Secateurs
These secateurs are designed for general garden use, ideal for pruning small branches, flowers and houseplants.
Their stainless steel construction makes them hardy and resistant to rust and corrosion. They retain the fantastic cutting qualities of their high carbon steel cousins in a package that requires less maintenance for the casual gardener.
10% Discount Code: PERMAMICK10
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Hori Hori
This tool generally falls into the category of being a "gardening knife", though this simple term doesn't do it justice. One side of the blade is sharpened and can be used for any outdoor task that would normally have you reaching for a knife - slicing small weeds, cutting twine and the odd bit of harvesting.
10% Discount Code: PERMAMICK10
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If you are interested in living close to nature then a great way to start would be to grow your own fruit, vegetables and herbs!
Permaculture gardening is a holistic approach to gardening. It means “permanent agriculture” and is defined as working with natural forces – the wind, sun and water – to provide food, shelter, water and everything else your garden needs besides plants and seeds.
The guiding principle of a permaculture garden is you are replicating patterns of growth and harvest that occur naturally.
Key Design Features:
·Soil preservation – how are you going to protect your soil eg. mulch, no-dig gardening, soil composting
·Plant stacking - planting new plants when the existing ones are at the end of their productive cycle. Start with larger plants first, then progressively plant smaller plants, finishing with ground cover.
·Companion Planting - choose crops that work together in nature e.g. you can plant crops together that
stimulate plant growth, make your plants more resistant to pests and disease.
( Reference www.thespruce.com )
Snails – silvery trails all around the garden are the bane of every gardener!
Beer snail traps have been around for a little while and are considered more environmentally friendly. Snails are attracted to the yeasty smell of beer, causes them to fall into the beer trap, then drown or succumb to alcohol poisoning.
All you need is a container such as a tuna can or yoghurt container, fill it up with beer and set into the ground. You need to leave the edge of the container an inch above ground so you don’t harm the ground beetles that eat slugs.
Think about where to place the beer traps – snails can smell the "beery" aroma from a long distance so they may be tempted to have a nibble on their way to the trap! Consider placing the beer traps near to hardier plants that tolerate snail damage better.
Tips:
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• You don’t need to use expensive beer!
• Check your beer traps and empty and renew containers with beer
regularly – especially after rain
No Dig Garden:
The best thing about a no-dig garden is literally not having to dig a garden bed – it sits above the ground and is about layers of organic material such as wood chips, blood and bone.
Despite not having soil, the different layers of organic material form an ideal growing environment for vegetables and herbs as they break down.
There are a variety of benefits of using the no-dig garden approach:
• They can be set up anywhere.
• No digging involved - easy and quick to set up.
• Fertile as decomposing organic matter becomes rich, black compost quickly.
• Retains moisture well.
• Discourages weed growth as the soil isn’t turned over.
Reference www.veryediblegardens.com.au
No dig gardening is all about soil building and can be referred to as lasagna gardening – layer upon layer of different organic materials like compost, mulch, straw.
© 2021 My Shout Out - Craig Leighton.
Permaculture Gardening
Story Produced by
Cassandra Taubman / Craig Leighton
