ALS members Blogs

Title: Intro to Permaculture: Feb 2014: SydneyVenue: Alexandria Park Community Centre / SydneyCategory: Introduction to PermacultureDate: Feb 1 2014 - Feb 2 2014Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm Description: Join us for 2 days of permaculture design theory and action. You will leave this course with a solid grounding of how you can apply permaculture principles in your home, garden, apartment or farm. You'll also be in an informed position to further your journey into permaculture design.  This course will give you a comprehensive overview of how to apply pro-active, sustainable design techniques to your immediate environment - whether you live in a small apartment, a quarter-acre block, or a rural property.In a rapidly changing world, we are all looking for solutions that can aid our community's stability. We're talking systems for living, architecture, food production, land management and community: Effective ways of growing healthy, organic food in urban environments Regenerative farming that can both...

Title: Intro to Permaculture: Oct 2013: SydneyVenue: Alexandria Park Community Centre / SydneyCategory: Introduction to PermacultureDate: Oct 5 2013 - Oct 6 2013Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm Description: Join us for 2 days of permaculture design theory and action. You will leave this course with a solid grounding of how you can apply permaculture principles in your home, garden, apartment or farm. You'll also be in an informed position to further your journey into permaculture design.  This course will give you a comprehensive overview of how to apply pro-active, sustainable design techniques to your immediate environment - whether you live in a small apartment, a quarter-acre block, or a rural property.In a rapidly changing world, we are all looking for solutions that can aid our community's stability. We're talking systems for living, architecture, food production, land management and community: Effective ways of growing healthy, organic food in urban environments Regenerative farming that can both...

A guild, in permaculture terms, is usually used to define a harmonious assembly of species clustered around a central element (plant or animal) that acts in relation to this element to assist its health, aid our work in management, or buffer adverse environmental effects (Mollison, via Jacke). Dave Jacke has taken this concept further and identifies a range of different types of guilds that generally (but not exclusively) can be applied to aid forest garden design process. Like many permaculture design elements, these guild types at once simple, and deeply complex… Resource-Sharing or Resource-Partitioning Guild This type of guild is a group of plants that inhabit the same community niche (ie have the same general needs), but which also find a way to partition resources so that their competition is minimal. I think we humans have a lot to learn from this guild type in how we relate to each other, but let’s leave...

The weather is cooling at last and quickly the leaves are changing colour before the cold of winter strips them from the trees and vines.Temperatures:Lowest Min 4.6CHighest Max 23.4C19mm Rain Propagation:Seeds:Kohl Rabi in Bed 2 top up of ones stolen by thieves!!! probably earwigsSpinach Tape in bed 9Potting on:Cabbage Red DutchCauliflower Macerata GreenCrystal LeafRed ChoiCuttings:Blueberry Evergreen "Nellie Kelly"Golden Daisy Bush Euryops pectinatusLoganberryRosemary PinkVariegated Elderberry Planted out:Cabbage Red Choi in bed 9Onions Red in Bed 2 Purchased seedlings Parsley Curled Parsley Italian into Bed 14 with the Loganberry  We are busily clearing areas and moving beds in between planting...as I chop back plants I take cuttings so I'll have more to plant around the garden later.The Blueberry cuttings came from a broken piece off a damaged plant from Bunnings. The man there marked the price down by half and said I could easily take some cuttings from the broken bit...(do you...

‘Packed with minerals and protein, and easy to grow at home’… too right. Home mushroom cultivation is a good idea, for everyone. You don’t even need a window in your house (though we do hope that you have one), let alone a window sill or outdoor area to grow nutrient dense, protein rich, organic mushroomy goodness… Check out these gorgeous mushroom cultivation posters by Victor Paiam… So now you have no excuse. Before beginning, do check out our posts on growing shiitake mushrooms which has all sorts of excellent ebook resources in it. And also our post on growing oyster mushrooms in a bucket (actually two buckets, one inside the other) as a great space-saving strategy for homestead mushroom production… oh and you can grow them in laundry baskets also. And while you’re at it, support artists producing excellent, useful work about skills we all need. You can buy Victor Paiam’s posters...

Our Urban Permaculture Design Course is coming up fast in July, and is shaping to be pretty special. Leading the learning will be the awesome Hannah Moloney, supported by Nick Ritar and none other that the co-originator of Permaculture, David Holmgren. The great thing about this teaching team is the breadth of experience and enthusiasm they bring to share with students of urban permaculture design – Hannah is a long-time urban community cultivator, Nick’s focus is the small farm / urban permaculture resurgence, and David Holmgren, well, he’s David Holmgren. Need we say more. But we will.  Hannah in her most recent rental home garden in Hobart, Tasmaina We’re really proud to be working with Hannah Moloney as the lead teacher. Hannah has been working in community renewal and practical permaculture for over 10 years, and is a positive force to be rekoned with. One of the things we like best about Hannah is her ability...

Blood sausage is a central aspect of harvest day. Large-ish animal harvest day, that is. And it’s one of the central acts of honouring the animal’s life, as well as getting close to the act of the animal’s death, because it’s something you must make the same day you slaughter. Blood sausage is a central dish of whole animal eating – it doesn’t get much more thrifty than this. Doesn’t get much tastier, either, if done right. And it’s not very technical to make, if you’re up for it… **please note – this post contains photos of people making blood sausage, from start to finish** We made our first batch of blood sausages from our pigs that we home-harvested, but you can make blood sausage from any animal, really. The point is that it’s mostly fresh blood. and spice and sometimes cream or egg. Blood Sausage has as many variations as there...

Yesterday’s dawn saw me waiting by the road with a large suitcase of heirloom rainbow carrots. I don’t normally take the train to Sydney with this kind of load under my arm, but I’m happy to report that it is (just) possible to transport 25kg of vegetables in this manner. Actually the suitcase was stacked with nicola and ruby lou potatoes as well as the rainbow carrots. We’re pitching in for TEDxSydney’s crowd farming project, which is aiming to crowd-source all the food for TEDxSydney on May 4th. And I had to get our veggies down to the Big Smoke without our truck. So train it was… The suitcase haul, and Michael, who grew them all They fit! Just. Wait’n for the train… actually a bus now replaces part of our trainline, but we still call it the train… Nothing like a carrot to flag the bus to stop… Huzzah!...

We started this year's bush walks today with a relatively easy walk in the Main Range National Park. Teresa of Horizon Guides was our guide. Teresa describes this walk as: Walk 1: Gap Creek Falls (Main Range NP) 9.8km Approx. 5 – 6 hrs return. Easy –moderate.Description: This ridge walk is a pleasant outing that starts at Cunningham’s Gap. Beginning within the closed canopy of sub-tropical rainforest the vegetation changes to open eucalypt forest as we descend to the east. The track is not difficult as it follows the contours of the land, winding down the ridge and eventually ending at the top of the falls. This is a pretty creek and a lovely spot to rest before we return by the same route – this time easily gaining altitude all the way. The route overlaid on Google Maps Today started out as a glorious autumn day after storms last night. When we...

Lots of new seedlings ready for potting up this week as the weather stays warm. Still no sign of any rain though...Temperatures:Lowest Min 9.8CHighest Max 30.5CNo Recorded Rain Propagation:Potting on:Cabbage Red DutchCauliflower MiniLettuce Red and Green Salad mixAlyssum Royal CarpetKale Red BorKale Vates Blue Purchased Curled and Italian Parsley seedlings Planted out:Plarsley Curled Parsley ItalianCelery Tendercrisp Added to the Garlic in Bed 10Not a lot happened in the garden last week. We were busy making toys for Microman's First Birthday!!!! His party had a Milk and Cookies theme!Poppy Doc was busy in the workshop building a great Truck Baby Walker which happens to fit a certain set of twins in the front!! Microman himself didn't mind a ride!I made an Elephant Softie from a pattern by Sarah at Dolls and Daydreams Here  and a Monster Bib from Stubbornly Crafty Here.  I also made a couple of Monster Softies (from Here)...

Apples! They be everywhere. Red ones, yellow ones, green ones. Big and small. Round and wonky. Crunchy and soft. There’s only so many we can eat. Time to get creative, and try out the fancy new steam juicer while we’re at it… Drying Last year we took a global drying approach to apple preservation, and that worked well. 2 loads a day, 8 hours a load. With our trusty apple slinky and the awesomeness of the Excalibur (see this post for details), we were still munching dried apples in November. Which is a good thing, because apple season around here doesn’t start till February.Preserving This year we’ve been getting funky with a pressure canner, which allows for faster turnaround times for preserved fruit than our dear old vacola units. But the result is prettymuch the same – jars apon jars of preserved fruit, stored for winter pies and desserts and breakfasts with...

Last week we built a home. A round, load-bearing strawbale tiny house with a roundwood reciprocating living roof, to be precise. And when I say ‘built’ I suppose I mean that we got it mostly done. It was amazing to be a part of. I’m going to go into the construction of this building piece by piece, but for this weekend, here’s an overview of the process from bare ground to where we got to, 4 days later… The ‘persuader’It is not going to rain… it is not allowed to rain… Last post in – heave hoMud slinging timeFirst coat on the inside… 2 coats on the outside And all in 4 days… not bad at all… A massive and muddy THANK YOU to Sam Vivas from Viva Eco Homes for being such an excellent teacher, and to all the crew and students who worked their proverbials off to...

The weather is still warm during the day keeping the soil warm but the night temps are dropping...the Brassicas all need the warmth to put on growth before the winter frosts arrive. In Bed 16 the Nasturtium seeds have germinated...they are Companion Plants to the Brussels Sprouts but may not be as frost resistant!Temperatures:Lowest Min 5.8CHighest Max 29.6CNo Recorded Rain Propagation:Potting on:Broccoli Royal DomeBrussels Sprouts RubyKale LacinatoKale Vates BlueKale Red BorLettuce GloriaMizuna PurpleParsley Curled and ItalianSilverbeetElderberry cuttingsThese went off to a friends garden along with some Common Mint and Sorrel that I dug up from the garden as requested.Cuttings:Sweet Potato Beauregard (Orange)Sweet Potato  Hawaiian Sunshine (Purple)Sweet Potato WhiteThese are for overwintering in the greenhousePlanted out:Kale Lacinato Mizuna PurpleLettuce GloriaUpland CressSpring Onions RedPlanted into Bed 9Broccoli Royal DomeGreek BasilPlanted into Bed 7   The mixed greens in bed 9 have been planted amongst the remaining Carrots and Parsnips from the spring planting...parsnips taste best...

Title: Seed Circus: 5 May: Sydney NSWVenue: 107 Projects / RedfernCategory: Seed CircusDate: May 5 2013 - May 5 2013Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm Description: Roll up, roll up! Do you want to learn about seed saving? Or foraging for edible weeds?Do you want to swap your way from a scarf to chilli sauce? How about swapping your way from bean seeds to bicycle parts, via seed potatoes?Join us at the inaugural Seed Circus - a day of learning, swapping, eating and meeting interesting people. Come when you like. Go when you must. Chomp on free organic popcorn inbetween, and learn to make seedballs while you're there...Seed Circus kicks off at 11am, and we'll all be there till 4pm... at 107 Redfern St, Redfern. FREE for everyone.Workshops include...11am - Seed Saving with Michael Hewins: zucchini, pumpkins and other cucurbits - learn how to save them properly!12pm - City Weed Foraging with Diego Bonnetto (a...

March Growth:Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Spinach and Radish, Garlic and Brussels Sprouts and LettuceTemperatures this month:Lowest Min 5.3CHighest Min 21.8CLowest Max 16.4CHighest Max 35.9C6 mm RainRain: Year To Date: 41mm (Average YTD: 66mm)Comparison with other years: March Average is 21mm:2013 6mm2012 32.5 mm2011 49.8mm2010 7mm2009 13mm2008 0mm2007 29.7mmWeather Highlights?It was a hotter than usual beginning to March with the temp hovering in the mid thirties until the middle of the month. Since then the mornings have been getting cooler, some even quite chilly so we know the first frosts are just around the corner!This Month:As with seed sowing and planting out, harvesting has been done around 3 market weekends this month. The fruit garden has been neglected this season and it shows in the harvests...the birds ate most of this years fruit. We have had several visits with the Grandtwins plus 1, including having them visit us at the last market...

The early plantings of Garlic and Brussels Sprouts have benefited from the warm conditions during March and put on good growth.Temperatures:Lowest Min 7.1CHighest Max 35.9C 6mm Rain Propagation:Seeds:Spinach Viking Spinacia oleracea Easy Sow Tape from Mr Fothergill'sOnion Early Californian Red Allium cepa Easy Sow Tape from Mr Fothergill'sRadish Oriental Raphanus sativus from DT BrownKohl Rabi Purple Vienna Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes from The Seed CollectionThese have been direct sown into Beds 2&3 Nasturtium Gleam Trailing  Tropaeolum majus from Goodman Seeds direct sown in Bed 16Alyssum Royal Carpet Lobularia maritima from The Seed CollectionCabbage Red Dutch Brassica oleracea var. capitata from The Seed CollectionCabbage Red Choi F1 Brassica rapa var. chinensis from Green HartvestCalendula Lemon Daisy Calendula officinalis from MrFothergill'sChinese Broccoli Kailaan Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra from The Seed CollectionCauliflower Macerata Green Brassica oleracea botrytis from The Seed CollectionCauliflower Mini Brassica oleracea from DiggersCorn Salad Valerianella locusta from Phoenix seedsIce Plant Crystal...

Title: Advanced Permaculture Principles: Sydney: July 2013Venue: Alexandria Park Community Centre / SydneyCategory: Advanced Permaculture PrinciplesDate: Jul 13 2013 - Jul 14 2013Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm Description: Join us for a rare chance to spend two immersive days with David Holmgren; ecologist, writer, world-leading thinker and co-originator of Permaculture. This course is for folks who are ready to extend their working knowledge of biomimicry and permaculture design theory as applies to human habitats, with one of the greatest minds working in ecological design today.An advanced permaculture principles and planning tools course, for anyone ready to take the next step in effective, hands-on permaculture design skills... This course is designed for: permaculture students primary producers designers landscape architects community workers teachers homesteaders social entrepreneurs future farmers ...and anyone else looking for the opportunity to extend their knowledge of how good ecologcial design can build and enhance sustainable living, community, farming and/or monetary systems.Melliodora, David Holmgren and...

Nearly time for our next Intro to Permaculture course! It’s coming up fast on the 13 – 14 April in Sydney. Nick teaches this course as a two day intensive that aims to give students a solid grounding in permaculture theory as applies to the everyday. It’s all about taking the big ideas, concepts and advantages of biomimicry, and applying them at home…  Soil class Permaculture Design Certificate student design for a wicking bedWe’ve seen this course push a lot of buttons for people over the years. It’s so excellent to help people re-discover the concepts and principles of nature that makes our planet the abundant place it is, and then help them figure out how to apply those principles to backyard garden design. Or perhaps their small business structure. Or their kitchen. Or their community. The Intro to Permaculture course is definitely a starting point to many new paths of ecological...

Title: Organic Market Garden Masterclass: Sept 2013: Gundaroo NSWVenue: Allsun Farm / GundarooCategory: Organic Market GardeningDate: Sep 21 2013 - Sep 23 2013Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm Description: Learn the nuts and bolts of how to run a thriving, diverse organic market garden, taught by long-term, established and successful market gardeners. Suitable for those with some prior gardening knowledge who are keen to make a livelihood from growing great vegetables.Join Joyce Wilkie and Michael Plane of Allsun Farm for three days of hard-won knowledge and on-the-ground experience of what you need to know and do in order to produce great organic vegetables for profit or community gain. This course will cover: Garden design, planning & layoutCrop rotationBed preparationPlanting techniques for different plant familiesMaintenance, seedlings, harvestingNutrient and biomass strategiesIntegrating animal systemsMarketing, value-adding and box schemes This course will involve both theory and hands-on components, with students getting a chance to understand how Allsun...

Title: Permaculture Design Course: Jan 2014: Milkwood FarmVenue: Milkwood Farm (1) / MudgeeCategory: Permaculture Design CertificateDate: Jan 12 2014 - Jan 25 2014Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm Description: This 2 week intensive course will arm you with the design thinking and skills to create resilient, synergistic systems for living, working and community.Join us  and get inspired and skilled up for creating abundance in a world out of balance, no matter where you live. This course offers you the opportunity, skills and knowledge to design and implement fundamental and life-changing resilience into your everyday home, community and beyond. Permaculture is set of principles that result in sustainable and productive systems. Systems for living, architecture, food production, land management and community. No chemicals and no excuses. Just good, thoughtful, innovative and effective design for the needs of our species. By observing nature we can use natural patterning to design and implement ideas and systems...