Leni Nyssen of Alchemy Farms with her simple reed bed filtering system.
Story and photos by Linda Moon
Setting up a basic system for recycling grey water is cheap, easy and worthwhile.Read about a garden in North Leura and learn from a permaculture designer how it can be done.
Key Points:
Save money and time watering, reduce water waste and hydrate your garden by reusing grey water.
A local permaculture designer explains how she created a simple setup.
Learn the local rules and regulations around using grey water.
“We want to grow a lot of food, and we have kids and do a lot of washing, so what better way to use that water than out to the garden.” Leni Nyssen of Alchemy Farms Permaculture Design is showing off her basic grey water filtering system: a simple version of a ‘reed bed system’ which actually looks easy to set up.
The permaculture consultant and educator’s backyard (in North Leura) is littered with sprawling veggie patches and kids’ toys, a rambling dog and chickens. The message: you don’t have to be wealthy, a plumber, living on acreage or even a homeowner to re-use your grey water.
What is grey water?
It’s the wastewater from our bathrooms and laundries. With relatively less chemicals, fats and biological matter than dark grey water (from the kitchen) or black water from toilets, it’s the recycling go-to of wastewater.
By re-using her washing machine water, Leni reckons her system waters most of the garden for her. The family’s washing machine uses an estimated 80 to 100 litres per load.
Leni’s reed bed system
From the washing machine hose, plastic piping dangles downstairs into an old bathtub at the side of the house. Gravity (Leni’s washing machine is on the second floor) propels the water forward.
The bath contains stones, gravel, sand, reeds and other water loving plants. Based on the concept of wetlands, these are partitioned into a series of sections, including a mini pond area, that slows the water flow, filtering and cleansing it. Having a smaller outlet than inlet, also helps stem the flow, Leni explains. The whole process takes about 20 minutes.
There’s no odour. “It’s only when there’s storage and bacteria starts to get active, that it starts to smell,” she explains.
The grey water is fed to the garden via outlet hosing attached to the bottom of the bath. As the garden slopes gently downhill, there’s no need for a pump. Too easy!
The grey water is fed into deep mulch-covered swales (trenches) in the food forest area to help grow fruit trees, vines and perennials.
Is grey water okay for the garden?
Leni, who studied permaculture design and education with Geoff Lawton and Rowe Morrow, views grey water recycling as another helpful method for improving soil moisture and the resilience of our gardens to dry conditions. She says, “the real focus in permaculture is slowing water and spreading it and soaking it into the landscape.”
“Living in such a fire-prone area, we need to focus on making sure the landscape is hydrated” – Leni Nyssen.
The main issue with grey water is sodium, which in turn affects soil pH. Grey water from the washing machine (laundry products tend to be high in sodium) usually makes soil more alkaline. Phosphates, oils and chemicals are other common problems in grey water.
For the laundry, Leni recommends soap nuts (which you can get from the Blue Mountains Food Co-op), or pure soap flakes. “That has the least impact when it goes out to the soil,” she says. “The main thing is it [grey water] should go to the root systems rather than leaves that you’re going to pick and eat.”
Leni Nyssen’s permaculture garden gains the advantage of extra hydration from grey water over summer.
More options for using grey water
A reed bed bath system isn’t your only option.
Buckets: Catch water in the shower, bath or basin or the rinse cycle of the washing machine.
Water diversion devices: Inexpensive and can be installed by a plumber. Alternatively, use a grey water diversion hose attached to your washing machine. Bathroom or laundry water can be diverted into your land (such as trenches, swales and basins around trees) but should be cooled in a holding trench or other collection point first.
More expensive and complex domestic waste water treatment and storage systems with pumps, filters and more.
Note: with any drip irrigation or ag-piping containing holes, filters are a must to avoid them getting clogged with lint, hair and other stuff.
A grey water diverter for sale at a local hardware shop is an inexpensive option.
Wise and safe grey water use
Also check out these tips from the experts:
Use the most eco-friendly, low-sodium, low-phosphate laundry and personal care products possible.
Don’t use water after dyeing your hair, cleaning the bath, basin and so on. Bleaches, drain cleaners, disinfectants, hair dyes, shampoos, toothpaste, mouthwash, perfumes and many other products contain chemicals and other ingredients harmful to soil health (and possibly to you too!).
Don’t use grey water on vegetables, herbs and root veg.
Don’t store untreated grey water for longer than 24 hours to prevent bacteria build-up.
Distribute grey water to the subsurface. Don’t let it pool on the surface: a recipe for bacterial or algal bloom.
Don’t use water from washing nappies.
Regularly monitor and maintain any reed beds for bacteria and algae.
Never use hot water directly on the garden. It will kill beneficial soil organisms.
Don’t let pets or wildlife drink grey water or let kids play in it.
Give your garden regular breaks from grey water.
Monitor soil health and pH. Regularly add organic matter to soil.
Avoid watering acid-loving plants, like berries, camellias and rhododendrons, with grey water.
Try “hydro zoning” your garden according to water needs. Position plants with similar water needs together. Direct grey water to the most thirsty.
Know the rules
You don’t need council approval to re-use grey water on your land, but you do have to abide by certain rules around its use. These include only using it to irrigate the sub-surface of your garden using pipes / hose 100mm below the ground and avoiding using it during rainy periods and if someone at home has a contagious disease. Purple hoses and fittings should ideally be used to identify grey water recycling.
Watch the video (below) about Leni Nyssen’s reed bed system. Leni can offer guidance on how to create your own DIY system, as well as advice on how to live more sustainably and ecologically.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
Join Andris Heks, Yogic Psychotherapist, winner Best Actor, Blue Mountains, for his workshop to laugh as you never laughed before, as part of a movement to globalise people-bonding cheerfulness through kookaburra laughter contagion as an antidote to distressing world divisiveness.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop
View the trailer and the GoFundMe page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/globalise-unconditional-love-through-kookaburra-laughter
Key event information: - When? 10:15AM - 2:30PM, Sunday 4 October 2026 (1st day of Daylight Saving - 1 hour forward) - Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, 33-39 Acacia St, Katoomba, NSW, 2780 - Fee? $60 or what you can afford - Note: please bring your own lunch
What to expect: - Learn how to stay cheerful for good - Learning the funny, human emulated, communal kookaburra laughter and meditation - How communal kookaburra laughter promotes bonding even amongst strangers - The awesome native treasure of the laughing kookaburra phenomenon - Why Kookaburra Yoga is the ‘most excellent of Yogas` - How communal kookaburra laughter contagion boosts the subtle and gross national product - How you could contribute to the kookaburra laughter contagion
This event is supported by Blue Mountains Planetary Health.
Purchase your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/kookaburra-laughter-workshop...
Come along to the Planetary Health Centre this Saturday for the next Skill Share Saturdays event!
This weekend`s agenda:
8:30AM - 10AM | Learn how to use your sewing machine class with Sherlie McMillan
8:30AM | Planetary Health Cafe open, serving Good Fat Pastry and Whisk and Pin
9AM - 10AM | Tai Chi and Qigong class with Virginia Field
10AM - 12PM | Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountain permaculture workshop with Leni from Alchemy Farms
10AM - 3PM | Fashion Upcycling Workshop with Sherlie McMillan
10:30AM - 12PM | Learn to make focaccia from scratch with Laura Zucchetti (no experience needed)
1:30PM - 4:30PM | Planetary Health Bushcare with Karen Hising
For more information and to purchase a ticket, please visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
📣HEADLINE SPEAKER📣
Our headline speaker is Julian Cribb AM – a renowned Australian science writer, journalist and author who has spent more than 50 years communicating science, agriculture, climate and global sustainability issues. He is the author of several influential books, including The Coming Famine (2010), Food or War (2019) and How to Fix a Broken Planet (2023), which explore the future of food systems, planetary health and humanity`s long-term survival.
He is widely recognised as one of Australia`s leading voices on global food security and sustainable development.
To register for his talk, and view the rest of the program, visit the website: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair...
At our next Skill Share Saturdays event on Saturday 5th September, join Laura Zucchetti at 10:30am to learn how to make focaccia from scratch!
Come along for a 90 min class where you`ll mix, rest and stretch your own focaccia dough from start to finish, guided every step of the way. You’ll take home your dough to bake on the day in your own oven.
Sign up to this session, and view the other offerings on the day via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026
We are pleased to announce that the program and registration for Plate to Planet: Blue Mountains Food Security Fair 2026 is now live!
Follow this link to view the program and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
Key information:
When? Saturday 10 October, 9AM - 4PM
Where? Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba
Who is it for? Families, gardeners, enthusiasts, community groups and businesses, anyone looking to learn about how to be more resilient through local and sustainable food systems.
What to expect? Talks, workshops, demos, market stalls, family activities, music, food
Is there a cost? Entry to the Fair and Markets is free. Talks and workshops are ticketed (both free and paid) and have limited capacity, so please register in advance.
Program highlights:
🌏Headline talk: The age of renewable Food – Julian Cribb AM 🎋Wild edibles foraging workshops – Diego Bonetto, Eat More Weeds 🏞️The importance of bioregions in uncertain times – Rowe Morrow, Permaculture Matters 🥒Home canning and food preservation workshop – Kirsty Berté, Permaculture Hawkesbury Valley 🏡Designing your own Permaculture Property – Leni Nyssen, Alchemy Farms 🍃Utilising what’s in front of you – Uncle Lex, The Ganya Shed 🪱How to worm farm - BMCC 🎸Live music by Olivia Dustmann 🌾Community crop and seed swap
Tickets are limited so please register your place now: https://events.humanitix.com/blue-mountains-2026-food-security-fair
We are also seeking stallholders for the event. If you are a grower, retailer, community organisation or business that would like to get involved, please reach out to [email protected]!...
Thank you to everyone that joined us at the Planetary Health Centre on Saturday for the first of our Skill Share Saturdays program!
The Centre was a hive of activity all day, and we heard from @alchemyfarms_permaculture, the @ediblegardentrailbluemountains team and Andy Mann. Also thanks to Sherlie McMillan from Greater Blue Mountains Rotary for teaching the Fashion Upcycling workshop, and Virginia Field for the Tai Chi and Qigong class.
The next event will be held on Saturday 1st August - you can register your place here: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
🖐Get involved!
Do you have a skill, program or interest that promotes planetary health that you`d be willing to share with members of the local community? We are looking for more workshop and session hosts for our future events.
Join us at the Planetary Health Centre in Katoomba on the first Saturday of every month for Skill Share Saturdays!
Our July program includes: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Eating for Earth - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion upcycling and clothing reuse workshop - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
If you have a skill that you want to share, or any questions or queries, please contact [email protected]
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place.
Join Andy Mann, a 23 year old Lawson local, for their Eating for Earth session 🌏
Eating for Earth is a judgement-free plant-based educational workshop that all types of eaters are encouraged to attend. There will be a presentation about the environmental impact of diets, a discussion section, and best of all, food! The food will be fully plant-based.
Andy wants to help inform our passionate community about how we can better reduce dietary environmental impact.
The session will run from 11AM - 12PM on Saturday 4th July.
Other sessions include: - What to grow in a Blue Mountains Climate - Fashion Upcycling - Tai Chi and Qigong - Bushcare on the Planetary Health site - How to get involved with the Edible Garden Trail
To register your place, visit our website: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
We’re excited to announce the second Blue Mountains Food Security Fair, taking place in Katoomba in October 2026.
This annual event will bring together growers, thinkers, makers, and community members to explore one of the most important challenges of our time: how we grow, share, and sustain food in a changing world.
Across the weekend, we’ll be exploring themes including: - Healthy soil and regenerative systems - Food and human health - Plant-based food futures - Home and community food resilience - Water-sensitive and climate-adapted growing - Indigenous food knowledge and systems - School food systems - Australia’s food procurement - Global food security challenges Expect a dynamic program of inspiring speakers, practical workshops, and hands-on experiences designed to leave you informed, empowered, and connected.
Key information Date: Weekend of 10th October 2026 Location: Blue Mountains Planetary Health Centre, Katoomba, NSW We’ll be announcing speakers and program details soon.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program, host workshops, run a stall or partner with us.
Do you struggle making the most of your veggie garden all year round?
Join Leni from @alchemyfarms_permaculture on Saturday 4th July for her Permaculture Workshop: Learn how to grow WITH the Upper Blue Mountains seasons, rather than battling against them.
During the two-hour session, you`ll cover crop selection for different seasons, what to grow from seeds vs seedlings, frost and wind protection, and nurturing your soil with a seasonal cycle.
Register for this and other sessions as part of our Skill Share Saturdays program via this link: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre...
From Saturday 4 July, we are opening up the Planetary Health Centre for our monthly Skill Share Saturdays program: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Throughout each day, you can expect to find a variety of sessions focused on restoring the health of the planet, in terms of the environment, community and economy.
Sessions at the first event include:
- What to grow in a Blue Mountains climate - Plant-based eating - Tai Chi and Qigong - Fashion Upcycling and clothing reuse workshop
You are also welcome to bring any surplus seeds or produce for our Crop Swap, or wind down in the Planetary Health Cafe (until 2pm).
Visit the website to view the full program of events and register your place: https://events.humanitix.com/skill-share-saturdays-at-the-planetary-health-centre
Registrations essential.
We are also inviting expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who would like to contribute to the program - please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested!...
Linda Moon has lived in the upper Blue Mountains since childhood and is a freelance writer for Australian media. A qualified naturopath, permaculture designer, mother and former student of social work, her passion is building local community, gardening, mental, emotional, social, housing and environmental health – all of which are linked!
As global food insecurity increases, research suggests that the ‘planetary health diet’ is one solution. This calls for a shift towards a plant-based diet and more local food production. Local social enterprise Farm it Forward is showing how this can be done in school yards and one backyard after another.
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