JAMIE DURIE FAMILY FOOD GARDEN Troy and Jess have lived in their forever home for seven years now and have become more health conscious lately. In that time, in their quest to live more sustainably, Troy has become a keen gardener, teaching himself several gardening principles, including some permaculture. The different techniques he s tried have produced some good crops but with no coherent strategy he knows he could be producing a lot more. With their first baby on the way, he and Jess are extra motivated to get their garden right. Fortunately for Troy and Jess, Jamie Durie is just the person they need to help transform their haphazard veggie patches into a dream garden able to produce fruit and vegetables all year round.
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GARDEN BEDS Troy s new dream garden will consist of a series of big enclosed garden beds that will run down the side fences and along the back fence. Each bed will provide two months of food, giving Troy and Jess fresh fruit and vegetables all year round. In order to create Troy s ultimate garden, Jamie and the crew remove all remnants of his old garden. While a lot of old stuff is thrown in the Bingo Bin, Troy has a lot of good soil, flowers, fruit and vegetables, so these are carefully placed in tubs under the house so they can be replanted in the new garden later on. With the ground clear, the beds are built from Whites Retain-iT retaining post system. Made from high tensile galvanised steel they are simply placed into holes in the ground, concreted in and timber sleepers are slid into the grooves.
To fully enclose each bed, vertical support posts are concreted into the ground and horizontal posts attached around the top to create a roof frame. The gardens are terraced to accommodate the slope of the backyard and retain the nutrients in each individual bed. A sheet of plastic is also nailed to the inside of each bed wall, to help funnel water back into the garden, where it is needed most. With the frames built, the beds are filled with new soil and Troy s existing nutrient rich soil. To keep the harsh Australian sun from burning their crops, the frames are wrapped in shade cloth. Jamie alternates the colours to replicate the effect of full sun and dappled light. The shade cloths can also screen each bed from each other, so Troy and Jess can rotate crops. Once each bed is harvested they can let their new chickens out of their coop in the bottom corner of garden into the garden beds to eat up the waste and re-fertilise the soil; ready for a new crop to be planted. Jamie is careful to plant fruit and vegetables that fruit at the same time of the year together, creating a seasonal system that will be constantly producing fresh fruit and veg. Jamie also installs Whites Grip & Grow; a simple frame system giving climbing plants beans, tomatoes and peas something to climb up, allowing them to get more sun. Across the whole garden, Jamie plants hundreds of different herbs, fruit and vegetables.
Troy and Jess fence is part Colourbond, part timber palings. The palings that are starting to rot are replaced and then the entire fence is painted Medicine Bottle green using Taubmans Endure Exterior. The old aluminium shed is given a coat as well, so it all blends into the background of this new garden. PAINTS COURTESY OF TAUBMANS LOCATION PRODUCT COLOUR FINISH Fence / Shed Endure Exterior Medicine Bottle Low Sheen Timber Posts / Garden bed Walls Endure Exterior Brunette Low Sheen
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT BUNNINGS PRODUCT PRICE ITEM # Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Impact Driver - Skin Only $99.00 6210363 Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Compact Drill Driver - Skin Only $89.00 6210360 Ryobi 2000W 254mm Slide Compound Mitre Saw With Laser $299.00 6210395 Ryobi Lithium+ 36V Brushless Lawn Mower 5.0Ah Kit W/ Fast Charger $649.00 3381151 Ryobi 36V Cordless Line Trimmer Console $259.00 3380839 Whites Outdoor 450 x 50mm Retain-iT End Post $9.46 1100442 Whites 1900mm Grip & Grow Freestanding Plant Trainer $35.00 3042326 Coolaroo 3.66m Forest Green Shade Cloth - Linear Metre $18.50 3300061 Coolaroo 3.66m Sandstone 70% UV Shade Cloth - Per Metre $18.50 3300063 Sweet Garden Organic Sugar Cane Mulch $15.98 2961137 Pinnacle 1210 x 1440 x 1350mm Pet Cottage Chicken Coop $429.00 3440140
PRODUCT PRICE ITEM # Whites 120cm x 50m x 5cm Chicken Netting $105.00 3041784 100mm Renaissance Assorted Herbs $4.24 3551452 250mm Dwarf Nectazee Nectarine $61.27 3660781 250mm Dwarf Pixzee Peach $61.27 3660789 5L Mix Avocado $59.98 3832015 200mm Mix Pomegranate $34.98 3831264 125mm Passiflora edulius Nellie Kelly Passionfruit Vine $7.84 3664811 95mm Assorted Super Foods Seedlings $4.25 3643154 180mm Backhousea Citriodora Lemon Myrtle Bush Foods Range $16.94 3830891 250mm Ballerina Polka Appla $61.27 3660764 200mm Yellow Guava $29.89 3831257 300mm Bowl Strawberry $24.94 3832486
OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING AREA Currently Troy and Jess outdoor entertaining area consists of a 44-gallon drum. While this has provided a focal point for many fun nights through the years, it s time for something a little more sophisticated. Firstly, a large flat area is cut into the sloping backyard. Like the garden beds, the Whites Retain-iT system is used to create a retaining wall to hold the high sides of the yard in place. Pear trees and Lilly Pillies are planted around the top of the retaining wall, with pine bark mulch to keep away the weeds, retain moisture and regulate soil temperature; ensuring the trees grow tall and strong. The entertaining area is covered with Snow White pebbles, which not only look great, but also are easy to walk on and restrain the growth of weeds. On top of this sit a couple of smart, but durable outdoor Mimosa wicker corner sofas and a modern fire pit; perfect for entertaining friends.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT BUNNINGS PRODUCT PRICE ITEM # Whites Outdoor 750 x 50mm Retain-iT Corner Post $30.54 1100446 Richgro 40L Pine Bark Mulch $9.94 2980119 Tuscan Path 20kg 20-25mm Snow White Pebbles $22.65 3460481 Glow 80 x 80 x 23cm Cement Grey and Black Machu Fire Pit $369.00 3171192 Mimosa Corsica Resin Wicker Corner Sofa Setting $1,599.00 3192152 45L Syzygium Resilience Lilly Pilly $145.00 3866485
POTTING SHED The new potting shed is a true reflection of the sustainability Troy and jess aspire to. The old Hills Hoist has been re-positioned to the back corner and re-purposed as the frame for the potting shed roof. The ground is flattened out and four posts are erected under each arm to help hold it up and a tarpaulin attached for cover. The wires of the clothesline can now be used for several different things including hanging pot plants or even hanging clothes still. Nothing is to be wasted in this garden, so an old tree trunk and the old fence palings have also been re-purposed and will now form a sturdy new potting table. To give this new shed a sense of enclosure, Dylan recycles more of the old fence palings. They re nailed to some posts to form a frame and then nailed to the uprights to form small wall. Timber pallets are attached to the fence to form a natural frame on which to hang pot plants.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT BUNNINGS PRODUCT PRICE ITEM # Ryobi One+ 18V 165mm Circular Saw $149.00 6210595 Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Nail Gun - Skin Only $279.00 6210575 17cm Standard Terracotta Pot $1.00 2832559 Northcote 11cm Terracotta Squat Pot $1.15 2863583 Cyclone Steel Springback Garden Rake $29.98 3360946 Cyclone Stainless Steel Garden Spade $59.98 3360941 Cyclone 150mm Long Handle Swan Neck Hoe $39.98 3360235 Hortex Rugged Rigger Garden Gloves $8.90 3350170 Cyclone Stainless Steel Fork Hand Tool $9.98 3360486 Cyclone Stainless Steel Garden Trowel $9.98 3360998 Holman 9L Galvanised Watering Can $14.90 3120984 180mm Mandevillea Aloha Red $17.84 3640990 250mm Nephrolepsis Boston Fern $24.98 3570620
PRODUCT PRICE ITEM # Grow Your Own Vegetable Seedling Punnet $3.56 3653715
WEBLINKS For further information on the materials and products used for this garden, take a look at the following websites: www.bunnings.com.au www.ryobi.com.au www.whitesgroup.com.au www.taubmans.com.au www.bingoindustries.com.au