Occasionally, a nation has an opportunity to improve the regulation of pesticides. The Australian government gave itself that opportunity and the result will put profit and easier access to chemicals before human, animal and environmental health. What is at stake, and why is this such a lost opportunity?
Category: Current Events
Bellis Website To Become Part of Australian National Archive
The State Library of Queensland and the National Library of Australia to copy, retain and provide public online access to the Bellis website the online publication of Bellis, Brisbane’s award-winning sustainable house and garden under the Copyright Act 1968 in the PANDORA Archive. The public will have online access to this website through the Australian Web Archive at the National Library of Australia which shall preserve it and make it available to the public in perpetuity.
Gardening Together As A Family: People, Plants, Place, Community.
In recent years, families who garden together have become the most prominent visitors to my annual Open Day. It’s delightful seeing these gardening families, because that was how I started life: in an English family that gardened and holidayed together. Planning, harvesting, saving seed, cooking, bottling, gathering materials for gardening were activities we did together.
Lawn Armyworm Marches on Queensland: What Haven’t Gardeners Learned?
Interested in learning how to grow a healthy, vigorous, sustainable lawn which remains mostly green during drought like mine and is capable of resisting lawn armyworm?
Household Food Security? Every Growing Year Is A Rehearsal!
Here is a list from my garden – my living larder – and my store of home grown food that might serve my household if a coronavirus lockdown occurs: protein, carbohydrate and fibre.
Sign The Petition To Ensure Genetically Modified Organisms Are Regulated in Australia, Back Friends of the Earth.
At a time when we urgently need stronger laws to regulate GM business, the Australian Government has removed regulations designed to keep us and our food safe. This means that from now, many genetically modified (GM) animals, plants and microbes will enter our environment and food chain with no requirement for safety testing or traceability.
On 13th November 2019 the Senate will debate whether to disallow these regulatory changes, and Labor Party support for the disallowance motion will be vital.
Now is the time to act. If you want to know that the food you are eating is GM free, please contact your local MP and senators to demand that all genetically modified organisms are assessed for safety and labelled for consumer choice.
Please sign this petition organised by Friends of the Earth, Melbourne.
How much do you know about PFAS, the ‘forever’ poisons found in homes, workplaces, food, soil, water…even compost?
In the last two decades, the Australian government has failed to have PFAS sites remediated or PFAS wastes destroyed. This failure has resulted in offsite dumping including release of PFAS contaminated water to rivers and the ocean. The most shocking example was the almost a million litres of PFAS contaminated water that was used in to make NuGrow compost.
In Production Today: From Cultivation to Creation.
“I decided to note down the 111 different things currently on the menu from my 300 square metre subtropical food garden. Ongoing drought has affected fruit production – I made just 340 jars of jams and marmalades this autumn instead of the usual 800…Whatever the weather, there will always be winners and losers in a garden, the key is growing a variety of useful, climate appropriate plants so there’s always food on the table”.
Women In Agriculture, North West Plains Sustainability Group To Form New Garden Club During Extreme Drought
In a region greatly affected by the worst drought in living memory, we were united in seeing gardening as a great way to alleviate anxiety and bring the community together. We had planned for 50 – 80 to attend, but 140 registered. An indication of how valuable our gardens are and how practical regional gatherings like this can be for our mental and spiritual health and our sense of community.
Coffee Grounds As A Herbicide
Caffeine is a biochemical with the purpose of affecting the germination, growth, survival, and reproduction of other competing plants. Do not add coffee grounds to worm farms.
Protecting Pawpaw Plants Against Black Spot Disease
If you live in south eastern Queensland and grow pawpaw, it’s worth a quick health check right now. Mild, calm, showery, humid winter weather is perfect for observing outbreaks of pawpaw black spot disease. But how best to manage this common problem?
A Taste of Vietnam in my Garden / Hương vị Việt Nam trong vườn nhà tôi
I’m waiting for the summer wet season to start. Until the rain arrives, there is little cloud to filter the hot sunlight. Thank goodness for old net curtains and shadecloth! I thought I would check my crops against those commonly grown in Vietnam. Despite the average weather, I have 114 different crops growing in my 300…
Jerry Coleby-Williams 