Jerry Coleby-Williams
Organic gardeners’ have a philosophical attitude to ‘acceptable damage’ in a garden. We understand that living involves getting a few knocks and bruises. We also work with nature, but ‘nature’ can be fickle - especially when it’s hungry!
We each have to decide for ourselves when to intervene by spraying because ‘acceptable’ damage is highly subjective.
Different soils and climates each bring their own challenges and no season exactly repeats each year. Problems, and spraying, may be avoided by planting earlier or later so as to avoid the preferred breeding time for pests. For example, tomatoes perform better in Brisbane’s cool seasons than its warm seasons. Keeping a detailed diary may be the best organic remedy you’ll ever use! (more…)
Jerry Coleby-Williams
Global food security is now under threat, and even unconfident gardeners must step forward to feed a growing population.
Humanity is on a planetary resources roller coaster. Right now our carriage is rising to the highest point and it’s slowing down just before the peak. The breeze is ruffling our hair, adrenaline pumps and our palms sweat as we await the unexpected twists and turns. We know what’s about to happen because we all follow the news. The carriage has started accelerating downhill, but all rides start gradually - at first. (more…)
we bought the house that we were renting. We were not sure about buying it, as it was not our ‘dream’ sustainable home. You know the sort, I mean designed by an architect, or built by someone whose skills in sustainability seem endless. Our home is only 4 years old and there was no insulation above the ceiling, so on a hot day it was as hot inside as out. We like the basic layout and house design but given that no real sustainability was built into the house, we asked an engineering friend to give us an assessment (more…)