Good life for neighbours

North Ipswich neighbours Anja Lewis with Scott O’Keeffe and Kitty Van Vuuren in their garden.

David Nielsen

WHILE many people are happy to just share a fence, a group of North Ipswich neighbours have established their own flourishing organic vegetable garden.

The communal garden concept was born about eight months ago when North Ipswich neighbours Scott O'Keeffe and Kitty Van Vuuren and Anya and Sonny Lewis decided to pool resources.

On one side of the fence in the Lewis household, patches of Italian cabbage bloom in the front garden, while out the back, garden beds house an estimated 45 vegetables ranging from lettuce to radishes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and beetroot.

On the other side, in the O'Keeffe and Van Vuuren household, there are paw paw and mandarin trees, passionfruit vines, chillies, basil and eggplant.

The couples are among a growing national organic trend, with retail sales expected to hit the $1 billion mark this year, according to the 2010 Australian Organic Market Report.

As well as food and cosmetics, other popular organic choices include beers, wines and honey.

The report, independently researched by the University of New England and by the Mobium Group, shows more than 60 per cent of Australian households would occasionally buy organic, a 20 per cent increase since 2008.

For Mrs Lewis the set-up means the couple always has ready access to a variety of fresh organically grown vegetables.

“For us having the garden means we can go anytime into the back garden and pick whatever we feel like,” Mrs Lewis said.

The set-up echoes 1970s sitcom The Good Life, in which a British couple decides to live a sustainable lifestyle and convert their garden into allotments to grow fruit and vegetables.

Ms Van Vuuren said the garden grew enough to feed four people.

“I think it is a mutually beneficial arrangement,” Ms Van Vuuren said.

“We have the knowledge and supply the seedlings and they have the land.”

The couple are among an estimated 12 Ipswich families who have signed up to Food Connect.

Based in south-Brisbane, Food Connect distributes local seasonal produce, as well as products like honey, cheese, eggs and bread, with all coming from within a five-hour radius of Brisbane.

“Being part of Food Connect means you support local farmers, organisations and food producers who are using methods which are less damaging to the environment,” Ms Van Vuuren said.

GOING ORGANIC

• Shop farmer's markets and co-ops. Many farmer's markets and co-ops will carry not only organic food, but organic local food to boot.
• Start small. If you want to ease into purchasing organic, start with the produce that is most important. Certain produce items have been found to hold more pesticides than others, making them the most important to purchase organic.

( Courtesy: http:// www.goforchange.com)