Pip Magazine Issue 18

DAVID HOLMGREN David is best known as the co-originator, with Bill Mollison, of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Since then he has developed three properties, consulted and supervised in urban and rural projects and presented lectures, workshops and courses at a wide variety of events and venues in Australia and around the world. David and his partner Su Dennett live at Melliodora in Hepburn, central Victoria, where he’s the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. JEFF DONNE Jeff is a carver, writer and woodcraft teacher in Pambula, New South Wales. His well-known Travelling Spoon School has roamed across much of Australia, spreading the word of sustainable crafts and happy slowness to thousands of people. The challenges of 2020 have meant Jeff’s woodcraft school has re-emerged as a publishing…

“We need to build more reliance on ourselves and our communities” Who could have imagined a year ago how the world would look right now. Never would we have thought that overseas flights are all but cancelled, businesses shut down, people would be forced to stay at home, wear masks to go out and that we’d be banned from gathering with friends, family and loved ones. It shows what is possible in a crisis. In my previous editorial, I wrote about how this crisis has returned some positive changes for the environment and I would love to think this is so, but how we fare into the future all depends on how well we come out of this at the other end. Government really needs to lead on this but that doesn’t mean…

CONTOUR LINES www.contourlines.org One of many Ecosystem Restoration Camps around the world, Contour Lines is helping to protect the Guatemalan rainforest by working with local Mayan communities to transform corn monocultures into abundant food forests. Through regenerating degraded farmlands, the camp hopes to demonstrate the benefits of regenerative agriculture methods to the local community. One metre at a time, the project is building contour lines with logs and other organic material to slow erosion, improve soil hydration and fertility, before planting fruit trees, legumes and edible annuals into the terraces. So far, the project has created over 20 kilometres of contours. The local community is deeply involved – it is their land and their project – and are now training other villagers. As well as restoring ecosystem health, this project is also about…

The Little Veggie Patch AN A-Z GUIDE TO GROWING FOOD IN SMALL SPACES A useful reference for anyone interested in growing vegetables at home using organic methods. Useful to apartment dwellers and backyard roamers alike, the book covers everything you need to know to get the most food out of your space. This amended edition of the best-selling Australian gardening book covers everything from understanding soil, creating beds, successful composting and productive worm farms through to natural pest and disease management, and saving and sowing seeds. Written by Melburnians Fabian Capomolla and Mat Pember, this latest edition is a great start for anyone wanting to grow more food in their own backyard. $27 www.littleveggiepatch.com.au ROAD TO REGENERATIVE RINGER TEE Fair-trade certified, this lightweight t-shirt from Patagonia is made from regenerative organiccertified cotton sourced from farms working towards rehabilitating…

SOURDOUGH How long can my starter go without being fed? If you are leaving your starter on the bench all the time then it’s best you feed it every day. If you are not baking bread every day, then feed your starter, put it in a clean jar with the lid on it and store it in the fridge. How long can my starter survive in the fridge? If you are storing your starter in the fridge, try to feed it once a week. It will survive for a few months in the fridge without feeding, however it will take longer to revive when you want to bake again, usually between two and three days, feeding every 12 hours. Why does my starter go smelly more quickly in summer? The bacteria proliferate and thrive at higher…

For the mums My name is Anita and I am a mother of three boys. This is the first time I’ve bought your magazine and I think it’s fabulous. Robyn’s editorial was so spot on – it brought tears to my eyes and I couldn’t agree more about the rise in depression. I would love to see an article written for all Australians, but mainly mums out there struggling with depression. I’m one of those mums who struggles with it every day, but I have never admitted it because how can a mum function if she’s mentally unstable? I started gardening because I lost my full-time job overnight. I am now a mum who spends her time in the garden, which is why I bought your magazine. Growing my own food has given…