Gardening Australia episode 14 2023: Tammy builds a herb tower, Clarence welcomes a new eucalypt, Sophie marvels mosaic art, Jerry tours a restored waterway, Millie preps for winter, Jude makes a hot compost bed, and we meet a scientist nurturing native bees.
Tammy, with an eye for detail and a green thumb, painstakingly constructs a tower teeming with a variety of fragrant herbs. On the other hand, Clarence opens his heart and garden to a new resident, a robust eucalyptus tree, radiating life and vitality. In a world filled with colorful tesserae, Sophie stands in awe, finding herself thoroughly captivated by the intricate artistry of mosaic designs.
Elsewhere, Jerry, armed with a keen sense of history and ecology, embarks on a tour around a waterway that has been meticulously restored to its former glory, marveling at the ways in which it has been brought back to life. Millie, with a sense of preparedness and a knowledge of the seasons, begins her diligent preparation for the incoming winter, ensuring her garden will be ready to endure the cold snap.
In a corner of his garden, Jude, armed with organic waste and a passion for sustainability, sets out to create a hot compost bed, the heart of any garden, enriching the soil with necessary nutrients. Lastly, we get the privilege to acquaint ourselves with a scientist who has dedicated their life’s work to the nurturing and preservation of native bees, essential contributors to our ecosystem. Their shared stories weave a rich tapestry of their commitment to nature and the art of gardening.
Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in Australia, with more than four out of five households having their own garden. Gardening is not only good for your health and wellbeing, but also for the environment and wildlife. Gardening Australia also showcases some of the innovative projects and initiatives that are transforming the way we garden and live sustainably.
Gardening Australia episode 14 2023
Composing Compost
The Basics of Composting
Composting is a natural, environmentally friendly process that transforms your everyday kitchen scraps and yard waste into a nutrient-rich soil conditioner, perfect for your garden. This process is not only beneficial for your plants but also plays a significant role in reducing the amount of waste that ends up in our landfills.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), compost is an organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. This means that by composting, you’re not just reducing waste; you’re also creating a natural, cost-effective fertilizer that can lead to bigger produce, more vibrant flowers, and an overall healthier garden.
The beauty of composting is that it’s a process that anyone can start. Whether you live in a small apartment or a house with a large backyard, there are composting methods to suit your lifestyle. Plus, it’s a fantastic way to make use of kitchen scraps that would otherwise be thrown away, turning what was once considered ‘waste’ into ‘plant food.’
What Can You Compost?
When it comes to composting, not all waste is created equal. Some items are perfect for your compost pile, while others are better off in the trash. Here’s a quick rundown of what you can compost:
- Food Scraps: Fruit and vegetable peels, mushroom scraps, eggshells, bread, grains, and pasta are all excellent additions to your compost pile. These items break down quickly and provide essential nutrients to your compost.
- Yard Waste: Grass clippings, leaves, wood ash, and sawdust are great for composting. They add bulk to your compost pile and help to speed up the composting process.
- Other Household Items: You might be surprised to learn that items like newspaper, cardboard, dryer lint, hair, nail clippings, brown paper bags, toothpicks, matches, and cut flowers can all be composted. These items add variety to your compost pile and help to create a balanced, nutrient-rich compost.
What Shouldn’t You Compost?
While composting is a great way to reduce waste, there are some items that should not be added to your compost pile. These include:
- Dairy or Animal Products: While these items are biodegradable, they can attract pests and create unpleasant odors in your compost pile.
- Fats, Oils, and Pet Waste: These items can slow down the composting process and can also attract pests.
- Diseased Plants or Insects: If you have plants that are diseased or infested with insects, it’s best to keep them out of your compost pile as they could contaminate your compost.
How to Start Composting
Starting your compost pile is easier than you might think. Whether you’re composting in your backyard or inside your home, here are some steps to get you started:
- Create a Compost Zone: Choose a convenient spot in your backyard for your compost pile or bin. If you’re composting indoors, any container with a lid will do.
- Balance Your Materials: A good compost pile should have a balance of green materials (like food scraps and fresh plant waste) and brown materials (like dry leaves, sticks, or dirt).
- Turn Your Compost: Regularly turning your compost pile helps to speed up the composting process and prevents it from smelling.
Using Your Compost
Once your compost is ready, it’s time to put it to good use. Compost can be incorporated into your garden beds, sprinkled on top of your soil, or even used as a natural fertilizer for your indoor plants. Remember, compost is not a replacement for soil, but rather a supplement that enriches your soil and provides your plants with essential nutrients.
Here are some ways you can use your compost:
- In Your Garden Beds: Mix compost into your garden beds at the beginning of each planting season to enrich the soil and provide your plants with a nutrient boost.
- As a Soil Topper: Sprinkle compost on top of the soil around your plants. As it breaks down, it will continue to provide nutrients to your plants.
- As a Natural Fertilizer: Compost is a great natural fertilizer. You can add it to your watering can or sprinkle it around your plants for a nutrient-rich treat.
- In Your Potted Plants: Mix compost with potting soil for your indoor or potted plants. They’ll love the extra nutrients!
Remember, the key to successful composting is balance. By maintaining the right mix of green and brown materials, turning your compost regularly, and ensuring it has the right amount of moisture, you’ll be well on your way to creating a nutrient-rich compost that your plants will love.
Composting is more than just a way to reduce waste. It’s a way to give back to the earth, to contribute to the cycle of growth and decay that sustains all life. It’s a small act, but one that has profound implications for our environment. So why not start composting today? Your garden, and the planet, will thank you.
In the end, composting is not just about creating nutrient-rich soil for our plants. It’s about taking responsibility for the waste we produce and finding a way to return it to the earth. It’s about recognizing that everything in nature has a purpose, even our kitchen scraps. And it’s about understanding that in nature, there is no waste, only resources that haven’t yet found the right use. So, let’s embrace composting. Let’s turn our waste into gold and give back to the earth that sustains us. After all, it’s the least we can do.
Dream Drain
The Norman Creek flowering through Brisbane’s Hanlon Park/Bur’uda used to be a sterile concrete drain until a Brisbane City Council project ripped out the concrete and returned it to being a natural ecosystem. It’s the biggest creek naturalisation project in Australia, to date.
Engineers 100 years ago had one focus – getting the water away as quickly as possible to avoid flooding, explains environmental engineer Alan Hoban, who was involved with the restoration. But the local community thought it could be more than a concrete drain and advocated for its improvement.
The project took 10 years to plan. There are dry areas, wet areas and places where the water flows quickly, and plants had to be chosen accordingly. The concrete from the former drain was recycled into the new design wherever possible.
The new creek path is longer and more winding, slowing the water down and allowing it time to soak into the soil. In recent flood events the creek area has held up well, with only a few young plants lost. It should be even more resilient in future now that the plants are more established.
The new area has been designed to imitate a natural riparian zone, with plants chosen to provide habitat for water-side birds, insects and amphibians. More than 460 trees were planted, plus 53,000 groundcover plants. All are indigenous to the area. Turtles and water birds are already using the creek, and there’s been a four-fold increase in fish numbers.
Trees were chosen to become quickly established and form a canopy. Plants such as Baumea bind the soil to avoid erosion, and they help oxygenate the soil too.
Local children are encouraged to explore the area through nature play. There are stepping-stones along the creek to encourage paddling. “A big measure of the success of the project for me will be if there’s more kids playing in the creek than in the local playground,” says Alan.
A New Euc
Clarence discovers how DNA sequencing helped scientists identify a new member of the eucalypt family. He visits the National Herbarium of NSW at Mount Annan, where specimens of more than 1.4 million species are stored in protective silos. There are many plant secrets waiting to be discovered here and one of them is a newly recognised species of Eucalyptus – adding to the nearly 800 species we already know.
Two of the specimens in the collection were temporarily called Eucalyptus sp. ‘Cattai’ in 1954 as a holding name until a formal name was chosen. At first the botanists were unable to decide whether it was a slightly different example of a known species or a new species altogether, explains evolutionary biologist Dr Trevor Wilson. Through DNA technology there have recently been able to identify it as a distinct species, so it will now be formally described and a new name allocated.
Although the species is vulnerable because of the small number of plants still alive, the herbarium has seed samples in its archives too, so it can propagate these and build up the plant’s population. The young seedlings being grown already display some of the plant’s characteristic features – a lignotuber or swollen root from which the plant can regrow after fire or being eaten by predators. The plant is a mallee species of Eucalyptus, and produces multiple trunks, with attractive red bark.
There is also a mature specimen of the tree in the living collection at Mount Anna, which can be used to cross reference against the herbarium specimens, and of course collect more seed.