Inside Garden

The grey water from our shower and sinks goes into two 10 ft long wicking beds inside the house. The water passes through a drainage pipe which has holes in it, and seeps into a gravel bed. There is then high quality soil on top of the gravel bed, which, along with the plants’ roots, wicks up the water.

We used to have cherry tomatoes, New Zealand spinach, rosemary and citronella planted there. However, there were two problems with these choices. Firstly, they all, except for the spinach, grow super tall and cover the whole windows and their beautiful views. Secondly, we had an infestation of white flies. For the past couple of years, I have been constantly battling this pesky little plague. Several times, I thought I had won the fight, only to have them return again.

So, I dug up the whole garden. I then put a thick layer of compost down and covered it. As it heated up, any remaining white fly eggs were (hopefully) killed. I then stirred up the soil and planted some new foliage. We now have thyme, oregano, parsley, basil, and some flowers. None of these grow tall, so we get to keep our views, and I can go and pick the herbs I need while I’m cooking. I still have to go outside for things like sage, rosemary and mint, but that’s OK.

So far, not a single white fly…