Saturday, January 21, 2012

Abundance


I've just returned from 5 days away at the New Zealand Association for Environmental Education biannual conference to find burgeoning vegetable beds.


These gardens are one year old.


We have planted a diversity of vegetables.


And use low budget materials like bamboo and strips of fabric to support our tomatoes.


And we stagger our crops for continual production.


Additionally we planted 33 fruits trees, including 8 feijoas and a loquat in this hedge.


And a banana (hidden in this volunteer tomato).


And a tamarillo (somewhere in there). We have placed food plants in every nook and cranny of our section.


We have reaped the benefits in a year...like figs!


And garlic.


And, of course...


And some of the biggest brassicas I've ever seen.


And the heaviest. A six (plus) pound cauli!


But the abundance of this week was not limited to kai. I had an abundance of excellent conversations with other environmental educators at the conference and an abundance of positive feedback on our whole-community approach to sustainability education, including a shout out from Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty. What started as an idea a little over a year ago is now a thriving edible landscape, an energy efficient home and a well-received innovative model for sustainability education.

And its all getting better. Join us by becoming a partner for the planet.

Peace, Estwing

1 comment:

  1. Awesome project. So excited to see someone with a Loquat and Feijoa hedge. I'm planning on one too. Would you be able to suggest how far apart to plant the Loquats and Feijoas please?

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