All Blog Posts (1,007)

I've been focused on my Vetiver Ventures as my major outdoor activity. Consequently the vegetables and herbs have had to wait their turn before god attends to them.

I am god, you see...either that or a servant.

Whatever: the…

Hi guys, 

How is everyone's garden growing now that we are getting some lovely rain?  Mine is just looking glorious and is keeping me super busy.  I'm so excited at some firsts that are happening with the garden.  Namely the grapes!! Been in the ground 2 years and my carolina black from Daley's is just glorious.  I have about 6 bunches on the vine but this is the largest.  Check! IT! OUT!  I have a question for the grape growers amongst us.  I'm wanting to know if I need to…

Finished setting up my new aquaponic pond!  Well, I say finished... but are these sorts of things ever truly finished? I’ve been tinkering a lot over the last few weeks, so who knows what my next hare-brained scheme for it will be. But, I have reached the point where the only further plans I currently have in mind for it is to add more fish as the system cycles up to be able to handle their waste and trim the dracaena to give it a bit more sun as it establishes.…

Brenda and I would like to prove once and for all that WE grow the best, tastiest tomatoes in Greater Brisbane. So we are proposing to run a blindfold test at the Christmas event at Park Ridge.

Pretenders to the throne will need to bring along their best 1 or 2 varieties, and we will also buy some commercially produced types for testing as well. Those wanting to take part in the tasting, will need to have a friend to assist them. We will sit people down blindfolded at a table and the…

Hi everyone.

My garden is really coming into it's own at the moment despite the lack of water.  All my washing machine water is going on the garden and I refuse to not water my food crops when needed.  I have tried to reduce my reliance on pesticides etc and have been hoping that nature can do its thing.  I planted a bug and butterfly mix by green harvest and have massive queen anne's lace, borage and another pretty flower that I have no clue about.  I am seeing more…

After years of experimentation I now have a garden that has 'structure'. Less jungling and explosive but easier to manage than in days of yore.

Despite what may have been my past perspective, I have reduced the size of the garden that grows my veg.

Given my space quotient, compared to my BLF peers, this may seem an anathema.

But there…

Sorry for the sparse update. I've been having a devil of a time connecting my phone to my computer to share pictures. There's been more computer issues than that but that's computers in current year.

I filled my Birdies raised bed garden with soil and mixed in fertilizer on the advice from nursery staff. I *may* not have mixed it in well enough. Fingers crossed. 

Plants consist of Roma Tomato, Corn, Cucumber, Rosemary and Lavender (to keep fleas, ticks, flies,…

I may call on the animal kingdom to help me with my stock, but anything that floats in my soup du jour comes from outback.

Pride of place in the broth is always the radish.

I'm a daikon aficionado and that includes the Watermelon pinks (pictured).

I'm at that stage where I'm beginning to foster a supply line. They are never…

Tiny farm tales...

I have 48 quail eggs in the incubator, on day 7 now. They have about 10-12 days to go. That’s left me with four dozen eggs for eating. That’s a thought process that I mostly leave alone. I also have four or five old birds that I can tell will drop off the perch soon. I lost one on the weekend. Nature says the old must pass so the new can come on. People aren’t any different, except the span of years Is greater. 

I split a native bee…

Wanted,

Your weeds could be what I need!!

Do you have Oxalis in your garden beds? You should know this weed, it is the one that sends up large clover like leaves and has pretty pink flowers around at this time of the year. It is almost impossible to get rid of, as when you pull it up it has tiny little bits which break off and these start new plants. I am after the purple Oxalis, also known as Purple Shamrock. I have plenty of the Green leafed type. It is edible, and has a spicy…

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40956139

Have you all seen this! hahaha!

Hi guys, 

Well busy, busy days.  Starting to slowly transition the garden to more summer crops.  But when you are harvesting this (200g beans, 200g snow peas, 2kg tomatoes, 1.5 kg broccoli, 200 g strawberries, 250 g Zucchini,  handful of baby carrots  cause I always over plant, Pak choi, lettuce and silverbeet whenever I want it) it's hard to pull anything else out to make room as everything is still so productive. …

No rain. Brutal drying westerly winds. Warmer days...This time of year is 'Spring' -- sort of-- but without all the elements converging as they should.

A little precipitation would help. Enough to suppress this waiting and dampen the earth.

But as my ma used to say: be careful what you wish for.

Mind you, 'tis pleasant enough except for the gusts.

If you saw…

Apologies for being blog neglient - I have been unusually busy this last while with a couple of additional unexpected projects and work travel. I've found Instagram a much easier way to journal the garden harvests as you only have to post a photo and a very brief comment! You can follow me here: https://www.instagram.com/headgardenertfq/

Hope you are all well :)

Living on fairly steep block, keeping whatever soil I build up can become somewhat difficult. My chickens and the brush turkeys with their infernal scratching to build their massive compost mound nests mean building up a fertile ecology is often a backwards directional project. Once they've scratched and destroyed any living groundcover, the heavy rains wash all soil away leaving me once again with the sadness of the concrete like shale and clay that is my yard.



Weeds to me are…

It makes me so happy to see our…

Am I an environmental warrior or just a dirty old dumpster diver?

Some folks would probably suggest that I am a tad over obsessed with climate change and living a life aimed at helping save the environment. There's some elements of that lifestyle which I normally don't talk about for fear of being labelled a dirty dumpster diver. But you know me - I'm gunna talk about them tonight!

I reuse and recycle a lot of wood and stuff. Why would I buy new stuff…

Wow, how warm was today?  This winter has barely seen me slow down.  I hate the cold - coming from subtropical north queensland I would always dream of when the days turned warmer.  There was about 2 weeks of "cold" and since then, the weather has mostly been gorgeous.  Unfortunately, that means those feral fruit fly haven't stopped in my yard.  They are only attacking the trombonccino at the moment so that's ok - I just snap of the bottom and the rest is fine to use. 

Being…