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February – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia

01/02/202319/02/2023EwaNo Comments

February – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, self-sufficient and sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. February is one of the hottest months in our subtropical parts of Australia. Hot and humid! We are thankful for every single drop of rain and appreciate the food we are harvesting at this time of the year, and there is plenty to harvest! We are not running out of jobs in the garden, however, we are limiting the work to the early morning and very late afternoon hours. Additional to the summer gardening jobs described in my post here, February is the month when I prune… Read More

January – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia

02/01/202304/01/2023EwaNo Comments

January – Permaculture Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture sustainable living designer, consultant, and healthy food advocate. The summer is here. This is the time when we try to slow down mostly because of the high temperatures during the day. However, there are still some jobs you can do if you love your green space and if you want to harvest all year round! I have prepared a list for you below and I am aware that this might be just a fraction of what is possible in January in subtropics. I have purposely limited it to the edibles I have in my food forest and got… Read More

Elderberry Cordial Recipe – Elderberry Syrup

03/01/202208/05/2022Ewa

Elderberry Cordial Recipe – Elderberry Syrup This is a very easy to follow recipe. Elderberry – Sambucus nigra, grows very well in most parts of the world. If you are interested in this plant, check my article here for more info about this amazing plant. This is a basic recipe and can be used in different ways: diluted in cold or hot water, as a topic for cake or ice-cream or you can use it to make a delicious liqueur. Per 1.5kg Elderberries, only black ones, cleaned and without green stalks, you need 750g sugar and 1L water Place water, sugar and elderberries in a large pot and bring to… Read More

Sustainable Gardening – Pest Prevention and Management

10/10/202131/05/2022Ewa

Sustainable Gardening – Pest Prevention and Management By Ewa Bekiesch – Permaculture Designer and Sustainable Living Consultant There is no pest in a permaculture garden. Insects are very important as primary or secondary decomposers. Without insects, dead animals and plants would accumulate in our environment and it would get very messy. Some insects aerate the soil, the others pollinate blossoms, control other insects and plants or leave pests. Insects are helping us in creating the topsoil which we need to grow plants. When you spray chemical pesticides in the garden, you are not only putting your health at risk. You are killing the beneficial little creatures which are part of… Read More