Garden Diary: For The Record
So much more than a place to record your successes and failures in the garden, a diary can help you to connect with your patch, understand your environment and maximise your yield.
Category Grow
Winter Work: Building A Berry Patch
Winter is the perfect time to prepare your patch for that crop of summer berries you’ve always wanted. No more plastic punnets, an unrivalled depth of flavour and the joy of being able to pick the sweet taste of summer straight from the bush.
The Onion Family: Growing Alliums
If there is a plant group considered a staple in the modern diet, the onion family is it. From the ubiquitous brown onion to edible chive flowers, the diversity in the onion family is matched only by the many uses and flavours it brings to the kitchen.
Observe & Interact: Soil Health Card
The Northern Rivers Soil Health Card was developed as a practical tool for the region’s farmers and landholders to use to monitor the health of their soils. While it was developed in partnership with NSW Agriculture, it’s got lots to offer home gardeners all around the country who want to better understand soil health.
Growing Capsicum – Ground Peppers
Sweet pepper, bell pepper or capsicum, regardless of what you call it, this versatile vegetable is a firm favourite in households worldwide. As easy to grow in pots as they are in the ground, and with many varieties to choose from, capsicums are a delicious addition to the warm weather garden.
Trellising Tomatoes – Stake Holders
There are so many variables when it comes to working out the best technique for trellising tomatoes. We can learn a lot from people who grow them for a living.
Seed Germination:
From Little Things
Growing your own food from such a tiny seed can be really empowering, but many people find it challenging. Successful germination is about providing the right environment for particular seeds to flourish. And once you get the hang of…
Growing Peas:
Keeping The Peas
Biting into a sweet, crunchy pea pod straight from the vine is a highlight of any gardener’s year. As diverse as they are versatile, the humble pea is a nutritious and easy-to-grow annual that deserves a space in every…
Beetroot
Wild beets are native to northern Africa and the coast of Spain and Portugal. They were introduced to northern Europe by the Romans who fed them to both their troops and horses. Beets adapted very well to cold, northern winters and from them sugar beet and the round red beet were developed. Collections of the wild relatives of beetroot are being made in Sicily and Calabria for large-scale gene banks.
Crop Rotation: Keep It Moving
Practising crop rotation when growing annual vegetables not only increases long-term yield, it preserves the fertility of your soil while deterring pests and diseases.