High yielding, low maintenance vegetable gardening that’s perfect for our modern-day lifestyle When we think of organic gardening and permaculture we tend to conjure up images of bearded warriors dressed in overalls who dedicate their lives to working long days in their vegetable plots.  Whilst this may be a wonderful way to live

By Jonathan White, environmental scientist For many people, composting is just an alternative way of dealing with rubbish.  It prevents the garbage bin from getting full and smelly.  It’s also a way of disposing of grass clippings and leaves, which saves many trips to the

When we think of organic gardening and permaculture we tend to conjure up images of leathery-skinned bearded warriors who dedicate their lives to working long days in their vegetable plots.  Whilst this may be a wonderful way to live your life, it doesn’t suit the average suburbanite with a full-time job and a hefty mortgage. Growing food is typically seen as either an art form or damned hard work.  It’s no wonder very few people do it on a serious level.  But what if a technique came along that was so easy and so prolific that even the busiest corporate executive could grow a significant portion of their family’s food in less time than it takes to drive to the shops.  Ecological gardening just might be the answer.  In my experience, it’s the ultimate modern-day convenience veggie plot. I didn’t have a light bulb moment that said, “Ah, so this is ecological gardening”.  My vegetable garden was no different to anybody else’s for many years until I made a few changes.  The first and probably most significant was squeezing far more plants into a given area.  The second change was to never dig the soil.  And thirdly, I upgraded my composting system.  Once these simple strategies were in place I noticed the garden taking on a life of its own.  Weeds virtually stopped growing in the beds and plants started living much longer.  The garden could endure longer periods without water, I was yielding far more than I ever had and I could harvest every day of the year.   I wanted to know what was happening at a scientific level and applied my university training as an environmental scientist to understand why I was getting such amazing results.  I had to completely let go of all my preconceived ideas as a gardener and look at the plot through the eyes of an ecologist.  After some time I realized that I had created an ecosystem made up of edible plants, and it behaved in exactly the same way as a natural habitat.  I became more of an observer than a gardener and the role of head gardener was pulled from under my feet as nature took up the reins.

How to restore our basic life-supporting systems; water, air and soil The breakdown of our food growing systems poses one of the biggest threats to our survival.  Our existence depends upon our agricultural systems, but what do our agricultural systems depend on?  The answer: water, air and soil.  These basic elements support

We all know how much hard work there is in growing vegetables – digging, weeding, crop rotation, watering, fertilizing, planting winter crops, resting beds, spraying pests and weeds – the list goes on and on.  So imagine a vegetable garden that

by Jonathan White B.App.Sci. Assoc. Dip.App. Sci. The term Ecological Gardening seems to be gaining popularity.  But what is it?  My experience with Ecological Gardening started many years ago.  You see, I have always been a fence sitter.  As a teenager I could never make my mind up whether I wanted to be a horticulturist or an environmental scientist.  And sometimes I’m still a little unsure! Fortunately, I have been able to gain qualifications in both.  My specialty is in growing food using ecological principles.  But I’m not talking about some sort of alternative hippie technique.  I’m talking about sound scientific principles. In my experience, the study of natural ecosystems will reveal everything we need to know about growing food.  Natural ecosystems are generally diverse and there are a number of intricate interdependent relationships occurring between the living and non-living components at any given time.  Put simply, each component relies and benefits from its interaction with other components.  They fuel up on each other, causing the system to be able to sustain itself.  If one part of the system gets ‘out of whack’, the whole system is affected. When studying a natural ecosystem, such as a diverse pristine rainforest we find that there are many living components co-existing in a given area.  Each of these components occupies a niche space.  If a component, let’s say a plant,

Composting recycles kitchen waste, lawn trimmings, and organic yard materials and turns them into rich nutrients for your garden or indoor plants. Composting is simply the docomposition of organic materials. Successful composting creates an environment that helps the materials decompose more quickly. Organic materials decompose naturally, but the perfect compost bin will speed up the process. Many incorrectly assume that compost is just dirt. Compost is not soil. Compost is a substance that acts as a fertilizer (enriching the soil) to grow hardier and healthier plants. Before deciding to compost, there are a few choices to make:

• the type of container and style for your project
• the materials you put into your compost bin
• the location of your bin

Regardless of the decisions, converting your waste into compost happens the same way.  Waste materials breakdown as they are digested by bacteria and fungi (microbes). Microbes are the work horse of a composting system.

The heat generated while organic matter breaks down waste into compost is referred to as hot composting. Cold composting requires less of a upkeep but it takes a bit longer to create breakdown the waste into rich compost. Hot composting, also known as active composting, uses microbes to breakdown the matter. Various experts recommend you inoculate the compost with live organisms purchased from a gardening supply store in order to get the process started. Other composters will recommend adding in healthy top soil that already contains live organisms that will convert your organic matter into compost material. Either way, once the process is started your compost pile will generate heat. You should check your pile every other day to ensure good air circulation is maintained and that the right level of moisture is kept. If you don’t want to put as much effort into your compost pile starting a cold compost (or slow compost) may work better for you. Cold compost simply uses your yard waste and grass clippings instead of a combination of kitchen scraps and yard waste. To cold compost, pile leaves and grass clippings into a pile and wait. The process is slow and long — it may take as long as a year to create the compost. With cold compost it is important to not add weeds or any other undesirable plants. They will survive the cold composting process and can grow again when you use the finished material. Hot compost will usually kill weed seeds. If you generate quite a bit of yard waste and it is too much to include in your regular compost bin consider using both methods. You can have the best of both composting methods. Which method is your favorite? I tend to do both. That way I have less to turn and I keep a steady supply of good compost to use.

Some people may be hesitant to try composting. And they have many different reason to pass on attempting to compost their waste:

• Making Compost can troublesome and time consuming.
• Smelly compost piles can stink make a mess in backyards.
• Buying fertilizers, soil amendments, soil conditioners, and mulch is easier

While those can be appropriate reasons for NOT composting, they are all poor choices are not accurate. Here are a few good reasons to compost your waste. I hope you can read to the

The Recipe for Compost Tea is simple:

• Water (5 gallon bucket)
• Active Compost (fill a tube sock and tie it closed)
• A Food Source (about a table spoon)

Put all the items in your 5-gallon bucket. Let your tea brew for about 24 hours. If you let it sit longer you may need to add an air pump to keep oxygen in