With the ever-changing retail landscape and growth of online shopping, local nurseries are no longer omnipresent. So for beginner gardeners in particular, the path to a glorious home orchard might not be clear. It can be hard to know where to buy from and which varieties will be best for you. The visual appeal of
Fruit trees grown in every climate can benefit from a mulch of some description. Mulch is a layer of material (usually organic) applied to the surface of soil which looks attractive and benefits the plants it covers. Mulch adds nutrition, helps protect the root zone, limits damage done by extreme weather and makes mowing maintenance
Fruit trees are a long-term step towards food security. So it makes sense that you’ll want to look after them as best you can. They can take several years to become productive though, during which time you’ll invest a lot of effort, care and energy. Painting the trunks of fruit trees is an ages-old practice
There are literally thousands of fruit trees you can try to grow. So many, in fact, that it can be hard to narrow it down or know where to start. Whether you’re a beginner, short on space or just plain undecided, why not start with the easiest? Some fruit trees are so easy to grow
Those who have recently experienced the major flood event in southeast QLD and northern New South Wales will be reeling at best and completely devastated at worst. If you have lost it all, I offer my deepest sympathies. Our food garden is like a family member, and when something happens to it, we suffer grief
The wet summer season in the subtropics is a time for lush grass, sunshine, Christmas holidays and vigorous plant growth. So what better time to investigate some new and interesting fruit trees for your orchard? The traditional fruit trees that require a cold snap to set fruit are never going to be winners in the
There’s nothing more refreshing than an ice block on a hot day, and there’s nothing better than enjoying your home grown fruit at the same time. Whether you’re an adult or a child, ice blocks are always a fun treat- and you’ll happily bypass the sugar-laden commercial versions when you see how easy these are
It’s all very fun to grow a ton of food…until you don’t know what to do with it all. Produce gluts can be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid when you have fruit trees. There’s nothing a food gardener likes more than a big harvest, but it can be overwhelming when it comes all at
Do you know how expensive passionfruit can be? It’s outrageous to pay for something that you can grow so easily at home! We love passionfruit, and it was the first major food crop we grew here at the Self Sufficient Me home garden. Using my top tips on how to grow a ton of passionfruit,
One of the most prolific fruit trees in my orchard is a dwarf navel orange tree. It’s 35 years old (don’t ask me how I know this!) and still going strong, but like all heavy producers it needs regular maintenance to stay at its best. In this article I’m going to show you how to
The Queensland fruit fly is a serious garden pest that destroys a wide variety of crops by laying its eggs inside fruit and vegetables. This results in fruit which is full of maggots and rotting, sloppy flesh…in other words, completely ruined. While they are a nuisance for the backyard gardener, the damage they cause means
I've learnt the hard way when it comes to growing avocado trees. Scroll to the end of this article to watch the VBlog (video). Initially, back in 2006 when I planted several avos in our orchard, I thought that a foot of topsoil would be enough to grow a healthy avocado tree. All our other
The other day, I received an email from Nytasha asking me if I could help her find out what was wrong with her lemon tree… Basically, Nytasha was puzzled by how bad the fruit (produced by her "seemingly healthy" lemon tree) tasted and if I had any experience or thoughts as to what was causing the
Growing conditions for the Grumichama Growing Grumichama plants (Eugenia Dombeyi) as a backyard fruit tree is certainly not something often talked about mainly because the Grumichama is not a very well known fruit tree. Actually, it's more like a large shrub and is often sold as a nice hedging plant (which also bears edible fruit
Some fruits to grow in winter to prevent fruit fly strike Fruit fly in Queensland can become a real pain for the backyard grower turning beautiful fruit and vegetables into a rotten mess. However, there are ways to control this awful pest and one of the most effective but not often considered is growing crops best
Introduction Plucking a fruit from your own tree or bush; there's nothing like the taste and satisfaction of doing such a task. The freshness and flavour not lost to travel or disruption and the pride in knowing you've helped create this treat from nature is what keeps us food gardeners out there working the land.
Right, I want to make this a straight forward quick post about how to make tamarillo fruit leathers. Often, I write rather long in-depth articles but this recipe is so easy and plus I have written about tamarillos before (Tamarillo or Tree Tomato) so there isn't any need to re-hash about growing the fruit. We have had
Fruit trees are arguably the best and most important plants people can grow in their garden. These trees provide us with good healthy food, fantastic scenery, habitat for animals, and an excellent excuse to wander out through the orchard (or garden). Most fruit trees have similar sighting considerations, and whilst there are some exceptions, trees
When I walk around the supermarket fruit aisles, all I see is ever increasing prices for a shrinking array of fresh produce. It seems like there is an attempt to groom ordinary consumers into creatures of habit buying certain premium product lines which are easy to manage with long shelf lives just to allow for
Introduction The following article is a compilation of several smaller posts donated by the Phantom Comentor or PC. This person may prefer to remain unknown; however, as you will discover he has a wealth of self sufficient knowledge to offer us. PC is a very competent vegetable and fruit grower, and is also well versed
Self Sufficient Me is a blog about self-sustainment by growing our own produce (plant/animal), and self-fulfilment by looking after our health (physical/mental) through exercise and slowing life down a little.
