As the decade draws to a close it's a time for new beginnings and a time to decide what your New Year's/Decade's resolution is going to be.

If you can't think of anything, we have a suggestion.

GROW YOUR OWN FOOD.

There are so many amazing reasons to grow your own food. At Biofilta, we are on a mission to help everyone achieve their food growing goals. But we aren't the only ones with food on our minds. There is a revolution going on in our suburbs and in only 12 weeks since we launched our newest wicking garden bed, the Foodcube, we've seen dozens of home gardeners with small and large Foodcube farms ranging from one square meter to over ten square meters.

But we are not ready to settle. We want to see more. We want more food growing in homes, schools, communities, workplaces, rooftops and anywhere else where the sun shines. 

So for anyone who needs a little extra encouragement, here are four good reasons why your New Decade's resolution should be to grow more food, and how we at Biofilta are going to help you keep your resolution! 

REASON NUMBER ONE - Our Planet

For better or worse, the way humans interact with the environment will define the next decade and the decades to come. We need to start paying attention to the earth and what better way than to roll up your sleeves and stick your hands in it. Around one third of our greenhouse gas emissions comes from agriculture. Growing your own food builds biodiversity in your garden and reduces food miles and our reliance on fossil fuel based fertilisers as well as pesticides, fungicides and other inorganic chemicals which reek havoc on soil health. 

Growing your own food is also a great way to learn about ecological systems and to instil environmental consciousness into your own behavior and the behavior of people you live with and around. When you grow your own food you become invested, literally and emotionally, in the environment. You don't want to waste food because you put in your own time to grow it. You compost your scraps because you know how valuable they are. You learn the taste of delicious home grown produce and you get a practical understanding of biology, chemistry, ecology and climate science. 

This idea is at play at Athol Road Primary School where the environmental studies teacher Brian Hunter has installed 66 wicking beds which are well on the way to producing over 1.5 tonnes of fresh produce per annum (worth more than $15,000) for the school community. This farm is an incredible teaching platform for students who are learning what it takes grow food and be custodians of their environment. 

Environmental literacy is more important than we think. If we, as individuals and a community don't understand the basics of ecological systems, how can we be expected to make wholesale environmental change in the upcoming decade. Growing you own food may only seem like a small step, but the principles which underpin food growing and the knowledge you obtain in the process will inform all the small (seemingly insignificant) choices that you make on a daily basis about the environment and your role in it. ​

REASON NUMBER TWO - Quality of Life

Growing your own food has the potential to improve your quality of life immensely. Green thumbs have been saying it forever and we at Biofilta couldn't agree more. The happiest people in the world go to sleep with dirt underneath their finger nails. Yes, we might be biased, but we are also right! 

Growing your own food creates opportunities to connect with your family, community, neighbours and anyone else who wants to join in. You can share recipes, seeds, knowledge and time in a productive and creative setting. More and more studies are showing the physical and psychological benefits of growing food and there is an overwhelming amount of evidence to show that people who grow their own food are more likely to make healthy food choices.

I know personally that there is no better remedy after a busy day a work than to go out into the garden and harvest some veggies for dinner. I have the good fortune of looking after the pop-up urban farm outside our office space in Port Melbourne. The garden has become a great space for staff to unwind during a busy day, take a phone call, have lunch or just enjoy the vibes. We also hold harvest days when all staff get to participate in the gardening. It's always a great opportunity for everyone to get together, relax and chat about things other than work! 

A sustainable housing project in Cape Paterson called The Cape has taken this idea to the next level. Not only are residents at this housing estate setting up their own wicking urban farms in their own front and backyards, but the developer is building a large scale urban farm which will serve as both a community garden and a shared space for residents to live and learn together. Already the 1st stage of the community garden is built and it has become a hub for residents of The Cape to meet up, socialise, get some exercise and get to know their new neighbours. The final designs for The Cape Community Garden are set to be built next year. ​

REASON NUMBER FOUR - It's Easy! Well.....now it is

The reasons why people don't grow there own food are pretty standard. It takes up too much time, its too difficult, I wouldn't know where to start, I always forget to water them etc. etc. At Biofilta, we are on a mission to make growing food easier. Our latest wicking garden bed, the Foodcube, is the culmination of years of work, testing, more work, trial and error and finally we've come up with a wicking garden bed that turns first time food growers into champion gardeners. 

How? The design of the Foodcube is inspired by the principles of horticulture. For example, in horticulture, plant access to water is paramount. This is why the Foodcube is a wicking garden bed. What does that mean? The Foodcube has a 110 litre sealed reservoir of water at its base. This allows plants to wick water from the reservoir through capillary action, accelerating plant growth and ensuring you're plants stay healthy and happy. This method of watering also happens to be more water efficient than tradition top watering gardening because you loose less water through evaporation and to runoff. Unlike other wicking beds, the Foodcube has designed aeration vents to ensure the root zones of your veggies receive oxygen and don't become anaerobic and smelly. You can also adjust the water level depending on the water requirements of plants. 

Our wicking beds are also designed to reduce the time you spend maintaining your garden. Wicking beds store water in the base so you don't have to water everyday, or every second day. Water requirements depend on rain fall and weather conditions but from our trial gardens we estimate that you only need to fill up your wicking beds every 1-2 weeks in summer and 3-4 weeks in winter. Plus, Foodcubes can be connected at the base. This means that you can water a whole series of Foodcubes from one point instead of each individually. Put it this way, would you rather water all you plants individually every day, or would you rather fill up your Foodcube reservoirs every week or so from a singular point? Bottom watering also suppresses weeds by creating a dry surface layer of soil which weed seeds struggle to germinate in. Less weeding, less watering, more harvesting, more eating!

Finally, the Foodcube has been built for versatility. We've added 25mm holes and hooks around the edges of the Foodcube which allow you to customise your own netting, shading and trellising structures (or buy ours!). The Foodcube can be easily move by are pallet jack or forklift, even when there is soil and plants in them. You can choose our cladding options for a more designed finish or you can make your own. They are made from UV stabilised recycled plastic and are manufactured in Melbourne. Any gardening requirements that you have, we've got you covered. The only downside is, now you have no more excuses not to grow your own food. 

At Biofilta, we have a New Decade's resolution of our own, to empower people to grow food so together we can transform our cities into urban farms. There are so many great reasons to grow your own food and now it has never been easier. 

Let's get growing!
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Biofilta's newest wicking garden bed now has a frame for netting! The Foodcube is the most customisable wicking bed on the market. You can design you own netting systems and trellises to suit your garden.  For people who want the whole kit without the fuss, we've got you covered. We've designed a netting frame that fits perfectly into the Foodcube. 

Made in Melbourne

Once piece frames that don't require mucking around with fitting and cutting pvc tubes only to find that one leg is longer etc.

No need for solvent glue.

Works with trellis in place.

Cross braces connected with a custom connection we have designed and made ourselves.

Maximum growing area, less loss of space compared to a simple bent over pipe.

Manufacture has commence and pricing will be announced soon.

You can simply buy some netting, drape over and attach using the hooks supplied with the Foodcube however, we are looking for suggestions for reputable netting cover manufacturers to provide fitted net systems for our new Foodcube frame.

Send us an email if you have any company suggestions who could make a durable net system with zip access sewn in to keep insects and possums out of the urban veggie garden.

Happy pest free gardening soon!!

​School gardens are great teaching tools. They are a hands on learning platform for students to explore sustainability, ecology, biology, agriculture, maths and much more. School gardens allow for different learning styles and types of intelligence to flourish and the more a child knows about how food is grown, the more inclined they are to make healthy and sustainable food choices. School gardens have also been shown to discourage students away from graffiti and vandalism as they foster a greater sense of ownership and respect towards space. 
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So there’s no question, school gardens are great! But there's a catch. For school gardens to thrive they require lots a time for installation and ongoing maintenance. They need dedicated staff members and they often use a lot of water. At Biofilta, we want to give teachers a leg up.  We’ve designed the Foodcube to make growing veggies at schools easier, more time efficient and more fun!