Keeping chickens in an Urban environment is something a lot of people would like to have, but when it comes to roosters – people baulk at the idea knowing their neighbors wont like it. After all, who can blame them when they’re trying to get some sleep? Roosters are known to crow...

Watching a spiral herb garden being constructed is a fascinating thing. Having 50 school kids building it all at once can descend into mayhem, but fortunately Permaculture teacher Leonie Shanahan was able to keep the whole process on track with a certain degree of military precision. After...

The idea of growing food in a mulch pit is something we came across whilst filming Geoff Lawton’s Introduction to Permaculture Design DVD. Geoff was climbing over what looked like a mountain of trash. Cardboard boxes, newspaper, old clothes and tree prunings. The mulch pit stretched...

The notion of Victory Gardens sounds rather quaint these days and conjures up ideas of thrift and service for the war effort. Used throughout the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and other places, the Victory Garden was a symbol of pride that helped take pressure off the...

Siting your Chicken Coop in your backyard may be no big deal, but to place it at the highest point of your garden – well isn’t that usually reserved for your house as the premier spot? Not necessarily so if you talk with Permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton. The Problem Recently...

While filming a segment on backyard chickens, we came across a novel approach to improving your garden beds when we visited the garden of Bruce Morgan in Nambour, Queensland. Bruce has been doing Permaculture now for many years and has even taught the “pros” a thing or two over...

There are reported to be over 1600 varieties of bees in Australia but only 14 species are stingless. Australian stingless bees are a lot smaller and darker looking than your average sized honey bee. There’s one good advantage in being small, and that’s at being able to pollinate...

        Trying to see Anne Wensley’s chicken coop is hard to spot at first. Thats because it doesn’t really look like a traditional chicken coop. Anne has a mass of vines and creepers covering her chicken run in her suburban backyard. A choko vine covered in...

Whilst we were at Elisabeth Fekonia’s Cheese-making DVD launch we started chatting with Tania Coppel a great supporter of Permaculture Noosa who remarked that she was in the process of building a blue barrel composting toilet for her various WWOOFERS who help on her farm in return for...

In the Food Forest DVD, Permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton takes you through his Kitchen garden where he introduces students to the concept of companion planting. Here the kitchen garden is deliberately designed with a riot of flowers and vegetables deliberately designed to confuse pests from...

Speaking at the launch of her new DVD on Home Cheese-making, Elisabeth Fekonia stressed the need for people to take charge of what they eat and start growing their own food. Addressing a group of locals at the function room of the Cooroy Library she said that she recently had a blood test and...

“Getting healthy bacteria into your gut flora to enhance your immune system.” she says. “Making one’s own fresh yoghurt with culture and kefired milk is essential in your family’s diet. It will boost your health and vitality.”