Category: How To

Rental Permaculture: Spring Edition

Permaculture can be incorporated into your life even if you live in a suburban rental property. Understanding your local weather calendars is integral to gardening success in Australia, as you’ll quickly realise things don’t go to plan if you try following traditional European planting schedules. The beginning of September sees the start of True Spring, where the weather is warm, wet and windy, and we have a massive explosion of flowers, new growth and insects. In European calendars, this is when you’d start planting your seeds, but in Victoria, it’s when you can consider putting your first seedlings in the ground, and planning your second round of succession crops.

Autumn planting guide

During autumn the days will become shorter and temperatures cooler. Plant around the autumn equinox for a winter harvest, but there are a variety of short term vegetables that can be harvested after just 4 weeks!

A typical Soil PH kit

Know your soil’s pH

PH is tested on a scale of zero to fourteen, with zero being very acidic and fourteen being very alkaline. Most plants grow best in soil with a fairly neutral PH, between six and seven.

Testing your soil for drainage

When working with your garden is important to determine whether you have drainage problems or not – you don’t want to find yourself flooded, or with plants that have rotting feet!

Know your soil structure

In order to get the best out of your garden, it is important to learn as much as you can about your soil. It is after all the medium you will be growing all...

Make a small-scale wicking bed

Wicking beds are well-known as a water-efficient way to grow your plants. Our backyard is one-third concrete, and as such wicking beds and wicking pots have been the best ways for us to grow in...