Director. Design and installation. Project management. Education and support. Community Garden co-ordinator. Veggie Doctor alter ego.
Bruce is the founder and current president of Veggie Village Community Gardens Inc at Peregian Beach. His quest for knowledge of vegetable growing and community care led him to start the garden nearly 5 years ago. Since then he has completed a PDC (Permaculture Design Course) and has helped set up several home gardens throughout the Sunshine Coast including his own suburban backyard at Marcus Beach.
Our latest Edible Schoolyard is at Kenmore State Primary School in Brisbane. We designed and constructed this garden using the amazing modular Veggie Bed system.
The students were also supplied with great quality soil, fertilisers, a shade-house, trellises and over 600 seedlings to plant out the garden.
UNIVERSITY staff and students will not just be tucking into greater learning next year if the seeds of a proposed edible community garden take root.
Edible Landscapes founder Bruce Molloy recently visited the University of the Sunshine Coast to share his insights and explore the possibility of establishing a communal fruit and vegetable garden as part of an "edible campus visioning workshop".
Mr Molloy worked with USC fourth-year nutrition and dietetics students Kirsten Hicks and Jayme Danrell to help explain the benefits to a total of about 85 staff members and students.
The workshop heard that the venture would help improve sustainability and create a greater sense of community.
USC public health and nutrition supervisor Angela Cleary said: "Although there was much excitement around the creation of an edible garden, there is still a lot of planning required before we start digging."
Mr Molloy said the workshop was all about involving both students and staff in the project.
Ms Cleary said a community garden would enable participating students and staff to be active outdoors and to pick their own fruit and vegetables for free.
Science, Health, Education and Engineering Dean John Bartlett believes a community garden will be a great asset for the campus.
"The proposed community garden at USC provides a tremendous opportunity to bring together people with a passion for food, nutrition, sustainability, and health and wellbeing, to build a vibrant and diverse community-of-practice with a distinctly Sunshine Coast flavour," Prof Bartlett said.
Ms Cleary said the project had been an ongoing process since last September.
"The students conducted a feasibility study with staff members and found 10 other universities in Australia have a community garden, and found the key to that success is planning," she said.
Ms Cleary said students were planning a design and progress timeline.
Spring is here! Shrubs and bushes are beginning to flower, the nights aren't quite so snugly and the ocean's beginning to look inviting again.
After struggling through the - ahem - harsh winter months in southeast Queensland, it's time to celebrate the season of new beginnings!
Sunshine Coast-based Edible Landscapes advises that September ' 'tis the season to be sowing!' Their advice is to give your veggie, herb and flower gardens a big dose of love right now to see it reciprocated with abundant crops of delicious, healthy and beautiful produce!
Blessed as we are in our beautiful spot here in paradise. Some parts of our coast are harder to grow than others or you may just not have the knack of veggie and herb growing - yet! Edible Landscapes has an Edible Garden Design package that will have your garden growing in no time.
During your comprehensive garden assessment visit, you'll receive invaluable knowledge on the how-to, where-to and what-to of your landscape including how you can get the most from what you've got already, how to put simple mistakes right - like the right plant in the wrong location - and lots, lots more including step-by-step advice to turn your yard into a beautiful and edible landscape – one that not only looks beautiful but delivers yummy veggies, herbs and fruit for you – all year round.
Bruce Molloy, Edible Landscapes' owner laughs that “we love our Edible Garden Designs because as the saying goes 'one hour of clever design can save ten hours of hard work', and we know that a two-hour planning visit from us saves people bucket loads of time, disappointment and money.”
Bruce continues, "We all know it makes sense to plan things - from building a house, researching a holiday or even a kitchen renovation. At Edible Landscapes we say 'So why not properly plan your garden?' Doing the 'groundwork' on your yard means you're increasing your chance of success first time round - and that means you'll be eating what you've sown a whole lot earlier!"
The Edible Garden Design Package is just $199, and includes • A two-hour garden visit to deliver your customised garden design, tailored to your property and household • A "Getting Started" e-book, packed with great advice and practical tips to get you started straight-away • Three FREE packets of seeds to get you growing right away • Membership to the Edible Family newsletter (invaluable advice and a helping hand in the garden via your inbox) • PLUS - unique to Edible Landscapes, an Audio Commentary MP3 recording of our conversation on the walk around your garden explaining your new design. The audio can be downloaded directly to your home computer or smart phone for you to listen to again and again.
So what are you waiting for - get growing today! For more details or to book your Edible Garden Design call Bruce on 5448 3769 / 0411 518 773 or visit www.ediblelandscapes.com.au or check out their facebook page at facebook.com/EdibleLandscapesAustralia.
THOUSANDS turned out for the Sunshine Coast Real Food Festival at Maleny but few were as excited or inspired as five-year-old Dylan Turley.
The Arana Hills youngster could not wait to start his own edible garden after grabbing the opportunity to collect a free seedling.
The second running of the festival, aimed at showcasing local offerings "from paddock to plate", had a strong focus on children.
Kids were encouraged to take their mum or dad's biodegradable coffee cup, rinse it out and add potting mix and a plant to take home.
Dad Mark said Dylan had loved "getting his hands dirty" and collecting a lettuce seedling. "The theory is that if they grow it, they'll eat it so we'll see," Mr Turley said.
"We don't have a lot of room, but this is the sort of thing we can do."
Dylan also enjoyed making his own pizza and tasting products, including yoghurt and macadamia nuts. The grow-your-own plant activity was run by Edible Landscapes.
HOME GROWN: Dylan Turley digs his little lettuce at the Maleny Real Food Festival. Picture: Stuart Quinn Source: The Courier-Mail
Full article: http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/festival-delivers-food-for-thought/story-fn6ck45n-1226468537996
When you plant a garden you are putting food out for the pests. They will take residence in your leafy greens, nibble on your young shoots and lay eggs on the underside of everything else. These are the 'bad' bugs.
One way - and there are many ways - of dealing with these bad bugs is to invite the 'good' bugs to live at your place. Ladybeetles, hoverflies, lacewings and tiny wasps can control aphids, scale, red spider mite, caterpillar and other pests without the use of chemicals. You can plant to attract these good critters - red clover, lucerne, cosmos, sweet alice, dill, caraway, coriander, buckwheat, baby’s breath, Queenanne’s Lace and marigolds will capture their interest - but if you really want them to stick around, have you considered where they might take residence around your backyard?
Insect habitat is in decline - climate change, loss of natural habitat, and pesticide use have all played their part. But with some basic skills and some offcuts or remnants, you can make a difference right in your own garden. The scope of what you build is limited only by your imagination! Some of the ones I'm loving are these eco-friendly homes and this inspired textile-based urban ladybird kit.
Start with something small and simple - some drilled holes of various sizes in a fallen log of wood will house the solitary bees, painting it red will attract the ladybeetles, and some recycled cans filled with sticks and dead leaves are safe places for the smallest critters to hide and reside.
This is a wonderful weekend project. Will you make one too?
The 2012 Green Screen Climate Fix Flicks is a new initiative launched by climate scientists from Macquarie University, The University of Melbourne and the Monash Sustainability Institute. Their goal is to raise awareness of the opportunities and positive effects of moving the word towards a low carbon future. There are 10 finalists in the People's Choice Award. We featured Nic's composting hot tub in the hot stuff.
Congratulations to St Joseph's Primary School at Kangaroo Point for the fantastic turnout and setup of their new edible schoolyard and outdoor classroom.
There were well over 40 enthusiastic parents and students that turned out for the day to set up their gardens. The new Veggie Beds worked a treat as they were so easy for the students to install.
We got so much done including clearing dead and unwanted trees. The the site was leveled with our mini excavator and readied for the Veggie Beds to be place. While they were being installed another group put together the 3 way underground tube phone and garden shed.
The whiteboard on casters was attached to the outdoor classroom while others built and filled up the herb garden.
The P&F kindly kept us going with a sausage sizzle and ice cold drinks.
We filled the veggie beds with 8m3 of fantastic compost which was kindly donated by www.redbacklandscaping.com.au and lined the pathways with woodchip mulch.
An exhausting and fantastic day was had by all. Over 200 seedlings donated by Pohlmans were left for the students to plant out this week.
We're really excited about this Saturday. Not only do we help another school set up an edible schoolyard and outdoor classroom but we get to use our new Veggie Bed system first time.
The Adopt our Edible Schoolyard Project was successful in raising over $5000 in cash and in-kind donations. Including a whopping $1,250 from Redback Landscaping in Brisbane.
The new garden will feature:
Espaliered fruit trees
Modular raised garden beds
Garden shed
Archway into vegetable gardens
Work tables
Outdoor classroom with retractable whiteboard
Wheelie bin worm farm
Native bee hive
Bird feeders
Sensory gardens
Dried creek bed
Bridge
Bird bath
Sand pit with clock and archeology markings
Raised tank bed
Underground speaking tube phone
Scarecrows
Beneficial insect attracting flowers
Our new Edible Landscapes Veggie Beds are the most versatile garden bed system on the market. So easy and versatile that the students will be installing the garden beds themselves.
They're made from recycled post-consumer food grade plastics and rice husks. Find out more about them at www.veggiebeds.com.au
Let's pray for fine weather on Saturday so we can get the gardens built and start St Josephs on their fantastic journey of teaching kids about healthy food and that school work can be fun!
St Joseph’s Primary School are creating a new Edible Schoolyard with an Outdoor Classroom and we need your help to build and maintain it through the Adopt Our Edible Schoolyard Project.
The Adoption Project gives families, individuals, companies and organisations the opportunity to sponsor the materials and time required to establish the garden through money contributions, material donations, complementary trade services and regular volunteer hours.
“We encourage you to get behind our adoption project. The hands-on experiential method of learning has many benefits for the modern child. We believe our new school garden will provide essential learnings for children today if we are to have a sustainable tomorrow.” Micheal O’Sullivan, Principal
WITH environmental sustainability high on the agenda more homeowners are searching for sustainable lifestyles. If you ask Edible Landscapes director Bruce Molloy, the answer could be waiting in their own backyards.
Prior to starting Edible Landscapes, a permaculture and garden design business, Bruce worked as a graphic designer and photographer. His ecological journey began about five years ago, after watching documentary film An Inconvenient Truth.
``It kind of stemmed from that line that Al Gore says (in the film): `When it comes to global issues, most people go from denial to despair without stopping in the middle to do something about the problem.'
``You talk to a lot of people and it's always: `Oh, it's just too hard', and that becomes overwhelming. People need to realise that any tiny step toward something, whether it be food production or recycling, or whatever it might be, does make a difference,'' he said.
The avid green thumb is in the process of piloting a sustainable garden declaration, an extension of the existing sustainability declaration that details a property's environmental and social sustainability features. ``It wouldn't be a compulsory requirement, but it would definitely be an extra selling point,'' he said.
``When buyers are looking at properties now, they're not just looking for what's in the house itself. They're looking for solar hot water systems, solar power, energy efficient lighting and all that sort of thing. I really feel the next big jump is for people to be looking for sustainable gardens and food production gardens, especially if it's a well-established one.''
Real Estate Industry of Queensland managing director Dan Molloy said increasing living costs, matched by growing environmental awareness, had caused homebuyers to look favourably upon environmentally sustainable properties.
``The current trend towards organic and local produce has also resulted in more and more homeowners developing vegetable gardens in their backyards,'' Dan said.
While there was no evidence to suggest that a food-producing garden would add to a property's sale value, Dan said the green initiative was likely to appeal to a particular type of buyer.
``Similar to other features, such as swimming pools, there is a certain level of maintenance, knowledge and time involved in tending to a food-producing garden,'' Bruce said. ``But the more you put into a food garden, the more you get out of it.''
``I'm on a 700sqm block on a sand patch in Marcus Beach and we grow a heap of food. Small urban gardens can be productive and can really make a difference.''
Edible Landscapes director Bruce Molloy. Source: Quest Newspapers
Full article: http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/sunshine-coast/edible-gardens-boost-homes/story-fn8zc20t-1226226974004
in Blog / In the media / Projects
Our latest Edible Schoolyard is at Kenmore State Primary School in Brisbane. We designed and constructed this garden using the amazing modular Veggie Bed system.
