March 12, 2024 • 51 mins
An interview with Grace from LiveSimplyWithGrace on Instagram
Instagram: @livesimplywithgrace
-----------------------------
More about this episode:
Have you ever looked at a flourishing garden and felt a deep connection to the earth? Grace from Live Simply with Grace certainly has, and she's bringing that love for the soil to a life on wheels. We got the chance to sit down with this remarkable eco-warrior to bring you the insights of maintaining a sustainable lifestyle amidst the adventures of travel. Grace's story began in the roots of her family garden and blossomed into a vibrant online community, where she now shares her journey and passion for organic living, no matter where the road takes her.
Turning kitchen scraps into eco-friendly treasure while touring the country might seem like a magic trick, but it's all in a day's work for travellers like us. We chat about the wonders of bokashi composting, an innovation that's shaking up how we deal with waste on the go. The ShareWaste app became our compass, guiding us to local compost hubs and connecting us with fellow environmental stewards. It's not just about reducing our carbon footprint; it's a movement to safeguard our planet and cultivate a sense of community, one fermented bin at a time.
The art of gardening is a dance with nature, demanding both grace and grit. In our exchange, we unearth the parallels between nurturing our gardens and nourishing our lives. We share tales of pest woes, celebrate the victories of natural remedies, and honour the humble lessons that our green endeavors have taught us. Whether it's adjusting our sails when the winds of life shift or marveling at the resilience of a tiny seed, this episode is a testament to the growth that comes from getting your hands dirty and your heart invested in the land. Join us as we weave through these stories, offering tips, laughter, and a whole lot of green-thumb wisdom.
'How I Grow' is produced by The Seed Collection Pty Ltd.
Find out more about us here: www.theseedcollection.com.au
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to how I Grow with the Seed
Collection.
My name is Gemma and today I'llbe speaking with Grace, from
Living Simply with Grace on.
Instagram.
Grace is a passionate gardenerwho began documenting her
gardening escapades on socialmedia as Gardening.
With Grace Now living andtraveling full time around
Australia with her family, sheis dedicated to living
(00:21):
sustainably in the face ofclimate change.
Hi Grace, and thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with me today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hi Gemma, how are you ?
Thank you for taking the timeto speak with me.
I'm very excited.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh, it's our pleasure .
I can't wait to learn moreabout your adventures.
I've been checking yourInstagram and I'm genuinely
inspired by your posts.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thank you.
It's a very great way to live,where we're really happy that we
made this decision.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Oh, it sounds amazing .
But before I pick your brainsabout being a traveling gardener
and eco warrior, could I startwith what got you into gardening
and why it's important to you?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, so I started gardening with my family.
So my dad was a fantasticgardener.
He was living off his ownproduce way before.
It was cool and yeah, so I justgrew up seeing that as the norm
, having giant worm farms, andhe was growing these fantastic
(01:22):
vegetables.
So my first introduction towhat vegetables look like were
passion fruit you know, the sizeof big baseballs and, yeah,
just beautiful leafy greens andworm juice.
And so I was always, I guess,inspired by that, without really
(01:44):
knowing.
And then my mom was a gardenertoo.
But then, yeah, I grew up andmoved out of home and started
gardening in a crappy rental inMelbourne and that's where I
started posting things on socialmedia.
None of my friends weregardening because I was 18.
So it was very much seen as anolder person activity then, I
(02:10):
suppose within my friendshipgroup anyway.
So, yeah, that's why I starteda different Instagram, because
no one wanted to see my tomatoes, funnily enough.
And, yeah, I just met thisamazing community on Instagram
and there's so many dark partsof social media, but I saw the
beautiful side of meeting othergardeners and learning from them
(02:35):
and communicating with themabout mildew and all of the
issues that I was experiencingand yeah, so that really
encouraged my gardening journeyeven further, because I felt
like I had other people togarden with, even though in my
physical circle not many peoplewere gardening.
But, yeah, and I've continuedto garden until, yeah, we left
(03:01):
our home.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Oh, fantastic, and it's really great to hear that
you're challenging thestereotype on gardening too,
getting young people moreinvolved and encouraging that on
social media.
I think that's really brilliant.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah, I think it's taken off on TikTok as well.
I'm not on TikTok, but I thinkEpic Gardening is an American
Instagram and TikToker and Ithink he's got millions of
followers and a lot of them areyoung people, so it's exciting.
It's exciting that it'sbecoming a fun and enjoyable
(03:34):
thing for young people too, andnot seen as that, you know,
retiree activity.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yes, very true and important for our planet too, to
teach young people care ofearth and where your food comes
from, food security as well.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Absolutely.
And what food is supposed tolook like as well.
You know the difference betweentaste and looks of homegrown
vegetables.
Just do not compare.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
No, they are.
They're incomparable, aren'tthey?
It's amazing, the difference,mm for sure.
So you mentioned you weregardening right up until you
left for your travels, so I'mvery curious to know what
gardening looks like to you nowthat you're on the road and how
you're currently incorporatingthings that you've learned along
your gardening journey intoyour life today.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, so I don't have a garden at all.
We are living full time in ourcaravan and traveling around
Australia.
We've been traveling for eightmonths now and I'm turning my
gaze on things that I can do tolive with the same values that I
(04:47):
lived with before, where I'mtrying not to rely too heavily
on big corporations.
So that's where I access.
My food is huge.
We're always looking forfarmers, markets and community
groups to purchase food, lookingfor organic fruit and
vegetables.
(05:07):
The more I learn about pesticideuse on industrial farming, it
just makes me more and morepassionate about learning about
where your food comes from.
So, even if you aren'tgardening, it's about supporting
people who are gardening andpeople who are gardening in a
(05:30):
way that's going to be good forour planet, and that's people
who are doing regenerativefarming and organic farming and
ideally with permacultureprinciples, that are not
monocropping.
It's buying from farmers whohave got a big spread of healthy
(05:52):
vegetables and that are usingcompanion planting and other
techniques to grow theirvegetables without sprays and
pesticides.
We've got a little girl.
She's 1 and 1 half and I thinkall parents must realise this is
that you suddenly become soparanoid about what they're
(06:15):
putting in their bodies Somethat we don't care about what we
put in our bodies.
Well, we do, but not to thesame extent when you have a
little child and you're like Iwant to make sure that I'm only
buying organic food.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yes, I think a lot of parents share that sentiment.
I'm a parent myself and Icouldn't agree more.
It does become a lot moreeye-opening when you bring a
little one into the world andyou realise you know all the
things going on that you didn'tpay much mind to previously, and
particularly the foods.
It also helps you become awareof what you yourself are eating
(06:50):
and the examples you're settingas well.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Absolutely.
It's been fantastic at gettingour diets.
We're really tip-top makingsure that we're having such a
spread of food, and ironespecially.
We're both me and my partnerboth vegetarian, semi-vegan so,
yeah, making sure that ourdaughter and ourselves are
getting all of the nutrientsthat we need is really, really
(07:15):
critical.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Definitely, and you mentioned earlier watching your
father garden and inspiring youat the time, without you being
particularly aware of it.
I think that's one of the bestthings that we can do for our
children is you know, they willdo as we do before they do as we
say, won't they?
And I think, yeah, learningfrom example, about growing your
(07:38):
own food and eating in ahealthy manner, creating that
kind of environment where thatjust becomes the foundation,
where it's their go-to when theylook for foods, and I think
that that's a really importantthing.
So I think it's wonderful whatyou're doing.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it's so nice.
We're currently staying with mymum for a few weeks and she has
her veggie garden blossoming atthe moment.
It's summer here in Australia,as you would know, and the
tomatoes are just going off.
They are.
She's got I think she's got alittle baby Roma and some cherry
(08:13):
tomatoes, and every morning mydaughter waddles she's one and a
half.
She waddles up to the end ofthe path and she goes Matos,
matos and watching her pick themoff, and then she had these
beautiful blackberries growingas well.
They're all finished now, butjust you know, gorging her face
in these fresh things everymorning.
It's like, yeah, it's so lovely, I can't wait till we have our
(08:36):
own garden again.
It's the, it's the one thingwe're looking forward to,
because I think having kidsoutside in nature is just, and
then growing their own food.
There's so many things thatthey're learning and, yeah, like
you said, it's all.
It's all that unconsciouslearning as well.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yes, 100%.
So I think it's fantastic.
And then, as they get older too, it can you know it becomes
very conscious and most often bychoice.
Yeah, definitely.
Now you said you're lookingforward to having your own
garden again, I remember youmentioning that while you're
traveling Australia, you'relooking for your ideal garden.
Could you share with us alittle bit about what that is to
(09:18):
you and your family, about whatyou're looking for?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yes.
So we are looking for theperfect place to create our own
little oasis.
We're looking, ideally, for apiece of land If it's got a
house, that's a bonus but we'rereally looking for the land and
we're looking to create a homeand garden that's based around
(09:44):
permaculture principles.
So I did this amazing intro topermaculture with Milkwood.
Are they Milkwood and Co?
Or Milkwood?
Anyway, milkwood, something, Ican't remember exactly the name.
But they have this great introto permaculture course and so it
goes through all of thepermaculture principles and you
(10:08):
know, permaculture is just thatit's 12 principles of how you
can build and grow and live.
So it's not a framework on justhow to garden.
It's about how you use water,how you use resources, and it's
(10:30):
just kind of a framework forlife really.
So I've been really inspired bythat and we're hoping to create
the garden and home thatcomplement each other.
My partner is a carpenter andhe's very passionate about
sustainable homes.
He's done a passive house courseand you know we're looking into
(10:53):
earthships and, yeah, differentways to build homes that are
one resilient for the future.
We have a terrible climateemergency at the moment, so it's
really important that we buildhomes that are going to be
resistant to fires and floods,but also gardens that aren't
(11:17):
separate to the home, reallyusing gardens as a part of
landscaping to ensure thatyou've got, you know, windbreaks
where you need them, you've gotshade where you need it, you
have sun where you need it.
And, yeah, seeing them as aninterconnected process and
(11:37):
interconnected thing.
It's not your garden, it's notyour house, it's your home, the
whole property.
They all work together andwe've been really inspired by
people on YouTube that are doingawesome things the Weedy Garden
Weedy Gardener.
He's awesome.
He's doing some great gardeningand permaculture growing in the
(12:03):
Northern Rivers and yeah, andso we're just looking, looking
into that.
At the moment, it's just adream, but our dreams, we like
to make them reality, so Idefinitely think it will be
happening in the next few years.
So, yeah, keep an eye out.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Oh, that's fantastic, and all the power to you.
I really think that it issomething you're definitely
going to achieve.
Looking at your story onInstagram, I don't think there's
a goal you haven't kicked.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, exactly we.
We call them ideas though now,so we've stopped calling them
plans.
We think plans.
You feel too bad when you don't.
You don't make a plan.
You know it doesn't, it doesn'twork out.
You feel like, oh, my plantsdidn't work out, everything's
changing, it's all.
It's all not working out.
(12:52):
So at the moment they're ideas,but they're pretty, they're
pretty.
The ideas around them change,but not the, not the end goal,
and that's living a simple life.
We don't need a big house.
We're living in a caravan,happily.
Whenever, whenever we move intoa house, like, say, with a
(13:13):
friend or our parents for avisit, it's, we find we're just
cleaning the whole time running.
After our one and a half yearold, tidying up and going oh, we
don't have to do this in thecaravan.
So yeah, the bigger house, themore cleaning you have to do.
So we want tiny home, biggarden.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I like that, I like that perspective and I really
like what you said about theinterconnection between home and
the garden so not inside iswhere we belong and outside is
where we visit, but rather aconnection between the two, an
area that that flows and that isutilized naturally and with
ease of access by everybody inthat space.
(13:53):
I really love that idea.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yeah, definitely.
And you see, with kids I meankids highlight it because they
don't know how to kind ofcontrol their emotions.
So you see it so clearly thatwhen they're outside they're
calm and they're inside they're,you know, crazy.
Well, we'll adults are theexact same way.
It's just that we know how torepress them and we don't show
(14:17):
those emotions as strongly.
But humans are from nature.
We are actually part of theanimal kingdom.
We are an animal.
We're just a different speciesthat happens to jump to the top
of the food chain.
But we do best in nature, we dobest in with our hands in the
(14:37):
dirt, we do best eating from thesoil, we do best under the
trees.
We are happier, our brainthinks clearer, our lungs
breathe clean oxygen, our bloodpumps and circulates at an
optimal rate.
You know we, our stress levelsgrow down.
All of this research is comingout to support this, which we
(15:00):
already knew.
You know deep in us becausewe've experienced it in nature.
But there is just so muchresearch now to support the
notion that we are, and shouldbe, spending the majority of our
time outside, inside, maybe forsleeping.
(15:20):
But the bigger the house, themore you spend inside.
It's a real shame that we'renot as connected to outside and
we find it a bit moreuncomfortable, I think, outside
as well People.
Oh, it's a bit cold or it's abit rainy or it's a bit this,
but it's so important that we'reout there.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yes, I couldn't agree more.
It is incredibly true, I think,all those healthy microbes in
the soil as well.
We've become so accustomed tosanitising everything that we
forget that there is really goodbacteria that our bodies need
as well.
So I think it's like you say,the whole approach it's physical
, mental, spiritual Mediating isjust a wealth of vitality and
(16:06):
health and it's free therapy aswell.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
It is.
It's free mental therapy andphysical therapy.
You look at all of the retireeswho are still gardening.
They're able to bend, they'reable to squat down, stand up,
dig.
They're physical.
It keeps you alive.
Literally people who gardenlive longer than people who
don't.
It's so good for your body.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
It truly is.
It truly is so, whilst being onthe road and having this drive
to live sustainably,particularly, as you say, in the
face of climate change.
What have you found mostdifficult, if you will, about
this?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yes.
So the two things that havebeen the most challenging, but
also that have beennon-negotiables for us, have
been using reusable nappies sowe've washed all of our nappies
along the way and composting.
We have not thrown in eightmonths, any food into landfill
(17:10):
and we're really, really proudof ourselves for that.
But also, while it's been themost challenging part, it's
really not that challenging atall.
It just involves one.
We're using a bakashi bin, sowe collect our food scraps in
(17:30):
our caravan, in our littlecompost bin, and then we put
them into our bakashi, and thatbakashi process means that we
can really squish it down andcompact quite a lot of food
scraps into one bakashi bin,because bakashi is an anaerobic
process and so it doesn'trequire oxygen.
(17:52):
So you really do want it to becompressed so that it ferments.
So we have a bakashi spray, butyou can also get an inoculated
grain.
But basically it's afermentation process that dates
back to I think it's from Japan,and it enables us to get quite
(18:13):
a few weeks worth of food scrapsin there.
There are only three of us, butat times we've had the bakashi
bin full and we've also hadcontainers full of food scraps
because we've filled the bakashibin, but we're still in the
bush, so we just find anothercontainer and we fill that with
food scraps and we just waituntil we get to a major centre.
(18:37):
We go on the ShareWaste app,which is a fantastic app that
connects you to other gardeners,and so gardeners have gone on
to this app and they've becomehosts.
So they host a compost bin andthen you become a donor and you
donate your compost to theircompost bins.
(18:57):
And it's been such a lovely wayof like meeting people in
random locations, and we metthis one woman in Darwin who's
this passionate eco warrior.
She's got this website which isall plastic free, and I ended
up having this like hour chatwith her because she was this
awesome person who's she hadn'thad anyone who had actually
(19:21):
wanted to donate compost, but sowe were her first.
And then we met another personnear Mackay and we've also
donated in local communitygardens their compost bins, and
it just feels so good to be one,meeting people along the way
who are doing great things andtwo, continuing to compost and
(19:45):
knowing that that food isstaying out of landfill, because
when food goes in landfill itmummifies and it slowly breaks
down, and when it breaks down itreleases methane, which is a
greenhouse gas 20 to 30 timesworse than carbon, and that's
(20:07):
getting trapped in ouratmosphere.
It's causing, you know, theysay, global warming, but it's
global boiling.
Now we are at a point where theearth is boiling and we need to
prevent as many of thosegreenhouse gases going into the
atmosphere.
They do, yeah, they don't goaway to create this blanket and,
(20:28):
as you can tell, we aresweltering.
So to make to know that my foodwaste is not going in the bin
and causing greenhouse gasemissions is is really lovely.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
That is fantastic, and I love how you highlighted
that, because I think a lot ofpeople assume that oh well, it
does the same thing in landfill,but it absolutely does not.
I think it's really vital thatpeople are aware of the
difference with composting andputting your food scraps in the
bin, so thank you for givingthat some light today.
I think that's really important.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It is because you would think that it would break
down right like it's going inthe bin.
Well, when things go in the bin, they're compacted, they need
to fit everyone's landfill inand they're squishing it down
with these big machines to makeit just absolutely compact and
without oxygen, food does notbreak down.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
That's right.
So you indeed can compost evenwhile travelling the country
with the young family.
No excuses, everybody.
Could you share that again,grace, please?
The app that you were using todo this?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Yeah, so it's called share waste and it's all over
Australia and if you're agardener, I would highly
recommend that you become a host, because the more hosts we have
, the more able we are tocompost, and you don't have to
be travelling either.
It can be anyone who's livingin an apartment or doesn't want
(22:02):
to compost.
You can just take it to a hostnearby.
You might have someone on yourstreet who is happy to take your
compost.
In fact, once you startcomposting, you want as much
food waste as you can get,because it becomes an addictive
process.
Growing or not growing,creating your own compost is so
(22:26):
fulfilling.
I only just tapped into it justbefore I left.
I always just had one compostbin.
I would just dump all of myfood scraps in there and hope
that it turned to soil.
But it was in my last few yearsof composting that I really
realised the potential of it,and I would say to everyone make
(22:50):
sure you have two compost bins.
That was the biggest eyeopening thing for me, because
while you're filling one bin,once you've filled that bin with
a beautiful mix of carbon andnitrogen, you're mixing it
regularly, but you also need tolet it sit and age, turning it,
adding oxygen, but not addingany more food scraps.
(23:12):
So having a second bin that youcan be filling while that first
bin just does its magic andturns to compost is vital, and
so you're filling the second bin.
You're really wanting morescraps.
Maybe you'll have a third.
It becomes addictive, and so ifyou are a gardener and you're
wanting more compost, I woulddefinitely recommend becoming a
(23:33):
host and yeah, it's easy.
You just have awesome peoplecome to your house and give you
compost.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
That's fantastic and, as you say, a really great way
to connect with like-mindedpeople in the community or the
communities that you're passingthrough as well.
I think that's fantastic and,speaking of those connections,
could you tell us about some ofthe gardens you've seen whilst
you're travelling?
Any left a real impression onyou at all while meeting these
people?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Look, I haven't had a great deal of time to be able
to see their gardens.
We mainly just chat about thecomposting process, but I would
have loved to be able to look attheir gardens but now,
unfortunately, with the toddlerI had a quick chat and a quick
dump of compost and then had toget on the way.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
That is totally understandable.
So you mentioned that you werecomposting before you set off.
What kind of composting systemdid you use?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah, so we just had the basic old black bin with the
lid.
You don't need anything fancy tocompost, but, as I said before,
make sure you have more thanone.
That made all the difference tome and also make sure you are
using just as much carbon as youare, nitrogen and carbon being
(24:57):
your.
You have a great compostingpodcast actually talking about
composting, but, just as areminder, your carbon is your
dry brown ingredients likefallen leaves or ripped pizza
boxes and paper and woodymaterial, and your nitrogen is
(25:18):
that green stuff.
That's all of your food scraps,your coffee grinds, your
freshly cut clippings and anyweeds or anything.
So making sure you have a 50-50mix.
That was huge for me.
I was always creating thissludgy, sludgy food scrap mess,
(25:39):
and so it was really the biggestthing for me.
I just got a bucket and wouldconstantly go around the garden
filling it with carbon so thatwhen I went to empty the compost
, I could just grab a bighandful of leaves and chuck it
on top, and so you're addingjust as much carbon as you are
food scraps and then turning it.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
That's actually a really fantastic idea to have
the bucket by the compost.
I really like that.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Yeah, because otherwise I wouldn't do it.
That'd be too lazy Basically.
If you're like raking leaves orsomething, you can keep them
all in one spot near yourcompost and that's your carbon
done.
Or if you yeah, like I said,coffee grinds or Uber Eats bags,
those paper bags and things, ifyou're not going to use them
I'm constantly composting paperas much Because I can't find
enough carbon.
I find, but, yeah, collectingyour carbon.
(26:28):
So it's right there, so you canjust, you know, one bucket of
nitrogen, one bucket of carbon.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I love that.
So with the like, havingtouched on composting and some
permaculture as well, is thereanything else that you'd like to
see more of in the gardeningrealm?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, anything else, I think for me it's just making
sure that you're you'reutilizing the you're using the
best soil that you can.
I think the biggest mistake andwhat maybe wasn't talked about
a lot when I started gardeningwas I was constantly trying to
(27:09):
do it in a cheap way.
I was only 18, I was at uni andbuying you know all of these
bags of cheap soil from bunningsand then and then spending all
this money on organicfertilizers and manure and
Charlie Karp and all that tryingto keep my plants alive.
(27:31):
So I guess, more awareness of,like you said, the microbes.
Like soil is alive, apparentlydon't quote me on this.
I like to use this as a stat,but I don't think it's.
I don't know if it's real.
Apparently, one teaspoon ofliving, healthy soil has more
microbes in it than stars in thesky or something, or the sand
(27:54):
on the sea.
There's a lot of life in soiland once you know that, and once
you know the difference betweendirt and soil, you realize that
your plants need a living,thriving medium to grow in.
And then you start creatingamazing soil with composting and
(28:18):
manure and just chop that wholechop and drop.
I just was getting into that aswell.
I was always ripping out myplants and then tilling the soil
, but we're realizing now thatsoil is best left undisturbed.
So if you can just chop and dropit, just make sure that you
(28:40):
understand how important takingcare of the microbes in your
soil is for growing goodvegetables.
It's just like the microbes inyour gut.
All of this information iscoming out now on how well we
can absorb nutrients If we havehealthy gut biome.
(29:02):
Well, that's the same withplants they can absorb nutrients
if there is a healthy biome inthe soil.
So I guess you know yeah, morefocus on that, more focus on
soil.
There's a great movie actuallycalled Kiss the Ground and that
talks about that.
It's really, really inspiring.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Fantastic.
I'm noting that one down, thankyou.
In your journey along the wayhave you learned something?
You would have never expectedto Like something.
Perhaps this came through atriumph or a failure, something
that you just really reallygrabbed hold of and has become a
(29:44):
really valuable lesson.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yeah, I don't think it's been to do with gardening,
but I've had so many epiphaniesfor life.
I've had this time with myfamily to just really think
about the way we live our lives.
And the biggest lesson thatI've had on the way has been
(30:11):
about plants and I think Itouched on it earlier.
We had the plan that we made inMelbourne to go up the centre
and down through WA.
We kept telling everyone thisplan, that this is what we're
doing, and talked about thisplan.
It was blah, blah, blah.
The plan, the plan, the plan.
And then, once we'd got toDarwin and we stayed there for a
(30:32):
while, it was August and all ofthe people up there were
telling us don't go across to WAright now.
It is sweltering Going throughKananara and that whole top
section.
It's so hot.
You're going with a babywithout air conditioning, it's
dangerous.
And these people live up there,they know the area.
(30:54):
We're just some city dwellersfrom Melbourne thinking we've
made this plan and we've got tostick to it.
And it was this real epiphany.
We ended up not going to WA.
We headed instead to Queensland.
But it was really eye-openingbecause we both were like no,
(31:15):
we've got to do this plan.
This is the plan.
This is the plan.
We've got to stick to this planand if we don't do the plan,
then everything's going haywire,it's all turned upside down and
it's this big issue.
But in the end, you know, werealised that you have to take
the information you have at thetime, and the information was
(31:36):
really important in making surethat we were safe and that we
were going to do something thatwas enjoyable as well.
No one wants to travel throughsweltering deserts.
So yeah, that we reallyrealised that the future is so
uncertain and we are living inthis time when we don't know
(31:58):
what's coming, and here we arespending so long planning this
future that it's taking awayfrom enjoying our current lives.
We're constantly imagining thisfuture and planning this future
and then feeling like failureis when that doesn't happen.
(32:19):
So I kind of had this epiphanythat I was like if the future is
so uncertain, then why are wespending so long thinking about
it?
Why not just seed some ideas andthen go on with our lives,
living in the present moment andthen making decisions when the
(32:41):
time we get to that decision,and when we get to that time and
when we have all of theinformation, we can make that
decision, and I think people areso scared of not having plans
because they feel like they'reletting go of control.
But you are going to be theperson that's making the
decision when the time is right.
(33:02):
You have 100% control over yourdecisions.
You're not letting you know,you're not just letting go of
your life, you're just sayingI'm going to make that decision
when I have the information,when the time is right, and I'm
going to do it when it feelsokay.
And that way, I'm not feelinglet down by you know plans not
(33:26):
working out.
So yeah, we don't make plansanymore.
We seed ideas and we trust thatwe will make the best decision
when the time is right.
And for me, that's just been areally freeing realisation and
my biggest takeaway fromtravelling.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I really like that perspective and I can actually
see how one of the permacultureprinciples of observation can be
incorporated into that tooLearning to let go of what it is
that you have set out, like yousay, the plans to observe
what's happening around you,look at what's going on in
nature and the natural rhythm ofthings, and to adjust.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Mmm, yeah, that's a really beautiful tie in there.
Just a yeah, and it's okay.
In fact, it's important toadjust because if you're not
looking around you at what thereality is and what might be
going well or not going well inyour garden or in your life,
then adjusting is necessary andit's going to lead you to
(34:34):
success.
But holding on to that plan andyou might be fighting against
the tide.
You're just pushing againstwhat's not naturally occurring,
just because you had this onevision of what it should look
like.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Exactly so, speaking of fighting against things, what
would you say that your biggestpet peeve when it comes to
gardening is and that can be achallenge with growing a
particular something, or it canbe a stereotype, a misconception
.
What would you say is somethingthat you want to challenge in
(35:09):
the gardening realm?
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Oh, aphids.
I struggle with aphids and Ithink it's because they always
attack my winter veggies andwhen it's cold and in winter I'm
so less inclined to go outside.
I just look out my window, likeyou guys, alright out there,
(35:35):
and then yeah, they're justbeing overrun by aphids.
So I'm still trying to work outthe best way to do that in an
organic approach.
I haven't, as you know, got agarden at the moment, so I'm
kind of just ignoring that idea.
(35:56):
But yeah, I struggle withaphids.
Do you have any tips?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Well, I was actually going to ask you if you had
applied anything, perhapsanything that didn't help,
Because I think there's so muchinformation out there, people
saying give this a try, givethat a try.
Have you tried anything thatyou found not effective?
Speaker 2 (36:18):
We tried neem oil and applying that.
I don't think that worked thatwell.
I also learnt that ladybirdlarvae is the best approach, so
trying to grow flowers that aregoing to attract those
(36:43):
beneficial ladybirds.
So I can't remember what thoseflowers are maybe.
Oh, and also I think growingwhite flowers around your
brassicas is a really great wayto repel cabbage moth, because
the white moths think that thewhite flowers are other moths,
(37:06):
so they won't come over to thatarea if they think another moth
is already laying their eggsthere.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Yes, they're very territorial, which I was
surprised to learn too, but withthe plants that attract the
ladybugs, I can certainlyrecommend things like
nasturtiums and marigolds.
They are ideal for attractingthose beneficial insects.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Yeah, perfect.
I do love marigolds.
I love the smell.
So many people hate the smell,but I love them.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I've heard of as well .
Garlic spray for aphids Okay,using some garlic spray.
Apparently, they do not likethe smell of garlic.
I cannot speak from experience.
I have not tried this onemyself, but there are quite a
few options to test and try.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
when it comes to natural remedies yeah if anybody
out there knows, please jumpinto my DMs and send me your
best Acer tips, because I justcan't seem to get rid of them
other than the old fashionedsquish under the thumb.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Oh, yes.
Yeah, that's quite effective,though you have to give it that.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Yeah, I just don't like the experience.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Yeah, I understand.
I think my preference in thatregard is certainly the
companion planting andattracting the beneficial
insects.
I think that's if we can dothat in a way that doesn't
require the intervention, wherethose systems operate naturally
in slow with one another.
I think that's a real winningidea there, if we can, if we can
(38:40):
attract enough to make ithappen.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And I think another way to do that is to spread out
those plants that do attract theaphids.
So if the aphids are coming toone spot, then maybe the other
plants will be all right.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Yes, like a sacrificial crop yeah kale,
apparently, is the bestsacrificial.
Oh, ok, that might work for thecabbage, moths and butterflies
too.
Mine always get absolutelydestroyed.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Destroyed, don't they ?
Yes?
Speaker 1 (39:10):
it's rude.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Sorry, kale, just hang in there I love kale.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Have you tried the kale chips?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yes, I love kale chips.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Yum, yes, a little bit of salt.
Amazing, and it's, it's, guiltfree.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Yeah, my dogs love them too.
Oh nice, what kind of dogs doyou have?
I have two little jack brusselcrosses.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Oh cute.
They're fierce protectors,aren't they, the little dogs?
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Yeah, it was that.
We took them traveling actuallywith us for the first few
months and realised that thatwas going to be far too hard, so
my mum volunteered to take them, which was the biggest gift I
think has been given.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Oh, mum's a good on the team, aren't they I?
Speaker 2 (39:59):
know poor mum, they don't have a whole lot of say.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Oh, bless them.
We've actually just beenplanting out some of the cat
grass which we've found our dogsabsolutely love.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Oh, that's great to know.
So they eat it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yes, oh yeah, they eat it, they love it.
It's, some people actuallybrand it as pet grass.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
OK, I'll have to look into that.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Yeah, it's been really good, really good
learning about that andobviously, with you know, not
everything you plant is safe foryour pets.
So, yeah, we plant them around.
So if they feel so inclined,then they've got that there.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Oh, that's great.
Yeah, I'm going to take thattip too.
Thank you, yeah, excellent, noworries.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
So, Grace, if you could go back to the very
beginning of your gardeningjourney, back to when you're 18,
none of your friends areinvolved in gardening and you're
just starting out, what wouldbe one piece of advice that you
would like to give yourself, orsomething that you would like to
say to yourself?
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I think I would say don't go so crazy on wanting to
go all of the really abstract,crazy, beautiful heirloom
varieties I think there's a lot.
I found it so fun growingreally strange and different
colored and different shapedthings.
(41:21):
But there is a reason that someare more common than others and
that's because one they tastebetter and they might be easier
to grow, and heirloom vegetablesare often a little bit harder
to grow, but they don't havethat same kind of pest
(41:44):
protection as maybe some of yourcommon varieties.
So, yeah, I would say, you know, have a healthy balance.
Don't go all unique, strangevarieties of things.
There's a reason some tomatoesand some vegetables.
You know the black.
(42:05):
I've forgotten it.
Is it black Russian?
No, that's the kale, blacksomething zucchini.
Oh, the black beauty, blackbeauty.
There's a reason they're themost common, they're the most
delicious, but you only findthat out through trial and error
.
So go out there and have funand you know, maybe I should
(42:26):
take that back.
There are really cool things togrow as well that aren't common
on your supermarket shelves.
And that I think was my biggestenjoyment was going on to the
seed collection.
I think I've bought that manyveg, awesome heirloom varieties
on the seed collection website.
(42:47):
There's you know your commonones, but you just don't realise
how many different types ofvegetables there are and how
beautiful they can be.
Purple king beans just gorgeousflowers and beautiful, crisp,
delicious beans to eat and sounique to have purple beans
growing that change to greenwhen you cook them.
(43:10):
And the same with corn you knowas tech corn.
It's not going to be your juicysweet corn, which I found out
the hard way, wanting to biteinto this beautiful, spotty
purple corn.
It's not going to be like that.
But it's going to be such anexperience as well, growing
(43:30):
things that you won't findanywhere else Purple basil and,
oh, those beautiful kink.
I've, look.
I've had two years out of thegarden.
I've forgotten all the names ofall the things I used to grow.
What are those beautiful beansthat when you open them, they've
got big seeds and they're likepink stripes.
(43:53):
They're incredible and yeah,there's.
And then you can get yellowbeans and you can get black
beautiful tomatoes and yeah,there's.
Actually.
It's so much fun that was mybiggest enjoyment when I was
first starting out was justgrowing strange and unique
(44:14):
things.
Oh, banana passion fruit.
That was a lot of fun to growas well.
There's nothing more excitingthan growing things you've never
seen before, and so it's just asurprise.
It's just the anticipationbuilds and, yeah, I loved that.
But in saying that, you willfind out that once you've grown
(44:34):
your beautiful corn, you can'tactually eat it.
It's more for creating flour,so maybe you'll have to learn
how to do that.
But yeah, I would say, justhave a mix of things that are
common, but also have a fun timeexperimenting, seeing what,
what else is out there.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Exactly, and, as you say, you learned the hard way
with the corn.
That it's not, you know,intended for corn on the cob
without dinner.
But I'm a big believer of.
We learn the most from ourfailures.
We learn more from them than wedo from our successes, and
those are the lessons that Ifeel are more lingering.
They, they stick with you alittle longer.
(45:13):
You share them a little morereadily as well.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
And on saying that, anotherthing is really kind of like
just grabbing a notebook andjotting down what you're doing
so that if you do find that yougrew something it may be a
different you know thetemperature wasn't correct of
the soil.
You can look back and be like,oh, when did I, when did I plant
(45:39):
that?
How long did that take to plant?
Because you really do losetrack of time and you're
thinking, oh, maybe it was twoweeks ago.
I put those seeds in, maybe itwas this, and I will, you know,
lose the packets of seeds.
You've only got one packet ofseeds.
So if I don't plant them all out, then making all these DIY tags
(45:59):
.
If you just write that downinto a book, you've got all that
information with you in oneplace and you can actually look
back and go oh, okay, I plantedthat at this time it's taken
nine weeks to grow and orhowever long, and you can really
learn then what went well, whatdidn't go well.
(46:21):
So I think I would also givemyself that advice write things
down.
And also that gives you anotherway of like if you're, say,
doing a fertilizer or a wormjuice, you can write down when
you did it what plants you didit on, and then you know if it's
a diary you can set yourself intwo weeks time a note to do it
(46:43):
again, and then you've got likea little diary to keep track of
jobs in your garden so that youare keeping on those things,
because I would just put wormjuice on some plants and then
think, oh yeah, I think I didthose ones.
Speaker 1 (46:57):
I think, yeah, writing things down would make
things a lot easier that is somevery practical advice and I
think, yeah, lots of people ifthey haven't started a little
plant journal, then it is afantastic idea, because it
really does make all thedifference.
Yeah for sure, fantastic.
So, grace, before we finish, isthere anything, any moments in
(47:20):
your gardening journey that youfeel deserves some, some focus,
anything really pivotal or aquestion that you were hoping I
would ask you?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
no, I think we've covered most of it.
I think my pivotal moments werethat feeling of accomplishment.
When I finally nailed compost.
I didn't realize it was goingto be so rewarding and me and my
partner were jumping up anddown like, look at this, it's so
beautiful.
And I was so shocked at howquickly it is made as well.
(47:51):
If you are just doing itcorrectly, adding the right
amount of things and turning itregularly, it works very fast
and it's so rewarding.
So I think that was pivotal forme.
I'm not going back to slow tocompost ever again.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
I love that.
So and and did you notice aswell the the health of your
plants improved, the instantbenefit in the garden yeah,
definitely.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
I was just hope, wishing that I had 10 more
barrel loads of it.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
I felt I didn't have enough, yeah, and especially
because it's something we createfrom our way.
So essentially, it's free.
You know not considering ourtime, of course, but that's all
part of the process.
You don't have to spend acopious amount of money on on
fertilizers.
We have everything we need.
It's just a matter of knowingwhat to utilize and how it's
(48:44):
actually the best thing.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
I think I'm just the compost nerd.
I think it's incredible.
I think it's one doing amazingthings for the planet.
It's free and it's utilizing awaste product that would you
know.
Typically, we don't have anyuse for those things, so to have
it to then turn into this magicsoil enhancer is is just so
(49:10):
cool.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
It's so cool it is, it's, it's quite the form of
magic, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (49:15):
yeah, for sure lovely .
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Well, thank you so much for your time today, grace.
I really appreciate it, andI've been quite inspired by
stories of your travels, and Iknow some of our listeners will
have too.
I'm about to go home and packup the house, by the way, I'm
off oh good, but before we signoff, could you please share with
us how our listeners can findout more about you and the and
(49:39):
the journey that you're on?
Speaker 2 (49:41):
yeah, so I'm.
I've changed my name.
I used to be gardening withGrace on Instagram, but I found
that was just pigeonholing meinto only gardening and I wasn't
then sharing other things I waspassionate with or about.
So I'm now live simply withGrace.
So I'm talking on there aboutways that you can live simply.
(50:05):
You know, bringing things backto a simple way, and maybe
that's gardening, maybe that'scomposting, maybe that's just
voting for people who care aboutour environment and our planet.
So I share things to do withclimate emergency and gardening
and composting and reusablenappies and plant-based living
(50:28):
and eating.
So, yeah, it's quite a quite avariety of things.
Now I've opened it right up tojust anything I'm interested in,
and then I'm also putting upphotos of our travels on Rusty
Travels Instagram page there too.
So, yeah, that's just a smallone with pictures of our travels
but, yeah, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
I have seen some of these on on both of those pages
and the photos are absolutelyawe-inspiring.
If you haven't already beenfollowing Grace's journey, jump
on to Instagram and check outthe amazing things that she's up
to.
That Instagram link again is atlive simply with Grace.
You've been listening to how Igrow, produced by the seed
(51:14):
collection in Melbourne,australia.
It is our way to make gardeningmore accessible to more people,
and this podcast is one of themany ways we're doing that.
If you don't already know whowe are, jump online and visit
wwwtheseedcollectioncomau.
You'll find a treasure trove ofgardening information, as well
(51:35):
as a huge range of seeds andgarden supplies and accessories.
That address again iswwwtheseedcollectioncomau.
Thanks for listening.
You're listening to how I Grow with the Seed
Collection.
My name is Gemma and today I'llbe speaking with Grace, from
Living Simply with Grace on.
Instagram.
Grace is a passionate gardenerwho began documenting her
gardening escapades on socialmedia as Gardening.
With Grace Now living andtraveling full time around
Australia with her family, sheis dedicated to living
(00:21):
sustainably in the face ofclimate change.
Hi Grace, and thank you so muchfor taking the time to speak
with me today.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hi Gemma, how are you ?
Thank you for taking the timeto speak with me.
I'm very excited.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Oh, it's our pleasure .
I can't wait to learn moreabout your adventures.
I've been checking yourInstagram and I'm genuinely
inspired by your posts.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thank you.
It's a very great way to live,where we're really happy that we
made this decision.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Oh, it sounds amazing .
But before I pick your brainsabout being a traveling gardener
and eco warrior, could I startwith what got you into gardening
and why it's important to you?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, so I started gardening with my family.
So my dad was a fantasticgardener.
He was living off his ownproduce way before.
It was cool and yeah, so I justgrew up seeing that as the norm
, having giant worm farms, andhe was growing these fantastic
(01:22):
vegetables.
So my first introduction towhat vegetables look like were
passion fruit you know, the sizeof big baseballs and, yeah,
just beautiful leafy greens andworm juice.
And so I was always, I guess,inspired by that, without really
(01:44):
knowing.
And then my mom was a gardenertoo.
But then, yeah, I grew up andmoved out of home and started
gardening in a crappy rental inMelbourne and that's where I
started posting things on socialmedia.
None of my friends weregardening because I was 18.
So it was very much seen as anolder person activity then, I
(02:10):
suppose within my friendshipgroup anyway.
So, yeah, that's why I starteda different Instagram, because
no one wanted to see my tomatoes, funnily enough.
And, yeah, I just met thisamazing community on Instagram
and there's so many dark partsof social media, but I saw the
beautiful side of meeting othergardeners and learning from them
(02:35):
and communicating with themabout mildew and all of the
issues that I was experiencingand yeah, so that really
encouraged my gardening journeyeven further, because I felt
like I had other people togarden with, even though in my
physical circle not many peoplewere gardening.
But, yeah, and I've continuedto garden until, yeah, we left
(03:01):
our home.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Oh, fantastic, and it's really great to hear that
you're challenging thestereotype on gardening too,
getting young people moreinvolved and encouraging that on
social media.
I think that's really brilliant.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah, I think it's taken off on TikTok as well.
I'm not on TikTok, but I thinkEpic Gardening is an American
Instagram and TikToker and Ithink he's got millions of
followers and a lot of them areyoung people, so it's exciting.
It's exciting that it'sbecoming a fun and enjoyable
(03:34):
thing for young people too, andnot seen as that, you know,
retiree activity.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Yes, very true and important for our planet too, to
teach young people care ofearth and where your food comes
from, food security as well.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Absolutely.
And what food is supposed tolook like as well.
You know the difference betweentaste and looks of homegrown
vegetables.
Just do not compare.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
No, they are.
They're incomparable, aren'tthey?
It's amazing, the difference,mm for sure.
So you mentioned you weregardening right up until you
left for your travels, so I'mvery curious to know what
gardening looks like to you nowthat you're on the road and how
you're currently incorporatingthings that you've learned along
your gardening journey intoyour life today.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Yeah, so I don't have a garden at all.
We are living full time in ourcaravan and traveling around
Australia.
We've been traveling for eightmonths now and I'm turning my
gaze on things that I can do tolive with the same values that I
(04:47):
lived with before, where I'mtrying not to rely too heavily
on big corporations.
So that's where I access.
My food is huge.
We're always looking forfarmers, markets and community
groups to purchase food, lookingfor organic fruit and
vegetables.
(05:07):
The more I learn about pesticideuse on industrial farming, it
just makes me more and morepassionate about learning about
where your food comes from.
So, even if you aren'tgardening, it's about supporting
people who are gardening andpeople who are gardening in a
(05:30):
way that's going to be good forour planet, and that's people
who are doing regenerativefarming and organic farming and
ideally with permacultureprinciples, that are not
monocropping.
It's buying from farmers whohave got a big spread of healthy
(05:52):
vegetables and that are usingcompanion planting and other
techniques to grow theirvegetables without sprays and
pesticides.
We've got a little girl.
She's 1 and 1 half and I thinkall parents must realise this is
that you suddenly become soparanoid about what they're
(06:15):
putting in their bodies Somethat we don't care about what we
put in our bodies.
Well, we do, but not to thesame extent when you have a
little child and you're like Iwant to make sure that I'm only
buying organic food.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Yes, I think a lot of parents share that sentiment.
I'm a parent myself and Icouldn't agree more.
It does become a lot moreeye-opening when you bring a
little one into the world andyou realise you know all the
things going on that you didn'tpay much mind to previously, and
particularly the foods.
It also helps you become awareof what you yourself are eating
(06:50):
and the examples you're settingas well.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Absolutely.
It's been fantastic at gettingour diets.
We're really tip-top makingsure that we're having such a
spread of food, and ironespecially.
We're both me and my partnerboth vegetarian, semi-vegan so,
yeah, making sure that ourdaughter and ourselves are
getting all of the nutrientsthat we need is really, really
(07:15):
critical.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Definitely, and you mentioned earlier watching your
father garden and inspiring youat the time, without you being
particularly aware of it.
I think that's one of the bestthings that we can do for our
children is you know, they willdo as we do before they do as we
say, won't they?
And I think, yeah, learningfrom example, about growing your
(07:38):
own food and eating in ahealthy manner, creating that
kind of environment where thatjust becomes the foundation,
where it's their go-to when theylook for foods, and I think
that that's a really importantthing.
So I think it's wonderful whatyou're doing.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Yeah, it's so nice.
We're currently staying with mymum for a few weeks and she has
her veggie garden blossoming atthe moment.
It's summer here in Australia,as you would know, and the
tomatoes are just going off.
They are.
She's got I think she's got alittle baby Roma and some cherry
(08:13):
tomatoes, and every morning mydaughter waddles she's one and a
half.
She waddles up to the end ofthe path and she goes Matos,
matos and watching her pick themoff, and then she had these
beautiful blackberries growingas well.
They're all finished now, butjust you know, gorging her face
in these fresh things everymorning.
It's like, yeah, it's so lovely, I can't wait till we have our
(08:36):
own garden again.
It's the, it's the one thingwe're looking forward to,
because I think having kidsoutside in nature is just, and
then growing their own food.
There's so many things thatthey're learning and, yeah, like
you said, it's all.
It's all that unconsciouslearning as well.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Yes, 100%.
So I think it's fantastic.
And then, as they get older too, it can you know it becomes
very conscious and most often bychoice.
Yeah, definitely.
Now you said you're lookingforward to having your own
garden again, I remember youmentioning that while you're
traveling Australia, you'relooking for your ideal garden.
Could you share with us alittle bit about what that is to
(09:18):
you and your family, about whatyou're looking for?
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yes.
So we are looking for theperfect place to create our own
little oasis.
We're looking, ideally, for apiece of land If it's got a
house, that's a bonus but we'rereally looking for the land and
we're looking to create a homeand garden that's based around
(09:44):
permaculture principles.
So I did this amazing intro topermaculture with Milkwood.
Are they Milkwood and Co?
Or Milkwood?
Anyway, milkwood, something, Ican't remember exactly the name.
But they have this great introto permaculture course and so it
goes through all of thepermaculture principles and you
(10:08):
know, permaculture is just thatit's 12 principles of how you
can build and grow and live.
So it's not a framework on justhow to garden.
It's about how you use water,how you use resources, and it's
(10:30):
just kind of a framework forlife really.
So I've been really inspired bythat and we're hoping to create
the garden and home thatcomplement each other.
My partner is a carpenter andhe's very passionate about
sustainable homes.
He's done a passive house courseand you know we're looking into
(10:53):
earthships and, yeah, differentways to build homes that are
one resilient for the future.
We have a terrible climateemergency at the moment, so it's
really important that we buildhomes that are going to be
resistant to fires and floods,but also gardens that aren't
(11:17):
separate to the home, reallyusing gardens as a part of
landscaping to ensure thatyou've got, you know, windbreaks
where you need them, you've gotshade where you need it, you
have sun where you need it.
And, yeah, seeing them as aninterconnected process and
(11:37):
interconnected thing.
It's not your garden, it's notyour house, it's your home, the
whole property.
They all work together andwe've been really inspired by
people on YouTube that are doingawesome things the Weedy Garden
Weedy Gardener.
He's awesome.
He's doing some great gardeningand permaculture growing in the
(12:03):
Northern Rivers and yeah, andso we're just looking, looking
into that.
At the moment, it's just adream, but our dreams, we like
to make them reality, so Idefinitely think it will be
happening in the next few years.
So, yeah, keep an eye out.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Oh, that's fantastic, and all the power to you.
I really think that it issomething you're definitely
going to achieve.
Looking at your story onInstagram, I don't think there's
a goal you haven't kicked.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah, exactly we.
We call them ideas though now,so we've stopped calling them
plans.
We think plans.
You feel too bad when you don't.
You don't make a plan.
You know it doesn't, it doesn'twork out.
You feel like, oh, my plantsdidn't work out, everything's
changing, it's all.
It's all not working out.
(12:52):
So at the moment they're ideas,but they're pretty, they're
pretty.
The ideas around them change,but not the, not the end goal,
and that's living a simple life.
We don't need a big house.
We're living in a caravan,happily.
Whenever, whenever we move intoa house, like, say, with a
(13:13):
friend or our parents for avisit, it's, we find we're just
cleaning the whole time running.
After our one and a half yearold, tidying up and going oh, we
don't have to do this in thecaravan.
So yeah, the bigger house, themore cleaning you have to do.
So we want tiny home, biggarden.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
I like that, I like that perspective and I really
like what you said about theinterconnection between home and
the garden so not inside iswhere we belong and outside is
where we visit, but rather aconnection between the two, an
area that that flows and that isutilized naturally and with
ease of access by everybody inthat space.
(13:53):
I really love that idea.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Yeah, definitely.
And you see, with kids I meankids highlight it because they
don't know how to kind ofcontrol their emotions.
So you see it so clearly thatwhen they're outside they're
calm and they're inside they're,you know, crazy.
Well, we'll adults are theexact same way.
It's just that we know how torepress them and we don't show
(14:17):
those emotions as strongly.
But humans are from nature.
We are actually part of theanimal kingdom.
We are an animal.
We're just a different speciesthat happens to jump to the top
of the food chain.
But we do best in nature, we dobest in with our hands in the
(14:37):
dirt, we do best eating from thesoil, we do best under the
trees.
We are happier, our brainthinks clearer, our lungs
breathe clean oxygen, our bloodpumps and circulates at an
optimal rate.
You know we, our stress levelsgrow down.
All of this research is comingout to support this, which we
(15:00):
already knew.
You know deep in us becausewe've experienced it in nature.
But there is just so muchresearch now to support the
notion that we are, and shouldbe, spending the majority of our
time outside, inside, maybe forsleeping.
(15:20):
But the bigger the house, themore you spend inside.
It's a real shame that we'renot as connected to outside and
we find it a bit moreuncomfortable, I think, outside
as well People.
Oh, it's a bit cold or it's abit rainy or it's a bit this,
but it's so important that we'reout there.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yes, I couldn't agree more.
It is incredibly true, I think,all those healthy microbes in
the soil as well.
We've become so accustomed tosanitising everything that we
forget that there is really goodbacteria that our bodies need
as well.
So I think it's like you say,the whole approach it's physical
, mental, spiritual Mediating isjust a wealth of vitality and
(16:06):
health and it's free therapy aswell.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
It is.
It's free mental therapy andphysical therapy.
You look at all of the retireeswho are still gardening.
They're able to bend, they'reable to squat down, stand up,
dig.
They're physical.
It keeps you alive.
Literally people who gardenlive longer than people who
don't.
It's so good for your body.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
It truly is.
It truly is so, whilst being onthe road and having this drive
to live sustainably,particularly, as you say, in the
face of climate change.
What have you found mostdifficult, if you will, about
this?
Speaker 2 (16:48):
Yes.
So the two things that havebeen the most challenging, but
also that have beennon-negotiables for us, have
been using reusable nappies sowe've washed all of our nappies
along the way and composting.
We have not thrown in eightmonths, any food into landfill
(17:10):
and we're really, really proudof ourselves for that.
But also, while it's been themost challenging part, it's
really not that challenging atall.
It just involves one.
We're using a bakashi bin, sowe collect our food scraps in
(17:30):
our caravan, in our littlecompost bin, and then we put
them into our bakashi, and thatbakashi process means that we
can really squish it down andcompact quite a lot of food
scraps into one bakashi bin,because bakashi is an anaerobic
process and so it doesn'trequire oxygen.
(17:52):
So you really do want it to becompressed so that it ferments.
So we have a bakashi spray, butyou can also get an inoculated
grain.
But basically it's afermentation process that dates
back to I think it's from Japan,and it enables us to get quite
(18:13):
a few weeks worth of food scrapsin there.
There are only three of us, butat times we've had the bakashi
bin full and we've also hadcontainers full of food scraps
because we've filled the bakashibin, but we're still in the
bush, so we just find anothercontainer and we fill that with
food scraps and we just waituntil we get to a major centre.
(18:37):
We go on the ShareWaste app,which is a fantastic app that
connects you to other gardeners,and so gardeners have gone on
to this app and they've becomehosts.
So they host a compost bin andthen you become a donor and you
donate your compost to theircompost bins.
(18:57):
And it's been such a lovely wayof like meeting people in
random locations, and we metthis one woman in Darwin who's
this passionate eco warrior.
She's got this website which isall plastic free, and I ended
up having this like hour chatwith her because she was this
awesome person who's she hadn'thad anyone who had actually
(19:21):
wanted to donate compost, but sowe were her first.
And then we met another personnear Mackay and we've also
donated in local communitygardens their compost bins, and
it just feels so good to be one,meeting people along the way
who are doing great things andtwo, continuing to compost and
(19:45):
knowing that that food isstaying out of landfill, because
when food goes in landfill itmummifies and it slowly breaks
down, and when it breaks down itreleases methane, which is a
greenhouse gas 20 to 30 timesworse than carbon, and that's
(20:07):
getting trapped in ouratmosphere.
It's causing, you know, theysay, global warming, but it's
global boiling.
Now we are at a point where theearth is boiling and we need to
prevent as many of thosegreenhouse gases going into the
atmosphere.
They do, yeah, they don't goaway to create this blanket and,
(20:28):
as you can tell, we aresweltering.
So to make to know that my foodwaste is not going in the bin
and causing greenhouse gasemissions is is really lovely.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
That is fantastic, and I love how you highlighted
that, because I think a lot ofpeople assume that oh well, it
does the same thing in landfill,but it absolutely does not.
I think it's really vital thatpeople are aware of the
difference with composting andputting your food scraps in the
bin, so thank you for givingthat some light today.
I think that's really important.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
It is because you would think that it would break
down right like it's going inthe bin.
Well, when things go in the bin, they're compacted, they need
to fit everyone's landfill inand they're squishing it down
with these big machines to makeit just absolutely compact and
without oxygen, food does notbreak down.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
That's right.
So you indeed can compost evenwhile travelling the country
with the young family.
No excuses, everybody.
Could you share that again,grace, please?
The app that you were using todo this?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Yeah, so it's called share waste and it's all over
Australia and if you're agardener, I would highly
recommend that you become a host, because the more hosts we have
, the more able we are tocompost, and you don't have to
be travelling either.
It can be anyone who's livingin an apartment or doesn't want
(22:02):
to compost.
You can just take it to a hostnearby.
You might have someone on yourstreet who is happy to take your
compost.
In fact, once you startcomposting, you want as much
food waste as you can get,because it becomes an addictive
process.
Growing or not growing,creating your own compost is so
(22:26):
fulfilling.
I only just tapped into it justbefore I left.
I always just had one compostbin.
I would just dump all of myfood scraps in there and hope
that it turned to soil.
But it was in my last few yearsof composting that I really
realised the potential of it,and I would say to everyone make
(22:50):
sure you have two compost bins.
That was the biggest eyeopening thing for me, because
while you're filling one bin,once you've filled that bin with
a beautiful mix of carbon andnitrogen, you're mixing it
regularly, but you also need tolet it sit and age, turning it,
adding oxygen, but not addingany more food scraps.
(23:12):
So having a second bin that youcan be filling while that first
bin just does its magic andturns to compost is vital, and
so you're filling the second bin.
You're really wanting morescraps.
Maybe you'll have a third.
It becomes addictive, and so ifyou are a gardener and you're
wanting more compost, I woulddefinitely recommend becoming a
(23:33):
host and yeah, it's easy.
You just have awesome peoplecome to your house and give you
compost.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
That's fantastic and, as you say, a really great way
to connect with like-mindedpeople in the community or the
communities that you're passingthrough as well.
I think that's fantastic and,speaking of those connections,
could you tell us about some ofthe gardens you've seen whilst
you're travelling?
Any left a real impression onyou at all while meeting these
people?
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Look, I haven't had a great deal of time to be able
to see their gardens.
We mainly just chat about thecomposting process, but I would
have loved to be able to look attheir gardens but now,
unfortunately, with the toddlerI had a quick chat and a quick
dump of compost and then had toget on the way.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
That is totally understandable.
So you mentioned that you werecomposting before you set off.
What kind of composting systemdid you use?
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Yeah, so we just had the basic old black bin with the
lid.
You don't need anything fancy tocompost, but, as I said before,
make sure you have more thanone.
That made all the difference tome and also make sure you are
using just as much carbon as youare, nitrogen and carbon being
(24:57):
your.
You have a great compostingpodcast actually talking about
composting, but, just as areminder, your carbon is your
dry brown ingredients likefallen leaves or ripped pizza
boxes and paper and woodymaterial, and your nitrogen is
(25:18):
that green stuff.
That's all of your food scraps,your coffee grinds, your
freshly cut clippings and anyweeds or anything.
So making sure you have a 50-50mix.
That was huge for me.
I was always creating thissludgy, sludgy food scrap mess,
(25:39):
and so it was really the biggestthing for me.
I just got a bucket and wouldconstantly go around the garden
filling it with carbon so thatwhen I went to empty the compost
, I could just grab a bighandful of leaves and chuck it
on top, and so you're addingjust as much carbon as you are
food scraps and then turning it.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
That's actually a really fantastic idea to have
the bucket by the compost.
I really like that.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Yeah, because otherwise I wouldn't do it.
That'd be too lazy Basically.
If you're like raking leaves orsomething, you can keep them
all in one spot near yourcompost and that's your carbon
done.
Or if you yeah, like I said,coffee grinds or Uber Eats bags,
those paper bags and things, ifyou're not going to use them
I'm constantly composting paperas much Because I can't find
enough carbon.
I find, but, yeah, collectingyour carbon.
(26:28):
So it's right there, so you canjust, you know, one bucket of
nitrogen, one bucket of carbon.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I love that.
So with the like, havingtouched on composting and some
permaculture as well, is thereanything else that you'd like to
see more of in the gardeningrealm?
Speaker 2 (26:47):
Yeah, anything else, I think for me it's just making
sure that you're you'reutilizing the you're using the
best soil that you can.
I think the biggest mistake andwhat maybe wasn't talked about
a lot when I started gardeningwas I was constantly trying to
(27:09):
do it in a cheap way.
I was only 18, I was at uni andbuying you know all of these
bags of cheap soil from bunningsand then and then spending all
this money on organicfertilizers and manure and
Charlie Karp and all that tryingto keep my plants alive.
(27:31):
So I guess, more awareness of,like you said, the microbes.
Like soil is alive, apparentlydon't quote me on this.
I like to use this as a stat,but I don't think it's.
I don't know if it's real.
Apparently, one teaspoon ofliving, healthy soil has more
microbes in it than stars in thesky or something, or the sand
(27:54):
on the sea.
There's a lot of life in soiland once you know that, and once
you know the difference betweendirt and soil, you realize that
your plants need a living,thriving medium to grow in.
And then you start creatingamazing soil with composting and
(28:18):
manure and just chop that wholechop and drop.
I just was getting into that aswell.
I was always ripping out myplants and then tilling the soil
, but we're realizing now thatsoil is best left undisturbed.
So if you can just chop and dropit, just make sure that you
(28:40):
understand how important takingcare of the microbes in your
soil is for growing goodvegetables.
It's just like the microbes inyour gut.
All of this information iscoming out now on how well we
can absorb nutrients If we havehealthy gut biome.
(29:02):
Well, that's the same withplants they can absorb nutrients
if there is a healthy biome inthe soil.
So I guess you know yeah, morefocus on that, more focus on
soil.
There's a great movie actuallycalled Kiss the Ground and that
talks about that.
It's really, really inspiring.
Speaker 1 (29:24):
Fantastic.
I'm noting that one down, thankyou.
In your journey along the wayhave you learned something?
You would have never expectedto Like something.
Perhaps this came through atriumph or a failure, something
that you just really reallygrabbed hold of and has become a
(29:44):
really valuable lesson.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yeah, I don't think it's been to do with gardening,
but I've had so many epiphaniesfor life.
I've had this time with myfamily to just really think
about the way we live our lives.
And the biggest lesson thatI've had on the way has been
(30:11):
about plants and I think Itouched on it earlier.
We had the plan that we made inMelbourne to go up the centre
and down through WA.
We kept telling everyone thisplan, that this is what we're
doing, and talked about thisplan.
It was blah, blah, blah.
The plan, the plan, the plan.
And then, once we'd got toDarwin and we stayed there for a
(30:32):
while, it was August and all ofthe people up there were
telling us don't go across to WAright now.
It is sweltering Going throughKananara and that whole top
section.
It's so hot.
You're going with a babywithout air conditioning, it's
dangerous.
And these people live up there,they know the area.
(30:54):
We're just some city dwellersfrom Melbourne thinking we've
made this plan and we've got tostick to it.
And it was this real epiphany.
We ended up not going to WA.
We headed instead to Queensland.
But it was really eye-openingbecause we both were like no,
(31:15):
we've got to do this plan.
This is the plan.
This is the plan.
We've got to stick to this planand if we don't do the plan,
then everything's going haywire,it's all turned upside down and
it's this big issue.
But in the end, you know, werealised that you have to take
the information you have at thetime, and the information was
(31:36):
really important in making surethat we were safe and that we
were going to do something thatwas enjoyable as well.
No one wants to travel throughsweltering deserts.
So yeah, that we reallyrealised that the future is so
uncertain and we are living inthis time when we don't know
(31:58):
what's coming, and here we arespending so long planning this
future that it's taking awayfrom enjoying our current lives.
We're constantly imagining thisfuture and planning this future
and then feeling like failureis when that doesn't happen.
(32:19):
So I kind of had this epiphanythat I was like if the future is
so uncertain, then why are wespending so long thinking about
it?
Why not just seed some ideas andthen go on with our lives,
living in the present moment andthen making decisions when the
(32:41):
time we get to that decision,and when we get to that time and
when we have all of theinformation, we can make that
decision, and I think people areso scared of not having plans
because they feel like they'reletting go of control.
But you are going to be theperson that's making the
decision when the time is right.
(33:02):
You have 100% control over yourdecisions.
You're not letting you know,you're not just letting go of
your life, you're just sayingI'm going to make that decision
when I have the information,when the time is right, and I'm
going to do it when it feelsokay.
And that way, I'm not feelinglet down by you know plans not
(33:26):
working out.
So yeah, we don't make plansanymore.
We seed ideas and we trust thatwe will make the best decision
when the time is right.
And for me, that's just been areally freeing realisation and
my biggest takeaway fromtravelling.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I really like that perspective and I can actually
see how one of the permacultureprinciples of observation can be
incorporated into that tooLearning to let go of what it is
that you have set out, like yousay, the plans to observe
what's happening around you,look at what's going on in
nature and the natural rhythm ofthings, and to adjust.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
Mmm, yeah, that's a really beautiful tie in there.
Just a yeah, and it's okay.
In fact, it's important toadjust because if you're not
looking around you at what thereality is and what might be
going well or not going well inyour garden or in your life,
then adjusting is necessary andit's going to lead you to
(34:34):
success.
But holding on to that plan andyou might be fighting against
the tide.
You're just pushing againstwhat's not naturally occurring,
just because you had this onevision of what it should look
like.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
Exactly so, speaking of fighting against things, what
would you say that your biggestpet peeve when it comes to
gardening is and that can be achallenge with growing a
particular something, or it canbe a stereotype, a misconception
.
What would you say is somethingthat you want to challenge in
(35:09):
the gardening realm?
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Oh, aphids.
I struggle with aphids and Ithink it's because they always
attack my winter veggies andwhen it's cold and in winter I'm
so less inclined to go outside.
I just look out my window, likeyou guys, alright out there,
(35:35):
and then yeah, they're justbeing overrun by aphids.
So I'm still trying to work outthe best way to do that in an
organic approach.
I haven't, as you know, got agarden at the moment, so I'm
kind of just ignoring that idea.
(35:56):
But yeah, I struggle withaphids.
Do you have any tips?
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Well, I was actually going to ask you if you had
applied anything, perhapsanything that didn't help,
Because I think there's so muchinformation out there, people
saying give this a try, givethat a try.
Have you tried anything thatyou found not effective?
Speaker 2 (36:18):
We tried neem oil and applying that.
I don't think that worked thatwell.
I also learnt that ladybirdlarvae is the best approach, so
trying to grow flowers that aregoing to attract those
(36:43):
beneficial ladybirds.
So I can't remember what thoseflowers are maybe.
Oh, and also I think growingwhite flowers around your
brassicas is a really great wayto repel cabbage moth, because
the white moths think that thewhite flowers are other moths,
(37:06):
so they won't come over to thatarea if they think another moth
is already laying their eggsthere.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Yes, they're very territorial, which I was
surprised to learn too, but withthe plants that attract the
ladybugs, I can certainlyrecommend things like
nasturtiums and marigolds.
They are ideal for attractingthose beneficial insects.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Yeah, perfect.
I do love marigolds.
I love the smell.
So many people hate the smell,but I love them.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
I've heard of as well .
Garlic spray for aphids Okay,using some garlic spray.
Apparently, they do not likethe smell of garlic.
I cannot speak from experience.
I have not tried this onemyself, but there are quite a
few options to test and try.
Speaker 2 (37:56):
when it comes to natural remedies yeah if anybody
out there knows, please jumpinto my DMs and send me your
best Acer tips, because I justcan't seem to get rid of them
other than the old fashionedsquish under the thumb.
Speaker 1 (38:12):
Oh, yes.
Yeah, that's quite effective,though you have to give it that.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Yeah, I just don't like the experience.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Yeah, I understand.
I think my preference in thatregard is certainly the
companion planting andattracting the beneficial
insects.
I think that's if we can dothat in a way that doesn't
require the intervention, wherethose systems operate naturally
in slow with one another.
I think that's a real winningidea there, if we can, if we can
(38:40):
attract enough to make ithappen.
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
And I think another way to do that is to spread out
those plants that do attract theaphids.
So if the aphids are coming toone spot, then maybe the other
plants will be all right.
Speaker 1 (38:54):
Yes, like a sacrificial crop yeah kale,
apparently, is the bestsacrificial.
Oh, ok, that might work for thecabbage, moths and butterflies
too.
Mine always get absolutelydestroyed.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
Destroyed, don't they ?
Yes?
Speaker 1 (39:10):
it's rude.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Sorry, kale, just hang in there I love kale.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
Have you tried the kale chips?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
Yes, I love kale chips.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Yum, yes, a little bit of salt.
Amazing, and it's, it's, guiltfree.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
Yeah, my dogs love them too.
Oh nice, what kind of dogs doyou have?
I have two little jack brusselcrosses.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
Oh cute.
They're fierce protectors,aren't they, the little dogs?
Speaker 2 (39:42):
Yeah, it was that.
We took them traveling actuallywith us for the first few
months and realised that thatwas going to be far too hard, so
my mum volunteered to take them, which was the biggest gift I
think has been given.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Oh, mum's a good on the team, aren't they I?
Speaker 2 (39:59):
know poor mum, they don't have a whole lot of say.
Speaker 1 (40:03):
Oh, bless them.
We've actually just beenplanting out some of the cat
grass which we've found our dogsabsolutely love.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
Oh, that's great to know.
So they eat it.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Yes, oh yeah, they eat it, they love it.
It's, some people actuallybrand it as pet grass.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
OK, I'll have to look into that.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
Yeah, it's been really good, really good
learning about that andobviously, with you know, not
everything you plant is safe foryour pets.
So, yeah, we plant them around.
So if they feel so inclined,then they've got that there.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Oh, that's great.
Yeah, I'm going to take thattip too.
Thank you, yeah, excellent, noworries.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
So, Grace, if you could go back to the very
beginning of your gardeningjourney, back to when you're 18,
none of your friends areinvolved in gardening and you're
just starting out, what wouldbe one piece of advice that you
would like to give yourself, orsomething that you would like to
say to yourself?
Speaker 2 (40:59):
I think I would say don't go so crazy on wanting to
go all of the really abstract,crazy, beautiful heirloom
varieties I think there's a lot.
I found it so fun growingreally strange and different
colored and different shapedthings.
(41:21):
But there is a reason that someare more common than others and
that's because one they tastebetter and they might be easier
to grow, and heirloom vegetablesare often a little bit harder
to grow, but they don't havethat same kind of pest
(41:44):
protection as maybe some of yourcommon varieties.
So, yeah, I would say, you know, have a healthy balance.
Don't go all unique, strangevarieties of things.
There's a reason some tomatoesand some vegetables.
You know the black.
(42:05):
I've forgotten it.
Is it black Russian?
No, that's the kale, blacksomething zucchini.
Oh, the black beauty, blackbeauty.
There's a reason they're themost common, they're the most
delicious, but you only findthat out through trial and error
.
So go out there and have funand you know, maybe I should
(42:26):
take that back.
There are really cool things togrow as well that aren't common
on your supermarket shelves.
And that I think was my biggestenjoyment was going on to the
seed collection.
I think I've bought that manyveg, awesome heirloom varieties
on the seed collection website.
(42:47):
There's you know your commonones, but you just don't realise
how many different types ofvegetables there are and how
beautiful they can be.
Purple king beans just gorgeousflowers and beautiful, crisp,
delicious beans to eat and sounique to have purple beans
growing that change to greenwhen you cook them.
(43:10):
And the same with corn you knowas tech corn.
It's not going to be your juicysweet corn, which I found out
the hard way, wanting to biteinto this beautiful, spotty
purple corn.
It's not going to be like that.
But it's going to be such anexperience as well, growing
(43:30):
things that you won't findanywhere else Purple basil and,
oh, those beautiful kink.
I've, look.
I've had two years out of thegarden.
I've forgotten all the names ofall the things I used to grow.
What are those beautiful beansthat when you open them, they've
got big seeds and they're likepink stripes.
(43:53):
They're incredible and yeah,there's.
And then you can get yellowbeans and you can get black
beautiful tomatoes and yeah,there's.
Actually.
It's so much fun that was mybiggest enjoyment when I was
first starting out was justgrowing strange and unique
(44:14):
things.
Oh, banana passion fruit.
That was a lot of fun to growas well.
There's nothing more excitingthan growing things you've never
seen before, and so it's just asurprise.
It's just the anticipationbuilds and, yeah, I loved that.
But in saying that, you willfind out that once you've grown
(44:34):
your beautiful corn, you can'tactually eat it.
It's more for creating flour,so maybe you'll have to learn
how to do that.
But yeah, I would say, justhave a mix of things that are
common, but also have a fun timeexperimenting, seeing what,
what else is out there.
Speaker 1 (44:53):
Exactly, and, as you say, you learned the hard way
with the corn.
That it's not, you know,intended for corn on the cob
without dinner.
But I'm a big believer of.
We learn the most from ourfailures.
We learn more from them than wedo from our successes, and
those are the lessons that Ifeel are more lingering.
They, they stick with you alittle longer.
(45:13):
You share them a little morereadily as well.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
And on saying that, anotherthing is really kind of like
just grabbing a notebook andjotting down what you're doing
so that if you do find that yougrew something it may be a
different you know thetemperature wasn't correct of
the soil.
You can look back and be like,oh, when did I, when did I plant
(45:39):
that?
How long did that take to plant?
Because you really do losetrack of time and you're
thinking, oh, maybe it was twoweeks ago.
I put those seeds in, maybe itwas this, and I will, you know,
lose the packets of seeds.
You've only got one packet ofseeds.
So if I don't plant them all out, then making all these DIY tags
(45:59):
.
If you just write that downinto a book, you've got all that
information with you in oneplace and you can actually look
back and go oh, okay, I plantedthat at this time it's taken
nine weeks to grow and orhowever long, and you can really
learn then what went well, whatdidn't go well.
(46:21):
So I think I would also givemyself that advice write things
down.
And also that gives you anotherway of like if you're, say,
doing a fertilizer or a wormjuice, you can write down when
you did it what plants you didit on, and then you know if it's
a diary you can set yourself intwo weeks time a note to do it
(46:43):
again, and then you've got likea little diary to keep track of
jobs in your garden so that youare keeping on those things,
because I would just put wormjuice on some plants and then
think, oh yeah, I think I didthose ones.
Speaker 1 (46:57):
I think, yeah, writing things down would make
things a lot easier that is somevery practical advice and I
think, yeah, lots of people ifthey haven't started a little
plant journal, then it is afantastic idea, because it
really does make all thedifference.
Yeah for sure, fantastic.
So, grace, before we finish, isthere anything, any moments in
(47:20):
your gardening journey that youfeel deserves some, some focus,
anything really pivotal or aquestion that you were hoping I
would ask you?
Speaker 2 (47:29):
no, I think we've covered most of it.
I think my pivotal moments werethat feeling of accomplishment.
When I finally nailed compost.
I didn't realize it was goingto be so rewarding and me and my
partner were jumping up anddown like, look at this, it's so
beautiful.
And I was so shocked at howquickly it is made as well.
(47:51):
If you are just doing itcorrectly, adding the right
amount of things and turning itregularly, it works very fast
and it's so rewarding.
So I think that was pivotal forme.
I'm not going back to slow tocompost ever again.
Speaker 1 (48:07):
I love that.
So and and did you notice aswell the the health of your
plants improved, the instantbenefit in the garden yeah,
definitely.
Speaker 2 (48:16):
I was just hope, wishing that I had 10 more
barrel loads of it.
Speaker 1 (48:21):
I felt I didn't have enough, yeah, and especially
because it's something we createfrom our way.
So essentially, it's free.
You know not considering ourtime, of course, but that's all
part of the process.
You don't have to spend acopious amount of money on on
fertilizers.
We have everything we need.
It's just a matter of knowingwhat to utilize and how it's
(48:44):
actually the best thing.
Speaker 2 (48:46):
I think I'm just the compost nerd.
I think it's incredible.
I think it's one doing amazingthings for the planet.
It's free and it's utilizing awaste product that would you
know.
Typically, we don't have anyuse for those things, so to have
it to then turn into this magicsoil enhancer is is just so
(49:10):
cool.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
It's so cool it is, it's, it's quite the form of
magic, isn't it?
Speaker 2 (49:15):
yeah, for sure lovely .
Speaker 1 (49:17):
Well, thank you so much for your time today, grace.
I really appreciate it, andI've been quite inspired by
stories of your travels, and Iknow some of our listeners will
have too.
I'm about to go home and packup the house, by the way, I'm
off oh good, but before we signoff, could you please share with
us how our listeners can findout more about you and the and
(49:39):
the journey that you're on?
Speaker 2 (49:41):
yeah, so I'm.
I've changed my name.
I used to be gardening withGrace on Instagram, but I found
that was just pigeonholing meinto only gardening and I wasn't
then sharing other things I waspassionate with or about.
So I'm now live simply withGrace.
So I'm talking on there aboutways that you can live simply.
(50:05):
You know, bringing things backto a simple way, and maybe
that's gardening, maybe that'scomposting, maybe that's just
voting for people who care aboutour environment and our planet.
So I share things to do withclimate emergency and gardening
and composting and reusablenappies and plant-based living
(50:28):
and eating.
So, yeah, it's quite a quite avariety of things.
Now I've opened it right up tojust anything I'm interested in,
and then I'm also putting upphotos of our travels on Rusty
Travels Instagram page there too.
So, yeah, that's just a smallone with pictures of our travels
but, yeah, fantastic.
Speaker 1 (50:51):
I have seen some of these on on both of those pages
and the photos are absolutelyawe-inspiring.
If you haven't already beenfollowing Grace's journey, jump
on to Instagram and check outthe amazing things that she's up
to.
That Instagram link again is atlive simply with Grace.
You've been listening to how Igrow, produced by the seed
(51:14):
collection in Melbourne,australia.
It is our way to make gardeningmore accessible to more people,
and this podcast is one of themany ways we're doing that.
If you don't already know whowe are, jump online and visit
wwwtheseedcollectioncomau.
You'll find a treasure trove ofgardening information, as well
(51:35):
as a huge range of seeds andgarden supplies and accessories.
That address again iswwwtheseedcollectioncomau.
Thanks for listening.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.