Guerrilla Gardening - Newcastle

When handling earth it is important to wear gloves & if you are going to handle potting mix or compost you should wear gloves or even a dust mask, people sometimes die of legionares disease when handling soil note this rarely occurs but it is quite common when handling potting mix or compost mixes. In many third world countries where people dont have shoes they often get diseases from walking on the earth.

Green solution just outside your door

THE
English have their allotments; in Sydney we use the streets. In a
variation on guerilla gardening, Sydneysiders are moving veggie plots
from the backyard to the street verge, and converting formerly fallow
public land into mini-market gardens.

"Environmentally, ethically and, from a community perspective, it's a
great thing to do," says Eva Johnstone, a landscape architect, who with
her husband, Bill, has been growing vegetables on their Marrickville
street verge for the past two years.

"We always wanted to grow our own food, but our backyard is quite
small, so the logical step was to grow it on the street, which was not
being used for anything," Ms Johnstone said.

The Johnstones now have an established vegetable garden, with spinach,
artichoke, rhubarb, peas, potatoes, beans, broccoli and beetroot. A
nearby tree bears a passionfruit vine and a sign telling passersby to
help themselves.

"We have more than we can consume," Mrs Johnstone says, "so we are more than happy to share."

The garden is a "big talking point", she says. Neighbours want to know
how to convert their verges from worn-out grass to "something they can
actually eat".

Street verges are council property [?] but Mrs Johnstone says the council has been "happy to turn a blind eye.

Global warming, the drought and rising food prices have other
Sydneysiders looking at local solutions to food production, says
Michael Mobbs, a sustainability expert. A year ago, he and fellow
residents of Myrtle Street, Chippendale, planted their nature strips
and footpaths with a range of edible plants, including tomatoes, herbs,
strawberries and fruit trees. Raspberries, rocket, native mint and
passionfruit vines climb the telephone poles.

"There are several advantages to growing food in the street," Mr Mobbs
says. "You make the streetscape more friendly by getting rid of the
concrete and providing more shade."

On Saturday the street will be blocked off for the inaugural Food For
The Future Fair and will feature dishes made with food grown in the
street.

"We want to show people that they can grow food where they live and
return to simpler, lower-impact lifestyle," says Mr Mobbs, who received
support from the City of Sydney, which provided some labour and plants.
Other councils are following suit.

"North Sydney Council has established a permaculture garden with
vegetable beds at the coal loader site, next to Balls Head, Waverton,"
says the Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery. "We would certainly be
very supportive if communities wanted to grow veggies in their street,
as long as it's a community initiative."

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Err... in addition what they don't say is that because of the 'debt' crunch people will need to grow their own food fast. 

Love the concept but wouldn't it be great to plant endemic plant species to provide food and habitat for  the native animals and birds which are being displaced by the inexorable expansion of suburbia???