Small scale sustainability in suburban Sydney

Discussion in 'Introduce Yourself Here' started by GJ384, Jan 5, 2011.

  1. GJ384

    GJ384 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2011
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi there,

    I just signed up, and thought I'd introduce myself. My name's Gareth, I'm 26, and I live in suburban western Sydney.

    I'm currently working as the Education Coordinator for a recycling company, but my dream is to become a self-employed "permaculture and sustainability educator" - I want to help people and small businesses reduce their footprint through looking at energy, water, food, waste, transport etc.

    Having recently (but as yet "unofficially") moved in with my fiancee, I've been gradually turning the ~660-square-metre block into something a little more environmentally-friendly. We now have two chickens, who are eating all of our food scraps and giving us two eggs every single day - so far without fail! Our two cocker spaniels' "deposits" are also now being processed by a couple of thousand well-established (but evidently not very picky) worms in a worm farm in the shed.

    Current projects, and coming up soon, are the following:
    - Building and commissioning a couple of compost bays, mostly using reclaimed bricks from a "structurally optimistic" old BBQ the previous owner had constructed.
    - Setting up a paved work area (again using reclaimed pavers from the previous owner's "experiments in civil engineering") in front of the compost bays, including some kind of "seedling propagation" bench/area.
    - Taking out an old mulberry tree which is slowly destroying the side fence, and trying to get a new one to grow near the chicken coop, to give "the girls" a bit of shade during summer - hopefully just by "planting" one of the clippings from the existing mulberry tree, and watching a new tree grow from the clipping, as my fiancee claims to have successfully achieved by accident when she was quite young!
    - Removing some old stumps and revitalising a patch of dirt at the back of the yard, into which I'm hoping to plant a few fruit trees, from which we'll be able to harvest at least one type of fruit at any time of the year.
    - Setting up a vegetable and herb garden, again with the aim of having plenty of different vegies and herbs harvestable at any time of the year.
    - Putting up some trellis along the back and side fences, to both hide the ugly colourbond and also extend the growing area for our fruits and vegies.
    - Installing a water tank to catch runoff from the roof.
    - Having a few solar panels and batteries installed.
    - Setting up a small mushroom farm under the house - maybe. This is my newest idea, but I think more research is required before I jump in!

    Looking forward to both sharing my experiences and picking your collective brains!

    Gareth
     
  2. sun burn

    sun burn Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2010
    Messages:
    1,676
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Gareth, welcome to the forum

    Your project sounds nice and I wish you the best for it.

    About mulberry cuttings. Yes you can propagate a new tree from cuttings. From my first lot of mulberry cuttings I only got one that struck. It was a tip cutting rather than from a thicker woody bit. Actually a nursery woman told me not long ago that cuttings should be no bigger than a pencil. From my second lot, all have struck and these were skinnier pieces. I have had success with all sizes for other plants., but perhaps I should stick with her idea when in doubt. Anyway i was going to suggest as well shoving a cutting straight in the ground, put at least one in a pot too, i'd put more, just in case. I think cuttings need to be kept well watered even when in the ground and it can be harder to keep a cutting in the ground well watered than one in a pot. That is to say, i'd only stick a cutting straight into the ground if you are expecting regular rain. Cuttings should be between 10 and 20cm they say. Put two leaf nodes in the soil and keep one or two above the soil.
     
  3. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2009
    Messages:
    2,457
    Likes Received:
    12
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
    Location:
    Hunter Valley New South Wales
    Home Page:
    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    Welcome Gareth - nice to see you here.
    I too have plans to build a mushroom farm and look foward to your ideas on the way to get started.
    Seems to me that mushrooms need constant temperature and constant water so fridge panels and micro sprays is where I am starting with my planning.
     
  4. henryachoroi@yahoo.com

    [email protected] Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2010
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Your model farm idea is great

    Gareth !! you have improved my thinking greatly,we have been thinking and doing many things with a few friends, but kept wondering if its workable.
    our traditional mode of life here is that you almost produce all you need for survival which is like a departure from modernity that seems to stress specialization.we rear pigs,local chicken on free range have planted mangoes,oranges,avocados,guavas,paw paws and have a dairy cow and a few pastures on one acre of land.Most people were not in line with doing many things especially in a small plot and never gave us a chance to advance
    poverty and hunger a major challenge in our locality because of a number of reasons; the smallness of the plots,loss of fertility,poor farming methods and poor breeds of animals and planting materials
    our aim is to have a demonstration farm where we can train sustainable farming to our community to help fight hunger and poverty.whenever possible we shall also avail them with quality animal and seed breeds.From the wastes from tthe pigs and cow we have made manure that is doing great wonders to our bananas and the fruit trees.
    in the second year now,some people today visit our centre to learn and are trying out on their own gardens.Unfortunately none of us the founders has formal training in the same we just visit other big farms and come and try out theirs on ours.
    challenges remaining are mainly lack of technical training, funds ;for fencing as the acre is as busy as a beehive;scarcity of water as the borehole is two kilometers away and acquiring a biogas system for usage as the environment is danger as look for charcoal and firewood as fuel.
    Briefly that is what are currently doing, any guidance ,advise or assistance is most welcome.Our organisation is formed by five members a teacher,nurse, carpenter,2 housewives and a peasant.The peasant is a full time worker.while others mostly work at the centre over the weekends.
    whatever is in place was as result of pooling resources the were used to purchase the;
    a)four piglets,one has just littered six piglet
    b)seedlings;oranges,mangoes,avocados,paw paws,guavas
    c)banana suckers.
    the dairy cow was a donation from the poverty alleviation project from the government of Uganda to fight poverty in the community
    Henry Achoroi
    Mbulamuti community centre
     
  5. henryachoroi@yahoo.com

    [email protected] Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2010
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Gareth !! you have improved my thinking greatly,we have been thinking and doing many things with a few friends, but kept wondering if its workable.
    our traditional mode of life here is that you almost produce all you need for survival which is like a departure from modernity that seems to stress specialization.we rear pigs,local chicken on free range have planted mangoes,oranges,avocados,guavas,paw paws and have a dairy cow and a few pastures on one acre of land.Most people were not in line with doing many things especially in a small plot and never gave us a chance to advance
    poverty and hunger a major challenge in our locality because of a number of reasons; the smallness of the plots,loss of fertility,poor farming methods and poor breeds of animals and planting materials
    our aim is to have a demonstration farm where we can train sustainable farming to our community to help fight hunger and poverty.whenever possible we shall also avail them with quality animal and seed breeds.From the wastes from tthe pigs and cow we have made manure that is doing great wonders to our bananas and the fruit trees.
    in the second year now,some people today visit our centre to learn and are trying out on their own gardens.Unfortunately none of us the founders has formal training in the same we just visit other big farms and come and try out theirs on ours.
    challenges remaining are mainly lack of technical training, funds ;for fencing as the acre is as busy as a beehive;scarcity of water as the borehole is two kilometers away and acquiring a biogas system for usage as the environment is danger as look for charcoal and firewood as fuel.
    Briefly that is what are currently doing, any guidance ,advise or assistance is most welcome.Our organisation is formed by five members a teacher,nurse, carpenter,2 housewives and a peasant.The peasant is a full time worker.while others mostly work at the centre over the weekends.
    whatever is in place was as result of pooling resources the were used to purchase the;
    a)four piglets,one has just littered six piglet
    b)seedlings;oranges,mangoes,avocados,paw paws,guavas
    c)banana suckers.
    the dairy cow was a donation from the poverty alleviation project from the government of Uganda to fight poverty in the community
    Henry Achoroi
    Mbulamuti community centre[/QUOTE]
     
  6. ebunny

    ebunny Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2010
    Messages:
    96
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Hi Gareth

    We've also only been at this for a short while but have both chickens and cocker spaniels and are in Sydney! I've put some photos on a blog to document the changes if you're interested.

    Great fun to get things up and running, though our garden is much, much smaller than yours. Good luck and share some pics soon
     
  7. Bad 80's Perm

    Bad 80's Perm Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2011
    Messages:
    3
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Mushrooms

    Hey guys, im a newcomer too, and in sydney
    No cockerspaniel but ive got a bitser and should have a pair of chickens before the months outn :rofl:

    Growing mushrooms is great fun but really is a bit of a science of its own.
    A mushroom setup can be quite complicated or really simple
    If your looking for a place to start then there is a great video series called lets grow mushrooms by a guy who calls himself roger rabbit, im pretty sure there up on youtube.

    Especially look at the one he does on straw, it is a simple high yeild technique.
    you can see here some oysters i grew at the end of last winter out of a bag of pea straw.
    At the end your left with a bag a awesome compost and if your lucky, and keep the mycelium fed through the year, can end up with delicious edible mushrooms popping through your garden in during the colder seasons.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. henryachoroi@yahoo.com

    [email protected] Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2010
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    mushroom growing

    hi thanks for the message you send i have realized that it could one project that is suitable for my small area.it could produce them for my home consumption and some for sell to earn an extra coin.
    unfortunately i have no knowledge of mushroom growing at all.here mushrooms mostly grow wildly in the rural areas during a particular season and people move a round picking them.
    i shall most grateful if you availed that information or technology of mushrooms so that i try it out.
     
  9. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2009
    Messages:
    5,925
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Speedy is the resident mushroom expert. Try sending him a PM.
     
  10. henryachoroi@yahoo.com

    [email protected] Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2010
    Messages:
    18
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    help

    please help me get the contact of speedy the mushroom expert.thanks a lot
     

Share This Page

-->