There are so many interesting varieties of vegetables to tempt us- many more than we have garden space for. It can be really hard to narrow it down, especially when you’re a beginner gardener. This is my top ten list of vegetables you should always grow. I have chosen these 10 veggies based on a
Burying your vegetable scraps from the kitchen straight into the garden is one of the easiest ways to recycle organic waste. It’s an old method that is tried and true; many of us had grandparents who buried their vegetable scraps. Popular around 40 years ago, it is now coming back into fashion as we continue
There are a few rules, do’s and don’ts to making compost in this way, so I thought I would start with one bin (of the 2 I have) to test how it would go and if it would go well, I will start to use the other one too. I have been using it for
In the past few years, the Art of Gardening has gained tremendous popularity, to the point where it is now mainstream. Students, teachers, grandmums and neighbours are all doing it. It’s the “in thing”! Gardening is cool! Let’s keep it that way! With the rise of gardening, resources and articles are globally produced, providing us
Vegetable gardening is so much fun and has such great rewards for the body and soul. There’s nothing better than connecting with nature, getting some exercise, then reaping the benefit of fresh organic veggies on your plate every day. We’re living in increasingly difficult times and uncertainty is all around. Thousands of us are spending
we can reduce our consumer spending and reliance on overseas-produced goods by buying high-quality local handmade products.
Feeling limited by your water tank capacity? Need to store more water but can’t fit the tanks under your guttering? What if there was an easier way, so you could have what ever height tank you wanted, and still catch all your runoff? Well there is! It’s called a sump system. When it rains, the
Not only does mulch make an impressive weed suppressant, it plays a vital role in keeping your plants healthy. As mulch breaks down, it turns into “black gold” a.k.a. organic matter. This organic matter provides much needed nutrients to your plants, and also protects the roots from too much sun, temperature fluctuations, and moisture control.
The best place to start with permaculture is your own backyard. That might be as small as a paved courtyard or as big as a farm; either way, anyone can put permaculture into practice. Permaculture is a flexible system that caters for every type of property. It allows you to start small, and build up
The world changed for most of us, sooner or later. Some very much so, and others not so much. Lifestyles were forced to change, to adapt. Many of us started to work from home. We all had the same questions; “What if things stay this way?”, “How can I stay safe? How can I keep
‘Permaculture’ is one of those words we often see and hear when reading about gardening. It’s like some sort of mythical desert oasis…you’ve heard about it, you know it’s a good thing, but you can’t put your finger on what it really is and what it looks like in the real world. So what is
It’s no secret that clay soil is far from the gardeners friend. Poor drainage is a problem, and when the soil is waterlogged your plant roots become starved of oxygen. If the soil is too dry, it can be hard to dig and plant roots can’t grow through it. So how do we fix clay
Place a teaspoon of soil in the palm of your hand. In that teaspoon of soil, there could be as many as 3000 species of bacteria, 200 species of fungi and 20 000 algae. In fact, there are more organisms in a handful of soil than there are people on earth…but most of them can
Soil is a mixture of minerals, air, water, plus a variety of living and dead organic matter. The purpose of soil is as a growing medium for plants, a regulator of water supplies, recycler of raw materials, habitat for soil organisms, and as a landscaping and engineering medium. When it comes to gardening, we need
Picture yourself standing in your garden. Looking around, right to left, up and down, admiring the results of all your hard work. Beautiful flowers, deep green leaves, fruit on the way to ripening….BUT WAIT! You spot one plant that is shrivelled, sick, and covered in bugs. Turn the other way, and there’s one with yellow
So, you are thinking of taking that idealistic step away from the modern mainstream, and moving towards self sufficiency. It’s a term we’ve heard a lot this past year, but it’s not always clear what it really means. And is it realistic these days? We all have work, families, responsibilities, vehicles and modern technology that
I’ve finally decided to write this article about our logo design so that whenever people ask me I can refer them to this page with a simple hyperlink. Yes, our About Us Page does already have a brief explanation of what the “eye” logo represents and I have been referring people to this page over
From the mid-20th century, mankind started to realise the great impact of our industrial activities on the environment. The relationship between industrialization and environmental degradation is one that is hard to ignore. In as much as mankind needs to grow industrially and economically, we also need to preserve our resources and the environment in
With honey bees in dangerous decline around the world, how are crops going to be pollinated in the future? This is a major concern for scientists and farmers because if honeybees die out humans might starve! Whilst honey bees have been declining year after year since the 1940’s a certain bee here in Australia has
The Plastic Bag Ban will commence on 1st July 2018 around Australia – anyone caught with or using a plastic shopping bag after this date will be ridiculed via a severe public "bagging out" before being jailed for environmental vandalism. The first part of the sentence above is true – the plastic bag ban will
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.
