I woke up this morning hoping to send some emails and get a bit of computer work done before heading out to take the sheep out to pasture, cut some greens for the ducks, and change the sprinklers. As has often been the case during the past couple months, however, the vortex of the internet has led me down the rabbit hole of seemingly endless reports and gloomy analyses relating […]
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Siyuan Tian, Australian National University and Albert Van Dijk, Australian National University Another summer, another drought. Sydney’s water storages are running on empty, and desalinisation plants are being dusted off. Elsewhere, shrunken rivers, lakes and dams are swollen with rotting fish. Governments, irrigators and environmentalists blame each other for the drought, or just blame […]
So here we are, on the Zaytuna Farm Herb Tour. We met Yarrow here and after him, the most multi-functional plant I know, is our next guest, Aloe Vera. Aloe is a family of over 500 species (most of which have not been researched for medicinal purposes) but the most commonly used for medicinal benefits is Aloe Vera or Aloe vera barbadensis although Aloe arborescens or Candelebra or Tree Aloe is […]
Take a sweeping 20-minute tour of our 66-acre Zaytuna Farm property. Throughout, I explain specific features of the farm, how these things came together, and why the farm was designed as you see it. If some terms aren’t familiar, we have included a detailed explanation below and to learn, even more, check out my Permaculture Masterclass series, HERE: https://www.discoverpermaculture.com/video-1-pdc-2019 Zaytuna Farm went into development in 2001 with earthworks for the mainframe […]
National Geographic in this short film shows us an example of forest gardening of food forests from the UK. Martin Crawford’s forest garden is 25 years old, first established on a flat field in 1994, now it’s a forest full of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, and perennial vegetables mimicking a natural ecosystems and natures patterns. The land serves and as an education demonstration site showing what might […]
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Lizzy Lowe, Macquarie University; Cameron Webb, University of Sydney; Manu Saunders, University of New England, and Tanya Latty, University of Sydney Insects are important wildlife often overlooked in urban habitats. What we do notice are the cockroaches, ants and mosquitoes in and around our homes. All too often we reach for the insect spray. […]
Since moving to North Carolina a couple of years ago—my, how time flies—Emma and I have developed a minor obsession with foraging. We’ve learned to confidently identify over a dozen types of edible wild mushrooms here, dining on choice varieties as chanterelles, maitake, chicken of the woods, and comb tooth (Hericium coralloides), a relative of the highly medicinal lion’s mane. We’ve also frequently enjoyed wild plants such as chickweed, dandelions, trout […]
Plants have secrets that science is only just discovering, but that traditional herbalists, healers and farmers have known about for millenia. On the first stop of our herbal tour of Zaytuna Farm we met Rosemary, that ancient remedy for memory and concentration. This stop is with my mate, Yarrow. He’s been called a lot of different names over time, and his scientific name is Achillea millefolium. At Zaytuna you’ll find […]
The 8th annual Transitions Film Festival returns to Cinema Nova, Melbourne this February with another inspiring line-up of world-changing films. Showcasing local and international documentaries aimed at empowering audiences to build a better world, the films in this year’s program cover a broad range of meaningful themes including: creative and technological innovation, the future of food, gender equality, online privacy, climate change, animal welfare, renewable energy, social justice and the […]
To learn more about Geoff Lawton and the Permaculture Masterclass series visit: https://www.discoverpermaculture.com/a/12454/bzgDtpeF I’ve been working in Jordan since 1999, and it is one of the most water-scarce countries on earth. The Dead Sea Valley, at 400 meters below sea level, is also the lowest place on earth, so the climate has Mediterranean weather with subtropical heat. The soil and water are the saltiest I’ve ever worked with. In the […]
The Permaculture Magazine’s annual prize has been launched and applicants are now invited to put in their applications. With a fund of £25,000 donated by several generous benefactors, the aim is to directly help transform communities and regenerate habitats and it will be judged by a prestigious panel of international judges. The prize will consist of one main award of £10,000 and four runners up of £2,500 and is open […]
The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is one of the world’s most interesting plants. Of the nearly 35,000 species of orchid, the second largest botanical family of plants, vanilla is the only species that produces an edible fruit. True vanilla is a sought after product, usually the second most expensive spice in the world, yet we associate the word vanilla with plain, boring, and commonplace. Native to Mexico and Central America, […]
