Grapes in a rental garden

Grapevines are wonderful. They provide good shade in summer, drop their leaves to allow sun in winter, don't need much water or loving care, and best of all: they grow grapes!

But in a rental garden, are they possible?

We started with a cutting in a pot. As it turns out we have been in the same rental house nearly seven years, but while our lovely vine was getting established in his pot, we could have relocated with him if we needed to. In the photo below he's been settling in for about six months.

By Mr Vine's second summer he needed something to grow up, and we helped him with bits of makeshift trellis in the raised garden bed - mostly recycled items heading for bulk waste, like a rusted clothes drying rack. 

 

But what I really wanted was for the vine to provide shade for the front of the house.

Our lounge heats up not just from direct summer sun, but from reflected heat off sunny bricks. So the challenge was to build a trellis so the grapevine could grow over the garden entrance as far as the roof, without putting up any permanent fixtures.

The main support was a branch salvaged when trimming the gum tree. The trellis comprises two lengths of thick wire, each with loops twisted into them, one lying along the gutter and one connecting the gutter to the gum tree support. Loops between the two wires are connected with pieces of clothesline.

Our vine has now spent two summers growing up the trellis and I am thrilled with this addition to our garden, and to our passive cooling measures for the living area. Grapevines need firm pruning but its not an excessive task. Thus far, only pruning a couple of times a year, the vine has been easy to keep away from the tiles and causes no problems along the roof line.

We know the vine has been through the bottom of the pot for years now. If we need to we can dig it out to remove it when we leave (but why would any landlord want it gone?). Hopefully it can be left to bless future residents.

The grapes are delicious, although they come ripe each year exactly when we are away on our summer holiday. Eva spent the weeks before we left this year telling all our friends to come and eat our grapes while we were away and we were delighted that one good friend did just that, so the harvest was not wasted.

Initial Time: well now... Putting a grape cutting in a pot took about five minutes. Building the trellis took me about five minutes (erecting the gum tree support post) and Tyson about an hour (twisting wires). Growing a grapevine has taken five years so far. We got edible grapes from the fourth summer.

Initial Cost: Zero. We were given our cutting by friends.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Zero cost. We water with recycled bath, shower or washing machine water through summer, top up the soil with home-grown compost and mulch with leaves off other plants around the garden. Pruning takes about half an hour two or three times a year. As its in a well-mulched pot, there are hardly any weeds.

Impact: Our bricks are shaded a little more of the day and reflect less heat in our lounge window and front door. I don't know if the temperature is actually much cooler but I feel cooler to have a green space rather than the glare of a brick driveway when I look out the window. As it takes so long to be cold enough for leaves to fall here, I have actually cut most of the leaves off to let autumn sun through. And we get to eat home-grown grapes! Which is cool, and also saves a bit on  food miles/ pesticides/ packaging/ etc.

This picture was taken last July - not much sign of leaves dropping off despite it being the middle of winter! Last year we had only one week between the last leaf falling and the first spring shoots emerging. Ah Perth. Not really a climate of four seasons. 

What to do when the hottest week on record is forecast for your city

When the forecast showed Christmas day as the first in a run of seven days close to 40°C, Perth's hottest week on record, we knew it would test our commitment to sustainable living to its edges. The temptation was to pour water on the garden, crank the airconditioner and stay inside (possibly in front of some energy-consuming electronic entertainment). Here are a few things we did to ride out the week of heat without maximising our environmental footprint.

- Wore wet flannels to feel cooler. When I lived in an uninsulated unairconditioned fibro house I used to freeze wet tea towels in a U-shape and wear them around my neck. Now if I am reaching that point I consider we are past the 'bearable' test and its time to turn on the aircon.

- Sent Eva to bed with a squashy ice pack.

- Breastfed baby twice as often... as if the heat wasn't making me tired enough already!

- Kept the fridge as full as possible, filling empty spaces with blocks of ice or cold water, to improve thermal mass by reducing the amount of air to be kept cool. Air is hard to keep cool because it escapes whenever the fridge or freezer door is opened. 

- Shaded everything! In addition to the summer-long emplacements we added some temporary foam rubber mats along the kitchen & rear toilet windows and a tarpaulin over the clothesline. The foam rubber mats make a huge difference. The glass inside was noticeably cooler behind the mats, even before the sun was on the window, and even the cranky thermometer registered about 4 degrees difference between the covered and uncovered glass.

- Washed every day to ensure there was enough grey water for the garden. We always run the washing machine with a full load, so I worked my way through 'sometimes' items (towels, sheets, bathmats etc) to ensure the garden got water every day without having to give it pure drinking water from the tap. On a couple of the hottest days I did two loads and gave the lawn a good soak.

- Played outside in the mornings for as long as possible (for exercise, fresh air and to prevent against cabin fever). Did quiet indoor activities through the worst of the heat (lego, trains, playdough, craft, hide & seek, tea-sets, dolls & teddies, etc). Read a lot of books.

- Had cold or nearly cold showers, cool baths, and used the paddle pool sparingly (and put the water onto the garden when shower/ bath/ play was over).

- Were disciplined about the water-catching bowl in the kitchen sink, and got it out onto the courtyard pots any time it was full to help the plants through the worst of the heat.

- Ran fans rather than the airconditioner for as long as this was bearable. We turned on the aircon on four of the seven hot days - on three of those days for only about three hours. On day three, when we used it first, we set it at 28°C. On day five, when it came on again, the walls of our house had soaked up more heat and we dropped the aircon to 26°C. This is easily enough to cool our living spaces. (Due to the location of the air conditioner unit, even running it like a fridge would not really cool our bedrooms).

- At night, opened the house up to cool as much as possible before morning. We ran the extractor fans to help remove the day's heat and placed pedestal fans in the eastern windows (the overnight direction of cool air if any is coming) to help draw in the breeze.

- Didn't cook (or barely cooked). Christmas leftovers helped with this. We also reheated some frozen meals in the microwave. When we used the toastie maker we then put it outside to cool, so that its heat was not added to the inside temperature. We definitely did not turn on the oven, and only used the stove for about an hour in total all week.

- Went out to places that were cooler (eg the beach, the shady playground beside the lake) or where airconditioning would already be running for other people (Tyson's work, grandparents' house, public facilities). This is not about letting others carry our footprint, but about maximising the number of people each aircon serves, thereby minimising the total number of airconditioners running. On New Year's Eve it was our turn to run the airconditioner on behalf of a group of families. We ran it for 13 hours, but for much of that time had members of up to seven other households sharing it with us.

- Did not increase screen time. We don't have a TV at all. Tyson & I watch a little I-view but Eva is allowed only a very occasional episode of Playschool under extreme circumstances (like the week she was stuck home with hand foot & mouth disease recently). Although I had Playschool in mind as an 'if all else fails' emergency activity for the heat we didn't need to go there - perhaps because the room with the computer is not the coolest room in the house.

Despite being over 42°C on New Year's Eve, with the road still hot under our bare feet at midnight as we watched fireworks in 30°C heat with no breeze, not all the predicted maximums were reached. The average maximum temperature of 39.4°C made it only the hottest week in 34 years, the third hottest week in 116 years of records, and the hottest December week on record, NOT the hottest week ever. Lucky us, eh?! Even though it was only below 25°C for a handful of hours all week, in some early mornings, and didn't get below 20°C at all...

None of these actions had any initial cost, and time commitments were very small (a matter of a few minutes here and there).  

The impact is difficult to measure in any precise manner. Certainly if we had not used passive cooling measures we would have run the airconditioner a lot more in the past week. Its hard to say exactly how much energy this would have meant, as it depends on things like the temperature outside, the temperature the aircon is set to, and how much we would actually have turned it on, but the aircon uses (roughly) between 1.5 and 2kWh (units of energy) per hour. Perhaps as much as 100kWh was saved by limiting our aircon use. If we had run it 24-7 for the week it could have used between 252 and 336 kWh in total.

More importantly, we did not significantly increase our demand for power through a peak period of demand. Demand in peak periods wastes energy all year, as the whole system needs to be built for extremes rather than averages. Minimising peak usage has more impact than minimising average usage. 

I'm quite pleased with how well we did. One more day and I think I would have collapsed. But then, if one more day had been forecast I would have paced myself for eight days as I paced myself for seven this time. Tyson thinks any of our more usual three or four day heat waves for the rest of summer will seem so easy to manage by comparison that we may not turn the aircon on again all season. I have my doubts. I've booked a holiday to southern Victoria in a few weeks to visit my parents rather than ride out the whole summer here - thereby, in two cross-country flights, practically wiping out any footprint gains we make by reducing our domestic power usage here. Ah well. Its about small steps.

Recommiting ready for summer

This is the time of year when a number of our water and energy saving measures need to be reinstated for summer. Doing so involves a recommitment to these actions and, for some, a small degree of maintenance.

So our 'action' for November was not a new action but a recommitment to many previous actions, and in some ways it was the hardest 'action' I have committed to in the three and a half years we have been doing this. Here we go again. Does it never end?? I think life at home with two small children may be shaping that reaction! It is more difficult also, in my experience, to do something again, when it is no longer new and interesting. This is particularly so when it is restarting something that I have failed to continue on with as I originally intended.

After a week of that summer heat smell in the air it was time for Tyson to unroll shadecloths around the house. 

So far we have no new ones this year, but are reinstating all of those from previous years.

One of those along the driveway remains furled as it broke its moorings in winter storms and needs a more permanent hook attached to the bricks to keep it secure. The shock cord for another had also worn through and the rear courtyard shade is definitely not still using the original ocky straps from six summers ago! Overall, though, the shades and their fastenings are holding up well.

The grey water wheelie bin has been brought back into service. I discovered that I cannot get it over the laundry threshold (or if I do I spill quite a lot in the effort) so Tyson sourced some grey water hose to create an extension out the door ($20 for ten metres).

The door obviously doesn't lock like this, but a chock to stop it sliding open any further makes us reasonably confident to leave the washing machine running with its outlet pipe through the back door when we go out.

The original tap connection on the bin had also given us grief last summer, periodically leaking or unwinding itself and falling off, so Tyson purchased a new tank outlet connector (about $8). 

This required sanding the hole for the pipe slightly larger to make it fit, but so far has been a very successful adaptation. The hose we attach to the tap got little holes drilled along it some time last summer to create a drip system for better coverage.

We also put the tubs back into our shower and have grey water on hand again for toilet flushing. This stopped not on account of winter bringing rain, but because somewhere midyear, in late pregnancy, a string of minor ailments over three months had me desperate to change anything that might be contributing and grey water standing uncovered in our bathroom seemed a potential source of winter sniffles. And then we had a baby and I couldn't be bothered with even the small additional effort of gathering and flushing grey water.

The basin in our kitchen sink comes and goes. We are making another attempt at it this summer. Periodically we get fed up with it not getting emptied outside, or getting too dirty, and it is abandoned. Hence it was definitely one of the actions for me that was a recommit, not a routine, as we approach summer.

Costs and times for these actions are detailed in the links above to where I wrote about them originally. Aside from fifteen minutes here or there for maintenance, recommitting doesn't add more time than the original commitment. 

It is much easier, though, to continue with actions that are simply ongoing than to pick up these summer-oriented actions at the end of spring each year. Part of me is tired and thinks oh lets just water with a hose/ flush the toilet/ blast the aircon like everyone else. It was 37 degrees here yesterday (Celsius - that's 100 degrees Fahrenheit, for you in other lands - what some here refer to as 'the old hundred') and the heat made me grumpy. I am home full time with a three year old and a four month old. I get grumpy plenty quick enough all on my own - I don't need any extra grumpifiers! But then... the house kept quite cool most of the day, and when we eventually turned the aircon on (we are not ascetics, after all) I was still grumpy about the heat, so I might as well be sustainable and grumpy. When I look at my reaction, it is being trapped inside that bothers me, and aircon or passive cooling both have that same result. Its grey and raining today... some respite for me to think creatively about ways to get outside as much as possible through summer so I don't get that terrible trapped feeling. Any ideas?

What are you needing to recommit to at present?

Grey Water Wheelie Bin

Recently we purchased a heavy-duty 140L plastic wheelie bin from Weatherworks designed to capture and distribute water from our washing machine. This is a great alternative to a plumbed-in grey water system for those of us in rental properties who can't make permanent changes.

 

The washing machine pipe hooks over the side of the bin, which sits next to the machine while it is operating. We sometimes tie a bit of rag around it to catch the lint, as in the photo below.

 

We then wheel the bin outside to where water is needed. A tap fitting allows for a hose attachment, or we often just bucket it out straight onto the garden. No more lugging buckets all over the place!

I like the hose attachment, but Tyson finds the water flow too slow so goes with buckets most days. We don't have lawn (except for on the verge, where our rear neighbours water HALF of the front verge and our other-side neighbour gives a less-intense sprinkle to 'our' half, resulting in a very obvious divide between lush green lawn and the patchy brown hanging-in-there covering we are satisfied with) but these bins are designed to flow slowly enough to gently 'flood' a lawn area. Some models are also designed to catch roof run-off. More expensive models have an in-built pump so that you can water at pressure as from a garden tap.

The bin is reasonably easy to manoeuvre, although its four single-direction wheels sometimes make turning corners a bit of a heave. However, we have still decided that it is probably an activity best avoided by a pregnant lady, so Tyson is doing all the bin wheeling for now. 

Initial Time: However long it takes you to decide on the what and how of a new purchase. The guy we bought from delivered it to us for free, as we were not too far away. Setting it up by the washing machine takes no time at all.

Initial Cost: $180. We chose to support a local small business, which often has a stall at our farmers' market. We could have bought a cheaper one if we had it shipped from Melbourne or went with a two-wheel single-axle version from Bunnings.

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Watering the garden still takes time. There is just no getting around that unless you go with an irrigation system that does the whole garden just by turning on and off at a tap. But its only about 15 minutes most days, and Eva loves watering with Tyson.

Impact: We are capturing about 60L more water per wash than our previous system of buckets in the wash trough allowed. This photo shows the water level after one washing load, which gives an idea of how much we are catching and recycling.

Tyson has decided that even with this extra water our vegies need more than we can capture through this hottest part of summer if they are going to give us anything more than scruffy leaves, so we also turn on the drip irrigation system from the mains for about 3 minutes each day (it uses about 25L/minute).

No buy no waste toddler activities

Eva had a birthday in September (TWO! Unbelievable) and received lovingly purchased gifts, most of which were toys. Our family members and friends have taken seriously that we don’t want a house full of plastic and the gifts were sensitively selected with minimal packaging. Still, it got me thinking about how much stuff we buy and/or throw away to entertain little people. I am trying wherever possible to find ways to entertain and educate Eva with minimal or no purchase or disposal of stuff. Here are five ideas that have worked for us:

1.   Found Object Cubby Houses

 

I’m told by my mum that the purple rug has been with our family for over thirty years. Although it retired from active service as a bed cover many years back, it is a much cherished picnic blanket and cubby roof.

She is writing on the butt-end of a used-up notepad – apparently not to be thrown away until all clear surfaces have something added!

The washing machine box cubby is also good for recurring painting activities. Thus far I have not bought paint or brushes, on account of hoarding from past purchases when I was involved in work with teenagers and uni students, but I concede that paint & brushes are not strictly ‘no buy’ items. (Thanks to my sister for bringing her washing machine box across town for us to use – the box from the compost tumbler got left in the rain and collapsed)

2.   Lids and Buckets

It took about a month of putting aside plastic lids from juice and milk bottles to get this collection. Initially I intended to punch holes in them to make a threading game, and I have two old shoelaces (washed!) ready for this purpose if I get to making holes.

Or they were intended as a sorting game.

But on account of temporarily storing them in a plastic jug, they have become primarily used for making cuppas. The buckets (from honey) are the mugs. If I’m very lucky Eva will make me a cappuccino.

3.   Olive tin drums

 

These were just too good to pass by when our local continental store had a pile out to take for free. 

These drum sticks are lovely smooth polished cross pieces from a chair that broke, although good strong sticks from our eucalyptus are equally popular. I’m sure our neighbours regret the day we found these – they are strictly an outside toy! They also make quite good side tables for balancing drinks and food when we eat outside.

4.   Water painting on the fence

Water painting is the ultimate no-waste activity, as the pictures dry away and the surface can be reused over and over and over. Honey buckets again – what wonderful useful things!

 

 

5.   Stones, dirt, a bucket of water, a rag

Eva can entertain herself independently for sometimes over an hour with this activity. Stones get dug into the (empty) pot-plant, dug out again, washed, dried, made into piles, wrapped in parcels, thrown to the ‘ducklings’ that she assures me populate our courtyard. And they make a thoroughly satisfying ‘sploosh’ when dropped into water from any height. These nice smooth white stones are left over from an activity I ran ages ago, for which I purchased them, but stones found in the garden would be just as good if a handy hoard like this was not stored in my cupboard.

I try to encourage left-over water from both the last two activities to always go into a pot-plant so it gets used twice, and to limit how many times Eva is permitted to refill her container, so that she learns not to just tip it out.

Initial Time: Cubbies usually take abut ten minutes to set up (not counting painting the washing machine box, which has been an activity in itself); Lids took about a month to save a decent collection, but only involved having a container by the sink to drop them in instead of into the recycling bin; everything else was the same time as it would take to get a shop-purchased toy or activity off the shelf.

Initial Cost: Zero

Ongoing time or cost commitment: Zero for these items. My commitment to no buy no waste activities in general may at times require a little extra creative thinking and set-up time but I think no more than might be spent wandering shops looking for things to buy.

Impact: I can’t quantify this in any meaningful way (except for one washing machine box, about ten honey buckets and fifty or so plastic lids not going into the recycling) but I think it has a significant qualitative impact. Firstly, Eva is learning to be resourceful about play, and that things can have many uses after their first one is finished. I’ve also had adults visiting our house say ‘what a good idea!’ about some of the no buy no waste things we have tried, so I am hopeful that we are inspiring others to also have a go at creatively using what they have rather than throwing it away or buying something else.  A teacher friend remarked that it was good to see someone else eying the recycling bin as treasure rather than trash, as she uses all manner of ‘waste’ items in her classroom (and her husband I think is still a bit taken aback at what she collects up as ‘teaching resources’ – anyone have any of those spindles that bulk discs come on? She is a few short...) 

The impact is about shifting how I and Eva and hopefully others see things.