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Photographs and Stories From Two Sydney Community Gardens

sydney community gardens
Newtown Community Garden

I woke up on Saturday morning to the sounds of howling wind and rain. I though, “Oh man, this is the day we are visiting Sydney gardens!” I was tempted to crawl back under the warm blankets, but to my surprise the day turned out to be very mild, and even cozy.

On Saturday, September 4 2010, few gardeners from Glebe Community Gardens (including myself) visited two fellow Sydney Community Gardens in an effort to research their methods and understand what successes can be applied at our garden.

Angel Street Permaculture Garden and Newtown Community Garden are a mere 10-minute walk away from each other, but they could not be more different (described below) in their approaches to community gardening. Both are successful and productive, and both have lot’s to teach us about community and abundance.

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Watch “Gardens of Destiny” documentary with Dan Jason

Dan Jason photo

I really admire what Dan Jason does. I first saw this documentary while doing research for a college project. That was a time of great soul search for me, when I was feeling that I wanted to do ‘something’, but didn’t know what. Watching “Gardens of Destiny” documentary made it clear to me, for the first time, that there is hope because people like Dan Jason exist. I knew that what I wanted to do was re-connect with the land, be a happy human, the best human I can be.

This beautiful documentary about Dan Jason’s “Salt Spring Seeds” of Canada was produced by Jocelyn Demers in 2009. In the film, Jocelyn Demers meets with Dan Jason and other seed, food and political activists to discuss issues of seed saving, organic food projection, GMO, cancer cures and relationships between people and governments. All these topics are presented in gorgeous settings of Dan Jason’s seed sanctuary and saturated with hope. Multiple solutions are presented, and it just looks so beautiful and inspiring.

Running time: 63 mins (8 parts)

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Articles Get PermaCultured Kitchen Gardens

Top 10 Organic Gardening Terms Every Gardener Should Know

organic gardening terms
Planet – Jones Valley Urban Farm by Southernpixel

Whether you are switching from conventional gardening, or (like me) just jumping into organic gardening direct, it can be confusing to navigate the new and unfamiliar vocabulary. Knowing your organic gardening terms will help you feel confident when selecting your seeds, planning the garden or reading gardening magazines.

It seems only appropriate to address the meaning of the term ‘organic’ first. What does ‘organic gardening’ really mean?

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Food Galleries Get Inspired Kitchen Gardens Plants

Five Ways to Beautiful and Productive Balcony Gardens

Rastafarian Balcony Garden - Jamacian radio station
Rastafarian Balcony Garden – Jamacian radio station by cecilia macaulay

Like millions of people, I live in a city apartment with limited access to land. Fortunately, like millions of people again, I have an outdoor balcony, and it’s a growing opportunity not to be missed.

This weekend I really took the time to clean my balcony, take stock of what pots I have, and decide what I want to grow this summer. My main objective is to produce the most food possible, but also to create a beautiful sanctuary, where I can enjoy my morning tea or read a book.

I wanted some inspiration for this project, so I went looking around the web for ideas on how other people created their balcony getaways. Here you go, a gallery of beautiful and inspiring balcony gardens we can learn from.

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Food Galleries Get Inspired Get Started Kitchen Gardens Plants Sydney Local

What to plant in August around Sydney (temperate zone)

August is the time to bring out seed catalogues and start to envision what the garden will look like in the summer. Exciting! This year I am ordering my seeds and seedlings from Diggers, and I would highly recommend it to those looking for quality organic and heirloom seeds. Give your garden a strong and natural start!

On to the planting/planning list, graciously provided by Gardenate.

1. Asparagus

Asparagus
Asparagus by Bianca

Where: sow in garden, or plant as crowns; frost tender
Harvest: from 24 months (!!!)