How A Distinctive Taste of South America Can Be Grown Sustainably, Keeping its Growers Healthier and Better Off… On our tour of Ecuador, courtesy of The Adventure Traveller, we visited Carlos, a naranjilla farmer at Archidona in the foothills of the Andes. Naranjilla, Solanum quitoense, is a short-lived tropical perennial related to tomato. It is…
Category: Sustainability
Arrowroot vs Comfrey Trial – Which Is Better For Growing Biomass In A Warm Climate?
In a trial in subtropical Brisbane, I found that Queensland arrowroot (Canna edulis) requires 1/5th of the water to produce twice the biomass of comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum).
Glyphosate: War of the Weedkiller?
Weed mat avoids the need for weed control amongst a pineapple crop. It also helps cool soil and conserve moisture. Cook Islands. Letter to Graham Readfearn, a Brisbane-based journalist at The Guardian Australia concerning his recent article about glyphosate, the world’s favourite herbicide.
The Mary River Turtle: Uniquely Australian, Ancient and Endangered.
The Mary River freshwater turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of the most uniquely Australian and critically endangered turtles, living only in south east Queensland’s Mary River. Forty years ago, Mary River turtles were sold as ‘penny turtles’ through the pet trade, hatching just in time for Christmas. Twenty six years ago, this turtle was finally scientifically described. Ten years ago, the Australian government ruled against the Queensland government proposal to dam the river, which would have exterminated this species. Now, Queensland’s Tiaro and District Landcare volunteers monitor Mary River turtle nest sites, protecting them from extreme weather and predation, while the Mary River catchment group look after the health of the river system, the only home that this endangered turtle has, giving it a better chance of survival.
FAQ: Can I Grow Plants In Polystyrene (Styrofoam) Boxes? Someone Told Me They Are Toxic.
This blog looks at ways to convert expanded polystyrene foam boxes, a single use plastic used for packing vegetables, into a useful gardening asset. Most Australians call expanded polystyrene foam styrofoam, but this is a trademark name, owned by Dow Chemicals, who claim to have ‘discovered’ this product which was first made in Sweden. If you endorse the reuse of waste, visit your local fruit shop and get some polystyrene vegetable packing boxes. Retailers are happy to sell them for a couple of dollars and you’ll find them suitable for a range of gardening jobs whether your climate is hot, cold, wet or dry.
My Gardening Family: Farewell Auntie Sheila
Sheila wanted a natural burial, and tomorrow my cousins have organised for her to be laid to rest in an eco-coffin under a forest tree in the grounds of the Sustainability Centre within Hampshire’s South Downs National Park.
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.
How Best To Feed Backyard Birds?
How best to feed backyard birds? Professor Darryl Jones from Griffith University, Queensland, has written the first sensible, science-based guide to feeding wild birds in Australia, says Paul Sullivan, the CEO of Birdlife Australia.
Safer Solutions To Help Beginner Gardeners Put Food On The Table
Novice food grower? Whether you’re a fruit farmer in England, a market gardener in Thailand, or a home gardener in Brisbane, we all need economical, effective solutions to protect our food supply and within budget. And that’s the kind of practical advice I’ve been providing for over thirty years. Step into my world of low stress, productive gardening…flowers are included!
The Wartime Kitchen And Garden, TV Series and Book
The Wartime Kitchen and Garden television series and book by the BBC. The big swerve in 19th century British horticulture away from ornamental gardening to domestic food security. A television series and a book explore low tech solutions, reuse, thrift, and home grown food.
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?
Is There Hope For The Environment In 2020?
The actions I have taken here at Bellis and which I encourage others to adopt are the brakes, airbags and seatbelts to help protect us in the coming global environmental car crash.
Jerry Coleby-Williams 