By BEATRICE HAWKINS
GARDENERS from all over the granite belt and downs area gathered at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism at Stanthorpe on Wednesday, 24 July, for the Diggers Club annual winter workshop.
Jerry Colby-Williams was the guest speaker and was incredibly interesting and informative as he took us through his personal journey of creating a sustainable,organic garden in suburban Brisbane.
Having started gardening at age four in England with his grandfather and gardened in many areas around the world, his huge store of knowledge in both modern and age-old gardening methods is most interesting.
On an 800 square metre block, adjacent to an industrial area, Jerry has transformed a rock-hard, unproductive area to be able to supply 70 per cent of all food eaten by his household of three.
In doing this he has minimal impact on his surrounding area. The house is supplied with tank water, while both the vegetable garden and landscaped front area are grown with recycled water.
Jerry’s house is the only one in Queensland using recycled septic water to irrigate his garden. While he does have mains water connected, this is only used in minimal quantities and well-filtered, as a supplement for the house in times of extreme drought.
When he commenced work on the property he broke the first rotary hoe that he used. After replacing it with a larger, ride-on model and going over the ground 10 times, he was able to put a shovel in about six inches! He then covered the whole area with barley straw and layers of compost and leaving it for some time a reasonable soil was created. With further care and green manure crops the soil now absorbs all water (even 157ml in 30 minutes during recent heavy falls) and grows an amazing array of produce and decorative plants.
The number of insects and animals, both beneficial and pest, that are attracted to this garden is amazing. Jerry gave us many hints on what to plant to attract beneficial insects, from growing the humble choko vine to coriander to split peas and having at least two plants in flower at all times … so many ideas, so interesting and so inspiring to see what can be accomplished on an average suburban block. He is certainly a person who practices what he preaches!
