Your garden

No matter what your situation, there is always something you can grow, in the process contributing to localism, helping wildlife and diversity in your backyard, and becoming more self-sufficient. Plant native trees and shrubs about you; pull out any noxious weeds you can identify like Blue Periwinkle or English Ivy; or go to an environment centre like Bogong, and ask for pictures of noxious weeds, or check the website http://spirit.com.au/envoz/weedweb/weedlist.htm. If you are lazy, let your grass grow tall to house insects and some birds, or replant native grasses, which have all but disappeared from our local area. If you lack room, use pots to grow herbs and vegetables. Ask at your local garden store for advice, or read The Canberra Gardener (1991), published by the Horticultural Society of Canberra, Inc. Some of the groups below should be able to give you more ideas for what to do with the weed patch out the back.

The Canberra Organic Growers Society (COGS) promote organic growing and self-sufficiency. Members work on four community gardens and their own. They provide an in-depth quarterly magazine, newsletters, and extensive website at http://www.netspeed.com.au/cogs. They meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 7:30pm in Room 4 of the Griffin Centre, Bunda St., Civic. Contact Conrad Van Hest on 6285 2995 or at PO Box 347, Dickson, ACT 2602, or by email on cogs@netspeed.com.au.

Permaculture ACT (PACT) is a group of people who work on gardens individually or together in suburbs and regional areas, at Quamby and at the ROCKS area, according to the ethics of care for the earth, care for people and cycling of surpluses. See the entry in the ROCKS section for details.

Nuseries, wildlife consultants, permaculture designers and native-landscape designers are listed in the yellow pages. The Yarralumla Nursery in particular has a large selection of natives. The address is Banks St., Yarralumla; contact them on 6207 2444. Itís open seven days a week, and the first Saturday of the month is Australian Plants market day at the nursery.

The Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP) has lists of natives; biannual plant sales; field trips; a seed bank and seed propagation projects. It meets on the second Thursday of every month at 7:30pm, at Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom St., Hughes. Contact Gwyn Clarke on 6251 1501, or write to the Secretary, PO Box 217, Civic Square ACT 2608. SGAPís web site is at http://jcsmr.anu.edu.au/~gfq213/sgap/

For more information on composting, worm farming, and heaps more on dealing with waste, participate in one of the Earth Works courses running this year. ACT Waste (Department of Urban Services) is sponsoring this education program, which covers composting, worm farming, practical recycling skills, and communication skills. It includes a full day workshop of composting, worm farming, and no-digógardening, and a full day field trip to see how waste is managed in the ACT. You commit yourself to a community outreach program and also meet people who have great ideas on how to "Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle". For more information, contact the Earth Works co-ordinator, Nayra Rusan, on 6207 5812.

Composting

The natural, powerful recycling processes that occur in nature when dead plant matter decomposes on the forest floor are what we need to achieve in our backyard garden. Having a compost pile is an excellent way of recycling organic waste into good fertiliser for your garden.

ADAM & EVE are acronyms representing composting principles and benefits.

Ingredients:

1. Place carbon and nitrogen ingredients in any of the following: compost bin, compost barrel, enclosure, or compost heap. The minimum size for a successful compost is one cubic metre.
2. Add microorganisms by scattering a spade full of soil or old compost through the raw materials.
3. Add water to the compost, but not too much. The heap should be damp, not wet.
4. Every two weeks, re-aerate the pile by turning it over.

Glorious rich fertile natural organic material, in as little as eight weeks. This organic fertiliser can be either spread on top of the soil as mulch or dug into your garden beds prior to planting.

Worms

Something else that will help you with your composting is a community of earth worms. Worms produce rich fertile soil; they dispose of food scraps and anything that was living (except meat); and they are great for your compost. Worms and house worm-farming kits can be bought locally in Canberra. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Worms".

Comments, Queries or suggestions email enviro.collective@student.anu.edu.au