As most Australians are, you are probably concerned right now with matters of an eco friendly nature. You are probably wondering what you can do to help conserve energy, water, and other resources around you so that less waste is produced and more resources are utilised over time. One of the basic resources that everyone uses is water, and since this is such a precious commodity, it is no wonder why Australians all over are switching to more water efficient systems so that they can utilise this precious resource a lot more effectively.

Australia, especially because of it’s rainy and dry seasons, is a perfect candidate for water renewal, because rain does not always fall regularly in the dry season. But what is something that everyone can do to help conserve and save water?

Save Water by Using Grey Water

Well, anyone who lives in Australia can help save water by using grey water around the home. Grey water is the water waste that you send down the drain from your sinks, your shower, your washing machine, etc. everything but the toilet sends grey water into the ground. But you cannot use grey water again for drinking, right? No, you cannot, but you can utilise it for a few things, and here are some:

First, you can use it to water grass. If you irrigate your drain properly so that it sends the water out into your yard, you will have healthier looking grass in no time! Another thing you can do is to irrigate your gardens with it. This grey water does contain some contaminants (bleach, soap, etc. ), but most of your garden plants will be fine from receiving grey water for nourishment. You can also install grey water systems that allow you to harness and use grey water in other ways too!

The bottom line is that, most homes use up to 40 litres of water per person per day! That is a lot of grey water, and this water could be going to better use. Why use 30 litres of fresh water to water your grass when grey water would work just as good? In fact, if you completely wanted to use grey water to its fullest potential, you could even use it for things like washing your car or to wash down your verandah.

Who doesn’t love gelato? What about organic gelato? Good quality organic ice cream is hard to find but if you live in Melbourne you are spoilt with choice as you can indulge in any of the Fritz Gelato sorbets, ice creams, and frozen yoghurts.

Fritz Gelato | Melbourne

About Fritz Gelato:

Fritz Gelato is organic, award winning Italian style ice cream. Our sorbets are fat, dairy, gluten, rennit and gelatine free. This leaves plenty of room to pack them full of delicious seasonal fruit. Did you know that on average, our ice cream has only 4% fat. Other commercial ice creams can contain up to 10 times this amount!

Fritz Gelato also has a range of organic coffee and organic donuts.

Visit Fritz Gelato at one of their shops in Melbourne:

• Richmond
• South Melbourne
• South Yarra
• St Kilda

From National Geographic:

National Geographic researchers are trying to collect DNA samples from these odd duck-billed mammals to determine whether there are separate subspecies.

With your own organic garden, you can pick your veges and have a delicious, fresh salad within minutes.

If you live in Australia, then you most likely know how it is to try and contend with those long, dry seasons. Does it ever seem like your garden just needs way too much water? Well, not only does watering your garden several times a week take up a lot of water, but it also takes up a lot of time! So, if you are into gardening, but would be into a garden that didn’t need so much water a lot more, then here is an idea for you… you need to drought proof your garden! Drought proof gardens are becoming more and more popular in Australia for one main reason… and that is the fact that drought proof gardens just take a fraction of the work.

You might think that a drought proof garden is dull and drab, but this does not have to be the case. You can have a lot of plants that look amazing, build your garden well, texture it, and have an absolutely amazing drought proof garden! There is a little more work involved in finding the right plants, but other than that, a drought proof garden is a piece of cake!

How to Drought Proof Your Garden

Here is how to drought proof your garden. First of all, you need to search for plants that require either minimal, or even no watering whatsoever. You may ask what kinds of plants do not need to be watered, and the answer is plants that are used to growing in the wild with only rainfall as their water source! A lot of plants do not require constant watering, and finding these is the key to having a drought proof garden.

Now, your next question might be… why would you want only local plants in your garden? Isn’t the point of a garden to have something a little bit exotic? Well, you are right! That is why you should look into buying plants from locals similar to yours. There are a lot of places like Australia, and you should be able to find plants that will thrive in your location without much trouble.

As far as grouping your plants, if you are going to be putting any plants into your garden that need to be watered, try to group them together so that you do not accidentally over-water the others. This also helps you to avoid wasting water by watering plants that do not need it.