Tomatoes are an amazing fruit and the tomato plant is a wonderful act of nature. I’ve previously stated how easy it is to grow tomatoes; however, awhile back, a cousin of mine had a “bone to pick with me” when she read an article of mine referring to growing tomatoes as “easy.” She said that
When the end of orange season comes, more often than not we are left with a surplus of this wonderful fruit, which is a really good position for me to be in because it forces me to do something with the extra bounty before they go bad. Orange marmalade is great, fresh orange juice is
This article was revised on 14 December 16 (a video I created was added towards the end of the post below – this gives some extra information on growing cucumbers and also how to ferment/pickle them). Cucumbers, the phallic melon which takes pride of place displayed proudly in the fresh food section in supermarkets around
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,
Keeping chickens isn’t a difficult thing to do but you do have to get some of the fundamentals right and one of those areas is flooring. In particular, the flooring areas within the coop itself and any areas you (or the kids) have to regularly walk over to gather eggs or maintain the pen. Large
Modern society has many ways to make us feel economically inadequate. There are pressures arising from numerous sectors demanding more and more slices of our income pie. Most people could be forgiven for thinking the days of fair wages and a reasonable cost of living are over – and they may well be correct (for
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
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
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
My DIY dog proof fence for my free-range chicken area is about 6 weeks old now and I am extremely happy with how it turned out. I could have paid several thousand dollars to have a fencing contractor come and do this job but I did it myself for a fraction of the cost that
Here’s a cheap and easy way to build a compost making machine three bays side-by-side utilising recycled wooden pallets to make compost for even the biggest of gardens. All serious gardeners make their own compost – it’s just a given – because good gardeners know the benefits and nutrients that can be gained from recycling
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
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.
