- 5 months ago
Gardening Australia 2025 Episode 26
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00WHEELS
00:07Hi!
00:11Ha Ha Ha
00:17Hey!
00:19Ooh!
00:21Hey, Bunny.
00:23Hey!
00:25Hello and welcome to Gardening Australia.
00:36This week we've put together a very special episode
00:40full of low-cost creative solutions to help you get growing.
00:44I'm talking DIY, upcycling, repurposing, low-cost hacks
00:50that will keep you in the black and get your garden grooving.
00:55Let's take a look.
00:58Are you thinking of replacing some or all of the animal protein
01:02in your diet with plant protein?
01:04You know you can grow it at home and I'll show you how.
01:08I'm going to take a clapped-out old barbecue
01:11and turn it into one of the most useful things for the garden.
01:14It's easy and it's fun.
01:17Drought and water shortages are problems for a lot of gardeners.
01:21One solution is greywater reuse.
01:23I'll show you how to do it effectively and responsibly.
01:27And Hannah's going to show you her simple solution
01:30for putting the brakes on a slippery slope.
01:33There you are.
01:44Come on in.
01:50I live in Marrickville.
01:52Because I live in an apartment, I can't have a garden there.
01:55Being from the country, I wanted to bring a bit of that to the city.
01:58So this is my garden here.
02:02Meet Monique Caldo.
02:04She owns and operates a shared working space in Marrickville
02:07in inner city Sydney called Stick and Stone.
02:10She's built the place herself using recycled,
02:14saved and reclaimed materials.
02:17And as well as running workshops,
02:19she leases out areas here for creative folk to do their thing.
02:23There's a pop-up shop,
02:25a gallery for people to show off their art.
02:27There's even an indoor farm.
02:30And of course, plants, plants and more plants.
02:35So plants are a real centerpiece here.
02:37They are.
02:38I'm a bit nuts about plants.
02:41Where have they all come from?
02:43So these plants have all come from different suburbs of Sydney.
02:47I've found all of them on the side of the road,
02:50skip bin, building work sites.
02:52A couple of them, people have dropped off.
02:54They're like, pretty sure they're dead,
02:55but you might be able to fix them.
02:57I just can't bear to see any plants being abandoned or left to die.
03:02So even if it's a few little leaves,
03:04I'll pick them up and put them in the little nursery and grow them.
03:17Sometimes I get extra little bits
03:19because I recycle their soil as well.
03:22So then I'll get random herbs popping up, which is really nice.
03:25I've even got carrots in here before.
03:28Just because?
03:28Randomly, yeah.
03:29But one of the things that I noticed when I first came in,
03:33I love these little details that are actually functional.
03:38Yeah.
03:38But really cool.
03:40Yeah, well, I was trying to think of a good way to brace everything.
03:44And because I had so many tools left over,
03:47so I made some handles out of some that you can see on the doors.
03:50I mean, that handle, I mean, that caught my eye immediately.
03:54I mean, the red, for one thing.
03:56But who would imagine?
03:58But they work so well.
03:58Yeah.
03:59Better than something that you might be able to buy.
04:02It looks cool and it's useful.
04:04So everything has a use.
04:06Everything has a purpose.
04:12And where did your hands-on approach to life begin?
04:16I grew up in a forest on a farm in country Victoria.
04:20My parents encouraged me to make things if I wanted something.
04:24So it kind of started from there.
04:26I started restoring old furniture when I was eight.
04:28The love of plants and the love of making things, I think, came from there.
04:32There's a lot of waste in the world and already so many things that people can use.
04:38Like, we don't need to keep buying and buying and buying these poorly made items
04:42that we just use once and chuck away.
04:44It's much better to give people the knowledge to be able to make their own things
04:48and be sustainable and be happy with something and proud of something that they've made themselves.
04:55So what was here when you first came?
04:59Well, this area was actually a car park.
05:02It was an old granite marble factory.
05:05So lots of dust.
05:06It was very, very hot.
05:07Lots of concrete.
05:09I built this with one other person.
05:10We pretty much did the whole thing.
05:12We had to find all of the recycled fence palings and the tools.
05:17It was hard to plan because we had to find everything.
05:21How were people reacting as you went about your building?
05:25It was actually really nice because at first people were like,
05:27you're crazy.
05:28You can't.
05:29It's industrial and, you know, it's a car park.
05:32Really, what could you possibly do by yourself?
05:35And I guess I just wanted to show everyone.
05:37I'll show you.
05:39And I did.
05:42One of the businesses that shares the space is Sydney's first commercial indoor farm
05:47that supplies microgreens to local restaurants.
05:51It was founded by this bloke, Noah Varen.
05:55What was it that drew you into a project like urban agriculture?
05:58I was working in restaurants for about 10 years.
06:01One of the things was seeing the quality of the produce coming to the restaurants.
06:04When they leave the farm, they're fine, but then they travel, you know, hundreds of kilometres.
06:07They pass to the agent.
06:09They pass to the provador.
06:10By the time it gets to the restaurant, it's actually left the farm a week ago.
06:14And what are their go-to?
06:15This one here, it's the Red Van Sorrel.
06:18This, you know, is kind of the Mercedes-Benz of microgreens.
06:21This was the one that took the most amount of time to learn how to grow.
06:25It really is difficult.
06:26So once we learned how to grow this, yeah, we were pretty happy.
06:30And what is it about something like that, from your chef's point of view, that you like?
06:35So obviously you've got the aesthetic.
06:37It's just a beautiful looking leaf.
06:38They use it with fish and with, you know, those sorts of dishes, even desserts and stuff.
06:42So now we're going to screw in the last bit here.
06:50Meanwhile, out in the fresh air, a class is getting underway.
06:55And we have the Woodlands Outdoor Workshop, where we teach how to build stuff out of recycled timber
07:02and, like, little joiny bits that we find.
07:05It's just about teaching people how to do stuff for themselves rather than buying, you know, things.
07:09Beautiful.
07:10Your philosophy really comes out in everything you build.
07:15Yeah, yeah.
07:16I really try to use everything that I can find.
07:20So, you know, like, the tree stumps, it kind of made sense to me to, you know,
07:24holler them out and put some plants in there, you know.
07:26Otherwise, what are they going to become?
07:28Firewood or something?
07:29They make such beautiful pots.
07:31And there's just such interesting shapes, you know.
07:33Like, this is kind of architectural in a way.
07:35Yeah, they're like stalagmites.
07:37Yeah, totally.
07:38And just, you know, the plants cascade nicely over the edge.
07:41It just looks so natural.
07:43You've got incredible energy.
07:44What fuels you?
07:46Just my love for watching things grow.
07:49And I get really excited if I can teach people something that they didn't know before
07:52and be happy with something and proud of something that they've made themselves.
07:58When it comes to environmental responsibility, farming and sustainability,
08:02inner-city suburbs haven't necessarily been the first place that would come to mind.
08:09But places like Stick and Stone are changing that perception.
08:14They're doing things differently.
08:15And you only need to be around Monique for a second or two
08:19to realise that she's a doer and a maker.
08:22She's taking action and inspiring a new tribe to join her.
08:28Every gardener's planted out young seedlings and come back a few days later
08:53to find they've been wiped out by hungry insects.
08:56Ground-dwelling insects with biting and chewing mouthparts like slaters, earwigs and millipedes
09:01can wipe out susceptible seedlings almost overnight.
09:05And that can be the end to your veggie patch before you've even started.
09:08Today we're going to look at a simple way to protect your new seedlings
09:12and repurpose something that we've all got in our garden sheds, old plastic pots.
09:17I've just planted these leather seedlings, so I'm going to build some protective collars
09:21which will act like fortresses.
09:23But to do so, you'll need some scissors and some copper tape.
09:28This copper tape is known as snarl and slug barrier because they don't like to cross it.
09:33So, I'm going to add a strip to the top of these pots to give my seedlings extra protection.
09:52There you go.
09:53So, all you have to do is nestle it around your seedlings.
09:56Now, I like to push it in a couple of centimetres
09:58so that it doesn't get blown away in the wind or get knocked off by a bird.
10:03I like to make sure that I've got at least seven centimetres sticking out of the soil
10:12to give the new plants protection.
10:14And obviously, this is only for the first few weeks
10:16when tender young seedlings are very vulnerable to insect attack.
10:20Then, you can take these covers off and reuse them for your next plantings.
10:28There you go.
10:29We've made a seedling fortress to protect them from being eaten
10:32while at the same time putting your old pots to good use.
10:43When you're putting your effort into growing your own food,
10:47you want bang for your buck.
10:49After a hard day's work in the garden,
10:51you want something that's going to fill you up,
10:54refill the tank,
10:56and give you the energy to get out there and do it all again.
11:00That means protein.
11:02But with more people looking for the environmental
11:04and health benefits of a plant-based diet,
11:08Gerry's here to show you how to grow your own.
11:11Most of what I eat comes from my garden.
11:25It's packed full of goodies.
11:27All the basics that are required for a healthy diet,
11:31including sources of protein,
11:33a nutrient which is vital for human health.
11:36You need between six-tenths and eight-tenths of a gramme of protein
11:42per kilo of body weight per day.
11:45And for a chap my size, that's around 60 grams.
11:50In one lump, that is a large piece of steak or chicken
11:54or around 10 eggs,
11:57a large slab of tofu
11:59or two cups of dried chickpea.
12:03I grow chickpeas as a cool-season crop.
12:07Chickpeas are legumes,
12:09and legumes are a great protein choice
12:11if you're vegan, vegetarian,
12:14or you're simply trying to reduce
12:15the amount of animal protein in your diet.
12:19Right now, the legume I'm growing
12:20is a warm-season one, the mung bean.
12:24It's a quick grower.
12:25You can be harvesting just six weeks after sowing.
12:29The pods and seeds can be eaten as a green vegetable,
12:32but like all legumes,
12:34to get the maximum protein content,
12:37the seed must be dried.
12:39I sow mung beans in rows a metre apart,
12:42and I thin the individual plants to 10 centimetres apart.
12:46Now, when the beans are young, like this,
12:49you can eat them just like French beans,
12:51but most of them, I wait until they mature,
12:54and I harvest the seed from these pods.
12:56Now, when you harvest them,
12:59just leave that little cluster at the end.
13:02That will develop into new flowers,
13:04and you'll get a second crop.
13:11Growing over here is another legume,
13:13the sword bean.
13:15Now, I've introduced you to this plant before.
13:17I think it's a great subtropical alternative
13:20to the cool temperate broad bean.
13:23Now, how much protein are we talking about here?
13:27For 100 grams of mung bean seed,
13:30if you sprout them,
13:32you'll get three grams of protein.
13:34If you just cook them,
13:35you'll get seven grams of protein,
13:37which is good.
13:38But with sword bean,
13:40you'll get between 16 and 35 grams of protein.
13:44That's a lot.
13:45And it puts it in the same category as soy.
13:49Now, soy is an annual.
13:51This is a perennial.
13:53The beauty of a sword bean for a small garden
13:57is that it has a lot of protein,
14:00it occupies a very small footprint,
14:02and you get more than one crop.
14:04Now, to a much smaller, protein-rich seed,
14:17sesame.
14:18This is one of the world's oldest oilseed crops.
14:22It's been grown in semi-arid countries
14:24for almost 3,000 years.
14:27Now, I grow this in my garden
14:29during the warm seasons,
14:31and I sow it in late spring and early summer.
14:34I sow in rows,
14:35which are 30 centimetres apart.
14:37It likes plenty of water to get started,
14:40but as plants are established,
14:42you thin them,
14:43and you can withhold water.
14:45It's quite a drought-tolerant crop.
14:47Now, the seed will germinate in four to five days.
14:50In about 20 days,
14:52they'll start to produce flower buds,
14:54and it's quite cute.
14:56And then, after a few weeks,
14:57you will get seed,
14:59which are so easy to save.
15:00You literally just upend them
15:02and shake them,
15:03and the seed falls out.
15:05I dry them
15:06and put them in an airtight container,
15:08and they'll last for at least a year.
15:10These are Chilean wine palm nuts,
15:25and they come from my Chilean wine palm,
15:28and it drops these nuts all year round.
15:31Now, to get inside at the edible kernel,
15:33you need one of these,
15:35a macadamia nutcracker,
15:37and they taste just like coconut.
15:40This is one of my favourite TV snacks.
15:47And take a look at these.
15:49These are bunionuts from the bunion tree.
15:52Now, they're not too difficult to come by in this area.
15:55In summer, when they're in season,
15:57you can pick up the fallen cones.
15:59When you take the seed out,
16:01this is what they look like inside their shell.
16:03And when you remove the shell,
16:05that's what the seed inside looks like.
16:07That is a bunionut.
16:09In terms of flavour,
16:11they taste rather like pine nuts,
16:13but also a bit like a potato
16:15because they're starchy.
16:17Highly valued as a food source
16:19by Indigenous Australians,
16:20I love roasted bunionut.
16:23In terms of protein,
16:25100 grams of bunionut
16:27contains 11 grams of protein.
16:29And good things come in small packages.
16:32The sesame seed contains 17 grams of protein.
16:37Chilean wine palm
16:38only contains a modest 3.3 grams of protein,
16:42but la lot contains 3 grams of protein too.
16:46Now, what is la lot?
16:48This is it.
16:54It's not often that we think of a leafy green
16:56as being a good source of protein,
16:59but la lot certainly is.
17:01It's an Asian ground cover.
17:04It's a perennial plant
17:05that needs shade,
17:07organic rich soil
17:08and a frost-free climate.
17:10You can use the leaves raw in salads
17:12or you can use them as a wrapper,
17:15just like a grapevine leaf
17:16around a dolmati.
17:18If, like me,
17:20you use your garden
17:21to fill your tummy
17:22and you want to add something
17:24to the veggies and the carbs
17:26to make a square meal,
17:27have a think about growing protein.
17:30It's satisfying in more ways than one.
17:33And that's
17:34your blooming la lot.
17:43I don't know about you,
17:44but I'm a self-confessed hard rubbish tragic.
17:48Whenever I see something sitting out there,
17:51the wheels of my mind start turning about
17:53how I could put it to better use.
17:56About the same time
17:57as the wheels of my van go,
17:59and in it goes.
18:02But the good thing is,
18:04I'm not alone.
18:05Millie's here to show us
18:07how to turn a hard rubbish staple
18:09into a beautiful bit of backyard kit.
18:13Oh, look at that.
18:15Beautiful step ladder.
18:16Oh.
18:17One of my favourite things to do
18:26in the garden
18:27is propagate plants,
18:28and I do it all the time.
18:29Everything from native grasses
18:31to my own vegetable seedlings.
18:33But inevitably,
18:34when you're propagating,
18:35you're also having to pot up lots of plants.
18:37I clear a little spot on the bench,
18:38which is a good way to do it,
18:40but truthfully,
18:40this is valuable space
18:42and I don't want to use it for that.
18:43So sometimes I do this.
18:45Wheelbarrow,
18:45full of potting mix,
18:47and I can work up on a bench,
18:48clear off back into that wheelbarrow.
18:50It works really well.
18:51But the other day,
18:52I found something
18:53that I think is going to be even better.
18:56How many of you
18:58have come across one of these
18:59at the tip shop
19:00or on the side of the road?
19:01They are really commonly chucked out.
19:04Now, of course,
19:05barbecues don't last forever,
19:06and all the metal in here,
19:07the burners,
19:08they're already rusted out
19:09and have been completely removed.
19:11But this trolley is hard wood.
19:13It's really well made
19:14and I reckon
19:15it's going to make
19:16a great potting bench.
19:25The first step
19:26is to remove the old barbecue.
19:28I'll brace the trolley
19:28and remove the bolts.
19:31The beauty of this
19:32is it's often much easier
19:34to pull something apart
19:35than it is to build it.
19:36Now that can go straight
19:44to the steel recycling.
19:47I'm going to use
19:48this old hardwood
19:49to act as the framework
19:52that I'll screw
19:53that bench top to.
19:54And it'll keep this nice
19:56and square
19:57and really well braced.
19:58Now I'm going to attach it
19:59right underneath
20:00this existing bench top
20:01at the right height
20:02for the new timber
20:03to fix to.
20:04And to do that
20:05I'm going to remove
20:05these smaller bolts
20:07which only go in
20:08about 50mm
20:09and replace them
20:10with those lovely long bolts
20:11that I just removed
20:12from the barbecue.
20:12I've just clamped
20:29that second bracing timber
20:30in place
20:31and I'm just checking
20:32and giving it a technical tap
20:34to make sure
20:34that the timber finish
20:36is going to be
20:37at the same level
20:38as the existing bench.
20:42Now to make the top
20:56of the bench
20:57I've been through
20:57my scrap timber pile
20:59and I've found
21:00some bits and pieces
21:01that are really
21:02durable outdoors.
21:03These are some old
21:04jar of floorboards
21:04that I picked up
21:05and I think that's
21:06what this trolley
21:06is made out of.
21:08And this you might recognise.
21:09This is known as
21:10quiller or merboo.
21:11Truthfully I would
21:12absolutely never
21:14buy this timber new.
21:15It is really cheap
21:16and available
21:17but I don't believe
21:18it's sustainable.
21:19But equally
21:20it's so precious
21:21if I ever see
21:22offcuts at the tip
21:23I always pick it up
21:24because this stuff
21:24should never go in the bin.
21:27I'm just going to
21:27fiddle with these
21:28to make them fit.
21:30Then fix them down.
21:33Same on the other side.
21:37And even up the edge.
21:38So that is essentially
21:41a good solid bench
21:42finished
21:43but I have done
21:44this gaping hole
21:45intentionally.
21:46I've cut this
21:47on 45 degree angles
21:48and that is
21:49because I want
21:50to be able to scoop
21:50all the materials
21:52straight into that hole.
21:53But when I'm not
21:54using it
21:54fit that piece
21:56solid as a rock.
21:59To create a good
22:00potting bench
22:01ideally you need
22:03really easy to clean
22:04and sterile surface
22:05so I'm actually reusing
22:07what was the cover
22:08from the barbecue
22:09and see I've removed
22:11the handle here
22:12and then it is
22:13a weatherproof surface
22:14I think it's going to
22:15make a really durable
22:16cover for me to pot on.
22:18Just going to
22:19tap it into place.
22:24I'm just going to give it
22:25a little bit of adjusting
22:27here and there.
22:31Give it go.
22:32To have a really
22:35functional potting bench
22:36it pays to have
22:38a back
22:38and a side
22:40which means you can
22:41scoop into this corner
22:43put your pile of mix
22:44in the middle.
22:44Now I've made these
22:45out of some salvaged
22:46macrocarpa timber.
22:50I'll just give the whole
22:51thing a bit of a sand
22:51and there's always room
22:54for a little bit of storage.
23:02This is a 50-50 mix
23:06of linseed oil
23:07and terps
23:08which will help protect
23:09it from the weather.
23:10I am pretty stoked
23:36with that.
23:37Something that was
23:37heading to the tip
23:38is now going to be
23:39one of the most
23:40used things in the garden.
23:42I'll use it every single
23:43day and I can wheel it
23:44wherever I want.
23:45And really for me
23:46that is the most fun
23:47you can have
23:48making something
23:49really useful
23:50out of something
23:50that was going to waste.
23:52I'd love to know
23:53what projects
23:53you're going to do next.
23:54The type of garden
24:10you have really depends
24:12on the quality
24:13and quantity
24:14of water
24:14you have access to.
24:16As our weather
24:17becomes more unpredictable
24:19it's really important
24:20that we look at
24:21different ways
24:22to recycle water.
24:24Nobody knows this
24:26better than Josh
24:27who's going to show us
24:28how to tap into
24:30an underused resource.
24:34Drought and a drying climate
24:35is a reality
24:36we're all having to deal with.
24:38So it makes sense
24:39to make the most
24:40of whatever water we have.
24:42For many of us
24:43the idea of greywater reuse
24:45became topical
24:46during the millennium drought
24:48and with so much
24:49of the country
24:49facing water shortages
24:50once again
24:51it's a good time
24:53to revisit
24:53how we can make
24:54the most of greywater.
25:00Greywater is household
25:02wastewater
25:03that doesn't include
25:04water from the toilet.
25:06Kitchen sink
25:06and dishwasher water
25:07should also be avoided
25:09as it contains
25:10food scraps
25:11and grease.
25:11The simplest way
25:16to reuse greywater
25:17is manual bucketing
25:18which you can do
25:19from the shower
25:19or the laundry trough
25:21to keep a few plants alive.
25:23Now it's cheap
25:23but it's also hard work.
25:25A better way to go
25:26is direct diversion.
25:28Now in new homes
25:29like ours
25:30all the plumbing
25:31is under the ground
25:32so you need to design
25:33that in
25:34at the time of building.
25:36But for older homes
25:37or homes that are
25:38raised off the ground
25:39often the plumbing
25:39can be accessed.
25:40Now we've mocked
25:41this example up.
25:43This is something
25:43that you might see
25:44coming out
25:44from either the laundry
25:45or the shower
25:46and bath recess.
25:48This is the job
25:49for a plumber.
25:49They'd cut into this
25:50and install
25:52one of these.
25:54This is an approved
25:55direct diversion valve
25:56and the plumber
25:57would install that
25:58and what it means
26:00is you can either
26:01have the greywater
26:02going straight to sewer
26:03or you can divert it
26:06and have it going
26:07out to the garden.
26:08From there
26:09a piece of flexible
26:10hose can be installed
26:11to take the greywater
26:12out to the garden
26:13and then
26:14a piece of slotted
26:16drainage pipe
26:18is connected
26:18and this is the part
26:20that will disperse
26:20the greywater
26:21in the garden.
26:22Now this needs
26:22to be installed
26:23into a shallow trench
26:25covered with soil
26:26and that means
26:27the greywater
26:27can permeate
26:28into the garden
26:29and not pond
26:30on the surface.
26:31Now the length
26:32of the slotted ag pipe
26:33and the size
26:34of the drainage trench
26:35needs to be sized up
26:36in accordance
26:37with local guidelines
26:38and that's to make sure
26:39that it can actually
26:40take the estimated
26:41volume of greywater
26:42generated
26:43suited to your local
26:44soil type.
26:45That's important
26:45to make sure
26:46that greywater
26:46doesn't back up
26:47and also can disperse
26:49properly without ponding.
26:53That system
26:54will set you back
26:55about $100
26:56in materials
26:57plus the time
26:58of a plumber.
26:59One of the drawbacks
27:00of a trench system
27:01though
27:01is that it only
27:02distributes the greywater
27:03in a pretty limited area.
27:05You're not really
27:05making the most of it.
27:07So the next step along
27:08is something like this.
27:09This has a surge tank
27:11to temporarily hold
27:12the greywater
27:12as it's coming
27:13from the house.
27:14Also
27:15it has a filter
27:16you can see
27:18there you go
27:18and this is to catch
27:20any coarse material
27:21in the greywater
27:22and there's also a pump
27:23in the bottom
27:24of that sump
27:24and what happens
27:25is the greywater
27:26comes in
27:27it goes through
27:28the filter
27:29wells up
27:30the pump
27:30picks up
27:31there's water in there
27:31and it's pumped out
27:32to the garden.
27:34This unit
27:34has its own
27:35diversion valve
27:36inside
27:36and an overflow point
27:38in the event
27:38of malfunction
27:39of the pump
27:40the greywater
27:40will automatically
27:42overflow the sewer.
27:44Now that'll cost you
27:45around $1,000
27:46and it's suited
27:47to a single stream
27:48of greywater
27:49like shower and bath
27:51or laundry
27:52and you can see
27:52by the size of the pipe
27:54it's for those
27:54small flows of greywater.
27:56This one
27:56consider it
27:57the big brother
27:58this is a whole
27:59of house system
28:00and the principle
28:01of operation
28:02is very similar
28:02there's a filter
28:03there's a pump
28:04and the beauty
28:05of these pump systems
28:06is it means
28:07you can actually
28:08pressurise the water
28:09and send it out
28:10to the garden
28:10and run it
28:11through drip line
28:12to really get
28:13a much broader
28:13dispersion of that water.
28:20My greywater system
28:21is also a whole
28:23of house type
28:23with these units
28:25costing around $3,000.
28:27They both have
28:29self-flushing filters
28:30which greatly reduces
28:31maintenance.
28:34So what plants
28:35are suited to greywater?
28:36Well all sorts.
28:38Have a look
28:38at this crepe myrtle
28:39it's absolutely loving it.
28:41Or my bananas
28:41a really thirsty plant
28:43which are happily
28:44producing fruit here.
28:46Also the pomegranate
28:47is doing well.
28:48Shrubs like the rosemary
28:50and the salvias
28:50and my grapevines
28:51producing all on greywater.
28:54Now I've got
28:54the greywater drip line
28:55neatly laid out
28:57through this garden area
28:58just like you would do
28:59with regular drip line
29:01but importantly
29:02the colour of the pipe
29:03is purple
29:03and that's the
29:04international standard
29:05for wastewater
29:06and that pipe
29:07is then covered
29:08with a thick layer
29:09of mulch
29:10to prevent contact
29:11and reduce any risk
29:12of passing on pathogens.
29:14Now every time
29:15my greywater system
29:16comes on
29:16all of this area
29:18and the plants in it
29:19get a really good drink.
29:20It's not a good idea
29:23to apply greywater
29:24to pots
29:25as it will pool
29:26at the bottom.
29:27Also avoid using it
29:28on veggies
29:28where there is the potential
29:30for contact
29:31between greywater
29:32and the part
29:32of the plant
29:33that you eat.
29:33It's also important
29:47to be mindful
29:48of the cleaning
29:49and personal care
29:50products you use.
29:54Basically
29:55choose ones
29:56that are designed
29:57for greywater reuse
29:58and if you do need
29:59to use disinfectants
30:01or hair dye
30:01or bleachers
30:02make sure you divert
30:04your greywater
30:04to sewer.
30:06Now despite best intentions
30:08all detergents
30:09are alkaline
30:10and over time
30:10they'll raise
30:11the pH of the soil
30:12so don't use it
30:13on things like
30:14camellias,
30:15azaleas,
30:16blueberries
30:16or other acid loving plants.
30:18I find even
30:19with my citrus
30:20that after a period
30:21it starts to show up
30:22symptoms of chlorosis
30:23that is the yellowing
30:24of the leaves
30:25because the pH
30:26of the soil
30:26means the plants
30:27have a hard time
30:28getting all the trace
30:29elements they need.
30:30So I fix this
30:31quite simply
30:31with a regular
30:33application of
30:34liquid trace elements
30:35as a foliar feed
30:36which I apply
30:37about every six weeks
30:38during periods
30:39of heavy greywater use
30:41and I find the plants
30:42respond beautifully.
30:47Regularly composting
30:48and adding mulch
30:49will maintain
30:50good soil health
30:51and will also
30:52buffer against
30:53an increase of pH.
30:55Switch off
30:56your greywater system
30:57during rainy periods
30:58to rest the soil
30:58and also flush out
31:00any accumulated salts.
31:01As you can see
31:03there's a fair bit
31:04to greywater reuse
31:05if you want to do it
31:06efficiently
31:07and responsibly
31:08but if you're short
31:09of water
31:10I reckon it's well worth it.
31:12To find out more
31:13about greywater regulations
31:14in your area
31:15you'll find some
31:16helpful links
31:16on our website.
31:19Still to come
31:20on Gardening Australia
31:21Clarence takes
31:23some pot shots
31:24Tammy controls
31:27the climate
31:27and we meet
31:30a rusted-on artist.
31:38Gardening on a slope
31:39can be a real challenge.
31:42Sure, it comes
31:43with great views
31:45but you also need
31:47commitment
31:47strong legs
31:49and it may well
31:51involve
31:52expensive earthworks
31:53just to stop
31:54everything
31:55from sliding
31:56downhill.
31:58Well,
31:58Hannah's here
31:59with a low-cost
32:01solution
32:01that will help
32:03keep things
32:03on the level.
32:04I love our garden
32:14it's close to the city
32:15and it has
32:16some of the most
32:16sunny and stunning
32:17views imaginable
32:19but it does come
32:21with a few issues
32:22in particular
32:23it is far
32:24from flat.
32:27Gardening on a slope
32:28is generally
32:29a bit harder
32:30everything takes longer
32:31and is more expensive.
32:33Now, in our garden
32:35ideally we would have
32:36loved to terrace
32:37everything with
32:37beautiful stonework
32:38to stop water
32:40shooting off
32:40down the slope
32:41and taking the
32:42nutrients with it.
32:43Unfortunately
32:43our dreams
32:44and our budget
32:45didn't quite line up
32:46so in the process
32:48of being a bit
32:48more creative
32:49we found an
32:49affordable solution
32:50which is the
32:51heat-treated
32:52recycled pallet.
32:54We've built
32:55some large earth
32:56banks with an angle
32:57of approximately
32:5730 degrees.
32:59We've then placed
33:00the pallets
33:00directly into the
33:02slope to stabilise
33:03it
33:03and create
33:04instant structure
33:05that we can plant
33:06into straight away.
33:08They've worked
33:09so well
33:09for our slope
33:10they've helped
33:11all these plants
33:12get established
33:12with water
33:13and nutrient
33:14being held
33:14higher in the slope
33:15in all these
33:16nooks and crannies
33:17and today
33:18I'm going to show
33:18you how you can
33:19do it as well
33:20in your own
33:21steep garden.
33:27Now,
33:28the first thing
33:28you need to do
33:29when you're going
33:29to build your
33:30pallet bank
33:30is find
33:31your pallet.
33:33We find
33:33ours from
33:34local tip shops
33:35warehouse sites
33:36or building sites.
33:39Importantly,
33:39when we choose
33:40them
33:40we're making
33:41sure they all
33:41have a really
33:42good little stamp
33:43which says
33:44H-T
33:45that stands
33:46for heat-treated
33:47pallets
33:47means there's
33:48no nasty
33:49chemicals in this
33:50which means
33:51your garden
33:51won't have
33:52any nasty
33:52chemicals in it
33:53too.
33:53This is where
33:56we're going
33:56to put our
33:56demonstration
33:57pallet garden
33:57today
33:58and as you
33:59can see
33:59we've prepped
34:00the site
34:00to make sure
34:01it's ready
34:01for the pallet
34:02to be nestled
34:03into the slope.
34:04Importantly,
34:05we've chipped
34:06off the top
34:06layer of the
34:07grass
34:07so there's
34:08not a thick
34:08grass mat
34:09there
34:10that can
34:10just spring
34:11up between
34:11the pallets
34:11and be
34:12impossible
34:13to weed
34:14later on.
34:18With the
34:18ground nice
34:19and clear
34:20it's now
34:20time to
34:21secure that
34:22pallet in
34:22place.
34:34These
34:34timber pegs
34:35do a
34:35fantastic job
34:36of holding
34:37the pallet
34:37on the
34:38slope
34:38to make
34:39sure it
34:39doesn't
34:39slide
34:39away.
34:40The other
34:41ace thing
34:41about them
34:42is that
34:42they can
34:42just rot
34:43in place
34:43like the
34:44pallet
34:44and by
34:45that
34:46stage
34:46the
34:46plant's
34:47roots
34:47have
34:47kicked
34:47in
34:48and
34:48they're
34:48holding
34:49the
34:49slope
34:49together
34:49instead
34:50of
34:50the
34:50pallet.
34:52on the
34:53wall
34:54rock
34:54and
34:54roll
34:55in
34:55place
34:55and
34:56roll
34:56and
34:58roll
35:00up
35:01in
35:03rock
35:04in
35:05rock
35:05,
35:06roll
35:06and roll
35:07in
35:07rock
35:08roll
35:08and roll
35:10roll
35:11dip
35:12y
35:12roll
35:14y
35:14roll
35:14all
35:15in
35:15up
35:17Now once that soil is nice and packed into the pallet, it's time for some of this mulching
35:32compost, goodness.
35:56Okie dokie, now we're up to the fun bit where we get to actually plant something.
36:01Today we've got these beautiful native creeping boobiella plants and these are a fantastic
36:06choice for this pallet garden because they're really hardy, they don't need much love.
36:11The other awesome bonus about them is that their foliage will eventually drape down like
36:16one big blanket and smother that pallet so you don't even see it.
36:21So, let's get started.
36:31So, let's get started.
36:38So, let's get started.
36:45In 12 months time, that small pallet garden will start to look like this and when it
36:58flowers, the white or pink flowers are so gorgeous.
37:04Overall, working with pallets on our steep slope has been enormously helpful for us and it
37:22might be too, for you.
37:23Have you noticed that as your garden grows, so too does your collection of old plastic
37:33pots?
37:34I know what you're thinking, your shed's overflowing with these babies, but what better
37:39way to recycle them than to reuse them?
37:42So, the first thing you need to do is clean your pots and you want to get rid of all of
37:46the old soil and potting mix.
37:48You can soak it in a mix of detergent or disinfectant, but we're going to go with the environmentally
37:53friendly method.
37:54We're just going to use fresh water and a pink scrubbing brush.
37:57By and large, you really just want to remove any excess that's sticking to the pot.
38:02Once you get rid of that, it's just a matter of putting it in the sun to dry and that solarisation
38:09will help to kill any bacteria or pathogens that might remain.
38:13The last thing we need to do is get a bit of nature's disinfectant, spray these puppies
38:18with some eucalyptus oil.
38:20Now, it's the last little barrier for any pathogens that might still be sticking around on the
38:26insides of your pot for when we put our new potting mix in and put our new plants in.
38:31So, don't forget, reduce, reuse, recycle.
38:35So easy to do.
38:36It looks like I'm going to be here for quite some time getting through the rest of these
38:39pots.
38:48Propagating your own plants is the ultimate way to get something for nothing.
38:52And Tammy's here with some great ideas to help improve your chances of success.
38:59The best part about it is that the majority of the ingredients are probably laying around
39:05at your place.
39:09In my world, you can never have too many plants.
39:15Today we're going to experiment with propagating plants and think inside the box.
39:21So you could say this undercover area at my place is a bit like a climate controlled greenhouse.
39:31There's not many temperature fluctuations in here and it's well protected from winds.
39:36There's also moisture circulating in the air.
39:39As the plants transpire, they release little droplets into the air.
39:42There's higher humidity, so it creates a nice little warm microclimate.
39:48So if you're a plant, it's a really nice place to be.
39:51And this part up the back here is one of those DIY greenhouses that we just knocked up.
39:55It's nice and protected.
39:56It is perfect for seedlings.
39:59So that's my version of a greenhouse.
40:01So I'm going to take those aspects and show you how you can make your own mini greenhouse
40:05at home.
40:09So plastic containers like this one aren't very pretty, but they're super practical when
40:13it comes to turning them into mini greenhouses.
40:16It's really important that your plastic containers have these air holes.
40:20They're perfect for ventilation, but also they need drainage holes too, to allow the water
40:24to drain away.
40:26When you do pick your container, make sure you do clean and sterilize them.
40:30That may mean just using a bit of dishwashing detergent and then popping them into the sun.
40:35So these are ones that I've sown earlier and you can see the condensation around the edges
40:40and that means it's keeping the moisture in there, which the seeds love.
40:43But at the same time, we don't want too much moisture in there.
40:46So we've got these air holes that we've cut out on top to allow for airflow.
40:51And getting the air in and circulating will discourage any mold from growing in the moist
40:55conditions.
40:56So to get growing, I've got my seed raising mix here.
41:01So this stuff is nice, light and friable.
41:04There's no big pieces in there, which is really what you want for growing your seeds.
41:10So fill the plastic punnets.
41:13We don't need to fill them up the whole way because we want room for the seeds to grow.
41:17I'm sowing some microgreens or baby greens, which are just tiny versions of our common
41:22leafy greens, such as kale, mustard and coriander.
41:26They're a quick crop.
41:27You can keep them on your kitchen windowsill and you can harvest in two weeks time so that
41:30you can quickly sneak them into your salads and sandwiches.
41:34I just simply sprinkle over the top.
41:39Just if you were adding sprinkles to your cupcakes.
41:44And then I'm going to gently just push them in.
41:49And then I'm going to get the seed raising mix and just lightly sprinkle that on top.
41:57Use a spray bottle to keep the seeds moist.
42:03Microgreens are just one option.
42:06There's lots of easy things that you can sow.
42:10Dry spring onions and parsley and check the back of the pack to see if it's the right
42:14time to sow.
42:17As a general rule, once your seedlings have their true leaves or second set of leaves,
42:21you can then pop them up or transplant them into the garden.
42:26Whilst these miniature greenhouses are perfect for raising seedlings, when it comes to getting
42:31your cuttings off to a good start, a storage container can be turned into a great little
42:36hothouse.
42:38Once it's made out of plastic, it holds the moisture and the humidity in.
42:42You can drill holes on the side for ventilation.
42:45Or you can just keep the lid ajar.
42:51Let's take a few cuttings of some favourite plants that'll be right at home in this little
42:55hothouse.
42:58Angel wing begonias are really easy to grow.
43:01I'm going to show you how to take a cutting because, well, why wouldn't you want to replicate
43:04more of this beautiful plant?
43:08Simply take 10 to 15 centimetres of the stem, but make sure you cut underneath a node.
43:12A node is where the leaf or the bump along the stem is and that's where new growth will
43:16form from your cutting.
43:18So make sure you cut underneath there.
43:21And then we're going to cut the flowers off because we don't want to waste any energy into
43:24growing more flowers.
43:26Then we're going to cut the bigger leaf in half so the plant doesn't waste any more moisture
43:31being lost through the leaves.
43:33So what I'm going to do now is pot up the cutting.
43:37And what I've got here is a 50-50 mix of perlite and premium potting mix.
43:41But make sure before you do work with the perlite that you do damp it down because it's really
43:44quite dusty to work with.
43:46So now I'm going to part fill the pot with some of the mix.
43:53Then I put my cutting in the centre, suspend it and that way when I backfill it doesn't
43:57damage the cutting.
44:01And then use your fingers to lightly tamp down on the mix once you're done.
44:08And there's your cutting.
44:10So now I'm going to show you how to take a cutting of a watermelon peperomia.
44:14The leaves are so cute.
44:15They look like little watermelons.
44:18Just from this one leaf you can actually get two cuttings.
44:21I'm removing the whole stem from the plant.
44:24Then I'm removing the stem where it connects to the leaf.
44:30I'm then removing roughly about the top two thirds of the leaf.
44:33I'm going to fill up a pot and I'm going to bury that leaf into my propagating mix.
44:40Just enough so that it's just lightly covered.
44:44So with the remaining leaf we can also use it as a cutting.
44:47I'm simply going to bury it into the propagating mix, the stem end down.
44:51And now I'm watering in the cuttings.
45:12Make sure you do keep it in a brightly lit spot but out of direct sunlight.
45:15You do not want your plants to cook.
45:20Now if you want to start even smaller than a little hothouse I've got a nifty idea for
45:24you.
45:27You can simply get a plastic bottle, cut it in half and fit it over the top of your plants.
45:33That way you've got a mini mini greenhouse.
45:41It doesn't matter what you use to make your own mini greenhouses.
45:45So go on and have a go at growing your own seeds and cuttings.
45:48And if you end up with too many plants, that's a pretty good problem to have.
46:00So far in this episode we've shown you how to reuse and recycle for very practical results.
46:07But sometimes you can repurpose old materials just for fun.
46:28I love the broken and the twisted and the bent.
46:44It sort of tells a story but I sort of like to blend things together.
46:49The plants blend in with other plants and the plants might grow through the metal and it
46:54sort of softens all the edges.
46:57When I first came here it was like a moonscape.
47:03It was just a dust bowl and it sort of reminded me of Mars where there was no living thing.
47:11We're at the Antares Iron Art Garden at Newstead.
47:17I'm Roger McKinley and I'm a gardener and I like to create art.
47:28I like to use found objects, pieces that people believe are rubbish or no longer of any use.
47:39And for me it's a great little challenge to reinterpret them and rethink them and create wonderful patterns
47:47or the designs or the designs or just coming up with a whole new concept quite opposite to what
47:53they were made for.
47:55The cottage is I'd say about 140 years old and in 1950 they were offered power here and
48:04they said they didn't want any of that modern stuff.
48:07So I still live like that to this very day.
48:12I grew up in Castlemaine.
48:13I'm actually fifth generation Castlemaine.
48:17We had a lot of freedom and a lot of fun.
48:19I did my apprenticeship in the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens.
48:23I was 15 and all the fellas that I worked with were very passionate gardeners.
48:30At secondary school in art I used to wag it every Friday and steal my sister's bike and
48:38we'd go up the bush and play in old bush bombs and learn about the natural world.
48:46And I still ride a bike today and the bike I ride today is 85 years old and I've been
48:51riding it for nearly 30 years now.
48:58Metal's my number one, but I do love wood as much again and I love to mix metal and wood
49:06together.
49:07I collect glass and arrange it in patterns and bones, sort of a lot of the natural materials
49:15I'm into it.
49:16But I would say nature's my teacher and I love to find gnarly sticks or rocks.
49:25There's so much beauty within all of these mediums.
49:29I've got this saying, I don't know who is finding who.
49:35It's sort of like you put it out there and things appear.
49:39And because people know what I do, I'll often go to my front gate and there's a ute load
49:43of metal or wood.
49:47I love to get things and I like to put them in groups because you can create patterns,
49:51but I feel as if there's a place for everything and everyone.
49:55It doesn't matter how broken or stretched it is, there's a place and I like to put them
50:01together in a family situation.
50:05In summer, you know, all the grass dies back and all the plants sort of die back and it
50:11makes the rust appear even more vibrant.
50:15And then in winter we have severe frosts.
50:18So all the metal gets frozen white and as the sun comes up, all of the metal has steam and
50:25vapour rising off it and it sort of, it comes alive again.
50:32These are a couple of my vegetable gardens here.
50:34I've had to build cages because I've got about 30 possums and about a million rabbits.
50:41In here I've got some oregano, some thyme, I've just planted little tom thumb tomato and
50:48a big red and I like to complement it with a bit of colour so I've got some marigolds in
50:53there to give it a bit of colour.
50:55And I've actually got a couple of stinging nettles in there that I also eat.
50:59I needed to put this structure somewhere and I thought that's perfect for climbing beans
51:03and then I thought I'd put this sort of little guard in at the top to scare off any birds
51:09but it was funny last year when the purple beans were growing, a bird actually built a
51:13nest in there and hatched some little baby birds inside that cage there.
51:19My art excites me and I can't help but get excited and with new products it drives in
51:26new ideas too.
51:28This piece here is called Chain Race.
51:30I love all the different links and the different designs but anyway you've got to get bet on
51:37who's going to win this race and as you can see some are riding on the backs of others,
51:42some can fling themselves and the other month I was at the tip and I found this guy, he was
51:52in the mud, he was a complete loser.
51:54No one wanted him, no one loved him but look at him now, he's out front and he's a winner.
52:00I love to share it with people, I have you know from prep kids to 90 year olds, some people
52:08come in groups and I don't always go out to the gate and greet people because I like to
52:13them to feel as if they're here by themselves and what I love is overhearing their laughter
52:21and their joy and what I say to people is whatever you see that's what it is because
52:25we all interpret different things and this allows them to sort of say name things and
52:33they sort of interact.
52:36That's the joy for me to hear that there's a child in all of us.
52:40I've got a visitor's book that people love to write in.
52:45Roger, I just can't believe one person can create this much beauty, so clever.
52:50It's a very public and a very private work and I love The Hammers too.
52:56Thanks for letting us look, Melinda.
52:58Sublime, clever and sweet feast for my senses.
53:04I so love rust.
53:06Cheers, Catherine.
53:07An artist's artist, inspiring the inspired, sail on, live long, Paul.
53:20You know what they say, there's no time like the present.
53:26Your jobs for the weekend are ready and waiting and so are these weeds.
53:30I'm going to be busy.
53:32In cool areas, magnolias are making an entrance with their wonderful whirls of fragrance and
53:43colour.
53:44Use it in the morning or evening to pick off slugs and snails that are eating precious
53:50flower buds.
53:52Feed for joas with a balanced, slow-release fertiliser, a layer of compost and an application
53:58of seaweed solution to keep forming flowers strong and healthy.
54:03Pile up straw, chicken manure and compost in a sunny spot in preparation for pumpkin planting.
54:10This material will heat up and break down, ready for seed planting by late spring.
54:16In warm areas, honeywort or cerinthi seeds can be sown now.
54:20These blue-purple annuals are adored by bees and florists.
54:25They're easy to grow, just sprinkle seeds directly in place.
54:29Woolly toothbrush or grevillea thersoides can be planted in the ground now.
54:35Establish this trailing ground cover in a sheltered, sunny position.
54:39Hungry insects are still waiting for spring flowers to burst into life.
54:44You can help provide habitat and food with a pollen patch, keeping a small section of
54:50your lawn unmowed this week.
54:53In subtropical areas, bright wool blueberries welcome warmth, are resistant to fungal disease,
54:59and produce fruit without a pollinator.
55:01They'll grow well in pots or outside in acidic soil, protected from hot afternoon sun.
55:08Trim back creeping boobiella and use the cuttings to create more.
55:12Select soft stems with at least six nodes and remove the lower foliage.
55:16A root stimulant gel will kick them along.
55:19Divide crowded cymbidium orchids using a bread knife.
55:24Keep five healthy leafy bulbs in each clump and remove spent ones before repotting tightly
55:30into free-draining orchid bark mix.
55:34In tropical areas, divide sections of galangal with secateurs or plant new rhizomes with buds
55:40facing up.
55:41These plump pink zingers prefer a protected spot with moist soil, so add a handful of worm castings.
55:48Check your beets regularly.
55:51If you prefer them sweeter, select ones that are smaller than the size of a cricket ball.
55:55Don't forget to add the leaves and stems to soups and salads.
56:00Why not give black pepper vine a crack?
56:03Plant this tropical scrambler in a protected sunny spot with a support trellis, plenty of
56:09compost and a good layer of mulch.
56:13In arid areas, diplolena are blooming now and will be grateful for a dose of low-fat
56:18phosphorus native fertiliser.
56:20Mulch around the base to keep the moisture up and prune after flowering.
56:25Give your hot bush hedge a haircut and fertilise with blood and bone.
56:29This will bring in the butterflies, encourage a flush of beautiful fruit and keep the plant
56:34healthy in the coming heat.
56:37Felicia Australis or Blue Karoo can be planted by seeds or cuttings now.
56:42These fast-growing natives love full sun and well-drained soil, perfect for that unused
56:48patch in the garden.
56:50That should get your garden gloves going this weekend.
56:53And make sure to catch up on all our wonderful stories on ABC iview.
56:58Well, that's a wrap for another week, but there's even more in store for next time.
57:08Here's what's coming your way.
57:10I'm going to show you a rare collection of Syngia cultivars and species and share some
57:16expert growing tips.
57:17I'm in an average-sized backyard that's anything but average.
57:23In hot weather, it's a cool oasis and it grows enough food to feed households from across
57:29the neighbourhood.
57:31And I'm meeting a woman who's an expert in making clay flowers.
57:35She also grows plenty of flowers in her own garden, but can you spot the real one?
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