstration against the planned McDonalds that was to be built near the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. The franchise was never built, and the Slow Food Movement began, with a focus on eating local cuisine and rejecting everything that ‘fast food’ implies: ‘fast life, non-sustainable food production and the eroding of local economies’ (‘Slow Food’ @ www.slowmovement.com).

From there the movement has grown to encompass every part of modern life, from slow food to whole slow cities. Carl Honore, author of In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed, has described our modern life as being ‘constantly marinaded in distraction and stimulation and activity’ (Future tense, 2010), but, he says, once you can get your head around the idea of ‘slow’ you can apply it to just about everything you do.

There is even a slow books movement now, which focuses on reading with more depth.* Living with more depth is perhaps the main emphasis of the slow philosophy, and though Hudson’s ‘good, clean and fair’ can be seen as encompassing a wider focus than that, some would argue that living deeper necessarily includes being fairer.

The Relationship Between Slow and Sustainable

There are obvious similarities between slow living and sustainable living, for instance in slow food’s emphasis on sustainable agriculture, and eating local or home grown food. And the slow food movement does have a specific emphasis on sustainable development. But are they co-incidentally aligned – living slow and living sustainably – or is there an intrinsic connection?

At the very least, we can probably say that living more slowly could slow our impact with the ‘limits to growth‘. In The Great Disruption, Paul Gilding describes our current situation as globally using around 150% of the world’s sustainable resources. In 2009, he tells us, we needed 140% of available land, or 1.4 planets, to sustain our global economy.  In other words, we produced what we did that year by using 100% of what we could use in a sustainable way (that is, a way that we could keep doing over and over again), and then dipped into our ‘capital’ – in a big way. And there was nothing special about 2009 – forecasted growth means we’ll be using up more and more of our capital every year.

So those limits to growth that the 1972 report talked about are upon us now, and it’s easy to see how adopting a ‘slow’ lifestyle on a global scale might slow the impact. For instance, in a typical fast-paced family lifestyle, kids have multiple after school activities. ‘Slow Parenting’ challenges the need for these, and encourages us to let our children just play. Doing so will often mean saving petrol, as we won’t be running to multiple activities each day. This not only means less trips generally, but might also mean more use of walking, bikes or public transport, as these slower alternatives more  possible with only one destination.

Another example: More activities – for kids and adults – means less time to cook, let alone grow your own food. So slowing down, or doing less,  could mean a lower dependence on pre-packaged and convenience foods, which means less packaging and, potentially, less travel-miles on our food.

So living more slowly will have direct impacts on our carbon footprint at the very least. But, what I’m wondering is does our fast paced modern life contribute to our lack of sustainability in a more basic, quite inevitable way? Or perhaps another way to ask the question is: Is our fast paced lifestyle being driven by, but also only made possible by, our drive for continual economic growth?

I’m thinking about how accepting we are of ‘single use’ items now – single use being a nicer way of saying ‘throw away’ or disposable. From single use nappies (diapers) to single use coffee cups, single use serviettes (napkins), throw-away plastic food containers or toddler cups, and even single-use sanitary products for women. Almost none of these were standard only a couple of generations ago. Most weren’t standard when I was a child in the 70s. But a focus on doing more, more quickly, rather than on doing things better and getting the most out of them, fits in nicely with a culture that very deliberately set about making products that would break more quickly, in order to stimulate economic growth (if you’re not up with just how deliberate and open this was, and is, see The Story of Stuff).

But economic growth can be supported by more than just buying more stuff. It can be supported by doing more stuff too. And arguably, we are doing more stuff than ever before, all at the same time. But at what cost?

When We Hit Our Limits

In describing the future, Paul Gilding makes no bones about the fact that some of it will be hard, and that climate change, and pushing up against our other limits, will cause real and mass hardship. But, he is optimistic overall. Pointing out that the fathers of economics all typically foresaw the end of growth (he quotes from John Maynard Keynes, John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith), he then outlines a conversation he had with the executive director of the New Economics Foundation, Stewart Wallis. Wallis argued that our challenge now is to design a steady-state economy, and pointed out the significant differences between moving to this new, designed system and simply becoming a failed growth economy.

Gilding then describes in part what that steady state economy could look like. And to keep it simple it would look pretty Slow. More people working, but each spending less time at it. So more time to spend connecting with community, doing volunteer work, being there for our children. This is a transition that Gilding believes will only happen after we deal with climate change. Or at least, after we put in place the changes that will be needed to deal with it. That will be our first challenge, and Gilding predicts it will come to a head in this decade, when radical change will suddenly be seen as essential. But it will only be sometime later that we will recognise – on a large scale – that climate change was only a symptom of the greater problem, namely that we a still trying to run a growth economy on a planet that has reached its limits.

So does the fast paced lifestyle we have adopted at the least in much of the Western world, and certainly in Australian and American mainstream cultures, essentially cause unsustainable practices? Is it intrinsically linked with the idea of a (continual) growth economy? What do you think?

____________

*It’s really a digression but the idea of slow reading might be an essential antidote to the issue Nicholas Carr  discussed in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid and expanded on in The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember, in which he suggests that the web (not Google specifically) is causing a re-wiring of our brains, such that we find both sustained concentration and in depth contemplation, more difficult. (back)

Sustainable Timber

Since wood is one of the most common products that builders need, it is important to find wood that is environmentally friendly. Finding wood that is not from old growth forests or rain forests is important. Every tree cut down in these forests is hastening climate change. To avoid this, look for one of three alternatives: sustainable growth wood, bamboo, or re-claimed wood.

Sustainable growth refers to those species that grow fast enough to regenerate. To be sure that the wood is grown in an eco-friendly manner, look for the Forest Stewardship Council logo. The Council covers 80 countries and approves members on, at least, three major criteria. First, the wood can grow back as fast as trees are thinned. Second, loggers do not clear-cut the land. Third, the logged area is not already under the threat of environmental depletion.

Bamboo, which is a grass, grows back four times faster than even the fastest trees; therefore, materials can be replenished fairly quickly. You can check with the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan to find out which bamboo is approved as part of a sustainable growth system.

Re-used timber may also be a possibility. Plus, it can offer a unique or classic look. The Buildings Materials Reuse Association offers ideas on finding and using reclaimed materials. In addition to finding suppliers, thinking creatively is often needed to make this method work. Make a home more interesting through reclaimed banisters, mantels or trim. Save money by utilizing reclaimed wood flooring, windows or cabinetry. Imperfect lumber salvaged from an old building or barn might be used to build a new deck or fence.

Certification Programmes

One sure way to find sustainable products is to look for certifications like the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. LEED is a US based independent process that utilizes third party verification. LEED status is only granted to those products that can prove high performance with regard to both human health and environmental sustainability. The best sustainable building materials and sustainable site development can earn LEED designations. LEED also rewards maximized energy efficiency, minimized water usage and well-ventilated indoor environmental quality.

From the paper "International Comparison of Sustainable Rating Tools" by Richard Reed, Anita Bilos, Sara Wilkinson, and Karl-Werner Schulte (NB: clicking on the image will open the PDF of the paper)

LEED certification is used around the world, but there are others too, including NABERS (the National Australian Built Environment Rating System, which covers existing buildings) and Green Star in Australia, BREEAM (UK), HQE (France), and DGNB (Germany). Some of these are also used outside their home countries.

A paper published in 2009, International Comparison of Sustainable Rating Tools (PDF), which compared international sustainability tools to examine their characteristics and differences, focused on which tools from different countries could be directly compared with each other, for example was a five star rating in one system the same as a four star rating in another? It’s an interesting read.

Distance Travelled

Finally, when choosing products, take a look at how far the products had to travel. If you can choose local or nearby products, you can reduce the amount of energy wasted in transport.

Talk with your builders to ensure they understand LEED certification and environmentally-friendly building practices. A green home minimizes energy consumption, is not larger than it needs to be, and is built using non-toxic and sustainable materials.

Joaquin Erazo, Jr. works for CASE, a US nationally recognized and franchised home remodeling company. If you are trying to convert your current home into one that is more eco-friendy, see whether the local Case office can help with your bathroom or small kitchen remodel.

Perhaps you can grow your own herbs ranged along an indoor window sill whilst they are small enough and particularly in cold weather, or group them together on a patio or paved area of the garden near the kitchen door. When growing herbs in pots, consider that many herbs are easy to establish from seed, though herb plants are simple to source from garden centres and nurseries, which could save you some time.

Container Growing is Very Convenient

This container herb garden grows outside our Editor's front door, when she can easily grab some herbs (or send the kids to pick some), any time.

Herbs benefit from being pinched back, cropped and harvested – basically the more you use them, the bushier and healthier they get, so the closer they are to the seat of the culinary action, the easier for you.  Picking out the tips of actively growing plants makes them grow outwards.

Herbs growing conventionally in the garden may be hard to locate in the dark, it may be raining, you may need to navigate through slugs and snails to locate the particular herb necessary for your baked lamb (rosemary?) or tomato and basil salad (no prizes for guessing which one this is!).

The convenience of container growing is ideal for a herb garden, as it is created using a mixture of relatively small plants, all with different properties, that grouped together present all the taste requirements and aesthetic qualities you could possibly want. Sourcing sun or shade is also simple to achieve when you can just move pots and containers around your garden, or move them from outside to inside

Not Only for the Kitchen

Growing herbs is not just a convenient way to source tasty recipe additions.  Many herbs are ornamental, many are sweet smelling and many have very pretty flowers.  Some herbs are particularly suited to container growth – mint is notorious for taking over the garden, for example.  You can plant mint in your garden by placing it in a container with the bottom removed to contain its growth (though this does not always work), but it is probably simpler to just keep it in a pot on its own, where it can flourish to its heart’s content, or place it together with other members of the mint family.

If you want to create a large, self-contained herb garden in one pot, then choose herbs that will live well together – ie that require the same growing conditions of soil, of watering, of sun and of shade.  Often this can be achieved by choosing herbs native to similar areas of the world, like Mediterranean herbs.  Always place trailing plants around the edges of your container, and plants that grow upwards like basil or rosemary, should be arranged in the middle.

Companion Planting

Herbs can be grown together with other plants – parsley grows well with tomato plants for example, as it can help to shade the tender tomatoes in hot weather.   As I mentioned in my article Growing Tomatoes in Pots, basil, spearmint and oregano can mask the scent of tomato plants making it harder for pests like whitefly to locate them, and may even  confuse them into landing on the wrong plant.  So planting herbs in containers can help you take advantage of companion planting.

How to Grow Your Own Herbs

Small-Space Container Gardens is the just-released book by Californian, Life on the Balcony blogger, Fern Richardson.

All herbs need good drainage and up to six hours sun per day, though some herbs are ideally suited to more Spartan conditions – thyme and marjoram, for example, thrive in hot dry conditions, and require less watering and less feeding than other herbs.  Other herbs need more careful cultivation.  Always make sure you place herbs with similar needs together.

Roughly speaking, a 12 inch (30 cm) pot will house up to six plants.  Choose some that will live well together.  Shards of broken pot should cover the drainage holes, then place a layer of compost above these.  Place lower growing and trailing plants around the edge of the pot, and upright herbs in the centre, then fill in the gaps with more compost.  Leave about an inch (2.5 cms) from the top of the soil to the rim of the container, then water well and place in a sunny area.

Growing Conditions

Most herbs need lots of watering in sunny weather.  Basil needs a lot of water, as does coriander.  They are annual plants so can be thrown away (or composted) at the end of the season.  Perennial herbs like thyme, oregano and mint will die off and regrow in the spring.  When they are still dormant in the early spring, you can divide perennial plants into sections for replanting.  They will need a lot of watering until they become established again. When herbs are actively growing, feed them weekly with a liquid fertilizer.

A container herb garden is a great way to use your creative skills and to source fabulous flavours for your kitchen.  A garden can be planted in any container that has good drainage, an old wheelbarrow, an old metal bath, large terracotta pots – all can be used to create a lovely herb garden. You can even ‘theme’ your herb gardens – herbs suitable for use on pizzas can all be grown together, for example. A container garden can be as big as your imagination as well as the space available, and preferably placed near your kitchen door!

Eileen O’Sullivan is an English freelance writer, who once lived in beautiful Sydney (sigh!), where her first son was born. She passionately enjoys contributing to global health – and grow-your-own is a perfect start to sustainable living!

Graphene is a sister of graphite and an allotrope of carbon only a single atom in depth. Its strength results from the four covalently bonded electrons that secure each carbon atom in place in a nanoscale honeycomb. This arrangement of atoms makes graphene so strong that a sheet of graphene the thickness of cellophane would be sufficiently strong that an elephant sitting on a sharpened pencil would not pierce through the sheet. Its arrangement of atoms also makes it fantastic at conducting, the quantum science of the material producing something called fermions which are essentially fast as light electrons. Furthermore graphene has no band gap, so every wavelength of light that falls upon its surface will produce a photoelectric effect.

Yet despite all this green potential there has been a little discussed downside to graphene. In science every light source produces a shadow as they say, and graphene’s shadow has been quite large. The problem of graphene, and the thing that diminishes much of its environmentally friendliness, is the problem of production. Production on an industrial scale uses highly toxic hydrazine vapour to reduce graphene oxide. Graphene, the darling of environmentalists, is born in a cloud of poisonous gas.

Or so it used to be, for in a piece of inspired research conducted at Toyahashi University in Japan graphene has been produced using bacteria found in river sediment. The research team were able to produce small flakes of the one atom deep nanomaterial after spreading the bacteria onto plates of graphene oxide. The discovery means that the natural respiration process of microorganisms can be used to reduce graphene oxide to graphene, and graphene’s green status can be restored.

In addition, another piece of research to come to light in recent weeks has shown graphene to be piezoelectric. Piezoelectricity is the capacity of a material to produce electricity through movement, alter the shape of graphene and you will produce a current. So in the future you can expect your solar panels to produce electricity in a twofold way; through sun light and through the gentle movement of them fluttering in the wind.

Anyone serious about green technology and environmentalism should pay further attention to the trajectory of graphene. This substance is set to change the way we live over the next twenty years. Remain in the dark on this subject and you will surely miss something special.

If you are an inpatient gardener, be prepared to learn the art of “slow.” Mushrooms only fruit when they are truly ready. Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti, believes that fungi take a very long-term view of their habitat and that they are community-based, which means fruiting is intended to serve both the fungus and the ecological system it calls home. “They are tremendous allies,” Stamets says, “for the health of people and the planet.”

"The Mushroom Cultivator" is one of several books on mushooms by Paul Stamets. An American mycologist, author, and a strong advocate for preserving biodiversity, Stamets supports research into the role of mushrooms for ecological restoration. He is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms, and has also published a book called "Mycelium Running: A Guide to Healing the Planet through Gardening with Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms".

Where to Begin

The surest and simplest way to grow mushrooms at home is from a mushroom kit purchased from a reputable source. Kits allow you to grow multiple or specific varieties with surprising ease. They come with all of the supplies and complete instructions.

Because kits are inclusive of most materials, the remainder of the article refers to growing mushrooms without a kit for those excited to get growing without one.

While it is possible to tackle the entire mushroom growing experience by yourself, it is advisable that until you become familiar with how to grow mushrooms, you purchase the compost and spawn from a supplier and go from there. The process of making compost suitable for mushrooms can be relatively complex. The compost must be controlled with proper temperature, oxygen and humidity to ensure that pasteurisation occurs to ward off pests and disease. Additionally, spawn production is a scientific process often performed by experts. The spores are collected in a sterile environment and when inoculated, they produce spawn, which is the equivalent to a seed.

Dark and Humid is Best

Mushrooms require a constant temperature, humid conditions and little to no sunlight – a closet or laundry can be great locations to grow fungi indoors. Take care not to place the mushrooms next to a heat source – dry soil creates an uninhabitable mushroom environment. If you prefer to start your mushroom patch outside, under a barbeque or porch, in the garage, or amongst a shady section of garden can be ideal spots.

Mushroom Mediums

If you have a kit, the best medium to grow your specific type of mushroom is usually provided or at least alluded to in the instructions.

Different varieties of mushroom grow on different mediums. For instance, shiitake mushrooms grow best on wood while Pearl Oysters grow best in wheat straw. The common button mushroom grows in trays, bags, boxes, or raised beds filled with compost.

How to Grow

Because growing mushrooms is dependent on the variety, the following will cover the popular button mushroom that we are all so familiar with.

Mushrooms lack chlorophyll; therefore, all of their nutrients must be obtained from the medium in which they grow. A nutrient-rich compost of organic matter provides an ideal medium for spawn to take hold and give birth to mycelium, the lacy, white root structure of the mushroom. To encourage mycelium growth, thoroughly work the spawn through the compost, sufficiently aerating it as you go. Keep the compost moist by misting it daily with a spray bottle.

Once the mycelium is visible, cover the compost with a layer of pasteurised peat moss to help hold in moisture and create an ideal condition to encourage fruiting bodies – the edible part of the mushroom. This is called ‘casing.’ Continue misting the moss to keep it damp. Be careful not to overwater, as this will encourage mould to grow instead of mushrooms. Between 17 and 25 days after the peat moss is laid down, tiny white protrusions will ascend from the mycelium through the moss to become the mushroom caps. Size is no indication as to the maturity of the mushrooms as ripe ones vary from small buttons to large caps.

Pests and Diseases

Mushrooms are extremely susceptible to pests and diseases. Ensuring that the compost is sterile and that the spores come from a reliable source will help mitigate the chances of contracting pests or diseases. If mushrooms are grown outdoors, slugs will probably be the pests that you will have to contend with. A few moonlit walks through your mushroom patch to remove them may be necessary.

Enjoying Your Fungi

Mushrooms can be harvested at three different stages – buttons, cups or flats. Button mushrooms are unopened, cups have an open veil and a rounded cap and flats have exposed gills and a flattened cap.

Pick each mushroom with an upward, twisting motion. After picking, there should be as few holes or mushroom stumps left behind as possible. Brush the mushrooms to remove the compost and casing materials.

Mushrooms will fruit in flushes every 1-3 weeks and will continue to produce for one to six months depending on the variety.

Recycle Your Compost

When the mushrooms finish producing, use the compost to grow vegetables! The compost makes an excellent nutrient-dense, well-drained and weed-free media to grow other crops. Mushroom compost can be very alkaline, which can adversely affect some plants. The compost will not be harmful if used in small amounts, but if you are intending to use large amounts, invest in a simple pH testing kit or only grow alkaline-loving plants in that area.

Whilst there are menageries of mushrooms that can be grown by the home gardener, each variety has specific growing preferences; therefore, it is best to research the mushroom variety you wish to grow before getting started. Popular varieties include oysters (Pleurotus species), shiitake (Lentinula edodes) and various button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). The culinary delights that fresh, homegrown mushrooms bring to the table are well worth the effort. Furthermore, growing mushrooms is a great educational experience for children and can make great tabletop winter projects!

Categories include Sustainable Living, Biodiversity, Marine, Heritage, Land, Water, Parks, Indigenous Australians, Antarctica, Waster and Pollution, Atmosphere and Laws & Regulations.

There is information to be found through the portal for students from preschool right through to adult, but there’s no way of finding pages appropriate for individual age groups aside from searching through the categories to see what’s there.

To be fair, this is a portal and contains links to information across a range of websites, which makes it tricky to organise in multiple ways, or to keep in depth tabs on what’s new and what’s changed.

Personally, I was intrigued by a series of printable puzzles and games designed by Coral Tulloch, author and illustrator of children’s books, who travelled to Antarctica as part of the Arts Fellowship program.