How to make rooting hormone from willows, frugality in primetime media, eco house and garden, buying/renovating/using your home wisely, River Cottage recipes and a Permaculture Visions tour.

A few weeks ago I attended another Sustainable Illawarra workshop – “Starting a Backyard Veggie Patch” at Jamberoo Primary School. Megan then attended the repeat of the workshop a week later. It was great that we were both able to do effectively the same workshop without need to organise child care!

The workshop was delivered by [...]

I’ve long had the feeling that more and more people are getting into things like growing their own food, keeping chickens, and living sustainably. But then my own interest in these areas has been growing over the past few years too, so I wasn’t sure if it was just that I was paying more attention [...]

Earlier this year, Megan and I worked with some other local families to start a gardening club called the Jamberoo Family Growers. Unlike traditional garden clubs, this group will have a focus on helping people to grow fruit and vegetables at home, using healthy natural methods and tapping into local knowledge and experience. It will [...]

Megan just got back tonight from the final planning meeting for the launch of the Jamberoo Community Growers gardening club. Everything is ready!

Here’s our handout:

Jamberoo Community Growers Launch Sunday September 20, 2009 2 pm at the Jamberoo Youth Hall Everyone welcome! Free entry Guest speakers [...]

Have you heard about the organic kitchen garden that the Obamas have set up on the White House lawn in the US?

Wouldn’t it be great if our Prime Minister did something similar?

Peter Cundall and Stephanie Alexander think so, and have both called for Mr Rudd to start a vegie patch. So far nothing is happening, [...]

Don’t spend hundreds of dollars on a store-bought tumbling compost bin – you can make one yourself for $25!

To celebrate its reprinting, Lyn Bagnall is giving away one free copy of her book Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, along with 10 vouchers for $5 off the purchase price.

All you have to do is email her and give your reason why, in 25 words or less, organic gardening/farming is best.

You’ve got until midnight [...]

A green manure crop is really just anything you grow for a short while and then slash or dig into your soil before it gets a chance to set seed or fruit.

Why would you do that? Lots of reasons! It helps by:

increasing organic matter in your soil (increasing nutrient content, aeration and water retention) adding nitrogen [...]

[ December 27, 2008 to January 4, 2009. ] The New Moon phase for December 2008 runs from 27 Dec – 4 Jan. The New Moon is the time for planting above-ground annual leaf and seed crops, as well as flowering annuals and melons in the traditional [lunar planting calendar](http://green-change.com/2008/12/11/what-is-lunar-planting/). For information on what to do in the various climate zones around Australia in the New [...]