{"id":112,"date":"2019-12-18T03:28:37","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T17:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/?p=112"},"modified":"2021-02-24T15:40:38","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T05:40:38","slug":"growing-gathering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/growing-gathering\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing & gathering"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Growing & gathering an edible garden through the practices of permaculture covers much more than growing food. It\u2019s also a means of connection, community and joy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s 10am on a Saturday in spring, the sky is grey and the wind is picking up. I\u2019m hoping that, for the sake of the 10 other people I\u2019m gathering with in Ben Shaw\u2019s gorgeous green backyard, the rain holds off for the next two hours during our workshop on urban permaculture. Covering themes from urban garden design and planting strategies to creating healthy soil and managing pests, today\u2019s event intends to teach us how to create a thriving edible garden.
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An integrated approach to growing & gathering<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


\u201cIn permaculture, you don\u2019t look at things in isolation,\u201d Ben explains as we huddle around a corner of one of his thriving raised garden beds made with second-hand sleepers. \u201cEverything is integrated. You\u2019re looking at things in a holistic way.\u201d In this bed alone, I see cabbage, chamomile, calendula, fennel, snow peas, potatoes, silver beet, thyme and a huge amount of kale. One of the hot tips we learn is that you maximise space by planting on corners of raised beds. \u201cDiversity is key in a good garden,\u201d he adds. The green thumb completed a permaculture design course in 2010 and now shares his wisdom with the local Geelong community in Victoria through workshops and consultations.

The beautiful crab apple tree sitting in the middle of Ben\u2019s thriving garden takes centre stage, but as we journey through the rest of the garden, we receive valuable insights on growing other types of fruit trees. From planting a pear tree above lavender to encourage pollination to keeping a fig tree inside a chook pen for shade, it\u2019s clear that the practices of permaculture are not just a holistic way of designing a backyard, but ann integrated way of living for all.
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A healthy foundation
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Ben likens the notion of healthy soil to caring for our bodies with nutrient-dense food. \u201cOne of the best things you can do for your garden is to continuously improve your soil,\u201d he explains while picking up some of his soil with his hands so we can see just how alive and diverse it is \u2014 with a few worms wriggling around. \u201cWe want to create soil that is diverse and thriving. Plants use up the energy \u2014 the nutrients \u2014 of the soil.\u201d
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A means of connection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


In terms of how Ben\u2019s permaculture practices feed into his lifestyle, it\u2019s all about connecting with his local community. His neighbours throw scraps over the fence into the compost in the chook pen in exchange for some fresh chook eggs, while the fig trees in his backyard are cuttings from his neighbours across the road, who brought them from Greece decades ago. \u201cThat connection is through food,\u201d Ben shares.

What I quickly learn throughout this experience is that the laughter you share with others when swapping stories about soil, pests and foraging is just as profound as the practical takeaway tools you get from the day. While the knowledge feeds our minds and the produce feeds our bodies, the connection feeds our souls. I leave the workshop with a handful of freshly picked snow peas and a surge of inspiration running through my body. Growing & gathering is a powerful means of connection and inspiration that no doubt facilities a greater sense of being in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Words ALLY MCMANUS<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Want to learn more about being inspired?\u00a0Visit our inspired archive.<\/a>

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Growing & gathering an edible garden through the practices of permaculture covers much more than growing food. It\u2019s also a means of connection, community and joy. It\u2019s 10am on a Saturday in spring, the sky is grey and the wind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wellbeing.com.au\/being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}