Healthy soils are loaded with microorganisms such as bacterias and fungi that consume organic matter and produce readily available nutrients to feed plants. To grow healthy plants it is vital to create a healthy, diverse and alive soil ecosystem.
Soil bacteria and fungi under a microscope. Image: Soil Foodweb Institute
It is one thing knowing how to design and plant a food garden. Knowing how to prepare the harvested food for eating is something equally important and completes the whole process of organic gardening. All your efforts in the garden are rewarded when you taste the delicious nutritious food that you have produced yourself – and it always tastes better when you have grown it yourself! Read More & Comment →
The Seed Saver’s Network has been fighting a David and Goliath battle since 1986 when Jude and Michel Fanton created the non-profit organisation whose main aim is to conserve and share locally adapted varieties of food plants.
More than ever, as climate change and unpredictable weather patterns loom, we need to preserve a genetically diverse genepool of food plants to be able to adapt to these conditions. Commercial agriculture and the modern food system favour a small range of food plants that require high inputs of fertilisers and chemical pesticides and that are selected mainly for productivity, shelf life and appearance.
‘Our Seeds: Seeds Blong Yumi’ is a 57 min documentary which looks at the issue of the need to preserve the diverse food heritage from Melanesian and other countries as they become increasingly reliant on imports of hybrid seeds and white rice, biscuits and noodles. The film also looks into the solutions such as setting up local seed networks and education of the importance of preserving diversity.
Watch the film trailer…
BUY THE DVD NOW FOR $20 (+postage) Read More & Comment →
For Greenies joined ‘Culture Club’ for a stroll around the streets of West End’s urban foodscape. What we found was a diverse array of sub-tropical fruit trees overhanging footpaths, edible vines spanning fences, and sprawling root crops replacing nature strip grass. This is a testament to the culturally diverse community and the favourable climate of sub-tropical Brisbane.
The tour involved plant identification as well as discussing the ethics of harvesting, share maps, what to do with surplus and how to contribute to the urban edible foodscape.
A starving and unwell Grey-headed flying-fox stays in a fruiting Cocos Palm through the day. Photo: Andrew Smith.
20 May 2010
Bat Conservation & Rescue Qld., President, Louise Saunders is alarmed by the large number of reports about hungry flying-foxes staying by food trees through the day and not returning to their camps.
“This is of huge concern as bats will stay by food trees until the food runs out. They will then be too weak to fly further afield and will die in people’s gardens like we saw in the winter of 2007. This is starvation” Louise said. Read More & Comment →
When protecting your fruit trees from raiding animals such as birds and flying foxes make sure you do it the right way to prevent any injuries or deaths to wildlife.
Many gardeners neglect to think about the consequences of using improper netting and methods. Read More & Comment →
