Del Hansen

Hi all,
The Urban Abundance Project is my urban permaculture garden in subtropical Brisbane. We moved here 2 years ago. After removing a rusted out above ground pool that took up most of the back yard, we got busy creating some new garden beds. Take a look at the progression below....








For more detail, take a look at my blog.
cheers,
Del
delhansen.com - The Urban Abundance Project

We know it as cobblers pegs in Australia and the seeds stick to everything (especially socks), spreading easily. It is a pioneer species that tends to take over dry, bare ground - I have a big patch growing in a neglected area. Rather than pull it out (which I am very tempted to do) I am waiting to see what grows through it next via succession. As for control, I have observed chickens eating it - but only when all the other juicy tasty weeds are gone.

S Haze - arsenic in water (particularly groundwater) is a much more serious issue than in soils. This is because contaminated groundwater typically contains inorganic forms of Arsenic - As(III) and As(V) which are extremely toxic to humans - especially the As(III) which shows a 20x toxicity to As(V). Organic forms of arsenic (in chemistry terms - not gardening terms) typically found in plants are much less toxic. Long term exposure to arsenic in water can kill - for further information on this, look up the arsenic situation in Bangladesh and northern India. Toxicity can be indicated by skin diseases which are followed by greatly increased rates of cancer as well as damage to kidney and nervous system. At the very least, you need to be filtering your water using activated carbon and/or reverse osmosis and testing the result. I can send you some scientific papers on this if you are interested.