From the land that can miniaturize everything, Japan is on its way to revolutionize the way people grow food in small apartments. This miniaturized aquaponics system could double as a home aquarium system that also grows a few lettuce heads in its circular floating raft system. All powered by...

Its been a whirlwind trip over the last six months putting the pieces together for what is to become The Urban Permaculture DVD with Geoff Lawton. Nothing goes quite according to script and yet making a video like this is a bit like herding cats. Its chaotic. Like walking into a jungle of...

Sometimes you see something and you think “Wow! Thats a great idea.” We came across this very simple and easy to build greenhouse at Rosina Buckman’s backyard. Rosina has some terrific tips mentioned previously here and here. Most greenhouse designs are overly complicated...

They say nine out of ten people that ultimately get ducks into their gardens first started off with chickens. So what are the advantages of keeping ducks? The popular perception or myth is that ducks need a large expanse of water; they make a lot of mess; destroy your garden and their eggs...

Recently when filming with Permaculture gardener Rosina Buckman, we asked her how she managed to grow her amazing vegetables in her raised bed gardens without importing a lot of expensive soil. These tanks were raised off the ground and faced a sunny spot right out at the front of her house....

Most people when siting their house want to take advantage of the available commanding views. So you commonly see people positioning their homes on the highest point on their land. But that’s not necessarily the best place to site your home if you are into Permaculture and your aim is...

The term “swale” is often used by Permaculture people when designing large earth work constructions but it’s very rarely spoken of in an urban setting. What is a swale anyway? Well its commonly defined as “a water harvesting ditch on contour.” Imagine it as a...

Permaculture teacher Geoff Lawton scrambles through a clump of reeds perched over a some large boulders and gingerly steps over a pond choked with Duckweed and Salvinia floating on the surface. You can hear the frogs croaking in the background. Birds are singing in the trees. He peels back a...

  It’s National Permaculture Day on May 1, 2011. Apart from being a system of growing fresh food all year round, the rise of permaculture is also knitting communities together who help each other establish productive gardens and share knowledge, information and friendship. Here at...

For some people, aquaponics should be aesthetically pleasing and resemble a natural ecosystem as much as possible. It should blend in with their landscaping and not be intrusive. Some people don’t like the idea of growing fish in large tanks believing they look too much like a factory...

One of the advantages of doing aquaponics is that it gives you the knowledge of how a natural system works. For Les and Annette Mulder it was only a natural progression to apply their knowledge of fish farming to their 55,000 liter chlorinated swimming pool located in Sydney. Les switched off...

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...