Visit Glenorchy Libby & Tim 2025

January’s garden visit was a tale of 2 gardens: the front was a fledgling food forest that’s already proving fruitful, while the back was a traditional food garden mid-transition to something easier to maintain and more productive.

Keep reading to learn more about the individual gardens that Tim and Libby are creating (is any garden ever complete?) and enjoying on their property in Glenorchy.

We began our garden visit, as we always do, with an introduction by our hosts. Tim & Libby explained how they’ve been in this home for 5 years where the only food in the garden when they bought the house was one very productive lemon tree (which looks like it’s not going to stop any time soon). Unfortunately, the soil was dead and dusty when they dug into it.



To address the lack of good soil, they’ve built a comprehensive compost system complete with several separate bins (for different maturity of compost), tubs of weeds, and a large pile (in a metal cage) of leaves. This part of the garden is Libby’s domain and she’s got it producing weed tea and leaf mould to compliment the normal compost most gardeners produce. The veggie beds and garden beds appreciate the boost and the resulting soil looks lovely and healthy. 

One of the cornerstones of Libby and Tim’s overall garden plan is to reuse and recycle as much as possible. Examples of this abound in some obvious and less obvious ways. There’s the stunning use of recycled bricks in pavers and supporting walls. I couldn’t get enough of that brickwork!

 




Plus some upcycled pots to create a nice edging to a brick retaining wall.



Then there’s the veggie beds made from recycled pallets which are full of soil improved by generous helpings of the homemade compost.

The pallet beds have served Libby well in her veggie patch, but their days are numbered and, as they crumble, they’re being replaced by IBC (Intermediate Bulk Containers) wicking beds.

 There’s a lot of information available online about IBCs. Max Bahrfeldt has suggested this link as containing a good explanation of how to use and IBC as a raised garden wicking bed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd49r3QzTJY

Libby explained her process. Firstly, she scoured Facebook Marketplace for IBCs (she’s used it to get other recycled materials as well) and found you could get good, used IBCs for about $150 each. She always asked what they were used for (because chemicals are often transported in IBCs) and the ones she bought came with a metal plate which listed what the contents had been. This way she could be confident she wasn’t introducing anything toxic into her garden.

 

The IBCs were then removed from their metal cage and cut down using an angle grinder. A hole was created for drainage and they were placed back in their cage. The bottom was then filled with scoria, ag piping was laid through the scoria and attached to a PVC pipe that extended above the veggie bed. Next came a layer of geotextile which was covered with garden soil (maximum of 30 cm to allow successful wicking). Libby dug out the soil from older beds and enriched it with her compost. She estimates her beds are about 50% compost. At this point, they’re ready for planting.

The plan is to clad the IBCs in timber. This will protect them from the sun and will also improve their appearance and safety from the rough edges.

One bed has recently been planted with lettuce, the rest are a work in progress.

 

Leaving Libby’s domain of traditional veggie beds and making our way to the front garden which is Tim’s domain and the food forest, we immediately bumped into some impressive cucurbits.

From there the garden continues with a mix of native trees, hedges, lawn, a birdbath, ... At first glance it appears to be a traditional front garden. But Tim has mixed in plenty of edibles that take the place of flowers or climbing ornamentals (see the yacon and climbing purple runner beans below for examples). Tim’s goal is to have a garden that’s productive, is as self-sustaining as possible (there will be obstacles but he’s dealing with them as and when), and is a place that’s pleasant to spend time in. I can’t speak for everyone else at the visit, but I’d say he’s already accomplished the latter.





There are a couple of more experimental items in Tim’s garden that we spent time discussing. The first were his haskap berry plants. These plants originated in Russia and have been cultivated in the Northern Hemisphere in the 42 to 52 degree latitude range. They like a cooler climate (chill factor 800-1200) which means they might do very well in Tasmania. They have been introduced here but it’s early days – here’s hoping Tim’s plants thrive!



Tim’s also planted multiple fruit trees of the same genus in a single hole. He has 2 plums (Golden Drop and Green Gage) in one hole and 3 cherries (Stella, Kentish, and a sweet white cherry) in another hole. He had considered grafted trees but after discussion with people at the nursery, decided to try the multi-planting technique. The main advantages are that you get almost double the amount of roots, and you don’t run the risk of one variety being more vigorous and monopolising all the tree’s energy which isn’t uncommon in grafted trees. So far, so good with the plums putting on a big crop this year. Next year will likely see better harvests from both tree clusters. 

At this point we returned to the back garden where the produce table and morning tea were set up. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Just as we were reaching the end of the visit, the clouds rolled in. I think most of us made it to our cars before the storm hit but I’m less sure that Max and Gaye – our indomitable organisers – made it out totally dry. Still, threatening rain doesn’t count, the FGGs lucky weather streak stands!

Special thanks to Libby and Tim for opening their gardens to us and a big thanks to Max and Gaye for continuing to organise and run these visits.