The ‘No-Dig’ Bed

An experiment. After much procrastination, I took a risk and assembled, somewhat haphazardly, a 'No-Dig Bed'. For the uninitiated, the 'No-Dig' bed is a freeform, layered mound of organic matter and fertiliser that allows you to grow a food crop and build humus on nutrient poor soil. It negates the need to dig nutrients into the …

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Grow Just One Thing

While in search of a beetroot relish a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Kyrstie Barcak's wonderfully encouraging blog, A Fresh Legacy. Not only did it provide me with the perfect beetroot relish recipe, it also gave me the gentle nudge I needed to begin growing my own fresh food. In earnest. While I have inconsistently grown herbs …

A terracotta hamper

My journey into greener territory has got me thinking about the legacy of the gifts I give. In the past, I was focussed on the moment that the gift was opened. Not much thought was given to the fate of that gift thereafter. Now however, with a more mindful desire to keep things out of …

Week 4: Wrapping up Plastic-Free July

It's true what they say about failure. You don't learn from success. -Dustin Hoffman For me, PFJ has been very much about the journey and not the success. I discovered that with every small achievement, came the uncomfortable realisation that my efforts were relatively flimsy in the grand anti-plastic crusade. However, while my achievements were marginal,  they …

Plastic-Free July: Week 3

This is a week late publishing, however I feel compelled to share my progress (purely for my benefit)... Week 3 PFJ was particularly exciting because I found a compost bin! A plain conical type purchased from Bunnings: You could be forgiven for thinking it has erupted from the ground, but I had to bury its base 10cm …

Composting

It has come as a startling, yet encouraging revelation that my young children already know a whole lot more about composting and worm farms than I do. It makes me smile to think that all the time that they spend in the 'garden classroom' at school provides them with such a valuable utility knowledge to …

Plastic Free July: Week 2

Fired up after last week's 'crash and burn' attempt at PFJ, I was eager to make amends.  In all honesty, it wasn't easy.  More time than usual was spent planning and buying my groceries, given the number of venues involved, however, with practice, I know I can become a much savvier shopper! What was easy: …