This month we lost a Permaculture elder, author, teacher & educator. Dr Ross Mars was many of those thing’s but he was also a husband, father, pop, brother, uncle, friend and mentor to many. Not many people know, but we actually have Ross’ wife Jenny to thank for bringing permaculture to Ross. It was her who first did a Permaculture Design Course and suggested Ross do one too.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ross’ contributions to permaculture were numerous, and if we tried to list them all, we’d be here until tomorrow and would probably still forget some. Ross’ involvement in Permaculture has spanned more than three decades during which time he had two “Candlelight Farms”, wrote and co-authored twenty books for the beginner Permie, the Permaculture classroom, Permaculture disguised as Science in the Garden, and his last one on Regenerative Agriculture, which only went to the publisher this August. He played an integral role in establishing approved greywater and black water recycling systems in Western Australia, and was a member of the Greywater and Wastewater Industry Group. He was one of the main organisers for the 2016 Australasian Permaculture Convergence here in Perth and contributed to many others. Ross was a teacher, a high school science and math teacher in fact, and he brought that skill into Permaculture facilitating and delivering numerous courses – Introduction to Permaculture, Short Workshops, PDCs, Advanced Courses, Teacher Trainings, Permaculture Earthwork Courses and all levels of the accredited training sector. He wrote and established the accredited training for Permaculture from the Certificate I to Diploma level and made WA the forefront of accredited Permaculture training in Australia. In addition, he also brought Certificate I & II Permaculture qualifications into high schools through the Vocational Education & Training in Schools system. As a designer and consultant, Ross’ name and “Candlelight Farm” will be found on numerous designs for schools, colleges and community gardens as well as his work with property owners helping them achieve their dreams. We could go on, but what we really want to talk about is how many lives Ross touched in doing all this. How many people felt that he changed the direction they were travelling in and his influence on their life. He changed not only people’s properties, but also their worldviews and in many cases the directions of their life.
Two themes keep coming up when speaking with people about Ross: His humour and his generosity. We are the best examples of that and neither of us would be where we are today without Ross. He taught us much of what we know and encouraged us to go out, start our own business’ and to teach others – sometimes with a (not so) gentle kick in the behind. He supported our baby steps with patience, and trusted us as we grew wings and found our own teaching styles. We could also question and disagree with Ross and he would listen and take on our point of view or differences in opinions, but we always knew we were still mates. How many weekends were spent at Candlelight Farm learning from him? Financially, it was never worth it for him, he did it to inspire others and because of his love of teaching and his belief in what Permaculture could do for a community. He would say to us on more than one occasion, “When it comes down to it, Permaculture is about Community, Soil and Water” and although we’ve tried to think him wrong, he had a point. Permaculture is about Community and that was what Ross fostered by his actions and innate generosity. I remember doing one of the courses with Ross around 2011 and he brought in these MASSIVE Bunya pine cones happily declaring he was going to harvest the seeds and make us a gluten free, Bunya Pine Nut Chocolate Mud Cake for our next teaching session. True to his word he did and I’m yet to find a better chocolate mud cake than Ross’ “Bunya Pine Nut Chocolate Mud Cake” – he was onto gluten free before we even knew what gluten was. That was the lengths Ross would go to for his students to harvest enough pine seeds to make us a chocolate cake just so we could experience it.
We like to think that our countless hours of fixing his reticulation, propagating new plants, making mudbricks, building straw bales, sanding, concreting, surveying or building something was actually helping him. Most likely though, he spent more time fixing it up afterward but you would never hear him complain. What his approach taught us though, was that it was okay to have a go and learn on the job. To use tools we weren’t naturally comfortable with, and that circumstances didn’t need to be perfect to work. Ross had an uncanny sense of smell for cake and a knack for materializing out of thin air whenever it appeared. If we needed to speak to him, all we had to do was announce morning tea to our students and his cheeky grin would poke around the corner under the pretence of “selling” books, or needing to talk to our students about something. Teaching was carried out in a refitted shed with the ablutions consisting of a homemade composting toilet with a bucket, a toilet seat and a container of sawdust. This proved a little too overwhelming for many students as in the end it was upgrade to a “normal toilet” that flushed. Ross handed over the teaching reins to us a few years ago so he could enjoy more time with his beloved wife Jenny, their dog Bruno and all the family. We hope we can do him proud and continue his legacy. He was a teacher and mentor, but to us, and many more in the permaculture community – he was much more than that, he was our friend and he will be greatly missed.
Some time ago we inherited a very large garden. I was not a gardener but strangely enough I come from generations of farmers. So, I learned fast. I also wanted a method that would suit my wife who was injured in a car accident and sometimes found bending painful. Trawling the internet, I found Strawbale Gardening.
This was some seventeen years ago. I have experimented with the method, and it works very well. I have taught it in the UK, Australia, America and Canada.
Firstly, you do not need soil. So, it follows that you can start your new strawbale garden almost anywhere. On grass, concrete, on your drive, patio or in the backyard. There is no digging and best of all no weeds. There is no waste. When the strawbales are “tired” having had no soil borne diseases they make first-rate compost.
Speaking for myself and a few friends these seem to be the most popular vegetables to grow in strawbales. Pole beans, onions, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, spring onions, marrows, pumpkins, peas, beetroot, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, and cauliflower to name but a few. I have had extremely mixed results with sweetcorn so I would probably advise you to steer clear until you have mastered the technique. Strawbales fit in most spaces, you can grow on the surface of the bale, being careful to plant right to the edge, and vertically using poles.
One of my favourite strawbale systems uses three bales and seven canes. I grow three varieties of tomatoes up the canes and lettuce, cabbage and marrows on the surface. I have attached a bad drawing to illustrate. You can also plant flowers to act as companion plants. Strawbale gardening is not simply a question of throwing a few seeds in the bale and hoping for the best. It is a little more complicated than that. But it is very doable and very worthwhile. The main thing is to get the strawbales composting. You achieve this by adding water and a nitrogen-based feed over some time and in varying quantities. This gets the bales “cooking”. I have devised a seventeen-day “maturing” schedule and by the end of this time, the strawbales should be ready to plant and or sow into. This is a vital part of the whole operation and when done correctly ensures good crops.
Potatoes are great fun to grow in bales. There are two lengths of bailing twine going horizontally around the strawbale. This is one of only a few times I removed both the twines. It gives the potatoes a bit more freedom. Choose a potato that is not generally available in the shops. My favourite is Pink Fur Apple. It is a great little salad potato and super tasty. When you pull apart the strawbale to reveal your potato treasure it should come away in slices. If you lay this down it makes a great bed for marrows and pumpkins, so not a thing gets wasted. Incidentally, this method is great for children and makes a good classroom project.
One last thing, a strawbale garden looks great. I hope this has whetted your appetite to have a go at strawbale gardening. If you need any further information, please use the Contact Us page on my website. If you want all the lowdown, then I have written an e-book that covers everything.
These reflections are my own of events that occurred in the lead up to the formation of the trading name ‘Permaculture Australia’. It’s intended as background information as we gather in Adelaide at Convergence that includes a really important AGM. Members of PA can elect 7 people to the Board…..people with passion, skills, commitment and the time available to project this organisation into the huge potential it has to represent the movement.”
“The survey conducted by the Amigo Troika ( Bruce Zell, Ian Lillington & myself) is now 13 years old and represents a moment in time. If conducted today….what would it look like? As we elect 7 Board members soon, maybe its time to ask the membership, ask the movement what they vision a Peak Body to do into the future ?”
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned out to be a contentious issue in the Australian permie community. As we are approaching the biennial Australian Permaculture Convergence (APC), a gathering celebrating all things Permie, organisers and participants must navigate the complexities of meeting face-to-face in as respectful and safe a manner as possible.
Individuals within the permie community, like many communities in Australia, hold a variety of different relationships with COVID, and with COVID-safe practices. A number of participants who will be at the APC are beloved permie elders, in their 70s and 80s, who are at increased risk from the impact of COVID. Others among us are immune compromised, unable to be vaccinated while simultaneously at higher risk from complications of COVID.
Others of us are healthy, vaccinated, and committed to keeping our more vulnerable embers safe by doing all we can to stay COVID-safe. Included in this is a concern for our over-burdened health system and health workers, and the vaccination imperative for protecting our health system. Yet others of us are sceptical of vaccination technologies.
Some of us choose not to be vaccinated, and some see mandatory vaccination, mask-wearing and lockdowns as infringements on individual and community rights. There is a concern among some that the pandemic has provided justification for autocratic government and police interventionism; others are concerned that some of the protest actions of this last group have opened the door and invited right-wing, white-superiority, US-style “preppers”, and the culture of racism, misogyny and violence that accompanies them, into the permie space, thus putting members of our permaculture community at risk.
Some of us argue that COVID and vaccine debates have nothing to do with permaculture, while others argue that they are issues central to our ethics: People Care (eg: the importance of keeping people safe); Earth Care (eg: COVID is a zoonotic disease, and zoonotic diseases are exacerbated under industrialised monocultural food growing practices) and Fair Share (eg: discrepancies between food security and access to health care, including vaccinations, between wealthy and impoverished communities).
Organisers of the APC are doing all they can to ensure that our convergence is a physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually safe space.
There will be a couple of sessions at the APC for open and respectful discussion on covid and Permaculture.
Some background reading David Holmgren’s various writings on the pandemic: see, for example, Pandemic Brooding
For a review of the variety of responses within the Australian permaculture community, see Terry Leahy’s piece Permaculture’s COVID Conundrums.
He was tireless in his service to, and ‘needling of’ permaculture and its design process. Dan is sadly missed as a fearless questioner, a passionate connector, and strong and fragile a spirit as the living systems he loved.
Donations of support for his young family can be made at GO FUND ME
If you, or if someone you know is struggling with mental health, don’t wait – get help now. Talk to a friend, reach out and visit to Beyond Blue
Fences are often necessary for privacy, security and the safety of pets and children. As Mara Ripani explains, there are myriad ways to create them with plants, adding extra greenery to our built environment.
With populations increasing and cities and towns growing, we need to take every opportunity to introduce green into our built environment: ‘rewilding’ our surroundings, even in small ways. A living fence is a simple and effective way to start. There are many approaches to creating a living fence: what they all have in common is a thriving explosion of plants!
What is a living fence? Fences are commonly used for creating privacy (both visual privacy and by preventing access), for keeping pets and children contained and safe, and simply for marking property boundaries. With a bit of planning, all of these requirements can be fulfilled with a living fence: one that is made using plants on their own or by combining plants with an appropriate structure. Depending on its main purpose, the space available and your aesthetic preference, a living fence can take the form of closely-planted clumping grasses, a hedge created from shrubs, a line of small trees or espaliered fruit trees, or a cascade of tendrils and flowers from a climbing vine – to name just a few possibilities.
Why choose a living fence? No matter how small your property, if there is room for a fence then there is probably room for a living fence. Well-kept living fences are extremely beautiful. Evergreen plants provide a verdant wall to look at all year round. Climbing plants with flowers provide colour, interest and architectural shapes to admire. A living fence is an extension of your garden, allowing you to layer greenery to create depth and texture. And if you already have a standard fence, you can breathe life into it with a climbing plant.
Cooling microclimates While living fences add a great deal of beauty, they can also help green our cities and create cool microclimates. Built-up urban areas are prone to the urban heat island effect: dense concentrations of pavement, buildings and other thermal mass surfaces absorb daytime heat, releasing it again at night. As a result, ambient temperatures can increase by one to three degrees Celsius. Greening infrastructure projects large and small, including living fences, can help counter this effect through the plants’ natural transpiration.
How to choose plants for a living fence When deciding on the style and plant selection for your living fence, consider its purpose, maintenance requirements, and how it will fit into your existing garden. Whether you opt for native or non-native species, always ensure you avoid species considered invasive in your area. Be careful
that your living fence does not impede communal walking paths, and consider traffic sightlines where necessary – especially for cars exiting driveways.
Grasses If your main priority is boundary marking, a living fence can be as simple as planting a row of ornamental grasses. There are many choices: Poa labillardierei (Common Tussock-grass) Pennisetum alopecuroides (Chinese Fountain grass), Lomandra hystrix (Green Mat-rush,) Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese Silver grass), Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) to name but a few. Be sure to choose perennial grasses that will live year after year, either evergreen or grasses that will dry to a sandy or copper colour, marking the changing seasons. Some grasses have spiky foliage or sharp edges hence consider their appropriateness. Grasses can be cut back in late winter or left uncut for a few years. When cut back they reappear as vibrant green tufts in spring.
Shrubs Privacy and safety for children and pets can be achieved with shrubs planted to make hedges (though note that hedges need dense foliage or supplementing with a wire fence to reliably contain small pets). There are many shrubs to choose from, and garden nurseries offer plenty of information on the growing requirements of plants to help you make your selection. Look for plants in the following genuses Acacia, Westringia, Acmena, Yew, Thuja, and Laurel to name but a mere few. Search for plants that suit your soil type and climate, and be sure to check the height, width and growth rate. Fast-growing hedges will establish quickly but need more frequent pruning, watering and compost. Slower-growing hedges can take years to establish but will then need less maintenance. Also consider colour, foliage texture, and whether you’d prefer evergreen or deciduous. An evergreen shrub will stay green all year round, while deciduous species will change colour before (usually) dropping their leaves. For example, Berberis thunbergia (Japanese Barberry) is a deciduous shrub that goes from green to bright red foliage in autumn. For silver foliage try Westringia fruticose (Native Rosemary(, Teucrium fruticans Tree Garmander), or Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Silver Sheen’ (Pittosporum Silver Sheen)
Trees A line of small trees can also be used to create a fence, or to green an existing fence line. A popular choice is any tree in the conifer family with a tall, narrow form; plant them as close as planting instructions will allow. For an ‘edible fence’, you can espalier fruit trees. Espaliering is easy to do, saves space and allows even small garden owners to access seasonal fruit. Buy bare-rooted trees and plant in winter, and explore the many instructional videos on different espaliering techniques available online.
Climbing vines Climbing vines on a structural support can form a fence for privacy and for containing animals and kids. Choose evergreen plants for year-round screening or deciduous ones for a flash of autumn red followed by bare branches. You can use metal mesh or tensioned wire on a structural frame or a
wooden fence to support your vines; remember that climbing plants are heavy once established so make sure the structure is able to support the weight. There are many fantastic climbing plants to choose from. The evergreen Hardenbergia violacea (Purple Coral Pea )produces a mass of gorgeous purple pea flowers. Pyrostegia venusta (Golden Shower) has stunning orange trumpet flowers and climbing tendrils. Trachelospermum jasminoides (Star Jasmine’s)’ sweet fragrance, Rosa banksiae’s (Lady Banks Rose) rose clusters and the tiny fairylike leaves of Muehlenbeckia complexa (Maidenhair Vine) are all attractive options. If your home or rental property has an existing brick or masonry fence then try Parthenocissus tricuspidata(Boston Ivy) with its burnt red autumn leaves, or Ficus pumila’s (Creeping Fig’s) attractive juvenile leaves.
Before planting Whether you opt for grasses, shrubs, trees or climbers for your living fence, do your plant research. How will the plant grow? How will it change over time? What level of maintenance will it need? Will it drop leaves? Might its root system cause any long-term problems? While it is good to be aware of these things, however, don’t get overwhelmed: generally the value of a living fence far outweighs its care needs. And one final piece of advice: if establishing a new fence, it’s a good idea to do a property boundary search via your relevant state agency to ensure you’re putting the fence in the right place and not on your neighbour’s property. Whether you live in a city, a regional town or in the bush, infrastructure like fences is often necessary. Likewise, rewilding our living environments is important, and easy to do. A living fence is a great way to combine the two, and the benefits will be experienced by you and all that pass by.
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