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
Humans… we're funny creatures. We love new stuff and then we also love what's old. One of my favourite songs (by a German band) has the chorus: Destroy, improve, and re-build. For some reason, I love the freedom in the intent of the song and the premise conserving holds back creation. But then, another part
Lemongrass is one of those famous herbs known the world over for flavouring Asian food. It's considered quite exotic but I really don't understand why because there isn't anything mysterious about the plant at all in my humble opinion. The fact is, lemongrass is terribly easy to grow and most likely why it became so
Ever wondered if all fertilisers are the same? Or, if one fertiliser was better than others? How about using no fertiliser at all and just the soil – would it make a difference or are we being sold unnecessary products? Plant fertiliser isn't cheap. We're told by sales staff and manufactures that certain products are
Every climate and food garden has a particular time of year – a window of opportunity – when growing food is at its best. It’s extremely important to know when the beginning of this growing window is in your location; because, if you miss this window of growing opportunity it can set your food growing,
If anyone is still undecided as to whether insecticides are dangerous to humans then they should read the news today about 20 school children who died in India over the past 24 hours after eating a school prepared meal, which allegedly had not been washed correctly before cooking. Apparently, insecticide was still on and in
This tomato variety is called the Black Plum. And, let me start by immediately stating how I completely misunderstood this tomato from the beginning (until I actually tasted it). I grew this tomato through our winter here (subtropical climate) and although it's warmer than other places through winter where I am, tomatoes still can be tricky to
Article updated on 04 June 2016 The question, will my olive trees flower and fruit in a warm climate with a mild winter? Is answered! I love eating olives and olive oil so when we finally moved to our acreage one of the first trees I planted was a Manzanillo olive tree. In fact, for our
Where I live (SE QLD, AUST) the temperature doesn't get low enough to successfully grow cherries, which is a shame because they taste great and are expensive to buy, therefore, growing them at home would be a much cheaper option (if I could). But cherries aren't the easiest plant to grow anyway even in a
If I were to pick one tree which has stayed with me memorably since my childhood it would be the mulberry. When I was a boy there used to be a massive mulberry tree growing in a vacant lot adjacent to the laneway I walked through to get to primary school. Every spring I’d grab
This tomato is called the Berry Nice. And, it happens to be the third "berry" type article I've posted this month! I started growing this tomato through our autumn here (subtropical climate) and grew my plants from seed I purchased online through eBay. I'll be honest the Berry Nice name was what really drew my attention to
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
When I think of beetroot I can’t go past a hamburger with the lot and for me the sweetly pickled taste of the sliced beetroot mixing with the pineapple, lettuce, cheese, fried onions, egg – soft yolk, and of course the burger meat with some BBQ sauce on a buttered bread roll, is what nails
So you’d like to grow some of your own food but you can’t be bothered digging the garden bed several times a year and managing annual vegetable crops. Well, then why not grow an edible perennial garden bed instead and have the best of both worlds – home grown produce with minimal work that looks
Choosing the best type of raised garden bed to make or buy for a vegetable garden can become quite confusing these days with so many different options available. This article gives the pros and cons of the most popular types of raised garden beds to hopefully give people a better idea as to what might
How to grow eggplant (or often called aubergine by the British) is exactly what this article is about and whilst you can read the instructions from a packet of seeds or the glossed over generic points in a gardening mag or book nothing beats a raving online post like this from someone like me who’s
If you want an easy, no fuss, fruit tree to grow, then the Meyer lemon tree would have to be without a doubt in the top ten list. No matter if your gardening skills stink you will be able to grow this tree and produce one of the most famous and popular fruit known to
There’s something special about the beginnings of life – so special that humanity is obsessed with it. And, why wouldn’t we be obsessed with the start of living? The wonder of creation, the purity, the freshness, the power and drive to be… It’s certainly better than dwelling on the opposite! I find food gardening gives
Some of us have our own allotment (our backyard) where we can grow much of the produce we require and others rent an allotment of land or join a community garden to get the same results. At the end of the day, is it better to own an allotment, rent one, or join a community
This article was edited on 29th Dec 2016. Raised vegetable garden beds are a great way to garden but what is the best way to fill them with soil and how much (if any) drainage should be used? A little while back, I wrote about different types of raised garden beds so this post can
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.
