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Barefoot Creative

@barefoot.creative

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✏️ Landscape Design & maintenance | Kaurna (Adelaide)
🥑 Edible landscapes, health & sustainability
🏡 @beausgarden for daily garden content

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WORKSHOP: Johnson-Su bioreactors

📅 Sunday 18th October (Open Day)
⏰ 11am-11:45am
📍 North Brighton Community Garden
💰 FREE - No booking required

Are you interested in a simple composting system that you only have to setup once, involves no turning and can almost forget about for a year? This may be the one for you!

BACKGROUND:
Most soils, especially in urban or disturbed areas, lack fungal-based microbes due to compaction, tilling, and chemical use. Fungi play a crucial role in building soil structure, cycling nutrients, and forming symbiotic relationships with plants—benefits that bacteria alone can’t provide. Forests are the perfect example of this balanced relationship.

The Johnson-Su bioreactor is a low-maintenance composting system that produces microbially rich, fungal-based compost (as opposed to traditional bacterial). Developed by Dr. David Johnson and Hui-Chun Su, it uses a passive, carbon based aerobic (high oxygen) method that allows the beneficial fungi to dominate.

Only very small amounts are needed to inoculate large areas, which we love!

WORKSHOP TOPICS:
🌼 finish filling it up
🌼 how it works
🌼 results of our microbe testing
🌼 how to build one yourself
🌼 how to use your compost by @barefoot.creative

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a month ago

🌸 SPRING OPEN DAY 🌸

📅 Sunday 18th Oct, 9am - 1pm

We’re back again with all your usual garden and edible treats! Also featuring:

⏰10am - GARDEN TOUR + FREE GARDENING & DESIGN ADVICE with our resident landscape designer @barefoot.creative

⏰ 11am - FREE WORKSHOP - learn all about Johnson-Su bioreactors (fungal based composting system). We’ll finish filling ours up and show you how to build your own, cheaply and easily!

👧 KIDS ACTIVITIES all day long

🎵 LIVE MUSIC from the B-Ukes by @barefoot.creative

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2 months ago

DESIGNING WITH NEW BUILDS

New builds are often the trickiest gardens to design. With very little existing vegetation, structures or microclimates to work with, an open slate can sometimes be overwhelming and difficult to imagine the garden of your dreams.

But by designing the garden at the same as the house from the onset, it gives us the best opportunity to work WITH the new site conditions, planning for various stages along the way to ensure a holistic and harmonious outcome is achieved between house and garden, saving valuable time, money and energy in the long run.

The floorplan of this house forced some careful consideration into essential elements like storage, access, zonal functions and available sunlight. But by utilising the owners keen horticultural skills, we were able to maximise the available space through hydroponic greens, trellising, espaliers and multi-grafting trees to screen utility areas, all while maintaining informal spill-out area for the young family to entertain, relax and play.

We placed taller evergreens along the western backdrop, borrowing the neighbours overhanging loquat for additional yield and to help screen adjoining neighbours, block hot arvo sun and add extra layers of interest. Other Mediterranean fruit trees flank the perimeters and are guilded by hardy dryland perennials and native grasses - providing valuable food, medicine, habitat and pollination while remaining sympathetic to the modern-Mediterranean influence of the new home. by @barefoot.creative

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6 months ago

🍅TOMATO TRELLISING 🍅

I loathe having to prune and tie up tomatoes all the time so this is probs my favourite way to grow them, by weaving them through a series of horizontal lines about 45cm apart. Just weave them through as they grow - simple!

🍅 self supporting, avoiding the need to stake and tie up individual plants

🍅 way less labour intensive

🍅 can easily grow more plants together

🍅 can leave the plants unpruned which leads to more branches, more flowers, more fruit...or can easily be pruned

🍅 creates a denser canopy to protect the
fruit from sun (tomatoes don’t actually like full sun ALL day) just be mindful of over shading and fungal outbreaks

What’s your preferred method? by @barefoot.creative

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a year ago

2 years on and this project continues to bring me so much joy. Watching how the new edible garden has provided more time for this young family to work, play and garden all together. by @barefoot.creative

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a year ago

VERGE GARDENING WITH A TWIST

The Kent Creek Butterfly Garden is a project that my neighbour and I have been dreaming up since the day I moved in. In conjunction with the @cityofmarion verge grant program, it aims to provide food and habitat for butterflies (and other native wildlife) while harvesting stormwater runoff to passively irrigate street trees and over 100 new indigenous plants.

We’re hopeful our project will inspire other neighbours to come together to develop their own verges as part of a wider vision for sustainability and greater biodiversity!

💧 HOW IT WORKS 💧

This ephemeral “creek” uses a series of interconnected “swales” or pools to passively irrigate plants. Runoff is fed into the upper pools via the footpath and slotted stormwater pipes, where it fills up and overflows into the subsequent pool via a rock dam. This system slows the water down, storing it for longer and allowing it to absorb deeper into the soil instead of rushing into the gutter. It’s literally just a model river!

Plants that can tolerate temporary inundation as well as dry periods (also known as “riparian”) are planted in the swales. Plants that enjoy the drier side of life are planted on the banks. All the plants used are native to the Adelaide plains and favoured by local butterfly species - either as food, shelter or host plants for caterpillars.

Thick woody mulch will eventually decompose and act like a giant nutritious sponge that naturally feeds the plants. The vast network of roots also helps to absorb and filter the water.

A compacted sand path finishes the job while maintaining access to cars and doubling as a pad for wheelie bins.

Gather your neighbours and let’s make verge gardening the new rage!

@gardeningaustralia

#gardening #garden #gardeningaustralia #verge #australian #natives #australia #adelaide #southaustralia #community #sustainabilty #sustainable #permaculture #wildlife #butterfly #pollinators by @barefoot.creative

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a year ago

SOUTH FACING GARDENS

just because a garden bed doesn’t receive sun for 10 hours a day, doesn’t mean you can grow plenty of food - in fact south facing gardens are often better, especially if they’re behind a low wall, fence or shed like mine.

☀️ no winter sun which is fine for all deciduous plants

☀️ still receives morning and evening sun directly against the wall, and bright indirect light during the day which many tender plants thrive on

☀️ sun will hardly reach base of the plants, meaning the shadow line preserves soil temperature and moisture = far less irrigation

☀️the further you plant away from the wall, the more sun it’ll receive during the day. So it’s great for deciduous trees that still require spring sun to flower

This makes it perfectly suited for deciduous plants, thirstier and more sun tender plants like my apples, interplanted with loganberries and kiwi against the shed.

The root zones remain moist and cool but still receives enough light to flower and fruit. I’ve not yet needed to water this bed since winter too due to shed run off by @barefoot.creative

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2 years ago

Sprinklers aren’t evil

People bang on about how much sprinklers waste water, when in fact they can be just as, or even more beneficial than drippers.

Drippers are often installed all over the ENTIRE garden, so you may think you’re using less water but sometimes this means areas of the garden are getting unnecessary amounts of water and end up using more in the long run

Sprinklers can be used on individual areas that require more water than usual. There’s also other benefits of overhead watering such as

💧 cools down leaves and reduces surface temperature on very hot days allowing leaf stomata to function properly. This can be the sole difference between leaf burn or not. (And no, watering on a hot day won’t burn the leaves)

💧 keeps the mulch moist and microbes alive

💧 water is more oxygenated which can prevent the soil going anaerobic and causing root rot. This is critical for plants like avocado

💧 plants with shallow surface feeder roots like citrus, avocado and passionfruit almost always do better from sprinklers as it covers a wider surface area

💧 can be the only water source for wildlife during hot days

I find a combination of drippers on different zones for ease of watering, with supplementary sprinklers on hot days is the way to go. Just be mindful of overhead watering of things like melons, tomatoes and zucchini as they’re more susceptible to mould and mildew by @barefoot.creative

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3 years ago

It always pays to keep an eye out for local trees that you can propagate easily.

I’d been eying off a few big old Bauhinia trees (Hong Kong Orchid Tree) in my area recently, one with white flowers and the others pink and variegated. Look around the older suburbs like North Adelaide and you’ll come across some of these beauties. I’m going to try and propagate them myself because they’re rarely ever available in nurseries but should be grown a lot more given their beauty, perfume and hardiness.

Bonus points for being a pioneer leguminous tree that fixes nitrogen and has edible seed pods that are fried or used in curries throughout Asia

Photos for reference by @barefoot.creative

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3 years ago

PUBLIC VS PRIVATE OPEN SPACE

Project: Oaklands Community Garden Extension

Bridging both the public and private realms, the proposed Oaklands Community Garden Extension pays homage to the historical use of the Oaklands area as agricultural land, while activating new spaces for public leisure, education and preservation of local
habitat.

The proposal encourages growth of the existing community garden by inviting members of the public to rent a plot and participate in food gardening. A new path gently envelopes the tree protection zones of established gums, slowing traffic while maintaining direct and efficient access between the two parks.

Local native plant species border its western edge, allowing biodiversity to flourish amidst the exotic fruits and perennials to the east. Passive surveillance is strengthened by an avenue of deciduous fruits that soften the community garden fence while offering a public spectacle of colour come spring time.

Relocations of existing garden beds increases public open space to the north, while generous area of lawn remains untouched to the south, maintaining positive relationships with key stakeholders.

A public orchard protects the community garden from prevailing winds while prompting a desire to explore and pick from this whimsical, edible forest.

Large deciduous shade trees such as walnut and pecan add to the long-term public amenity of the site
by cooling the land and offering areas of contemplation and respite for park users, as well as afternoon shade for adjacent neighbours.

Future civil works are proposed to further improve public (wheeled) access and increase passive surveillance via a dedicated pedestrian route between Oliphant Ave and Perrin St. This subtle yet strategic activation of space and increase in amenity
ensures the site remains functional for garden members and all types of park users without impeding on council maintenance requirements.

#landscape #design #landscapedesign #landscapearchitecture #landscaping #horticulture #garden #gardendesign #gardening #communitygarden #communitygardensaustralia #sustanability #permaculture #permaculturesouthaustralia by @barefoot.creative

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3 years ago

…But you can’t plant avocados in September, it’s too cold, they’ll sulk!

Is a common misconception I hear pretty often. But I prefer to plant them earlier as they can definitely handle the colder soil (unless you’re in the hills) and are able to settle in BEFORE the heat arrives.

Before and after pics of a very happy Reed avo tree planted 4 weeks ago at my avocado workshop at @northbrightoncommunitygarden. by @barefoot.creative

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3 years ago

Love seeing progress shots of projects coming to life, even more so when clients are doing the work themselves!

I bet the chickens can’t wait to be free ranging around this orchard 🐔

Swipe for original design

#landscaping #landscape #landscapedesign #design #landscapearchitecture #backyardgarden #veggies #orchard #homegrown #growyourownfood #urbanfarming #permaculture #permaculturesouthaustralia #adelaidegardendesign #adelaide #southbrighton taken in South Brighton by @barefoot.creative

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3 years ago