Gardening Experiences That Worked and Some That Didn't
These are all real life gardening experiences.
Wicking Bed Construction
I finally got off my dot and started the wicking bed construction. The first order of the day was to complete the second coat of exterior paint. I got motivated and moved the sleepers onto the pad and gave them all a second coat of exterior paint. Moving them wasn't...
Garlic Growing Hints and Tips
I have learnt a number of useful hints and growing tips for garlic. This has been over the last two years and trying four different garlic varieties. Garlic is a colder weather crop. Plant it from the Autumn equinox (22 March in the southern hemisphere) through to...
Self sufficiency
It's a lot different growing outside in the backyard than in green houses or glasshouses. In a controlled environment you can regulate the temperature a little, ensure optimum watering efficiency and being enclosed stops the entry of a lot of insects. It is a lot...
Wicking Beds Part 2
Last week I got Gino, who has a small business as an earth moving contractor, to do some work around the yard in preparation for the wicking beds. Preparing the site for the wicking beds There were some old foundations and an old Hills Hoist that I wanted removed. The...
Stevia
I have been a fan of the sweet herb stevia for a while now. Ever since I met a lady who wanted to start a business making cakes and deserts for diabetics. This was back at the turn of the century. She started her business before finding out that stevia was not allowed...
Winged Bean
In the sub-tropical garden, winged beans are a good alternative for squash and zucchinis. They aren't affected by powdery mildew and are quite easy to grow. Trellis Needed Winged beans need a trellis. The ones I am growing self seeded from a vine I had in last year,...
Be Careful What You Wish For
A couple of months ago I had a bit of a whinge about tree roots invading the garden. see - Tree Roots and Wicking Beds I felt a bit guilty In case you don't know what the caption refers to, go here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qb4n8yc2so They were trees next...
Garlic Update
Since planting the garlic I have learnt a few things so it is time for a garlic update - see Planting Garlic - Four Varieties Originally when pIanted the garlic, I thought they would all sprout at around the same time and that sprouting would only take 4 -5 days from...
Building a Wicking Bed
Wicking Bed Part 1 I started work on the wicking beds today. Over the last 2 weeks I have been getting things together and today I needed to get a move on. During my thinking and planning time, I figured out that I would need 21 sleepers that were 2.4 metres by 20cm x...
Planting Garlic – Four Varieties
In the last post about garlic Garlic Time Coming Up I mentioned that I was waiting until the Autumn equinox for planting garlic. Well here in Australia the Autumn equinox is March 20. I would have been planting garlic today, 23 March but we had a rather protracted...
Okra – I don’t like it
Although this stuff is easy to grow and also gives a good harvest, you have to have an acquired taste for it. I know there are millions of people in places like India and the south of the USA, Vietnam and other tropical Asian and African countries. To me, it ranks...
Compost Tea Recipe & Cyclone Marcia
Marcia or Marsha - I agree to whichever one you like. In the previous post Compost Tea Brewer I detailed how to make a brewer and that I would let you know how it went. I am surprised and impressed. It went better than I expected. With these sort of remedies or...
Making a Compost Tea Brewer
Compost tea seems to be a bit of a favourite in the gardening world at the moment. Whether it continues is a question for the future. There have been a number of advocates for brewing compost teas and spraying them onto your plants to increase their health and for...
Lemon Grass Haircut
I was giving the lemon grass a haircut today when I came across a little guest. Most of the time when I am working in the garden I come across cane toads. Especially when I step outside of a nightime, they are all sitting around on the lawn letting the dew settle on...
Garlic Time Coming Up
depending on where you live, you should start planning for planting garlic from the March equinox through to July. The warmer the climate the sooner Growing Garlic – Last year I planted some garlic but I didn't get a very good yield. They grew ok but the bulbs were...
Tree Roots and Wicking Beds
Tree roots can annoy me. Especially in a suburban environment when you have some 30 metre gum trees, large mango trees and enormous Silky Oaks within 10 to 30 metres of your gardens and compost piles. Every time you work with the soil you find pesky tree roots taking...
Get Rid of Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers love sweet potatoes. They can hide in there and also feed on the leaves. You know you have a problem when your leaves are full of holes and when you disturb what leaves are left grasshoppers jump everywhere. Chilli Garlic Spray revisited. In an earlier...
Benefits of Calcium Part 3
A FERTILE SOIL IS A CALCIUM-SATURATED SOIL In this benefits of calcium pt 3 there is an explanation of a soil colloid and what it does, which is something I have always had trouble trying to understand. Below is one of the best and more easily understood explanations...