It’s time to do winter maintenance of the asparagus bed: here’s how I did mine. My two-year-old asparagus crowns were planted in July last year in a raised bed made from sleepers. To keep the chooks and brush turkeys off the bed, we put up a frame (made from poles of an old three-man tent) […]
Tags: asparagus, maintenance, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening | 5 Comments »
Until recently I thought all rhubarb was crimson red. I once grew some rhubarb with green stems but I was too nervous to eat it. I thought it was unripe and maybe even toxic, so I bought some from the shop instead. I know better now. It turns out rhubarb can grow crimson red, or […]
Tags: fruit, health, livestock, recipe, vegetables
Posted in Kitchen, Organic Gardening | 2 Comments »
Did you know that seed retailed in Australia can be chemically coated with at least six different chemical products including insecticides, fungicides and specialised polymer coatings? Treated seed in Australia comes with warnings on all treated seed in small home garden size packs: ‘Caution: treated with (common or brand name of a fungicidal / insecticidal […]
Tags: environment, health, insects, organic, seeds, wildlife
Posted in Organic Gardening, Sustainability | No Comments »
I’ve tasted them in restaurants, seen them at the grocer and read about their great nutritional value but until now I’d never tried to specifically grow and harvest the mighty micro-green. At Green Harvest we all love trying out new things and I was recently asked by Jeff, our manager, to give the growing of […]
Tags: microgreens
Posted in Organic Gardening | 2 Comments »
What have chickens ever done for us? Let’s see – for a start, they produce eggs and fertiliser, control pests, eliminate weeds and take care of kitchen scraps. But for me, they are just great little creatures to have around and they make me feel more connected to the whole cycle of the garden. It’s […]
Tags: animal care, chickens, poultry
Posted in Organic Gardening | 5 Comments »
Every now and then I give a talk on organic gardening at a club or show. Afterwards I’m often approached with the question “do flowers have a place in the vegetable garden?” This is usually posed in an innocent fashion by one half of a couple, but with an obvious agenda of ‘let’s settle this […]
Tags: bees, flowers, fruit, insects, pest control, vegetables
Posted in Organic Gardening | 2 Comments »