One family's quest for inner city sustainability | Becoming self-sufficient | Gardening Australia

The thoughtful renovation of this terraced townhouse means it can provide all its own power, capture rainwater, recycle organic waste, grow its own food, raise chickens, all while housing a growing family.

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“We said how we wanted to live and we left the design to the designers,” said Geoff. “A productive garden was always very important to us,” added Julie.

The home is split over two levels, with three areas of internal gardens. At the ground level there is a small backyard courtyard with garden beds, plus a planted internal atrium. On the second level there is a substantial external garden, dedicated to food growing. Here are the chickens and an aquaponics set up, feeding a wall-mounted vegie garden. They have found it especially good for leafy greens and taking cuttings. Compost is made and stored under garden seats.

All of the water that falls on the property is stored in a 5000-litre underground rain tank, some feeding the wicking beds where fruit trees and other plants grow. Julie says one of the standouts in this area is the now towering paw paw, bearing fruit and casting shade over the courtyard. “It randomly germinated from the compost. It was strange because we don’t really eat paw paw!”

They have found that layering plants - such as lettuce under fruit trees - is also an efficient way to use limited space.

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