sustainable suburbia
 

How about a 'sea-change'amongst a sea of rooves?
Can't help dreaming of greener rural pastures?
How about starting in suburbia. Share ideas on bringing green to the
city.

In article .com,
"earthgirl" wrote:

How about a 'sea-change'amongst a sea of rooves?
Can't help dreaming of greener rural pastures?
How about starting in suburbia. Share ideas on bringing green to the
city.

OK, how about your ideas? :-)

In my case I bought a larger-than-average piece of suburbia and planned to
grow my own fruit and vegies on it, and some chooks, and local native species.
Might gave to work a bit harder on hubby as he is resisting the chickens.
Someone has told me about this mob (http://rentachook.com.au/); maybe a stint
with chooks will soften him up a bit!

The native garden bed is doing very well and is flowering madly atm.
Eventually I will do something more with the natue strip -- it just has a
Council-planted bottlebrush on it and grass. WRT fruit I have strawberries
starting to flower, some sugar bananas (one flowering), a passionfruit vine, a
lemon tree in need of TLC, a self-sown mulberry and a quince tree. My vegie
patch OTOH is in a sorry state but my seedlings will be planted out in a month
or two.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.

Hi Chookie, Janet
Chook fever grabs the globe eh? But for good or evil, we are yet to
know!
I myself have wanted some Bantams for ages. My husband lives in fear of
the day I actually carry this out. I'd like some Silkies- They're so
ridiculously gorgeous.
But not quite yet, maybe after this flu epidemic eh?!
In the meantime, I have a smallish suburban block which pretty much
consists of solid sandstone, with some grass tentatively clinging to
the top.
We just got our rainwater tank (4400L)
and are saving up tp get our grey water diverted to the loos.
We have a macadamia tree, a mandarin tree, orange and A potted lime and
lemon. I have just ordered a 'fruit salad tree'which has graftings of 2
plums, nectarin and peach. Can't wait to get it.
! planted a variety of herbs in plastic buckets (cheap colourful
containers) and I have just grown beans in plastic bottles ( idea from
Jackie Frenches book 'How to guzzle your garden'.
I have grown perpetual spinach in pots and it lasts forever ( to my
childrens dismay). But excellent value. I have grown tomatoes and
capsicum from seed too.
Our block is on a slope and so our gardens are on several levels. It's
an interesting challenge but I am addicted to Permaculture and this
encourages creative solutions.
I am very interested in seeing people in subrban blocks achieve at
least partial self-sufficiency. And I'm really interested in eco homes
too. Also Community gardens.
Natalie (Sydney, Australia)

In article .com,
"earthgirl" wrote:

In the meantime, I have a smallish suburban block which pretty much
consists of solid sandstone, with some grass tentatively clinging to
the top.

Eastern part of Sydney then -- I'm on clay, on the edge of the Cumberland
Plain (Lidcombe). Where are you?

How eco is your place? We're planning a reno atm which is in part to improve
the theral performance of the house. It's a lovely 1940s full-brick house
with its back to the sun. Lovely and cool in summer -- freezing in winter!
And it doesn't 'approach' the back yard well (I think that's the way
architects put it).

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"In Melbourne there is plenty of vigour and eagerness, but there is
nothing worth being eager or vigorous about."
Francis Adams, The Australians, 1893.