1.
FOOD
The easiest and cheapest way to go green is to start growing some of your own food. It doesn't matter how much or how little space you have, you can start growing something to eat. Aim to just supplement the diet of your household in the beginning. Start with simple things that can be grown in pots in a sunny spot. Herbs are great and you can pick them as you need them. Berry plants (strawberries, blueberries) are also good grown in pots.
- Herbs and Berries in Pots
Grow
your favourite herbs in pots - near your kitchen if
possible so that they are always handy. It is also best to grow
berry plants in pots because your vegie patch is going to end up a
jungle so that makes the berries hard to find.
- Vegie Patch
This
is definitely the best way to have a vegie patch.
Wooden sleepers clipped together to make a garden bed two sleepers
high. My sunniest spot is at the back of the house so the
sleepers were attached to the verandah posts. That also allowed
me to add a trellis for the tomatoes etc. One of the advantages
of a vegie patch this size is that you can reach every part of
it. However, I mucked up that advantage by adding the
trellis! The solution is to build another vegie patch between the
adjoining verandah posts that is only half the width and put the
trellis behind it ....
You can have a no-dig garden or just bung some soil in it. The cheapest way to get your garden going is to start from seeds but the easiest is to buy punnets of seedlings. Buy whatever herbs or greens that are available and as much variety as possible. You can always figure out what to do with your produce once it grows. Fill up every space in your garden to keep the weeds out. Don't worry about bugs eating your plants. If you have enough variety, they won't do too much damage. Let some plants go to seed and be surprised by what pops up. Even dandelions are edible even if they are considered weeds.
The whole idea of this vegie patch is no fuss, minimum work. It will need watering in dry times, the odd bit of fertiliser (see worm factories), some ripping out of spent plants (feed to chooks) and replanting from time to time.
Herbs and greens go with any type of cooking. Greek horta is a wonderful dish and you can use whatever you have growing. Once the herbs and greens are going beserk in your garden, fill in any spaces with vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, sweet potato or whatever takes your fancy. Use the internet to find recipes for your produce.
You can have a no-dig garden or just bung some soil in it. The cheapest way to get your garden going is to start from seeds but the easiest is to buy punnets of seedlings. Buy whatever herbs or greens that are available and as much variety as possible. You can always figure out what to do with your produce once it grows. Fill up every space in your garden to keep the weeds out. Don't worry about bugs eating your plants. If you have enough variety, they won't do too much damage. Let some plants go to seed and be surprised by what pops up. Even dandelions are edible even if they are considered weeds.
The whole idea of this vegie patch is no fuss, minimum work. It will need watering in dry times, the odd bit of fertiliser (see worm factories), some ripping out of spent plants (feed to chooks) and replanting from time to time.
Herbs and greens go with any type of cooking. Greek horta is a wonderful dish and you can use whatever you have growing. Once the herbs and greens are going beserk in your garden, fill in any spaces with vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, sweet potato or whatever takes your fancy. Use the internet to find recipes for your produce.
- Orchards
Try fruit that you have never heard of but will grow in your climate. One of my favourites is the foolproof Australian lilly pilly. There are lots of different varieties and they grow just about anywhere. You are supposed to make them into jam but I just eat them off the tree or make them into a sauce (sometimes with apples) which is great with pork. My mystery fruits turned out to be guavas. Again, supposed to be made into a jam but I just cook them and freeze them in small portions. They are full of vitamin C and fruit in time to put a dollop on winter porridge.
ORCHARD TREES
 |
 Ballerina apples grow well in pots
or small spaces because they grow upright and the apples grow against
the trunk.
|
 Guava. |
 Guava.
|
 Oranges. |
 Lemons. |
 3 Dots looking at the mandarins. |
 Tropical apples. |
- Hydrophonics
2. WATER
Water is precious. Do not waste it! Invest in water tanks or some other method of collecting rainwater for your food gardens. There are also various forms of irrigation that use very little water.
2.
SOLAR
ENERGY
Love solar lights and because I live in the country where it is pitch black at night, I need them to find my front gate when I come home at night. I also have strong solar spot lights that detect motion and only come on when I near them (or one of the cats jump over the back gate). While it is true that I need solar lights and can justify having solar lights, I've gone overboard on different types of solar lights.
However, I am also serious about solar energy and have a solar hot water system. In my location, I get free hot water all year round without having to switch on the electric booster. I also installed a solar grid system that feeds excess electicity into the grid. My electricity bill has been cut by two thirds so I am investigating adding more solar panels. This has only been possible becasue of the very generous Australian Government rebates for the installation. And of course, I have roof insulation.
4. WORM FACTORIES
Worms are wonderful! Mine just eat cow manure with a pinch of lime at every feeding and a couple of times a year I harvest great worm compost for potting mixes and use the liquid as a fertiliser. You can also feed the worms anything organic but most of my food scraps get fed to the chooks.
5. CHOOKS
You just gotta have chooks but make sure that they are housed in a secure pen. Easy to care for and they produce eggs and chickens as well as great fertiliser. Feed them a good quality layer mix (chicken starter crumbles for the little ones) and supplement their diets with kitchen scraps and cracked corn. They love fruit but apparently avocadoes are poisonous to them. Also let them out to get some green pick during the day.
IF YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION OR INTERNET LINKS OR WANT TO ADD A COMMENT, JUST EMAIL ME:
suzel@bigpond.com
Love solar lights and because I live in the country where it is pitch black at night, I need them to find my front gate when I come home at night. I also have strong solar spot lights that detect motion and only come on when I near them (or one of the cats jump over the back gate). While it is true that I need solar lights and can justify having solar lights, I've gone overboard on different types of solar lights.
However, I am also serious about solar energy and have a solar hot water system. In my location, I get free hot water all year round without having to switch on the electric booster. I also installed a solar grid system that feeds excess electicity into the grid. My electricity bill has been cut by two thirds so I am investigating adding more solar panels. This has only been possible becasue of the very generous Australian Government rebates for the installation. And of course, I have roof insulation.
4. WORM FACTORIES
Worms are wonderful! Mine just eat cow manure with a pinch of lime at every feeding and a couple of times a year I harvest great worm compost for potting mixes and use the liquid as a fertiliser. You can also feed the worms anything organic but most of my food scraps get fed to the chooks.
5. CHOOKS
You just gotta have chooks but make sure that they are housed in a secure pen. Easy to care for and they produce eggs and chickens as well as great fertiliser. Feed them a good quality layer mix (chicken starter crumbles for the little ones) and supplement their diets with kitchen scraps and cracked corn. They love fruit but apparently avocadoes are poisonous to them. Also let them out to get some green pick during the day.
IF YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION OR INTERNET LINKS OR WANT TO ADD A COMMENT, JUST EMAIL ME:
suzel@bigpond.com