A worm farm (or wormery) is a type of composting system that uses the eating power of special composting worms (red wrigglers and tiger worms) to turn raw kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea leaves, eggshells, paper, and cardboard into wonderful ‘vermicompost’ (worm poo) and worm ‘tea’ (worm wee). Many edible gardens have[…]
Wicking beds are a type of self-watering, raised garden bed with a water reservoir built into the base. Water is drawn or ‘wicked’ upwards through the soil to the plants. Watering this way avoids some of the disease issues associated with watering from the top, encourages deeper root growth, and produces stronger, healthier and more[…]
One of the mantras you will often hear in permaculture is: “The best place to store water is in the soil.” Swales are one important way we can do this. Swales are ditches dug along the contours (the parts of a slope that are on the same level) of the land to catch and hold[…]
If you want to boost the numbers of pollinators in your garden and are also interested in helping our native wildlife, then consider hosting a hive of stingless native bees and become a ‘Meliponist’ (stingless beekeeper). Australia is home to over 1500 different species of native bees, with about 200 in Sydney alone. Most native[…]
Greens walls, also known as vertical gardens, are a great way to maximise space for growing plants. They are especially good for small balcony gardens. They can also reduce the use of water and help insulate buildings. Vertical gardens are not just for vines. Any vegetable, fruit or herb that you can grow in a[…]
When it rains, we let a huge amount of perfectly good, clean, free water run off our roofs, driveways, and roads and down the drain, while paying for water to be treated and pumped to our homes. It’s crazy, especially during drought and water restrictions. A rainwater tank can be an important investment for your[…]
A mandala garden is a round attractive garden which makes efficient use of space. There are paths cut into or through the centre in a way that minimises the area needed for paths while increasing growing space, and increasing the ability to reach more parts of the garden from one spot. A ‘keyhole’ design is[…]
An insect hotel provides shelter for a variety of beneficial insects in your garden, especially native solitary bees and wasps, which pollinate your plants and help keep pests under control. Other beneficial insects include lacewings, hoverflies, ladybugs, beetles, and earwigs. Insects are vital members of our ecosystems, but humans have destroyed and poisoned so many[…]
A food forest is a collection of trees that produce edible fruit, nuts, seeds and berries. They are planted together with other smaller trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers that support and complement the trees. Ideally a well-designed and diverse food forest needs little if any human intervention once they are well-established – no mowing, weeding,[…]
Espalier (es-pah-lee-yay) is the ancient practice of pruning and training fruit trees into a two dimensional flat structure against a wall, fence, or free-standing frame. It can also be used for other trees, shrubs and vines, and for plants in pots or in the ground. While it is decorative, espalier has important practical purposes. This[…]