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A Hectic Weekend

August 9, 2010 @ 23:35 By Gavin Webber 8 Comments

We have been running around like headless chickens!

Today we had a visit from two judges from Keep Australia Beautiful – Sustainable Cities, for entry in the national competition.  As our town, Melton, won the Victorian award for 2010, we were automatically entered into the national award as well.  It is being presented in Sydney on the 1st of November.  My blog was entered again, so to add a bit more context to what I write about, Linda at the council thought it was a good idea to bring them around to visit.  I did also.

As I was at work all day, Kim held the fort at home and showed the judges around and told them about all the things I had written about on this blog, and basically showed them the evidence!  Edible garden, solar power, chooks, fruit trees, water tank, etc.

However, in preparation for this visit (and for Sustainable House Day), we had to make the front yard presentable and put all the outdoor furniture and plants back up on the deck now that I have finished oiling it and do a general tidy up.

Kim and I worked for 5 hours on Saturday, weeding the golden oxalis out of all the garden beds in the front yard, I planting two new fruit trees to replace some that didn’t make it through last summer.  I even broke out the lawn mower which I haven’t used in 6 months to mow the nature strip.  The clippings didn’t go to waste, as the chickens loved them.  Kim trimmed back some ivy around the front wall and the wheelbarrow got filled many times over.  Normally, I just would have let the golden oxalis die back as the weather go hotter, but because of the broken water pipe, it was just going feral and had to be pulled out.

On Sunday, after my visit to the gym, we got stuck into tidying up the veggie patch and the chicken garden.  Another 4 hours work.  Not too much to do, just a general clean up now that the builders had departed.  I also put up some metal wall hangings that were given to us by friends, which looked lovely.  We then cleared the garage area and put all the paint tins and brushes in the shed.  We had planned to build a potato tower, and make some soap, but time got away from us.  However, we did find the time to sit back and partake in a few bottles of home brew cider!

Anyway, Kim had a bit of time on her hands today before the judges turned up, and took these photos.  Here they are in no specific order. (click to enlarge)

The deck area with some of the wall hangings

Just as you walk in the gate to the left.

Down the path towards the garage.

Logan berry and rhubarb (not yet up for spring).

Wild parsley.

Garlic getting bigger.

Broad Beans (fava)

Another shot of the deck

Still some mandarins on the tree.

The onion and beetroot beds, and of course the greenhouse.

The nice, weed free front yard.  It only took 7 wheelbarrow loads to clear it!

Kim’s ivy trimming handiwork.

A new nectarine tree.  It was bare rooted, and was near bud burst so I had to get it into the ground this weekend.

A new golden delicious apple tree.  One of my favourite types of apple.  I put it next to a Cox Orange Pippin so they pollinate each other.

Over the fence is the freshly mowed medium strip aka chicken feed.

The Jonathan apple in front of the Blood Plum tree.  The plum tree is just about to flower.  Note the passion fruit vine climbing across the top of the tree.  I am hoping it gets to the top of the chook house so that it adds a bit more shade to it.  I have to buy another passion fruit vine for cross pollination, and will pick it up this weekend.

Finally, some very happy chickens on a perch I made them from our old weeping cherry tree that died a few summers ago.  Just the right thickness for the smaller chickens.

So as you can see all nice and tidy, and the fruit tree count is now up to 23 different types.  13 in the ground and 10 in large pots.  7 are already producing fruit, and hopefully we will get some apricots and apples this year as they are now 3 years old.

Did I mention that our house will be open to the public on Sustainable House Day on the Sunday, 12th September?  Should be great fun, and the Sustainable Living Group will be helping out on the day.  Kim is not going to let anyone in the house itself (don’t blame her), so it will be one big circuit of the garden with all the green features on display that we have retrofitted to our home.  Check out www.sustainablehouseday.com for other homes in your area.  I think that mine will be posted up in the next few days.

Anyway, enough fun for one post.  I hope everyone’s weekend was as fruitful as ours.

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Filed Under: Awards, Sustainable Living

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About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. dixiebelle says

    August 10, 2010 at 09:36

    It all looks fantastic. Good luck with it all…

    Reply
  2. Joanne says

    August 10, 2010 at 10:16

    Looks fabulous! You’ve combined aesthetics with practicality and productivity.
    Unfortunately I can’t make it to Melton that weekend, otherwise I would have loved to have seen your inspiring garden. I viewed some great ones in Geelong last year.

    Reply
  3. melissa says

    August 11, 2010 at 02:52

    wow, i love your place. it’s great to have a fruit or vegetable garden in your own backyard. fresh and organic right at your doorstep!

    Reply
  4. LynTaylor says

    August 11, 2010 at 11:09

    What a wonderful environment to live amongst 😀 You’ve done a fabulous job and I just love that deck!! Keep up the good work, you’re both an inspiration to us all 😀

    Reply
  5. GreenerMe says

    August 11, 2010 at 12:07

    Gav what beautiful photographs in this post. Your garden has come such a long way from the time I started reading your posts. Looking at your photos inspires me to move away from the inner City to get more land to have a wonderful garden like you…………one day…….maybe sooner than everyone thinks. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Mickle in NZ says

    August 11, 2010 at 21:26

    It all looks so good – well done Gav and Kim. I thoroughly approve of celebrating your hard work with cider!

    Reply
  7. tehnyit says

    August 12, 2010 at 08:15

    What a wonderful setting you have. Congratulations. We just shifted to Germany about a year ago, and can only dream about such a large garden.
    Keep it up!

    Reply
  8. cityhippyfarmgirl says

    August 12, 2010 at 09:25

    That is a really busy weekend. Thanks for the link to the sustainable house day- looking forward to getting to a few in my area.

    Reply

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About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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