Two thirds hectare, semi rural property in the forested hills east of Perth Western Australia. In the last 200 years our block &;surrounding areas have been cleared of native Jarrah & Marri eucalyptus forrest to be replaced by orchards & chook farms which have long since disappeared, leaving a patchwork of degraded farmland & fire prone, fast growing Marri tree forests, invaded with introduced Eastern states & overseas grasses, plants, shrubs & trees which have overcome native flora . In the last 30 years we have cleared the property of high fire risk invasive species, ( Flinders range wattles, Blackberries, Watsonias ,Stinkworts, Mullein, etc.) We have suppressed weeds with multiple layers of cardboard , improved soil quality & moisture retention with constant mulching. We have created low water use floral gardens with native plants & succulents. We have a vegetable & fruit tree garden for home use. All this has been done on a near zero budget as our local shire gives us free mulch & 70 native seedlings each year.
All our succulents have been free cuttings. Our property is sloped, so we have extensive rock wall terracing for practical & aesthetic appearance.
Our house is modest 80 year old 2 x 1 weatherboard cottage with a fully self contained granny flat for visitors. Attached to the flat is a studio & workshop. The block is unfenced allowing the kangaroos to come & regularly mow our modest lawn in Summer.
My wife Madeleine & I have been involved in local bushcare activities for 30 years & we have transferred & applied those learned skills to our own property. There is a lot we don’t know about gardening so we thought it would be good to get enthusiastic young people in to give us some tips & perhaps we could pass on some of our accumulated knowledge of the W.A. bush environment. As we have created a monster here & gardening is never ending we are finding we could do with a little extra help.
Organic/Biological methods we use
Physical. weed suppression (cardboard matting), Mulching , Fine netting of fruit trees
Skills WWOOFers can learn here
MulchingPruningEnvironmental recovery/regeneration workMechanicalUsing & caring for toolsBuildingHandymanGardeningPropagatingPreserving & processing foodComposting
