For Geelong local Ash Burke, the feeling of accomplishment from growing his own food and providing for his family sparked a complete change in lifestyle and priorities. What started as a couple of hours here and there outside to try and escape the stressful life as a paramedic, has turned into producing a reliable source of food for his family. Ash is now a cult gardener online too!
It hasn't been without it's challenges, and while he's had some luck along the way, it's been a massive learning experience. "I'm fortunate to have enough space to experiment with some unusual foods while also growing the reliable everyday staples," Ash reflects.
Ash lives on a typical quarter acre block, the Australian dream, with wife Nikita and two boys Hudson and Sullivan. They have a large raised vegetable garden, mini orchard, chooks and of course a few Glowpears close to the house.
Ash mentions, "I got my first Glowpear a couple of years ago and have since expanded my collection to 4. We've got 3 on our front balcony full of herbs, lettuce, spinach, kale, spring onions and silverbeet. It's a quick and convenient spot to harvest fresh ingredients while cooking. There's nothing better than quickly cutting some fresh basil and adding it to a bowl of pasta right before serving it for dinner."
Ash's latest experiment with Glowpears has been a mini herbal tea garden. "I'm growing chocolate mint, lemon balm and ginger mint in a Glowpear Mini Bench and enjoy sitting out the front with a nice cuppa dreaming about one day opening a nursery and garden store to share my passion with as many people as possible."
Ash's advice is that it's better to start your gardening journey small and increase the size of your growing space as you increase your knowledge. For him, there's nothing worse than seeing people go all out with a massive garden and underestimate the time commitment or loosing interest after a couple of months. "A Glowpear is a great way to start small and the self watering function means it doesn't matter if you miss watering for a couple of days," says Ash.
We reckon you're spot on Ash!
You can find Ash and all his garden adventures on Instagram - @ashs.backyardgarden
