Category Regulars

Save the date! On Sunday 19th April 2020, the next APC will begin with a Permaculture Festival open to all at Northey Street City Farm in Brisbane. Then, for those who have completed a Permaculture Design Course (PDC), conference talks, workshops and more will be held from Monday to Thursday 20–23 April 2020 at Redland Bay South Moreton Bay (35 mins from Brisbane—accessible by public transport). Tours of Northern NSW and Southeast QLD will follow the convergence.

APCs are held every two years with a changing location around Australia or New Zealand. Attendees from Australia, New Zealand and Asia come together to share their permaculture journeys, share best practise in sustainable living and share the positive change permaculture has to people’s lives around the world. APC is supported and run by Permaculture Australia.

This creative card deck is designed to support your permaculture practice, learning, teaching, designing and consulting. This work is the culmination of 16 years of permaculture design study by Delvin Solkinson, sharing the largest collection of permaculture principles, strategies, attitudes, ethics and design methods, learned from permaculture’s greatest thinkers and educators including, Bill Mollison, Rosemary Morrow, David Holmgren, Geoff Lawton, Toby Hemenway, Larry Santoyo, Robin Clayfield, Starhawk and Looby Macnamara. Featuring permaculture illustrations by Brenna Quinlan

The cards are divided into five suits: Design Principles, Ethical Principles, Attitudinal Principles, Strategic Principles and Design Methods. There are three bonus sets that include; 7 Ways to Think Differently, Design Web and Grounded Gardening

SUSTAINABLE ORCHARD, MONGOLIA

www.treesoflifemongolia.org

Husband and wife team Marlene and Robert Founder started an NGO called Trees Of Life, with the aim of improving quality of life in the Mongolian countryside and giving people self-worth through horticulture and training using permaculture principles. Trees of Life is in the process of establishing a sustainable fruit tree orchard and vocational training centre in Northern Mongolia. They are actively building and investing in the people of the Sukhbaatar, Selenge community through the use of sustainable horticulture, permaculture teaching and relationship building.

• March: Brussels sprouts (seedling tray), broad beans, beetroot, broccoli (seedling tray), cabbage (seedling tray), carrot, chives, coriander, daikon, endive, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, Mizuna, mustard greens, pak choy/ bok choy, radish, rocket, shallots (plant bulbs), silverbeet, turnips.

• April: Brussels sprouts, broad beans, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, chives, endive, fennel, garlic (plant cloves), kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, Mizuna, mustard greens, onions, pak choy/bok choy, parsley, peas, radish, rocket, shallots (plant bulbs), silverbeet, spinach, turnip.

• May: Broad beans, beetroot, carrot, chives, fennel, garlic, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, Mizuna, mustard greens, onions, parsley, peas, radish, shallots (plant bulb), silverbeet, spinach, turnip.

Milkwood have done it again. Everything they do has equal parts style and substance and this book has both in spades (excuse the pun). Rather than trying to do what a lot of gardening/ permaculture books do and try to cover everything in one book, Kirsten and Nick have chosen a few areas of expertise and explored them in-depth.

They have chapters on tomatoes, mushrooms, beekeeping, seaweed and wild food—each one is presented with clear, easy-to-read instructions and explanations, with stunning photography and illustrations.

The photography shows the authors demonstrating the practices and living the life of ‘down-to-earth’ living, painting a picture of a life of homegrown food, rustic picnics and practical self-sufficiency. If this book doesn’t inspire you to get ‘down-to-earth’, I don’t know what will.

We love to see our little Pip fans and we’d like big kids to be in Pip magazine too. So if there are big kids out there doing great things in the garden (come on tweens and teens!), get out your selfie sticks and show us what you’re up to.

Our Kids’ Patch winner for issue 12 is Mia from Medowie, NSW. Congratulations! You’ve won a copy of The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of his Business.

Next issue we are giving away a digital download of Formidable Vegetable Sound System’s album, Grow Do It. To be in the running, parents can email a photo through to editorial@pipmagazine.com.au along with your child’s name, age and suburb.

Hey Pipsters,

Often we spend our lives walking around seeing only what is in front of us, but it is the microscopic, that which we cannot see, that is responsible for what is before us and within us.

The earth we walk on is made up of a world of bacteria and other microscopic life, most of which are invisible to the naked eye, but without them we have nothing. It is this complex soil food web that makes our soil alive and able to give life to all things. The more fungi, bacteria and other microbes we have in our soil, the more nutrients can be taken up by the plants we grow and the food we eat, which in turn adds to the good microbes and bacteria in our bodies, building our health and nutrition.

A diverse ecosystem of microscopic life within our body and gut helps improve our health, our mood, our energy levels and therefore our complete wellbeing. We are made up of more microbes than cells.

• November: Basil, beans, beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, cauliflower, chives, coriander, cucumber, lemongrass, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme, English spinach, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, onion, parsnip, pumpkin, radish, silverbeet, swede, sweet corn, tomato, turnip, zucchini.

• December: Lettuce, rocket, Asian greens, carrot, beetroot, celery, silverbeet, more leek and tomato, salad onion, sweet corn, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, parsnip, celery, celeriac, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and potato (such as Kennebec).

• January: Carrot, beetroot, radish, turnip, lettuce, Asian greens (e.g. rocket, mizuna, mibuna, mustard, cress), silverbeet, spring onions, bush beans. If you live in a warm spot, try seedlings of late zucchini, cucumber, small pumpkins like Golden Nuggets, sweet corn and even more tomato.

Where do I start in planning my permaculture garden on my bare 2 acre block that I’ve just built a house on? (Anna, Candelo NSW)

Start at your door. Create a small kitchen garden while you get to know your whole site in-depth and make your plans. Go walkabout regularly. Look at what’s happening beyond your boundary too. Slow down and get a feel for each space. Perhaps even have picnics in various places around your block. Make a copy of your property plan or print out a Google Earth image (A3 is a good size). Carry it around with you and jot down observations like microclimates, wind and solar access, how you could source, sink and spread water, soil types and quality, and local vegetation and abundances. Meanwhile, begin mind-mapping your wish-list: plants, animals, structures, spaces. Identify what you want to include in your design and research what is climatically suitable. For extra inspiration, join the local permaculture group and visit other permaculture gardens in your region. (Morag)

It’s estimated that 6 million tonnes of single-use plastics (such as cutlery) is thrown in to landfill every year. This reusable cutlery set, which includes a knife, fork and spoon, is made from bamboo. It comes in a handy canvas pouch to make for easy transporting — it can sit at the bottom of your bag and be with you when you’re eating on the go. You’ll never know when you’ll be in the mood for an impromptu picnic, so no more getting stuck without a plastic-free alternative!

Available in the Pip shop

www.pipmagazine.com.au/shop/bamboo-cutlery-set

$9.95 plus postage.