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Family Sustainability

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Commenced:	01/06/2009
Submitted:	20/02/2012
Last updated:	07/10/2015
Location:	Rossmore, NSW, AU
Climate zone:	Mediterranean

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Family Sustainability

Rossmore, AU

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So where did it all start ... ?

Project: Family Sustainability

Posted by Fiona Plsek about 12 years ago

The trials of starting a new project without doing your research first ... although there is a lot to be said about learning on the job.

I will be the first one to admit that when we moved back onto my parents property all I could think of was ... YES! 5 acres of space! The next though was ... OMG I've moved back home and we (my hubby and son at the time) will be living right next door to Mum and Dad *sigh*

To my parents' credit, they make for awesome neighbours. They have experienced the joys of living with "inlaws" and have vowed not to be too nosy and not question our comings and goings. Our relationship has thrived and my worries were waylaid.

So below is an image of the Clean Slate.... our starting point. The property is not condusive to good permaculture zoning practices so we needed to be very careful in how we develope the property ... but in my excitement I forgot to keep this in mind.

I developed an enclosed garden bed system using pine sleepers (untreated) joining the orchard trees in a North-South orientation. In between the orchard trees, I planted vegetables, taking care to ensure that the shading effect of the orchard trees was considered in the choice of vegetables. My intention was to set up a rotation system throughout the orchard, slowly increasing the number of beds over time as the rotation system progressed. I slowly dicovered that ... due to natural fluid dynamics ... my garden beds were causing erosion within themselves. Why? ... they were sloping down hill!!! Grrrr! How stupid of me!

Lesson #1: Manage water onsite. Take into consideration soil, slope, transpiration, ecology and evaporation. Every little bit adds up slowly.

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Benjamin Shuetrim : G'Day, your project sounds really interesting! My father has also been a great advocate of the systemic herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers also. A great size block to have use of also. I'll be sure to check back again and see how it goes. Cheers, Ben

Posted over 11 years ago

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