tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56167684249268402122011-08-18T22:40:22.786+10:00Creating an edible urban garden in a temperate climateFlohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-58821076126056634932010-10-05T20:55:00.000+11:002010-10-05T20:55:56.303+11:002010-10-05T20:55:56.303+11:00

We've just had a long weekend. A time which tradition has long dictated that all able bodied persons from inland locations should flock to the seaside to spend goodly sums of money supporting regional economies.  Well, we decided to return the favour and spend a part of our weekend in our nation's capital, Canberra.  There were two main reasons - the Australian National Botanic Gardens and the

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-38210358526647128682010-09-30T07:48:00.001+10:002010-09-30T15:35:56.509+10:002010-09-30T15:35:56.509+10:00

Spending a lot of time working away from home as I do I needed a simple and cheap solution to one of last year's problems - how to water my seedlings.  I decided to make capillary beds as it seemed the least complicated solution to the problem. I tried a couple of different designs.  The first was simply a dish-towel draped into a bucket of water, however, I couldn't get consistent distribution

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-60421376779460266992010-09-23T09:23:00.001+10:002010-09-23T09:23:41.515+10:002010-09-23T09:23:41.515+10:00

Well, winter is finally over and spring has brought me out of hibernation.  What better way to open up a new posting season with a little piece on the joy of Bokashi :)  Well, it's really just a demonstration of what organic matter can do for your soil so you can stop rolling your eyes and muttering "Not again!". Back in April I posted a rather dull documentary post on the first stage of

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-79974814639979780352010-05-02T21:09:00.000+10:002010-05-02T21:09:53.053+10:002010-05-02T21:09:53.053+10:00

I have a confession to make. It's not something I'm proud of and it may shock some readers, but it's something I feel I must share. I'm unfaithful to my garden.  I have a roving eye. I've tried to fight it, but I'm too soon undone by a flash of bright colour caught out of the corner of my eye, or the silken curves of a soft petal, or the subtle scent of one of nature's beauties. Only this

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-26153718731424656262010-04-20T20:26:00.003+10:002010-04-20T20:28:46.831+10:002010-04-20T20:28:46.831+10:00

It's autumn here in Australia.  A time of brilliant colour as the leaves change.  A time of still, clear mornings and beautiful sunrises.  A time when you walk around muttering under your breath that you wish you'd brought along a camera to snap that National Geographic moment. This morning's dawn was one of those picture-perfect starts to the day.  A pinkish-orange sunrise added a lovely extra

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-14678721766717603092010-04-13T18:51:00.000+10:002010-04-13T18:51:32.733+10:002010-04-13T18:51:32.733+10:00

Apologies to anyone reading, but this is really just a record of what I've done to a garden bed to try to improve the soil.  It's my second bed, but I failed to record anything about what I did to the first so I want to have a reference for the others as they start coming online incase I need/can adjust what I've added. Warning - the following will be very documentary in nature so you're

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-38592591111930321262010-04-07T08:11:00.002+10:002010-04-07T08:13:40.884+10:002010-04-07T08:13:40.884+10:00

Sorry, I'm afraid it's yet another post about Bokashi, but this time it contains some colour. For some reason, probably due to that feline-life-sapping trait, curiosity, I pondered the possibilities of creating my very own micro-organism starter to be used in my Bokashi.  It seemed a natural step on from the DIY grain mix and again was again driven by an eagerness not to pay for anything I could

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-79416270545725067542010-03-29T20:55:00.000+11:002010-03-29T20:55:40.144+11:002010-03-29T20:55:40.144+11:00

I've been a practicing novice gardener for about a year now and will remain one for some time yet.  However, prior to purchasing my very own patch of real soil, I'd spent a considerable amount of time as a theoretical gardener (i.e. "dreamer") - reading book after book about all sorts of garden & self-sufficiency related subjects.  These books are my vice.  I have amassed a small library of

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-61629170321211820672010-03-28T19:44:00.002+11:002010-03-29T05:44:26.411+11:002010-03-29T05:44:26.411+11:00

It probably seems like a very early finish to what was expected to be a long running battle between the teams plastic (clear and black) to prove once and for all which one could dominate the reigning champion of weeds - Kikuyu grass.  I too was expecting a close fight between these two behemoths, but sadly, as is all too often the case, I've had to step in to end the contest prematurely,

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-56741317230583949942010-03-21T21:22:00.001+11:002010-03-23T17:08:40.583+11:002010-03-23T17:08:40.583+11:00

I thought I owed a low-word count post after the previous Great Walls of Text and as I recently got a new camera, I thought I'd introduce some of the strangers I inherited when we moved into our little piece of paradise.  Of course I do hope I might get a few clues as to what they actually are, but even if I don't it'll be nice to look back on the flowers in the depths of winter. I

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-2536146568042328082010-03-16T20:38:00.000+11:002010-03-16T20:38:02.515+11:002010-03-16T20:38:02.515+11:00

Probably the first post in what's likely to be a long running series – think Rocky, but with less talent and lower budget. Let me say upfront: Kikuyu has its uses. It's a good pasture and is quite a good lawn – the sort of lawn you can enjoy walking over barefoot. In our climate, it's set and forget. But, this grass is not a homebody. It likes the jet setting lifestyle and is keen to

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-422866176493505512010-03-13T16:11:00.000+11:002010-03-13T16:20:54.171+11:002010-03-13T16:20:54.171+11:00

It's early autumn and my year ahead calendar has a lot of blank space on it. In fact, if it wasn't for the three little notes: “Peas ready”; “Potatoes ready” and “Rye ready”, it'd be completely empty (and looking at early growth I think my “Rye ready” is a little optimistic). While last year I just put some random items in the ground based purely on what was available from a lovely catalogue,

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5616768424926840212.post-41529561896971473202010-03-03T19:27:00.000+11:002010-03-22T06:09:08.655+11:002010-03-22T06:09:08.655+11:00

As I wasn't really in a position to create and maintain a standard compost bin/heap and as I had access to a reasonable quanity of food scraps, including material not suited to standard compost, I thought I'd have a look at bokashi (I already had a worm farm). Admitedly, I balked at the cost of the commercially available starter bin+mix packs and wondered whether it'd really be that much better

Flohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08401165324640300876noreply@blogger.com3