Gardening
Reduce your footprint with a garden! Reduce your waste and your food miles by growing your own food.
Composting
Composting not only improves the health of your plants it reduces the amount of waste that needs to go in your wheelie bin (ideal for when you are recalculating your ZCM carbon footprint at the end of 2010). There are a number of options including buying or making your own worm farm or purchasing a compost bin (if going plastic make sure it is made from 100% recycled materials). If you don’t think your garden can use all your compost you could always share your organics with a neighbour or another ZCM participant.
Space
Take a good look at the gardening space you have, notice where the sunlight falls so you can be sure to plant your vegetables in an area that has loads of natural light and preferably close to your water source. Don’t let lack of space stop you. There are still many alternatives for the ‘space-poor’ resident such as gardening in pots, using hanging baskets and placing plantar boxes on window sills –as long as they are getting light you will get good results. Have a look at Leyla’s apartment garden: www.morelandsolarcity.org.au/our-programs/zero-carbon-moreland/your-stories/leyla
Water conservation
When planning your garden, make sure you research the plants you are raising and group those with similar water needs. When it comes to making the most of your water - compost and mulch are you friends! Compost and manure not only provide food for your plants but ensure good soil structure that holds water for longer. Mulch will shield the soil from the sun, lower the evaporation rate, and protect plant-roots from the heat. You could also try capturing water from the shower, bath, cooking, vegetable washing or install a grey water system or water tank. Check out rebates you may be eligible for on www.ourwater.vic.gov.au/saving/home/rebates.
Easy to grow vegetables
Tomatoes, Asian greens (pak choi, bok choi, Chinese cabbage, tatsoi or kailon), zucchini, capsicum and chilli are all easy to grow. For the more trepidacious gardener you may like to start with some herbs as these are probably the easiest to manage and will do well in small spaces (great opportunity to use the earlier mentioned hanging baskets or window sill plantar boxes). Try thyme, basil, marjoram, oregano, prostrate rosemary, mint and chamomile. Fresh vegies are good for you and for the earth. No packaging and no food miles!
Learning new skills
If you are killing your plants, do not fear – there is help out there to get your thumb looking its greenest. Check out the workshops offered by Sustainable Gardening Australia www.sgaonline.org.au/workshops or CERES. It is also worth keeping an eye out at your local neighbourhood house as they sometimes have garden working bees to get involved in. Most importantly, get out there and talk to other people about gardening. The best advice and information comes from people who have been there and done it – it could be a great opportunity to stick you head over the fence and meet you neighbour (and tell them about Zero Carbon Moreland!).
