All Blog Posts (1,036)

Well Susan I don't think the pumpkins are winning this war! What do you think? They have climbed onto the fence in places to try to escape, but my money is on the TRAD to catch up and smother them.…

Hi everyone, do you have tips for growing green beans? (Not madagascar etc) I have one climbing green beans and some bush beans and they were going great but now (both) have started wilting. Is it overwatering? Bug/Disease? I've never had enormous success with green beans but would love to get over this hump. Any advice kindly appreciated :)

Work while in isolation

Like everyone else on this planet we are currently in self enforced isolation. Thnak goodness we have a large garden to keep us busy. The rain that came a while back has produced incredible growth, mostly of grass and weeds. Unfortunately the rider mower is out of action and all the repair shops have a very long waiting list, so much patience is required, I can hand mow the areas close to the house but the rest of the 5 + acres will have to wait.…

As I've mentioned on occasion, I grow my own 'onions' -- my own Spring Onions./ Scallions/Green Onions.

You can imagine how many I can get through over any one year.

In the heat of Summer, harvest peters out and I need go out and buy bunches.While I have spring onions growing in my patch, I'm handicapped by the absence of accessible seedlings (due to there not being any in this Covid times )so I need to grow my own from seed.

Never that successful for my greenoid thumbs…

Hi all,

well after a crazy couple of weeks, I get to stay home   We were planning to be off to Tangalooma this week for a holiday but obviously those plans got scratched.   Gardening is great therapy though so I’m not complaining.   Still going a bit extra on all my garden plantings and turning every available space into food production.  Last weekend, I…

I can't get youtube to link properly the normal way so I'll share the my latest update as a link that I know works. 

Garden update during Covid19 Ep 3

Hi everyone.  

I’m getting more extreme in the garden at the moment and I think every Tom, dick and Harry is currently doing the same.   I had run out of my trusty rooster booster fertiliser and went to Bunnings to grab some more and thought I’d see if there were any seeds or flower seedlings I fancied.   The answer to that question was a resounding “no!” Lucky for me, my seed stock is nice and robust because there was NOTHING on the shelves.  

I had some roses die out in the…

Hi everyone, I was getting down after our first week of working from home so did a really naughty run to Bunnings to spend my way to happiness. Oh and boy did I find it! Oops. But I figured I wouldn't be going out spending on entertainment money for the next couple of months so might as well! And it's an investment on our grocery bill (hopefully). 



Straight up - I was lucky I got anything! The local nursery had sold out of veg seedlings. And at Bunnings all the lettuce, kale,…

Was thinking I might do a youtube video of a walk around the garden. It will probably take 20 minutes or so. Let me know if this would be worrhwhile. I am still happy if people want to come to my GV but can understand that certain age groups need to be careful.

Have butchered some excess male quail. Beautiful on the bbq for about 12minutes.Some females have started…

While I eat an evening meal, and may settle for coffee as breakfast, the great culinary love of my life is lunch.

Day in day out, I always eat soup for lunch.

And what a soup it is! A delicious stock to which is added whatever I harvest out back.

Each day I celebrate my kitchen garden by eating  it.

A bubbling broth…

I just got myself a seriously active brushcutter so I went outback and...

What I may seem to have here is a tabula rasa --  a blank slate-- but you would be mistaken.

What I have here are 'x' number of beds mulched with Vetiver and edged by Vetiver hedges. Maybe you can't see them because they too were cut short.…

Hi everyone, I have been ramping everything up in the garden trying to get some early harvests.  I just…

Thought would be interesting to reflect on the impact of the coronavirus on people's buying habits and panic of "running out" in terms of our local food sources. In particular, was thinking of the lady on the recent 7.30pm Report, who has been essentially hoarding essentials for a little while. When they showed her talking about having packets of seeds in case our food system really got impacted by the virus, it really struck me how far removed our society has become from growing and raising…

Been a busy week trying to keep up with garden chores. The 60 quail are 5 weeks old and getting big, started building a brooder to keep in my garage.

Picking starfruits and acerolas.…

Quail have doubled size in a week and discovered they like moringa! Thats a win as it might save a little fees.

Hi guys, I went to Valerie’s garden visit today and boy I’m glad I did cause Andy was there and we finally worked out the problem of not being able to add photos from my phone.  The trick is DO NOT use the “add photos by mobile phone or email button”. Just treat your phone like a computer and select the files using “browse my computer”.  

So here are some…

1. Had 60 two week old quail turn up today to join the chooks and ducks in the new vermin proof pen. 

My wife was talking to one of the ladies that come here Wednesdays.

She said to her, "Your husband is over weight. Is that why your garden is so overgrown and messy?'

While a bit rude, this crude perspective  rules the neatness obsessed.

My garden is overgrown because I want it that way. What…

Made it to my first GV on the weekend, thanks all for being so welcoming.

Two and a half years ago I joined BLF and I was just looking back at some old pictures, wow how things have changed.  Last year till now I picked phalsa, blueberries,grumichamas,black jabotacabas,black sapote,acerola,guavas,peanutbutter fruit,mangos, lychees,longans, wampies,papaya, red and black mulberries, starfruit,miracle fruit,figs,dwarf amberrellas,ice cream beans, yellow jabotacabas, muscadines,…

Hasn't this rain been wonderful. It has made a tremendous difference to our place. Where all the Grass had died we now have Green & everything else has come back from being drought stressed. My Figs are so happy we even have babies on one tree for the first time.

I have been very quiet on the Blog front, almost 2 years quiet, due to not wanting and not being allowed (OT Rules) in the Veg Patch until my garden path had been replaced (due to bulging tree roots), and I have been…