Rob Avis of Verge Permaculture and some of the Milkwood food forest pumpkin and rocket harvest After a summer of sparse rain, sporadic growth and mostly only greywater irrigation, we took a day or two last month to glean what we could from the basecamp veggie garden and the top food forest, before the first…
Milkwood is hosting a screening of new documentary FRESH at 7pm on Friday, May 28th, at Alexandria Park Community Center in Sydney. The screening is free and everyone's welcome. Directions to the venue are here.
Come along and enjoy free organic popcorn as you watch (or perhaps re-watch) one of the best documentaries around on food as we know it and what we can do to reclaim good, clean fair food in the western world today. Following the film will be an open forum on possible strategies for local food systems in the Sydney basin and beyond.
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing their food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of their agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of all our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging the Wal-Mart dominated economy.
This will be the first of a series of film nights we're running at Alexandria Park this winter – it's kindof an off-shoot of the Urban Permaculture Design Certificate we're running at the same venue each weekend. We've got access to some amazing documentaries that offer insights and solution-based approaches to some of our biggest questions and problems in the world today. All screenings are completely free and kids are welcome. We hope to see you there.
A wicking bed is an excellent technique for growing things in environments where water is scarce, and has two main parts. The bottom half is a contained reservoir filled with gravel and water and the top half is filled with soil, mulch and plants. By periodic flooding of the deeper half of the bed, mature plant roots get a big drink. And because it's contained, that water gets a chance to 'wick' upwards into the soil, hydrating the soil of the bed and the smaller roots within. Pretty simple, really, but amazingly effective, very water efficient and ripe for endless variation.
Below is a photo essay outlining the process of creating a wicking bed using everyday tools and materials, which took 5 people about 4 leisurely hours to make. It features the efforts of Milkwood Permaculture's awesome Permaculture Design Certificate students in Alice Springs earlier this year, led by Nick Ritar who also designed this particular wicking bed system..
Following on from my brief explanation of the basic design for our lakeside tinyhouse (ok, damside – details, details), here's how we're approaching the inside bits. The house is split across two levels, hugging the two-step cut that forms our zone 1, cut into the hillside. Downstairs is kitchen and living space, and the bedroom / studio is up top.
The bottom level comprises a small but serviceable kitchen including a woodstove, and all the normal kitchen stuff like washup, benches, pantry and fridge. In addition to the upright fridge we're creating a cool cupboard next to the sink on the right. A cool cupboard is a well sealed space which takes a passively-cooled inflow of air into its base and releases that air via convection out its top. On the way through, this constant stream of cool air passes through wire baskets full of foodstuffs that are best kept at a cool temperature and actively cools them. I'll go into detail on this feature during its construction process soon. Read More…