Beyond The Back Fence

How an ornamental suburban garden has become a sustainable source of produce

- Angela Kristens

It all began three-and-a-half years ago with a small veggie patch and a large area of concrete. In 2005, I decided to add two ponds and a small bridge to my garden to create a more relaxing, aesthetically pleasing landscape. I later installed a water tank linked to my toilet to cut down on our water usage. Little did I know these were the first steps in a long journey toward the creation of a sustainable and productive garden.

I wanted to reap more from my land. I was tired of buying tasteless supermarket produce and not being aware of where it came from or what chemicals it had been treated with.

Plus, given my full-time workload, I needed and wanted to establish garden beds that did not require an excessive amount of maintenance.

WICKING WAYS

One day, I came across an article about a man living in a flat who rode his bike to work. His car park was left unused, so he decided to install two apple crate “wicking beds” in the unoccupied space. I was hooked and began searching the internet for a better understanding of wicking beds and their construction.

Along with my partner, Kent, I built four apple crate wicking beds on the concrete area in our backyard. This enabled rainwater to fall on the garden beds without running off from the concrete, which meant the beds didn’t need as much maintenance. A deep watering system covered with lucerne further decreased evaporation.

We added a few more garden beds for fruit trees but, being on a standard suburban block, I soon realised that to have a variety of trees they would have to be espaliered. We planted 15 all up along the fence line, facing either north or west.