Hi everyone, I thought I would do a bit of an intro and fill you in on my journey to sustainable living so far and where I am heading. This will be a great way to capture where I am and look back on it someday! I hope this inspires you to dream big and continue working towards your goals.
So grab yourself a tea or coffee as I have a lot of things to talk about, so let’s start from the beginning!
Dreams, Goals, Visions
My name is Holly and I was born and raised on a farm in New Zealand. I have been growing my own food in some capacity my entire life. I have also been working towards the same vision and goal for as long as I can remember. That is to own a chunk of land and build a sustainable eco-home that is more garden than it is house. This vision has become more elaborate over time with small eco-cabins, waterfalls, dams and food forests. But in essence, it has always been the same, a piece of land that I can rewild and transform into an edible self-sufficient haven. The land will help provide both food and income and I can feed my ducks, eat straight from the organic gardens, create art and talk to the bees all day.
Slow intentional living
Now…. that is not exactly where I am right now. But I want to touch on where I’m heading and how I intend to get there. Small achievable steps to create a life by design and not default.
Start where you are and use what you have
5 years ago my partner and I along with our dog Tama bought and moved into a suburban house in Perth, Australia. Since that day I have been converting the gardens into edible wonderlands using permaculture principles. I try to use as much recycled or second-hand things as I can with very little waste.
BEFORENOW
After living in our house for a year I realised that the best light and space for growing was down the side of the house which was actually a paved driveway. Not great for growing veggies….but this house is a stepping stone and not the end goal. It will potentially be an investment property or we will sell it to launch towards the next step. So ripping up concrete and pavers to plant veggies was not really on the cards. But, I wasn’t going to let that stop me, so I came up with an idea to grow a whole lot of food with space and resources I had available.
Start small but start now
The pallet planters on wheels were born! These worked out so much better than I could have imagined because they not only gave me control over the soil I was growing in but also allowed me to control the growing conditions by wheeling them in and out of the sun/rain. Perth climate can be so harsh it goes from one extreme to the other with summer and winter so these have been so good!
Investing in knowledge is investing in your future
I dove deep into experimenting with recipes and trying to build and expand my knowledge in growing, cooking and preserving my harvests. Buying vegetables I intended to grow in the future. Learning new ways to use and preserve them means I will be ready to hit the ground running when I do grow an oversupply.
Sustainable Income
The next part of my journey is sustainable income. Because how can I spend my days talking to the bees when I am bound to a corporate office job. This has been my career since leaving uni and it has never sat well with me. I have always been one to question and dislike the rat race.
Last year I was made redundant from my job and I took that as a sign and ran with it.
Since then I have built my website, Instagram, taken on ambassadorships, written paid blog posts and sponsored content. I have also written ebooks and gardening worksheets (CLICK HERE)if you want to learn how to grow your own thriving edible gardens. I have also been busy working away on my membership site and I will be launching that very soon! So make sure you hit sign up to my website to get notified when it opens. I will be opening it at a discount rate for founding members. The membership site will be all about how to grow, cook, preserve and start living more sustainably no matter whether you have a garden or not!
My goal is to build a community of like-minded people to share knowledge, learning to grow real food, save seeds, propagate & swap and trade those for other plants. I hope you join me on this adventure. I’m so excited for what is to come!
Sustainable Living Goals
So to finish off this post my goals for 2021 are to continue forging my own path and inspiring others along the way.
Learning to cook outside over the fire or harnessing the sun’s energy.
Preserving more jams and chutneys.
Experiment and learn from other cultures and cuisines to expand my knowledge of flavours and techniques.
Dive deeper into growing from cuttings, grafting as this will be a valuable skill for building my future food forest.
Make more time to do art and stay creatively inspired
Learn more handcrafting techniques such as weaving or woodwork.
Slow intentional living. We have become so used to instant gratification, being in a rush and always needing more. To start with it can be overwhelming but each time you learn a new skill or recipe it will become easier. Adapting to doing things and seeing things differently. Find the joy in growing and preparing wholesome food, learn how to make milk from nuts, buy second hand, fix and reuse broken items and stop spending all your money on things you don’t really need.
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Grow food from cuttings and boost your garden’s sustainability. Do you want to grow more food without all the cost of buying seeds and plants to make it happen? This guide will show you some easy and quick ways to grow a tonne of food. Multiplying plants from ones you already have or making cuttings from friends gardens can help you set up and grow a sustainable garden without all the costs involved.
$18
30-page Digital Ebook featuring 10 detailed plants to grow from cuttings. Plus tips & tricks to propagate and grow a sustainable garden.
Homegrown food not only tastes so much better but it also provides you with much more nutrients than many store-bought fruits and veggies. You also can control what goes on your food and skip all the pesticides, chemical fertilisers and other nasty sprays that get used on commercially grown food. Many of the plants in this guide may already be in your garden, neighbours or friends and family’s. Learning to identify these plants and how to propagate and regrow them from cuttings will take your gardening and sustainability to the next level.
By the end of this guide, you will have a list of edible plants you can go out and reproduce to grow wholesome food for you and your family.
Water is a crucial part of any thriving garden and during summer many towns will experience water restrictions and droughts. This can add more stress to an already difficult growing period. Water restrictions can sometimes mean you cannot use hoses, irrigation or you may have limited days in which you can use them.
Do you rely solely on rainwater? Your tanks may be getting low or you are just conscious about preserving the water you have. Here are some tips and tricks to get the most out of the water you use and keep your gardens alive and producing food.
Water-Saving Tipsfor Water Restrictions
Make sure you check with your local council to see which restrictions are in place.
🌱 MAKE ECO SWAPS | Use eco, greywater friendly cleaning products so that you can start reusing the water you use in your home out into the garden. You can easily find many greywater friendly products these days or recipes to make simple cleaning products with no nasties. Not only is it better for your health to stop using nasty chemicals but it is also better for the environment – where the water will end up eventually. Products such as washing powder, dishwashing liquid, hand soap, shampoo, spray and wipe and anything you mix in with water.
🌱 GET PREPARED | Place a bucket or large watering can at your back door or somewhere that is both close to your house and in the direction of your gardens. This way you will have easy, convenient access to offload any water you have used and keep it to use on your gardens. Inform your family or housemates of where it is and what should be put in it (water with no nasty chemicals). Getting kids involved is a great way to teach them about the environment and how to be water-wise.
🌱 COOKING WATER | Pour any water used in cooking into your watering can. Water used to boil potatoes, rice, pasta, veggies etc can all go into your recycled water bucket.
🌱 OLD WATER BOTTLES | Pour any old water from water bottles that you don’t want to drink into your recycled water bucket.
🌱 DISH WATER | Depending on how involved you want to get, you could try washing your dishes in a bucket or tub in the sink to capture the water (making sure you’re using chemical-free, greywater friendly products). You could also use a bowl or pot to scoop out the majority of the water from the sink and place in your recycled water bucket. Or for a long term solution, you could direct your sink or dishwasher drain directly into the garden. IMPORTANT: Greywater can hold some pathogens so it is important to only use it on fruit trees and non-edibles and not straight onto your veggie patch. Check your local council restrictions.
🌱 WASHING MACHINE | The same as above you can either put the drainage hose in a container or bucket (ensure it’s large enough and only clean, eco-friendly products are used) or direct the pipes straight out into the garden for a long term solution. If your laundry is next to a window or door you could have a water container with a tap set up off the ground that you can place the hose into and then empty it into your watering can as needed. IMPORTANT: Greywater can hold some pathogens so it is important to only use it on fruit trees and non-edibles and not straight onto your veggie patch. Check your local council restrictions. Also, be aware that clothing will release microplastic if you have synthetic clothing.
🌱 SHOWER AND BATH | Showers can use a lot of water if you don’t restrict the flow and length of use. Place a bucket underneath to capture as much of the wastewater as possible or if you have a shower over bath set up, put the plug in and scoop the water out after. Make sure you have set up your shower with only eco, greywater friendly soaps, face washes and shampoo. IMPORTANT: Greywater can hold some pathogens so it is important to only use it on fruit trees and non-edibles and not straight onto your veggie patch. Check your local council restrictions.
🌱 RAINWATER CATCHMENT | Another great way to get more water is to set up catchments to harness the water that runs off your roof surface. Whether that is your house, garage or garden shed you can direct downpipes into water storage containers to use on your gardens. Rainwater is the absolute best kind of water for thriving gardens. Mains water that is provided by the City has chlorine and other additives in it that can slow or restrict growth.
MORE WATER-WISE GARDEN TIPS
Now that you have more water to use in your garden it is important to distribute that water in the most efficient and effective way. You don’t want to waste any of that precious water by evaporation or poor soil structure.
🌱 SLOW AND STEADY | The best way to get your plants to effectively absorb the water is to slowly distribute it and allow the plant time to absorb it. If you simply pour it on and walk away a lot of water will spread and run away across the surface and not be drawn down to the roots.
🌱 WATER UNDER MULCH | If you have a thick layer of mulch and only a limited amount of water, it is a good idea to pull back some of the mulch around the plant and pour the water directly onto the soil. Mulch can sometimes absorb ALL the water and not leave any for the plants. Mulch is great for protecting the soil and stopping evapouration so once the water is on the soil, push the mulch back around to keep the moisture locked in.
🌱 TIME IT RIGHT | Timing is everything. Choose cooler times to water your plants such as the early morning or late evening. This allows the plants to absorb as much of the water as possible before the sun and heat evapourate it. I tend to water any plants that are prone to mildew such as pumpkins, melons, cucumbers etc early in the morning rather than at night. That way they have time to absorb the moisture but they will also have all day to dry out if any moisture has reached their leaves. The rest of my gardens I tend to water in the evenings.
🌱 IMPROVE SOIL | Poor soil structure will be so hard to keep well watered as it will just let the water runoff or filter away. Sandy soils can become aquaphobic and be basically waterproof. Clay rich soils will become hard and compact restricting water flow to the roots. The best way to improve soil structure is to add fibre to your soils. Adding fibre means adding more plant matter by either compost of composted manure. Compost rich soil will retain more moisture and feed your plants. Healthy well-feed plants won’t require as much watering as their roots will be more developed and widespread to capture water more effectively.
🌱 SELECTIVE PLANTING | If you often have water restrictions or know there is likely to be a real water shortage in your area then make sure you are selective in what you choose to grow. Some plants will require more water than others so do your research and select plants that will work best for your conditions. Plants such as watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce will require a lot more water than plants such as chilli, natives, citrus, corn, sweet potato or mini eggplant.
My favourite watering tools are:
Retractable Hose with 7 spray nozzle and water flow adjuster: Control exactly how much flow you want to each plant with this flow adjusting hose. CLICK HERE for more info.
Deep root waterer and soil breaker: Helps get water directly to the roots without any runoff or loss of water from evaporation. CLICK HERE for more info.
Weeper hose works great for drip-feeding water and allowing the plants to absorb more. CLICK HERE for more info.
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Turn this common GARDEN PROBLEM into something AMAZING! So you can Grow Healthy Organic Plants. Making this all-natural, organic weed tea fertiliser also means you can feed your plants without worrying about any chemicals harming the insects in your garden. A happy and healthy garden will produce more food for you and all the beneficial insects and pollinators.
Weeds weeds weeds
If you have an organic garden, you probably have some weeds! Especially at this time of year with spring just around the corner in Australia, the weeds are thriving. Weeds can tell us a lot about our soil and learning to identify weeds in your garden can help you fix soil issues. Weeds are so good at pulling nutrients out of any soil and therefore can be holding on to a lot of great nutrients that can be harnessed to make an organic weed tea fertiliser.
Making weed tea fertiliser is a great way to close the loop and return nutrients back to your fruit trees and plants in a form they can easily absorb. This liquid fertiliser is also completely FREE and using up unwanted weeds from your garden. Its WIN-WIN. Making weed tea fertiliser is so easy and requires very little equipment. I put the weed tea fertiliser back into the same garden that I pulled the weeds from.
Identify your weeds
Learning to identify weeds in your garden can also mean you have more edible plants available! Yes! Some weeds are actually edible! Make sure you do your research and identify weeds that are local to you. Having good soil is key to a thriving organic garden! So learning to identify common weeds and what kind of soil they like to grow in is a great way to find out what’s going on with your soil. The weeds I identified were all ones that like to grow in compacted soil. So that is something I can check and see if my soil getting too compacted.
Catsear Flatweed – Hypochaeris radicata
How to make weed tea fertiliser
To start off you are going to need some weeds! Map out an area of your garden and start pulling weeds out and try to get the whole root out as well. I like to listen to a podcast and multitask during this time. Use some good quality gardening gloves to protect your hands from sharp spikes or insect bites.
Evaluate and identify the most common weeds in your garden. I used a book with common weeds local to my area. See if you can notice any patterns and what kind of soil they like to grow in. This might help you identify what is going on in that particular patch of garden.
Put all your weeds in a large bucket and fill with water. Rainwater is best but if you only have tap water from your local council then just pour it into a bucket and let it sit for a day or two until the chlorine has dissipated.
Roughly rip up your weeds and add to the water. Place a rock or something weighted on top so the weeds are all underwater.
Put a cover on top to stop insects like mosquitoes. I used a piece of rag cotton.
Let it BREW. stir with a stick once a week. You can brew your weed tea fertiliser for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months! The longer you leave it the more nutrients will be released but it will also start to really stink so it is up to you! Brew it longer if you have any seeds in there to try and destroy them before you put it back onto your garden.
Dilute up to 1:10 ratio and pour back on to your garden. If you want to ensure no seeds are there you can strain it through a sieve or piece of fabric. The leftover leaf material can go into your compost.
NOTE: Grass seeds can be hard to destroy so I would avoid using grasses or strain well before putting onto your garden. I use the hoselink spray mixer and strained it through a fine cloth before I used it so that the plant material doesn’t block up the nozzle.
Leave me a comment below if you have any questions.
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
In this video are 10 of the best edible flowers I grow because they are not only my secret ingredient to make all food look magical but, are also great for attracting pollinators to your garden. If you want a thriving, abundant permaculture garden, it is so important to create diversity and attract beneficial insects and pollinators. Important: Make sure you clearly identify which flowers you can eat and are safe before eating.
Watch My Top 10 Best Edible Flowers to grow
Why Grow Edible Flowers?
Edible flowers offer so much to your permaculture garden. Here are a few of the MANY reasons I LOVE growing them:
Create beautiful aesthetic dishes
Attract beneficial insects to your garden for pest control
Aid in pollination by attracting insects
Create diversity in the garden
Add colour to your garden
Have subtle, delicate flavours
Add nutrients to your meals
Flowers for the Bees
The best edible flowers are ones that have multiple benefits and interconnected relationships within your garden. Creating diversity in flowers will help bring in a diversity of beneficial insects and become part of a natural integrated pest management system in your urban permaculture garden. A diverse ecosystem is a healthy one.
How to use Edible Flowers?
Edible flowers are amazing natural ingredients that add nutritional value and will elevate any dish to create magical food. Create a “wow factor” by just letting nature shine. They are great for natural cake decorating, salads, cocktails, baking, pasta and just anything really! Add detail, pattern, vibrant colour, and celebrate your homegrown food. I believe that creating visually appealing food can make everyday meals so much more enjoyable. Every day should be special and celebrated and this is just one way I like to spark joy in everyday living. Add some to your peanut butter on toast and BOOM you have a masterpiece!
Important: Make sure you clearly identify which flowers you can eat and are safe before eating.
Which are your favourite? It was so hard to even narrow it down to 10!
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
Hi everyone! Today I take you on a tour of my urban permaculture kitchen garden and show you what I have growing here in Perth, Australia. My kitchen garden is my permaculture zone 1 and really close to the kitchen so it is convenient to grab what I need for dinners. My Kitchen garden is growing in pallet planters and pots which means I can maximise the sun and shade to grow successfully all year round.
Watch myKitchen Garden Tour
Zone 1 Permaculture areas
My kitchen garden is located right outside my kitchen window so it’s very close and convenient which is key! Zone 1 permaculture areas are ones that are frequently used or pathways on the way to frequently used areas. If you can see your kitchen garden, you are more likely to utilise it and give it the love and care needed to make it thrive. This is where pots and containers can be a great option as you can create kitchen gardens in your outdoor living areas, balcony, windowsill or patio. I grow lots of herbs, chillies, edible flowers and greens in my kitchen garden that I can easily pick to add to salads and meals as needed.
Pallet Planter Boxesfor Urban Gardening
I am passionate about growing as much of my own food as I can and building my own urban permaculture homestead. These pallet planter boxes help me grow more food on my suburban block and provide so much fresh homegrown food. Urban gardening means trying to find creative ways to best utilise the space available to grow food. These DIY pallet planters can be made with recycled pallets that are often available for free. Use heat-treated pallets and not ones chemically treated. Make sure you do your own research.
Creating a cheap and efficient way to grow your own veggies and start a kitchen garden. Adding wheels means you can use them on concreted or paved areas and push them in and out of the sun/shade/rain as required. Perfect for growing in the heat of summer in Perth, Australia! You do not need to have the “perfect” place to grow food it is important to get to know your surroundings and just start by growing a few things. It’s all part of the journey and you will continue to learn and develop along with your garden. I hope you enjoy this video and get inspired to grow more of your own food.
Leave a comment below if you have any questions about my Urban Permaculture Kitchen Garden, Pallet Planter Boxes or anything I have growing in this video.
Holly 🌱
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
