JAMIE  DURIE  FAMILY  FOOD  GARDEN  

Troy and Jess have lived in their forever home for seven years now and have become more health

conscious lately. In that time, in their quest to live more sustainably, Troy has become a keen

gardener, teaching himself several gardening principles, including some permaculture. The different

techniques he’s tried have produced some good crops but with no coherent strategy he knows he

could be producing a lot more. With their first baby on the way, he and Jess are extra motivated to

get their garden right.

Fortunately for Troy and Jess, Jamie Durie is just the person they need to help transform their

haphazard veggie patches into a dream garden able to produce fruit and vegetables all year round.

 

 

Before  

 

 

After  

Before  

 

 

After  

 

 

 

GARDEN  BEDS  Troy’s new dream garden will consist of a series of big enclosed garden beds that will run down the

side fences and along the back fence. Each bed will provide two months of food, giving Troy and

Jess fresh fruit and vegetables all year round.

In order to create Troy’s ultimate garden, Jamie and the crew remove all remnants of his old garden.

While a lot of old stuff is thrown in the Bingo Bin, Troy has a lot of good soil, flowers, fruit and

vegetables, so these are carefully placed in tubs under the house so they can be replanted in the new

garden later on.

With the ground clear, the beds are built from Whites Retain-iT retaining post system. Made from

high tensile galvanised steel they are simply placed into holes in the ground, concreted in and timber

sleepers are slid into the grooves.

 

 

To fully enclose each bed, vertical support posts are concreted into the ground and horizontal posts

attached around the top to create a roof frame. The gardens are terraced to accommodate the slope

of the backyard and retain the nutrients in each individual bed. A sheet of plastic is also nailed to the

inside of each bed wall, to help funnel water back into the garden, where it is needed most.

With the frames built, the beds are filled with new soil and Troy’s existing nutrient rich soil. To keep

the harsh Australian sun from burning their crops, the frames are wrapped in shade cloth. Jamie

alternates the colours to replicate the effect of full sun and dappled light.

The shade cloths can also screen each bed from each other, so Troy and Jess can rotate crops.

Once each bed is harvested they can let their new chickens – out of their coop in the bottom corner of

garden – into the garden beds to eat up the waste and re-fertilise the soil; ready for a new crop to be

planted.

Jamie is careful to plant fruit and vegetables that fruit at the same time of the year together, creating a

seasonal system that will be constantly producing fresh fruit and veg. Jamie also installs Whites Grip

& Grow; a simple frame system giving climbing plants beans, tomatoes and peas something to climb

up, allowing them to get more sun. Across the whole garden, Jamie plants hundreds of different

herbs, fruit and vegetables.

 

 

Troy and Jess’ fence is part Colourbond, part timber palings. The palings that are starting to rot are

replaced and then the entire fence is painted Medicine Bottle green using Taubmans Endure Exterior.

The old aluminium shed is given a coat as well, so it all blends into the background of this new

garden.

PAINTS  COURTESY  OF  TAUBMANS  

 

 

LOCATION PRODUCT COLOUR FINISH

Fence / Shed

Endure Exterior Medicine Bottle Low Sheen

Timber Posts /

Garden bed Walls

Endure Exterior Brunette Low Sheen

 

 

PRODUCTS  AVAILABLE  AT  BUNNINGS  

PRODUCT PRICE ITEM #

Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Impact Driver - Skin Only

$99.00 6210363

Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Compact Drill Driver - Skin

Only

$89.00 6210360

Ryobi 2000W 254mm Slide Compound Mitre Saw With

Laser

$299.00 6210395

Ryobi Lithium+ 36V Brushless Lawn Mower 5.0Ah Kit

W/ Fast Charger

$649.00 3381151

Ryobi 36V Cordless Line Trimmer Console

$259.00 3380839

Whites Outdoor 450 x 50mm Retain-iT End Post

$9.46 1100442

Whites 1900mm Grip & Grow Freestanding Plant

Trainer

$35.00 3042326

Coolaroo 3.66m Forest Green Shade Cloth - Linear

Metre

$18.50 3300061

Coolaroo 3.66m Sandstone 70% UV Shade Cloth - Per

Metre

$18.50 3300063

Sweet Garden Organic Sugar Cane Mulch

$15.98 2961137

Pinnacle 1210 x 1440 x 1350mm Pet Cottage Chicken

Coop

$429.00 3440140

 

 

PRODUCT PRICE ITEM #

Whites 120cm x 50m x 5cm Chicken Netting

$105.00 3041784

100mm Renaissance Assorted Herbs

$4.24 3551452

250mm Dwarf Nectazee Nectarine

$61.27 3660781

250mm Dwarf Pixzee Peach

$61.27 3660789

5L Mix Avocado

$59.98 3832015

200mm Mix Pomegranate

$34.98 3831264

125mm Passiflora edulius Nellie Kelly Passionfruit Vine

$7.84 3664811

95mm Assorted Super Foods Seedlings

$4.25 3643154

180mm Backhousea Citriodora Lemon Myrtle Bush

Foods Range

$16.94 3830891

250mm Ballerina Polka Appla

$61.27 3660764

200mm Yellow Guava

$29.89 3831257

300mm Bowl Strawberry

$24.94 3832486

   

 

 

 

OUTDOOR  ENTERTAINING  AREA  Currently Troy and Jess’ outdoor entertaining area consists of a 44-gallon drum. While this has

provided a focal point for many fun nights through the years, it’s time for something a little more

sophisticated.

Firstly, a large flat area is cut into the sloping backyard. Like the garden beds, the Whites Retain-iT

system is used to create a retaining wall to hold the high sides of the yard in place. Pear trees and

Lilly Pillies are planted around the top of the retaining wall, with pine bark mulch to keep away the

weeds, retain moisture and regulate soil temperature; ensuring the trees grow tall and strong.

The entertaining area is covered with Snow White pebbles, which not only look great, but also are

easy to walk on and restrain the growth of weeds. On top of this sit a couple of smart, but durable

outdoor Mimosa wicker corner sofas and a modern fire pit; perfect for entertaining friends.

 

 

PRODUCTS  AVAILABLE  AT  BUNNINGS  

PRODUCT PRICE ITEM #

Whites Outdoor 750 x 50mm Retain-iT Corner Post

$30.54 1100446

Richgro 40L Pine Bark Mulch

$9.94 2980119

Tuscan Path 20kg 20-25mm Snow White Pebbles

$22.65 3460481

Glow 80 x 80 x 23cm Cement Grey and Black Machu

Fire Pit

$369.00 3171192

Mimosa Corsica Resin Wicker Corner Sofa Setting

$1,599.00 3192152

45L Syzygium Resilience Lilly Pilly

$145.00 3866485

 

 

 

 

 

POTTING  SHED  The new potting shed is a true reflection of the sustainability Troy and jess aspire to. The old Hills

Hoist has been re-positioned to the back corner and re-purposed as the frame for the potting shed

roof. The ground is flattened out and four posts are erected under each arm to help hold it up and a

tarpaulin attached for cover. The wires of the clothesline can now be used for several different things

including hanging pot plants or even hanging clothes still.

Nothing is to be wasted in this garden, so an old tree trunk and the old fence palings have also been

re-purposed and will now form a sturdy new potting table. To give this new shed a sense of

enclosure, Dylan recycles more of the old fence palings. They’re nailed to some posts to form a

frame and then nailed to the uprights to form small wall.

Timber pallets are attached to the fence to form a natural frame on which to hang pot plants.

 

 

PRODUCTS  AVAILABLE  AT  BUNNINGS  

PRODUCT PRICE ITEM #

Ryobi One+ 18V 165mm Circular Saw

$149.00 6210595

Ryobi One+ 18V Cordless Nail Gun - Skin Only

$279.00 6210575

17cm Standard Terracotta Pot

$1.00 2832559

Northcote 11cm Terracotta Squat Pot

$1.15 2863583

Cyclone Steel Springback Garden Rake

$29.98 3360946

Cyclone Stainless Steel Garden Spade

$59.98 3360941

Cyclone 150mm Long Handle Swan Neck Hoe

$39.98 3360235

Hortex Rugged Rigger Garden Gloves

$8.90 3350170

Cyclone Stainless Steel Fork Hand Tool

$9.98 3360486

Cyclone Stainless Steel Garden Trowel

$9.98 3360998

Holman 9L Galvanised Watering Can

$14.90 3120984

180mm Mandevillea Aloha Red

$17.84 3640990

250mm Nephrolepsis Boston Fern

$24.98 3570620

 

 

PRODUCT PRICE ITEM #

Grow Your Own Vegetable Seedling Punnet

$3.56 3653715

   

 

 

WEBLINKS   For further information on the materials and products used for this garden, take a look at the following

websites:

www.bunnings.com.au

www.ryobi.com.au www.taubmans.com.au

     www.whitesgroup.com.au www.bingoindustries.com.au