Going ‘au naturel’
T
HE whole point of organic agriculture is maintaining a good, healthy soil. If you farm in such a way that your soil stays healthy – rich in organic matter, nutrients and microbial activity – you can grow crops without the synthetic fertilisers and pesticides used in conventional farming.
That was the advice from Durban North garden expert Jane Troughton.
“Toxic chemicals destroy insects and plants. It also puts a stop to pollination. The whole ecosystem gets affected. Habitat life is very sensitive to poisonous chemicals. It worries me when I read that people are spraying pesticides on their crops,” she said.
She said organic farmers employed lots of techniques to improve their soil.
“They use compost and manure, rotate their crops and grow many kinds of plants. They do use pesticides, but mostly non-synthetic ones, and often only when other pest-control methods fail.
“But many conventional farmers do a lot of those things, too,” she said.
Troughton and her husband, Greg Courtney, started their indigenous garden to be entirely sustainable – reusing, recycling, selling and gifting to others any surplus materials wherever possible.
“I am mindful that wildlife also need space for nesting places and hiding holes. There are lots of spaces to escape to in this garden,” she said.
Troughton used conventional and worm compost. Avoid using herbicides. Accommodate wildlife.
Make compost by placing all organic waste material in a container. Capture rainwater.
“When I set up new beds I use the worm compost and leachate to get plants started.”
When the Troughtons bought the property a few years ago it, it was surrounded by indigenous plants. “We pulled out all exotic foreign plants. I have been planting a lot just to get diversity.
Although a troop of vervet monkeys have become troublesome, Troughton has learnt to tolerate them.
With the help of architect James Halle, she installed a vertical garden of cliffdwelling plants at the entrance of her home next to the formal water pond alongside the entrance.
“The vertical garden is a hydroponic system – water is pumped to the top and slowly seeps down through the fabric. It’s not just to display plants, but to create a diverse habitat,” she said.
Beyond the roof and walls, the garden includes a veggie patch of spinach, red brinjal, chillies, lettuce, a beehive, four worm farms and chickens.
“A roof garden also has excellent thermal properties,” said Troughton, “so it’s a way to keep the house cool and reduce energy costs.”
Designing to accommodate airflow and temperature is critical, she said.
“We didn’t want airconditioning or heating, so it’s all about the ventilation. In summer, the floor-level windows on the south side are opened, drawing cool air across the pond and up into the house. Windows above eye level aid in cross-ventilation and a series of whirligigs suck out hot air. The deep veranda also keeps the interior cool.”
The house’s north face has an aluminium façade of louvres and decorative panels. Troughton designed the “generic leaf pattern”, which softens harsh lines and materials and cuts the glare. This façade forms a backdrop for the chemical-free swimming pool. The water is pumped to the top and moves down three waterfalls – or reed bed elevations – filtering as it descends. Each level contains different plants.
“In an eco-pool you need specific plants. Your floaters – water lily-type plants, and sub-aquatics – reeds and papyruses. Each has different cleaning functions,” Troughton said.
“We have fish, crabs and herald snakes hunting here at night,” she said.
Throughout the home, water is reused, and there’s a 20 000 litre underground water-harvesting tank. There’s a compact grey-water unit camouflaged in – and used for watering – the garden.
Her garden house was a finalist in the 2015/2016 AFRISAM-SAIA Award for Sustainable Architecture + Innovation.