We have signed up for the [Sustainable Illawarra Super Challenge](http://www.sustainableillawarra.com.au/The-SuperChallenge.html), and Monday night was the official launch of the programme. The idea is for 120 households across the Illawarra to spend the next 12 months moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Sustainable Illawarra provides participants with information, workshops, guidance and resources (as well as some… Continue reading Sustainable Illawarra Super Challenge
Category: Gardening
Wicking Beds
**NOTE:** I have moved this post to my other blog, [Green-Change.com](http://green-change.com), as it fits in better with that blog’s theme of suburban sustainability. For futher updates check out [Wicking Beds – Water Efficient Gardening](http://green-change.com/2009/05/01/wicking-beds-water-efficient-gardening/). A wicking garden bed uses a waterproof container or layer below the soil surface to form an underground reservoir of water.… Continue reading Wicking Beds
Magic In The Garden
What I love most about this photo is that Sarah actually disappeared into her bedroom to get dressed for gardening, and this is what she came out in. Click to embiggen.
Growing Mushrooms From Mushroom Compost
In July I took my trailer up to the mushroom farm to get a load of mushroom compost. It was $2.60/bag, and I got 16 bags for $40. I was really just thinking of using it on the garden as a mulch layer at that stage. When I got home, though, I realised there were… Continue reading Growing Mushrooms From Mushroom Compost
Soil Blockers
**Note:** Updated and expanded versions of the information in this post are available at my other site, [Green-Change.com](http://green-change.com): – [Soil Blockers](http://green-change.com/2010/03/25/soil-blockers/) – [Soil Block Recipes](http://green-change.com/2010/03/26/soil-blocker-recipes/) (including my own recipe) – [Soil Blocker Resources](http://green-change.com/) (coming soon) I recently bought a [soil blocker from Peddler’s Wagon](http://www.peddlerswagon.com/p-107-soil-block-maker-4-blocks.aspx) with some birthday money. It was way cheaper to get it… Continue reading Soil Blockers
The Chicken Ark
An updated version of this post is available over on my suburban green living blog, Green Change: [Chicken Ark Plans](http://green-change.com/2008/11/17/chicken-ark-plans) When thinking about a coop for our chickens to live in, we wanted something practical, non-permanent, and space-efficient. Looking around the net, the [‘chicken ark’ or ‘chicken tractor’](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tractor) concept seemed the best for our needs.… Continue reading The Chicken Ark
The Good Podcast
It might sound daggy, but lately I’ve been watching the old BBC series [The Good Life](http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/goodlife/index.shtml) (a friend at work lent me the DVDs). Megan thinks I’m getting old. You’ve got to admit, though, that there’s something about Barbara Good (Felicity Kendal). It never sat right with me that that Tom guy wound up with… Continue reading The Good Podcast
Garden Visitors
Birds Cockatoos descend upon the sunflower patch most days around dusk to gorge on the seeds. I don’t mind — I plant sunflowers to attract birds anyway, but it annoys me when they stray and eat the green tomatoes and green passionfruit. The kookaburra usually visits in the morning, eats a few worms or a… Continue reading Garden Visitors
Tumbling Compost Bin
I’ve been wanting to buy one of those commercial tumbling compost bins for a long time now, but they cost over $300 bought new. You’d have to make truckloads of compost for that price to be worthwhile! Time for some miserly cunning. When buying bales of lucerne from the feed store at Albion Park Rail,… Continue reading Tumbling Compost Bin
Vegetable Garden
I began building the new vegie patch on 16-9-2001. Railway sleepers are bloody heavy – don’t start a garden like this with a pregnant wife who can’t help! By 17-10-2001 (hey, nothing works fast in our house!), the retaining walls were set up. I laid a thick layer of newspapers over the grass, then arranged… Continue reading Vegetable Garden