Accidentally Green

A lot of people use a lot of things as a measure of personal superiority. Being "greener than thou" is definitely one of these measures.

What you see here are (click on image above for full view) my current estimated personal environmental footprint and (click on image below for full view) my footprint at this time, one year ago. Now, instinct may lead to congratulations for cutting my eco-impact by over two thirds. Hell, in some circles it'd make me eligible for Green Living Poster Child. But that would be a lie. You see, I have become accidentally green.

Until January 2008, as many know, I shared a condo outside Washington, D.C., commuted two hours round-trip every day, drove out to the country nearly every weekend for hikes or markets, used central air and heat, grew no food, bought clothes, shoes, books, and other household items as I liked, and, due to involvement in a trans-world relationship, I undertook over 60 hours of jet travel.

Since the big move to Oz, things have definitely changed. We have a house that's roughly the same size as my old condo, I have no car, I go very few places at all, most produce and meat in stores is locally produced and there are small fruit & veg shops on nearly every corner. We buy next to nothing, recycling is readily available and well utilized, we're growing probably 70% of our produce (though we won't harvest for a few more months), and we have zero plans for major travel for at least another year.

Still want to give a pat on the back? Okay, sure. Give a hug, even. But then ask why. Why is my lifestyle so very different now? Was there a conscious choice involved?

Nope.

I have no car because the one we bought died and we haven't the dough to replace it. I love driving! I could hardly imagine giving that up willingly. I'd nearly kill to have central air and heat once more, though I would be happy to power those with a solar array, but all this house has are three window units and a gas heater, so that's what we use. We go nowhere and buy nothing due to that same lack of cash and my current position as housewife-extraordinaire instead of bad-ass office-jockey. And, well, Australia just has better recycling programs than my old neighborhood. True, we did decide to grow our veggie patch, but had I the space in my old condo I'd have gardened there too. Though, all things equalled, we would dine out a fair bit more than we do (never) now, if the cash flow were prime.

So, the next time you find yourself feeling above the electricity-guzzling, water-wasting, carbon-spewing masses...ask yourself, how much of your Green is accidental? How much of their footprint is beyond their control?

Be green. Better still, be kind.

Winter or Summer-Pick one, already!

Bonkers weather and gale-force winds have been kicking the crap out of our semi-established veggies. In the course of the last week, we've been as cold as 3c (37.4f) and as hot as 33c (91.4f)!!! That's just not fun for a garden that's really just finding it's roots.

Saturday was spent in garden-free pursuits, what with the oppressive temperatures, hot north winds, zero humidity, and a cloud-cover so heavy it may as well have been a wool blanket. I baked up some yummy banana bread and we took care of every imaginable errand, including buying the last of the spring-planting seeds, a little strawberry bush, and a handful of dime store Halloween decorations.

Today? Barely 20c (68f), and filled with the smells of my husband cooking brunch. He felt guilty for playing video games all morning, so I'm getting a treat of his meal-a-week being far more extravagant than Vegemite-cheese toast. Guilt is a wonderful (and yummy) motivator!

Before too long, we will be out in the dirt and weeds once more. I've a second Three Sisters mound to plant, hubby wants to check on the tomatoes he literally bandaged up this morning (pics soon), he has more bulbs to replant, and it's Watering Day on the Fleurieu. That, along with re-seeding some bald patches of lawn, kneading up some homemade pizza dough, and putting up our meager Halloween display , will keep us right busy 'til the sun goes down.

Oh, how I long for a slacker's weekend.

10 Best Fruits & Veggies to Grow in Small Spaces

Photo by Dawn Perry

A handful of my friends have dropped by The Suburban Plot and are envious of my new found space for gardening. As a former apartment-dweller, with nought but a balcony to call my own, I wanted to make a list of tips on what someone with limited wiggle-room can grow for themselves.

Of course, most of these require a fair bit of sun, but you don't need a lot of space to eat fresh even if you have nothing more than a small patio or postage-stamp yard. So let's get started!

1. Cherry and Plum Tomatoes: The best of the best, tomatoes can brighten up any salad, make the perfect sauce, and are the key to any good salsa. The best part? These smaller varieties of tomato do beautifully in pots, or even hanging upside-down! Just buy your seedlings, a pot, and mix up some good compost-rich soil and you're on your way. Keep the soil moist and the plant in good sun.

2. Lettuces: This salad staple is made-to-order for container gardening, what with its compact shape and shallow root system. A window box would show off your multi-colored lettuce display and they only need around four hours of light each day. Grow varieties you just can't find in your neighborhood store.

3. Climbing beans & peas: Hooray for climbers! And big cheers for fresh green beans and peas from your own little cement patch, adding tons of vertical visual appeal. Rig up a trellis pot or build a decorative cage and have sweet greens to munch all summer long. Be brave—experiment with yellow, white, and purple varieties, and all the flavors of peas.

4. Carrots: What, you say? Yep! Carrots can do very well in containers. Go for smaller, early-ripening varieties, like Chantenays, and sow into pots twice the depth of the full-grown carrot. Consider round, bulbous varieties like Thumbelina or Mini-Round as well. Less length means less soil, means easier container growth. The foliage is like having your own tasty pot of edible ferns!

5. Herbs: This one is likely a given. Most apartment dwellers in search of green-gourmet immediately pot up a bunch of rosemary or mint. Done properly, herbs of nearly every imaginable flavor can cheer up the window sills of your little home. Be sure to investigate the soil needs of each herb, as they do differ, and don't be afraid to grow something unusual. How about Thai basil and choco-mint? Give it a go!

6. Dwarf fruit trees: In honor of my friend, Maggie, I can't leave dwarf fruits off the list. How jealous will all your party guests be when you grab limes, lemons, or even pomegranates from your own patio?! Keep them sunlit and well-drained, bring indoors during the frosty months and these little treasures will sweeten your days.

7. Pumpkin and Squash: Aside from my husband, who doesn't love a tasty, cool summer squash? Varieties of yellow squash, acorn, butternut, and zucchini will be a nostalgic delight on hot summer nights. If you have a railing or fence line, try training some squash vines across it and simply harvest what grows! (I don't recommend this method for those gardening above ground level, ouch!)

8. Spring Onions & Garlic: Sick of paying ridiculous prices for jars of minced garlic and bunches of spring onions that waste away in the crisper? Grow them yourself! These indispensable flavors grow like a dream in confined quarters. Spring onions can be grown from seed in the most dense conditions and can, within reasonable time limits, be picked as needed. Garlic is even better, though not terribly attractive. But it makes up for beauty in what it adds to your cooking. To store your harvest, get a needle and thread and do them up Italian-style, hanging, as edible art, from the kitchen ceiling.

9. Peppers: Be they chilis or sweet peppers, these beauties can open the door to cuisines from Mexico, Asia, and the Mediterranean. And they do love a pot! Sunlight and warmth are the keys to getting these little darlings to do their best. Be careful not to over-water, and keep harvesting to coax more peppers off these yummy plants.

10. Berry Bushes: Want some fresh strawberries on your morning cereal? How about a blueberry tart for dessert? Berries can thrive in small spaces if care is given where it's needed. Water carefully and fertilize with a balanced mix of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and other trace elements. These tasty treats are mostly perennial so, with love, they can keep you in berry-goodness for years.

What do you do if there's no available sun? Make a small investment. Even we space-rich gardeners have to shell out for supplies now and again. Buy some decent quality grow-lights and it can be daytime anytime you like!

I really hope this list helps the small-spacers out there. No one should be deprived of their own homegrown goodies. Happy growing!

Bizarre Night Behavior

I had a brilliant idea tonight. A Late Night Drinking and Digging Party!

This was the test-drive for a future night when we'll actually invite over some age-appropriate family and friends and try it full-scale. Tonight? Just me and the man.

DISCLAIMER: Don't try this at home without careful attention to safety, nor should you get so drunk that fun becomes danger. Thanks!

It was great! We drank, and dug, and dug, and drank. He polished off four beers, me a modest (nearly) two. But, more importantly, we dug out somewhere between ten and twelve wheelbarrows full of future-patio dirt. The hole to Brazil, in our back garden, is becoming quite the impressive sight. We figure there's about 60-70% remaining, but we're making a lot of progress.

Now, should you want to throw your own Late Night Drinking and Digging Party, here's what you need:

1. a really warm night
2. two shovels
3. two wheelbarrows
4. two or more willing and questionably-sane people
5. a big hole that needs digging
6. a lot of good alcohol
7. a camera to document the ridiculous event

In case you hadn't figured it out by now, we're not your average gardeners.

A waster of water is a waster of better

Photo by Barry Allwright

Dune. Arrakis. Desert Planet.

Not quite—that's a view from the Northern Territory of Oz—but it can often feel that way in my neck of the woods.

In Australia, there is a crude-but-accurate saying that the weather is "drier than a nun's nasty." Okay, so that's really gross, but it sums up just how little rainfall we really get. And I live outside the driest of the dry, when it comes to civilized regions. Sure, the Simpson Desert is definitely hotter and absolutely devoid of all moisture, but that's not terribly suburban.

To make matters worse, we've been in a catastrophic drought for five, going on six, years, and have adopted strict water-use restrictions as simply a part of life.

Average Annual Precipitation
Charlottesville, Virginia: 68.5"/1740mm
Columbus, Georgia: 48.6"/1234mm
Dallas, Texas: 37.0"/940mm
Manchester, UK: 31.8"/807mm
Onkaparinga, South Australia: approx 19.7"/500mm
Phoenix, Arizona: 8.3"/210mm

The heat and lack of snow runoff don't help, with summer temperatures getting up to/past 44C/111F and so-called winter bottoming out this year at 2C/35.6F.

The gist of this is, it's damn hard to grow what you enjoy! However, it does "force" you to be Green. Earth-friendly irrigation is not a hippie concept, here. It's normal. It's what the yuppie woman down the street does, and the hillbilly grandpa across the road, not to mention the schools, businesses, and well, just about everyone.

Here are some SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for life in Droughtville, and which of those we actually manage.

Rainwater tanks used for gardening
Rainwater tanks piped into house
Grey water used for gardening
Dual-flush toilets
Drip irrigation used max 3 hrs weekly
/1-day-per-week watering w/ trigger hose
/Native plant gardening

Our rainwater tank died last year, but it's first on our list for Xmas gifts, though we can't afford to pipe it into the house. We're planning three tank systems. One catching house runoff for the mid-back garden, one catching shed runoff for the back-back garden, and one catching the eventual chicken house runoff for their own drinking water.

We're not perfect about only watering on our assigned Sunday evenings. But we rarely water more than once per week. And we were using the drip irrigation a lot, but that's before I found out the regulations. Ugh.

As for native gardening.. we're working on it, but most of what we do is relocation of existing plants from around the yard as new plants are pricey.

These are required measures in most parts of Australia. But can the rest of the world afford not to follow suit? My own step-dad is considering rainwater collection and they're in relatively wet Central Virginia! What do you do to combat the effects of global warming on your garden?