Hidden a mere 15-minute drive from downtown Portland, in the city’s North East, is the unexpected semi-rural neighbourhood of Cully, which is brimming with urban farmlets growing food, flowers and the deep roots of community. It’s a gem in this …
Category: Permaculture
Flying high at Blue Sky Festival
Mundaring comes together to celebrate community and promote sustainability True to its name, the Blue Sky Festival was a sunny affair, in more ways than one. A demonstration of the power and joy of community, this local sustainability festival was …
I pomodori magnifici
Getting into the spirit of all things Italian is easy when you’re harvesting these magnificent beauties from your garden. Oh how I love this time of year in my garden when all the hard work comes to fruition! It’s been …
May the Micro-Force be with you
I am a fan of the SBS TV program Gourmet Farmer and I remember an episode from last season I think when Matthew Evans explored the benefits of adding microbes to the soil in his veggie patch. He ran an experiment …
Changing the world through permaculture
Impressively erudite yet refreshingly down-to-earth, the inspiring David Holmgren shares his thoughts on how grass roots permaculture can change the world.
Medicinal lunchbox for happy chooks
Now that we have reticulation to approximately 90% of Edgefield, a world of opportunity for planting perennials has opened up, which was previously unsustainable. Slowly but surely I’m developing the perennial garden, focusing my attention particularly on the east orchard at the …
Abundance in Gidgegannup
At the invitation of a dear old school friend, we recently headed to her glorious farm ‘Lilydale’ in Gidgegannup (15 minutes from Edgefield in Mundaring) for a divine afternoon of swimming, eating, drinking, lazing and chatting. Of course, no visit to …
Reticulation monster bites
I didn’t get past Day 1 in my blog posts about Edgefield’s reticulation project because it morphed into a monster that devoured our time and money in a way we hadn’t anticipated. I would like to focus on the positive: …
Guilt-free green lawn
I must admit I’m more than a little excited by our new lawn extension. (Permaculture purists stop reading now but I have defended my personal views on lawn on this blog before.) Our latest effort has doubled the size of …
Spring Project Central
There’s been so much going on at Edgefield lately, along with a busy work schedule, that allows no time to write this blog (my usual, boring lament)! As cliched as it sounds, spring fever has gripped me and, by association, Jeff. We are powering …
Plant databases – just what I need
Five of our favourite Plant Databases – Milkwood – Real Skills for Down to Earth Living. In my opinion, Milkwood Permaculture is one of the best Australian permaculture groups with a fantastic website, newsletter, training, information and general marketing. This link is …
How I plant a tree
I often get asked gardening questions by friends and was recently asked how to plant a tree (after the tree in question had already been planted, of course.) My friends had just moved into their new house and bought a beautiful mature Chinese …
Do yourself a favour and watch “Symphony of the Soil”
Make yourself a cuppa, close the door to all the household noise, sit down and take the time to watch this incredible documentary. It is insightful, moving, educational, thought-provoking, shocking, sad, uplifting and inspiring. Gotta go…I’m off to plant some …
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Professional horticultural advice to the rescue
I had a lovely afternoon with my family in Guildford last Sunday. Being school holidays, we all had a bit of cabin fever and needed an outing. So after soccer in the park, lunch at Little Guildford cafe and a visit to the Museum of …
Recycling blackwater: a step in the right direction
We have installed this Fujiclean ATU (Alternative Treatment Unit) in our new house. It treats every drop of water we use, including our blackwater (from toilets and kitchen), to an almost potable standard and reuses it all again through reticulation piped under the …
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Garden pool: you gotta love crazy, innovative ideas
Swimming Pool Farms: Going Off the Deep End in Arizona http://modernfarmer.com/2014/09/ground-gardening-going-deep-end-arizona/ How cool is this? Instead of water wings and inner tubes, Dennis and Danielle McClung’s backyard pool in Mesa, Arizona, is filled with tomato plants, grape vines and wheat. …
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Lovely lawn
I was alone in my defence of lawn during my Permaculture Certificate III course, but I stand by it. Staunch permaculturalists see lawn as a water guzzling, unsustainable, environmentally detrimental, useless waste of good growing space and on many of these …
Cert III course photos
Edgefield and Certificate III Permaculture A Picasa web photo album of all my photos of our Mundaring property and my Certificate III in Permaculture course work so far…
Kalgoorlie St front garden plan 2011
Kalgoorlie St front garden plan 2011
