Discusses the benefits of earthworms in improving the quality and quantity of pasture and crops, and soil structure, how to access earthworm populations, and creating favourable conditions for earthworms.
This series of factsheets on organic farming also apply to organic gardening and will provide insight to organic requirements for larger scale productions.
1. Primefact 1051 Organic Vegetable Production (2010)- A fact sheet covering organic farming that includes organic weed management, organic management practices, insect pest and disease management.
2. Primefact 802 Oganic Vegetable Production Planning (2008) - a factsheet that describes some of the important considerations when starting an organic vegetable enterprise. The contents of this Primefact include: farm selection and establishment, variety and crop selection, designing the crop rotation, soil and crop nutrition, water proximity to non-organic neighbours and transport.
3. Organic vegetable production (2010) - soil management and crop establishment - Organic farming starts with the soil. The organic farmer’s primary aim should be to provide crop and animal nutrition by implementing practices that nurture the soil, stimulate soil life, and conserve nutrients. This Primefact covers the following topics: soil fertility and crop nutrition, determining crop nutrient requirements, soil preparation and planting, irrigation, post-harvest management and marketing
4. Primefact 543 Drought Smart Gardening - using Native Australian Plants (2009)- Using Australian native plants in your garden will help reduce the amount of water you use in your garden, while still allowing you to have an interesting and colourful garden, even in the driest times. This factsheet provides steps to create a drought smart garden as well as contact details for Forest nurseries.
An easy to use score card to assess the impact your gardening practices have on the natural environment, including the topics of; garden design, compost, soil, chemicals, water, produce, plant selection, and products.
Permaculture Sydney North is a non-profit group of over 450 people based in Sydney, Australia with an amazing array of skills in self reliance, energy & water conservation, qualified permaculture design and teaching. It's a great place to start for people who want to learn more about healthier, abundant and satisfied living.
Hunter Organic Growers Society has been established for over 30 years, and develops a regular newsletter to promote sustainable gardening. Here are a list of their fact sheets including companion planting, composting, worm farming and no dig gardening. Their website also has a seasonal planting guide suitable for our region.
Discusses how native lawns benefit the environment and are drought tolerant, and suitable native grass varieties and alternatives to conventional lawns. The website is an excellent reference for all gardening information.
