Permi8 at Penny's

Our November permi8 gathering, scheduled to be in Eldorado, was rained out. But a smaller group had a very pleasant brunch in West Albury instead, and had a wander through Penny and Peter's garden between rounds of muffins, dips, scones and goodies.

We admired the veg beds (well, the whole garden, in truth!), discussed woody mulches, sought out the pest that's been eating their young passionfruit plant, made suggestions for filling the gorgeous ponds from downpipes, checked out their recent works to improve the thermal performance of the living areas, exchanged stories about the rain and compared notes as to how our gardens in general are doing!

Here's hoping we'll see more permi8 people at our final gathering of the year in December ... although by then the silly season will be well and truly with us. It seems everyone is flat-out now - can't imagine what it will be like by then.

Foodies opportunity

The number of projects and events being developed and run locally with a 'foodie' theme is exciting. From the Farmers' Market to Street Harvest, food security to community & school gardens, there's lots going on and even more planned.

For example, did you know the Hume Murray Farmers' Market now has a fortnightly newsletter and that community groups can have a stall at the market (on a rotated basis) to promote their group? Or that the people who brought us the movie "Food Inc." last year are working on presenting "Fresh" early next year? Or that there are now 15 community gardens in Albury Wodonga.

So good on the "foodies" who have set up an email list so that different foodie groups, as well as individuals, can keep up to date with all that's happening. Click the picture for a full sized view of their flyer.

If you're interested in any aspect of food locally, getting your name added to their distribution list will ensure you're up on all the news and events. For more info or to be added, email Fiona Hughes - fhughes@gatewaycommunityhealth.org.au.

Front yard corn planting

I've been threatening, I mean planning, to extend our fruit and vegetable growing into the front yard for awhile now, but this year it is getting underway. First came two persimmons and a dutch medlar, planted in winter. Hopefully (given time) they will provide us with summer shade and perhaps also the bonus of fruit.

Now I've set up a bed for corn in the front yard too. Because keeping water up to corn mid-summer has previously challenged us, I've added plenty of organic matter to the soil and will mulch it and hill the soil around the stalks as it grows. We'll see how corn goes with some greywater irrigation (along with rainwater from the tanks). The shower water can be diverted to out here using gravity alone.

Once the corn gets well established, I'll also try planting cucumber and/or climbing beans as companions to grow up the corn, shelter in the corn's shade and suppress weeds.

I used some spare former-decking-offcuts-made-into-garden-edging (as described here) from the back herb garden that has been partially dismantled in preparation for the shed. I even used the often-demonstrated tv garden expert trick to create the kidney shape by using a hose to mark it out and achieve smooth curves. The shape itself is mostly a reflection of the available space, with just enough room to access all sides and be able to reach all parts of the bed without needing to step inside it. In all, it is a couple of square metres in size.

Beer box rainwater diversion

The rainwater tanks are full and the ground is saturated. It still seems an unusual problem to have (drought-think is still with us), but with no way to store the recent rain for future use, we have needed to divert it into the stormwater system. Rather than collect all the rain from the roof into the tank and let it overflow from there, we thought we'd direct some of it to the stormwater drain at the front of the house. (Usually any overflow from the tank is directed to the mini-orchard trees, or if they are saturated, as they are now, we can direct it to the stormwater out the back). We have a system for diverting the main down pipes, but what to use for the smaller ones?

Enter beer slab cardboard packaging. We used it to cover the 'leaf eaters' that usually prevent leaves entering the pipes and tank. The water runs off them, onto a hard surface below that drains to the storm water system.

    

 Here are the selling points the beer companies have yet to capitalise on:

• Easily installed and removed
• Eco-friendly disposal: suitable for composting, adding to a worm farm or household recycling collection (depending on the condition)
• Available in a range of colors and price points
• Can be sized to suit various rainwater fixtures
• Bonus slab of BEER with every cardboard diverter (aka carton) purchased

Ours are even held in place by the downpipe (no tools required!) and have existing creases that fit the shape of the leaf eaters.

Ok, yes, other cardboard and lots of other materials would do. But hey, that's not nearly as fun. Another downpipe has a fetching green Cascade box, so be sure to consider your favoured flavour, too!