Self sufficiency is a common question I get when people see my vegetable garden. They ask, do I need to buy any vegetables and herbs with that much growing? You may be surprised to know that I always answer yes. There are some things I like to eat regularly that I can’t grow in our...
Keeping backyard chickens around your food gardens is an important part of widening the living system that supports your soil fertility process. Its very possible in urban environments to have chickens and for the most part, they are a pleasure to be part of the “garden family”. But I have to say that in keeping...
Four fold nature is a very helpful conceptual framework for looking at the make up of your organic garden or urban farm and how to optimise its quality. Being conscious of the integrated system forming the four main components of a successful organic garden or farm (its four fold nature) creates an essential platform for...
Low cost vegetable garden created from your lawn, if you have grass, is the easiest and most cost effective way to get started with your vegetable garden or expand an existing vegetable garden. Here are my design tips which expand on the short movie I did a few weeks ago about a new vegetable and...
Organic garden build is a process that is dependent on many factors and for DIY organic gardeners, its very easy to get sidetracked into creating something that does not really serve your needs and motivations. There are a number of key principles I have worked with over the years with our organic garden build Brisbane […]
Harvesting herbs from your organic garden is always a joy. We have a mixture of herbs to harvest giving us the delights of fresh herbs for cooking and teas every day of the year. We run the Rose Blossom Children childcare service at our home property and the children, aged from 2-5 years, are often […]
Nematode control is a common challenge of organic gardeners. There are a large variety of nematodes that are helpful for the garden, but its the root knot nematode that causes grief and demands nematode control if you want a healthy and productive garden. Nematodes are microscopic, long, thin worms that cause stunted and unproductive plants. […]
Vegetable seedlings are the starting point for a healthy and productive organic garden, once you have your garden layout and soil well prepared. You will be surprised at how small, no-cost changes in how you manage your vegetable seedlings can make such profound difference to their success. I list simple tips below that I work […]
Planting vegetable seeds using open pollinated, hybrid or GMO seeds is an important question for gardeners and this question has been at the heart of large disturbances in farming over the last 60 years. As a gardener, your ideal is to start with the best quality organic seeds that give you the most healthy […]
Vegetable garden water saving is critical at dry times of the year. Its so easy to waste water but with a number consistent practices explained below, you can greatly reduce the amount of water used and increase its effectiveness. Your starting point Vegetable garden water saving begins in your garden design. Here are my tips: […]