Passionate about Eco Home Building?

Building or Renovation – Water Conservation Tips

Ella Walters from the eco designers writes to assist your ways to change at home.

Intro

NZ homes use, 25 – 30% of water for flushing toilets, 33 – 35% for baths and showers 20 – 25% in the kitchen, and 20 – 25% is used in the laundry. A family of four uses around 500L per day not including water used in the garden (a garden sprinkler can use 900 litres an hour). Per year, the average person uses around 75,000 litres and the average household uses around 200,000 litres.

Contents

• Free Eco Design Advisor Service
• Water Conservation tips
• Rainwater Harvesting
• Grey Water Recycling
• Composting Toilets and Worm Septic Tanks
• Solar Hot Water

Free Eco Design advisor Service

The eco design advisor service provides free and impartial advice for people planning to build or renovate their homes to improve family health and comfort, reduce impact on the environment.

Available to homeowners, designers, builders and trades-people, the service is provided by Sustainable Wanaka and funded and supported by the QLDC, BRANZ MfE and EECA.

Eco Design Advisors Ella and Christina can provide tailored advice on insulation, energy efficiency, water conservation, sustainable building materials and passive solar design. Building or renovating plans can be reviewed at any stage of development.

To make an appointment and take advantage of this great free service contact Ella in Wanaka on Office 03 443 5057, mob 021 031 4258, email ella@seedbuilding.co.nz or Christina on mob 027 583 7444, email Christina@seedbuilding.co.nz

Water conservation tips and rainwater collection

Rainwater Harvesting

Installing a rainwater tank is a great way of reducing your mains water consumption. For every millimeter of rainwater that falls, you will collect approximately 1 liter of water for every square metre of roof area.

Management

Most rainwater management systems provide a hassle-free way of integrating rainwater into your home for use in the laundry and for flushing toilets. By using sensor and smart switches, they can switch automatically between mains and rainwater supply depending on the level of the rainwater tank. Water pressure required by washing machines and irrigation systems is provided by a pump.

Maintenance

Maintenance of the rainwater harvesting system is essential as rainwater is easily contaminated by debris. Ensure that gutters and free from leaves and animal waste so that sludge does not build up in the tank, which could result in clogged filters, pipes and pumps. Filters and diverters are the key mechanism for keeping the tank clean. You will need to ensure that your roof surface is suitable for collecting rainwater to avoid contaminants such as lead entering the system.

Garden irrigation

Today it is more important than ever to use water resources wisely and to irrigate wisely, even with three great lakes on our doorstep! Drip irrigation from a rainwater source provides you with a very efficient method of irrigation as water is applied to the root zone which eliminates over spray and evaporation. Drip irrigation can be in the form of drip line or individual drippers per plant.

Greywater and blackwater recycling

Greywater recycling

Most homes produce around 100-200 litres of greywater per person per day. Greywater recycling systems divert wastewater from the showers, bathroom sink and laundry for use in the garden or can be treated and used in the home. Greywater is mildly polluted with soaps and detergents and can contain levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. These minerals are generally considered beneficial to plants. Use garden friendly products, soaps and detergents to ensure that the correct mineral levels are maintained.

Most greywater recycling systems come with smart switches, which enable you to switch off and on a greywater source and allows you to divert harmful contaminants from your garden irrigation system.

Tips for managing greywater systems

• Use liquid detergents rather than powders; most powders are very high in sodium and salts, which can injure plants
• Avoid cleaning products with boron, which can be toxic to plants
• Avoid use of chlorine bleach
• Avoid caustic drain cleaners and other chemicals with unknown effect on plants
• Landscape the greywater irrigation field with plants that are tolerant of alkaline (basic) soil; acid-loving plants should be avoided.
• When cloth nappies are being washed in a washing machine, the drain should be disconnected from the greywater system
• If highly contagious illnesses are present, the greywater system should be switched off, and all wastewater should be disposed of using the conventional system
• Greywater should not be used for irrigating vegetable gardens

Black water and water conservation tips

Black water and worm septic tanks

Black water is wastewater from the kitchen sink, toilet and dishwasher and can be treaded onsite. Worm septic tanks require no chemicals to treat the water onsite as opposed to regular septic tanks that use chemicals to breakdown waste.

A composting toilet is a dry or waterless toilet that uses natural processes produce useful compost, after a resting period, which depends on the type of the toilet. Composting is a form of biological decomposition that takes place in a controlled environment, the four key requirements needed to maintain this environment are oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and moisture. Composting toilets are odourless and can reduce indoor water use by 20-30%.

Water conservation tips

• Use a shower timer to cut down on water usage
• Switch off the tap when brushing your teeth
• Have baths instead of showers. Baths use up 100 liters of water each time you have one.
• Fix leaking taps
• Install low flow shower heads and aerators on taps. By installing a low flow shower head you could save up to 20,000 liters of water per person each year.
• Rinse your dishes in a sink of water, not under a running tap, and use your dish washer on the eco cycle and only when full
• Front loading wash machines use less energy and water than top loading machines
• To check if your toilet has a leak, put a little food dye in the cistern. Wail 15 mins (don’t flush) and check the water in the bowl. If the colour appears in the bowl the cistern needs repairing.
• Install a rain garden
• Garden to the climate, reduce areas of green grass that require lots of water
• Opt for more robust types of grass that require less water
• Specify water-efficient appliances. Ask the manufacturer for details on how much water each appliance uses, check the appliances water star rating The difference between a 4-star and a 1-star could be more than 10,000 litres per year. WELS database www.waterrating.gov.au/publications/wels-brochure.html

• Avoid specifying in-sink waste disposal units. These require a lot of water to operate, and they overload sewage treatment plants or in-ground septic systems with organic matter. Design and install customized organic waste disposal receptacles instead.

Save Money and Time for Eco Holidays

More Green Holiday Decorating Tips

Save Time and Your Sanity with These Best Ever Eco-friendly Ideas

By Stefanie Gabrych Fraser

Reuse, recycle, and repurpose is the mantra for these really simple gift and decorating ideas.

You’ll find that the best materials for a green Christmas can be found right at home. So, instead of one more fly-by at the mall, make gift-giving more personal by spending a day at home with the kids giggling and crafting your own special gifts.

Support Local Organic Produce

Health in Harmony editor, Rosie Cox, extols the virtues and benefits of buying local organic produce:

We are children of a chemical age. Chemicals are everywhere and so too are allergies, disease and mental suffering. It’s not surprising there is a current movement towards living a more sustainable, organic and healthy lifestyle.

Choose organic products to reduce the intake of residues of chemicals that may be present on food such as fruit and vegetables. Organic foods have less impact on the environment as producers avoid chemicals, which otherwise get into our soils and waterways.

Nature has been growing plants without pesticides since the beginning of time.

The current movement towards organic farming isn’t just about eating healthier, it’s about the idea of re-building a healthy eco future for the planet. This is a great reason to go organic, but unless you are growing your own produce, you could be supporting the ‘big’ mass producing organic farming that is occurring particularly in the US.

Commercial agricultural techniques, even organic farming, wreak havoc on both the topsoil and ecosystem through their huge fields of growing just one strain of plant.

The Japanese farmer Masanobu Fukuoka invented a no-till system for small-scale grain production that he called Natural Farming.

If you want to eat and live organically, not only for your health, but also to protect the environment then it’s important to shop at your local organic store or farmers’ market. Read the labels and help support the small family farmers and local environment and find out where your supermarket sources food.

Author: Health in Harmony founder and editor, Rosie Cox is a Wanaka based yoga teacher.

Swine Flu a Result of Questionable Farming Practices?

Swine flu and agribusiness are linked according to Avaaz (a “global Web movement” dedicated to eliminating the gap between the world we have and the world we would like); they are asking people to take action by signing a petition demanding an investigation into the way pig factory farms operate and are regulated:

Evidence is emerging that traces swine flu to giant factory pig farms that are dirty, dangerous, and inhumane. Sign the petition to the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization to investigate and regulate these threats to our health:

No-one yet knows whether swine flu will become a global pandemic, but it is becoming clear where it came from – most likely a giant pig factory farm run by an American multinational corporation in Veracruz, Mexico.(1)

These factory farms are disgusting and dangerous, and they’re rapidly multiplying. Thousands of pigs are brutally crammed into dirty warehouses and sprayed with a cocktail of drugs — posing a health risk to more than just our food — they and their manure lagoons create the perfect conditions to breed dangerous new viruses like swine flu. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) must investigate and develop regulations for these farms to protect global health.

Big agrobusiness will try to obstruct and scuttle any attempts at reform, so we need a massive outcry that health authorities can’t ignore. Sign the petition below for investigation and regulation of factory farms and tell your friends and family and we will deliver it to the UN agencies. If we reach 200,000 signatures we will deliver it to the WHO in Geneva with a herd of cardboard pigs. For every 1000 petition signatures we will add a pig to the herd:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic

Last week the flu was all that we talked about — Mexico has been nearly paralysed and across the world leaders halted air travel, banned pork imports and initiated drastic controls to mitigate the spreading virus. As the threat shows signs of subsiding the question becomes where it came from and how we stop another outbreak.

Smithfield Corporation, the largest pig producer in the world whose farm is being fingered as the source of the H1N1 outbreak, denies any connection between their pigs and the flu and big agrobusiness worldwide pays huge sums of money for research to argue that biosafety is ensured in industrial hog production. But the WHO has been saying for years that ‘a new pandemic is inevitable’(2) and experts from the European Commission and the FAO have cautioned that the rapid move from small holdings to industrial pig production is in fact increasing the risk of development and transmission of disease epidemics. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that scientists still do not know the extent that infectious compounds produced in factory farms affect human health.(3)

Studies abound of the horrific conditions endured by pigs in concentrated large-scale operations, and the devastating economic impact on small farmer communities of bloated large-scale operations.(4) Smithfield itself has already been fined $12.6m and is currently under another federal investigation in the US for toxic environmental damage from pig excrement lakes.(5)

But even with all of this damaging evidence, a combination of increased global meat consumption and a powerful industry motivated by profit at the cost of human health, means that instead of being shut down – these sickening factory farm operations are propagating around the world and we are subsidising them (6). In the wake of this swine flu threat, let’s hold industrial pig producers to account. Sign the petition for investigation and regulation:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/swine_flu_pandemic

‘Get Real’ National Plastic Bag Campaign Launched

Sophie Ward from Sustainable Wanaka is looking for your support in a New Zealand wide plastic bag use reduction campaign. How can you help?

As many of you know I have been working locally on plastic bag reduction for a few years and in this time Wanaka has embraced the change with 40% of shoppers saying no to plastic bags.  However our efforts here could be extended to inspired change on a national level.

I have been working with Wanaka Wastebusters on a National GetReal Plastic Bag campaign which we launched last week.

We are lobbying strongly for the major NZ retailers Progressive (Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown) and Foodstuffs (New World, Pak n Save, 4Square) to stop giving away plastic bags for free.  By charging a small amount for plastic bags countries such as Ireland and Taiwan have achieved 80% reduction in plastic bags in 3 months.  Even The Warehouse is following this lead and will start charging from 20th April this year.

In our first week we have grabbed the attention of national media and even John Key has made a statement on the issue.

Now what we need is your support.  Do you want supermarkets to stop giving away plastic bags for free?  Then I urge you to log onto the site and spend 5 minutes online to join our campaign.

If you have friends or family who also take an interest in environmental issues please pass on the link to the site so they can join us too.  The more support we have, the more likely we are to have a good outcome on reducing plastic bag usage and the ability to go on and build a series of effective campaigns around packaging issues.

This is important and will lead the way to much greater change on the packaging front.  We hope that you will add your voice of concern at www.getreal.org.nz

Energy Saving Bulbs on Queenstown Lakes District Council

Live in the Southern Lakes? Queenstown Lakes District Council will be giving away free energy saving light bulbs to those who pledge to reduce their electricity demand at home and/or work (limited offer). Each pledge will also receive a list of top ten tips to reduce their energy use.

To find out ways you can reduce your energy consumption at home, book a consultation with Queenstown’s Eco Design Advisor, Christina Newnham. The Eco Design Advisor service provides up to 2 hours free energy, water and material related advice on residential projects and buildings. To book your free consultation, contact Christina on 027 5837444 or christina@sustainablewanaka.co.nz

EcobulbsTM claim that the average home fitted with Ecobulbs can save up to $2300 worth of energy costs over the life of the bulbs, and that 20W Ecobulbs are said to be 29% brighter than the 100W incandescent bulbs they replace.

Pledge forms and free light bulbs are located at the Queenstown Library and Queenstown Lakes District Council’s main offices on Gorge Road.

Queenstown Tourism Operators Sign Up For Sustainable Business Practice

Press Release, 17 February: Otago Polytechnic announces a well subscribed Sustainable Business Programme…

Some of Queenstown’s top tourism businesses are leading the way to a more sustainable future by signing up for the district’s first ever Sustainable Business programme.

NZ Ski, Skyline Gondola, Restaurant & Luge, Dart River Jet Safaris, Kawarau Jet, Kingsgate Hotel Terraces, Copthorne Hotel, Millennium Hotel, Kiwi Discovery & Queenstown Rafting, Nomad Safaris, Southern PR, Fluid Visual Communications, and The Rees Hotel & Luxury Apartments will start their longterm sustainable practice commitment on 17 February with a three-hour workshop. Further workshops, action planning and one-to-one work with a qualified adviser will follow.

The Government-subsidised programme aims to encourage Queenstown businesses of all sizes to become more sustainable in terms of environment, social responsibilities and financial viability. The Sustainable Business Programme is to be delivered by Otago Polytech’s Centre for Sustainable Practice in collaboration with partners Destination Queenstown, Queenstown Lakes District Council, Ministry of Tourism, and the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce.

Queenstown’s Sustainable Tourism Advisor Sharon Schindler and well-known sustainable practice expert Steve Henry, who heads the Centre for Sustainable Practice, will lead the programme.

Ms Schindler says the programme is designed to support organisations as they work towards sustainable practice with a strategic, future-focused approach.

“We’ll provide general managers, CEOs, business owners and senior managers with the advice and skills they need to evaluate, implement and manage sustainable practice from the top down in their businesses.

“Each business will benefit from access to expertise across a range of business disciplines. All attendees will receive a tailormade solution and action plan to follow which includes how to reduce costs on waste, water, power and maintenance, reduce waste, and assist with achieving or upgrading Qualmark certifications and Enviro-ratings.

“The benefits for businesses are huge. Efficiencies will reduce costs, tight focus will reveal weak points and, in the end businesses will have a real point of difference that could offer competitive advantage in the market. Our vision is for every business in Queenstown to complete the programme,” says Ms Schindler.

Mr Henry, of the Centre for Sustainable Practice, says sustainable practice has become integral to long term business success, particularly in the tourism industry.

“Businesses will be at risk if they don’t head down the track of sustainable practice. The expectation of meeting the needs of the more discerning, environmentally aware visitor is increasing around the world.

“Our Ministries of Tourism and the Environment have set a clear direction for New Zealand’s sustainable future. These Sustainable Business programmes aim to improve the overall operation of the business community, bring local tourism businesses into line as per the Tourism Strategy 2015 and provide regionwide economic, social and environmental benefits.”

Author: The release was issued by Otago Ploytechnic. For more information visit www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz and click on “Changing our Ways, Sustainable Practice”.

The fee structure for participating businesses starts at $150 plus GST for businesses with 1-2 full time employees and ranges to $1000 for those with more than 50 full time employees.

Registrations are now open for the second and third programme intakes in June and October.

Build Green: Eco-friendly Insulation & Energy Saving Heating

Jessica Winter of Sustainable Wanaka offers ideas for eco-friendly insulation and energy saving heating for your home:

New Zealand homes have historically been extremely inefficient: 30 years after insulation became mandatory, around 350,000 homes are poorly insulated or have no insulation at all. Many of those are in the Queenstown Lakes District, where many houses were built for summer use only but are now lived in year round.

In addition to the insulation problem, the cost of energy to households has risen in real terms by 16% since 1995. Owners of thermally inefficient homes are paying more year-on-year to heat their homes or are accepting inadequate levels of heating to keep the cost down.

At Alexa Forbes’ house in Frankton, there are many examples of energy efficient measures that have made their old villa more comfortable, liveable and cheaper to run. Alexa and her partner, Sean Drader, have spent the last five years adapting the old house, including removing internal walls to make an open living room, adding large windows to the north facing side of the house, retrofitting insulation in the ceiling and floor, installing solar water heating, a heat recovery ventilation system and thermal blinds.

However, some parts of the house are still very cold in winter and Alexa called me for advice on how to improve it further. The ‘Eco Design Advisor’ scheme, which I provide through Sustainable Wanaka, is a free service for homeowners, designers and builders wanting advice on any aspect of sustainable building: healthy materials, passive solar design, energy and water efficiency, renewable energy and landscaping, to name a few of the main issues.

Alexa and Sean converted six small rooms into one on the north side of the house and opened up the entire north wall to the sun. They laid a stone floor in the two-metres adjacent to the glazing (using stone from Dunstan). This ‘thermal mass’ absorbs the sun’s heat and, although it doesn’t feel warm, it regulates the internal temperature of house by storing the sun’s heat captured during the day and re-releasing it at night. It also helps keep the house cool in summer.

The new windows are double glazed ‘composite’ windows – timber frames (for warmth and resistance to heat loss) on the inside and aluminium on the outside (for durability and stability).

The Yunca fire does a good job of heating the house and also provides a back up to the solar for water heating. Alexa says there are only three months in the year when they use any electricity for water heating. Her solar panels were installed five years ago when experience of solar in the industry was generally minimal. However, some initial glitches aside, the solar is now working very well. I suggested insulating the pipes that run between the fire and the cylinder above and adding a cylinder wrap, to minimize heat loss.

Ceiling
Alexa and Sean installed extra insulation in the ceiling, which has helped save money on power bills and made the house feel warmer.  They have done a good job, installing the insulation tightly between the joists without compressing them. However, I discovered a few gaps in the insulation that need to be filled in. It is worth noting that even a two-mm gap around the edge of insulation batts can reduce the ‘R-value’ (a measure of a material’s resistance to heat loss) by around 20%.

I also advised Alexa to add a second layer of batts over the top, running perpendicular to the existing batts. This will cover up any gaps in the bottom layer and cover the joists, which transmit far more heat than the insulation that surrounds them.

Alex resisted having recessed down lights fitted in the living room during the renovation. Recessed down lights, favoured by electricians for the uniform light they provide, are inefficient for several reasons. Firstly, they require an aperture to be made in the insulation, which compromises the thermal integrity of the building and, secondly, the heat they generate causes warm air to rise from them which pulls warm air out of the living space below. If the living space is a kitchen or bathroom, this air is damp and the moisture condenses in the roof space. While recessed down lights create uniformly lit spaces, they are not a sustainable lighting option.

Floors
Sean has insulated under parts of the existing floor with foil faced batts or reflective foil.  However, there are some parts of the floor that are still completely uninsulated and draughty. Insulating the whole floor with foil-faced blanket will make the house a lot warmer, and will reduce draughts as well.

If you are doing this yourself, be careful! Several people have electrocuted themselves by stapling through electrical cables while installing foil insulation under houses. Sean had to contend with white tail spiders and cat poo – it may be worth employing someone to do this for you!

Heating
The heat recovery ventilation system has proved to be failure. The system is designed to extract warm ‘waste’ air from the living room and use it to preheat incoming fresh air from outside, which is then ducted into the bedrooms. However, Alexa says that even when she holds a fan heater to the extract vent in the living room, no heat arrives in the bedrooms. I suggested removing the heat exchanger as it is obviously not working, and convert the system to a standard heat transfer system, in which heat is extracted from the living room and ducted directly into the bedrooms.  New heat transfer systems can be bought from hardware stores or from specialist companies.

Windows
Most of the windows are old single glazed timber sashes (the new French doors excepted). These are losing a significant amount of heat and make the bedrooms uncomfortably cold. I suggested fitting ’secondary’ glazing, which is effectively a second, single glazed window, fitted internally within the existing reveal.  These could be fixed panes – which are cheaper – and can be removed in summer. The principle is to create a still layer of air between the window and the room – it is the air that is the insulator in double-glazing. Old windows – or any windows for that matter – can be improved by fitting well-fitting blinds or curtains which also provide a still layer of air: good curtains can effectively make single glazing perform the same as double glazing. This is why it is so important to close curtains at dusk. I also suggested fitting draught-strips to opening windows and fixing gaps in the frames of fixed panes.

Sustainable Living
Alexa has implemented a number of sustainable living measures, beyond the alterations to the house. She and her neighbour share a chicken house (with very happy occupants), a vegetable garden, a compost heap and greenhouse. Both houses have their own private outdoor space, but they share these parts of the garden, saving them both space.

Each 1% improvement in energy efficiency in New Zealand Homes will result in $17 million of savings and reduce the country’s CO2 emissions by 0.1%. Little changes such as those made by Alexa and Sean – and the changes they will be making – will make a big difference to your comfort, your heating bill and your environment.

Author – The Eco Design Advisor is an initiative of BRANZ and is funded by QLDC, Ministry for the Environment and EECA in this district. Sustainable Wanaka project manage the service. To make an appointment, contact Jessica Winter on 027 5837444 or email jessica@sustainablewanaka.co.nz

Top Ten Tips For a Waste Free Christmas

Our local recycle centre offers advice on how to have a sustainable christmas:

1. Buy services or experiences as presents such as memberships, event tickets, vouchers or donations to a favourite charity.
2. Buy quality products with zero or minimal packaging. Buy locally made with natural materials that last for years, not just until the end of the holidays.
3. Write I.O.U.s. Dust off your babysitting, dog walking, housecleaning, gardening or haircutting skills – whatever you’ve got – and make someone’s day just a little bit easier.
4. Get crafty and make your own presents. Home made chutneys, cakes or chocolates make a thoughtful and low impact present.
5. Plan your menu around seasonal and local food and drinks. Buy nudevegetables with no packaging and no plastic bag.
6. Avoid serving food and drink on disposable plates and cups. Borrow what you don’t have from neighbours or get a spare set from the recycle centre.
7. If you buy a real tree consider buying a living native tree that you can plant afterwards. Or give your tree a second life by taking it to the green waste depot.
8. Use recyclable paper, newspaper, ribbon or string to wrap presents. Take care when opening gifts so you can reuse the wrapping paper.
9. Vent your festive frustration by crushing your tins and plastic bottles before putting them in your crate.
10. Spare some festive cheer for the good folk that collect you recycling who hand sort all of your empties by giving them a quick rinse out before putting in your crate – especially milk bottles please.

Author - Wanaka Wastebusters was set up by the local community with the goal of achieving zero waste. See www.wanakawastebusters.co.nz.

Enjoy the Crunch and Credit

New Kitset Vegetable & Herb Garden Makes Growing Your Own Easy:

As rising living costs bear down on household budgets, one green-fingered Queenstown entrepreneur is offering locals a way of enjoying the crunch and the credit.

Easy Veg, a new one-stop kitset vegetable and herb garden, is now available www.easyveg.co.nz.  Display gardens can be viewed at Queenstown’s Mitre 10 store and the Shotover Garden Centre and will soon be accessible in Wanaka, Alexandra and Cromwell.

The brainchild of longtime local and experienced viticulturist Mick Palmer, Easy Veg is a cost-effective, easy to assemble garden, perfect for those wanting to grow their own produce to save money, eat healthily and savour the flavour of super-fresh organic vegetables.

“Vege gardens were a way of life for our older generation but have lost momentum in the last few years,” he said.

“Now that times are tighter there’s been a massive increase in people getting back to basics and growing their own veges.  It’s a win-win situation because they avoid high supermarket prices, guarantee their produce is organic, and have the satisfaction of eating what they grow straight from the garden.

“Imagine walking out to your Easy Veg garden and picking your own organic tomatoes and salad – tomatoes that smell like tomatoes, look like tomatoes and taste like tomatoes!  Within five minutes you’re inside, slicing the still-warm tomatoes and laying them on a slice of toast.

“Easy Veg isn’t rocket science but being able to have your vege garden delivered, installed and planted within four hours will make others green with envy.

“You can install it yourself or we can do some or all of it for you.  We leave the best bit of planting the garden up to you and through our gardening, organics and natural pest control guides we supply you with all the information you need to be a successful gardener, from a novice to producer.

“Best of all, if you follow my advice your garden will be low maintenance and weed free!”

Easy Veg kitset vegetable gardens come in four sizes – Getafix (0.5m x 1.2m x 0.3m herb garden, Herbie (1.2m x 1.2m x 0.3m vege garden), Alfresco (2.1 x 1.2m x 0.3m vege garden) and Gourmet (3.0m x 1.2m x 0.3m vege garden) with options to install on lawns, decks and patios.

Growing time can be extended with Easy Veg’s custom-built greenhouse and frost protection kitset at a fraction of the cost of a glass or greenhouse.  The kitset framework is environmentally friendly and made from sustainable non-toxic Macrocarpa.

Mick came up with the Easy Veg idea through his love of gardening and knowledge of soils, nutrients, irrigation and plant growth.

“People spend a lot of money on buying veges when they could be getting them straight out of their garden.  I was getting a lot of questions from people who want to grow and eat great produce but did not have the time, knowledge, or ability.  I’ve established several raised vege gardens around my house which are all organic and weed free so I wanted to pass on my knowledge to make it fun and easy for people to create their own bit of Eden.  As part of the Easy Veg service I also do a monthly service check on all gardens.”

Mick believes that it’s never too soon to learn how to garden so has donated one of his gardens, with materials and plants supplied by Mitre 10 Frankton, to Queenstown’s ABC Childcare Centre.

ABC director Pip Walsh said it would be a great learning opportunity for the children.

“It’s absolutely fantastic and provides a great opportunity for the children to get back to basics and learn about responsibility, caring for their environment and healthy eating.  Mick was great with them – he spent ages answering all their questions and showing them how to care for the garden.  We couldn’t tear the children away!  We’ve already set up a water roster and I can see it’s going to be a great summer project for them.”

Author - EasyVeg  – To order an Easy Veg garden or get more information, visit www.easy-veg.co.nz