The well-known catchphrase ‘beautiful one day, perfect the next’ was devised by advertisers to describe Queensland summer…but I don’t think they had gardening in mind when they coined it. Summer in subtropical south-east Queensland has 3 keywords: hot, humid, and rainy. This is a time where the gentle breezes and pleasant sunshine of spring have
Whether you’re a vegan or just fancy loading up on vitamins, these easy fried veggie wraps are always a tasty treat! A while ago I got into the habit of going meat-free on a Monday, and devised these vegan wraps…they soon became a regular menu item. Ideal for lunch, dinner, or snacks in between, they
The rapidly rising price of food, especially fresh produce, isn’t news to any of us these days. Basic living is getting tougher everywhere: inflation is up, interest rates are higher, and supply chains are stretched to breaking point. Being scared won’t help, because it doesn’t lead us to safety or rational thought. But there are
Recently I was asked if it is possible to grow blueberries in the ground in my area, and in Australia in general. The answer is ‘yes- as long as you create the right soil for blueberries first‘. Blueberries require an acidic soil, but most natural soils in Australia are quite alkaline. This means that you’ll
Turmeric belongs to to the ginger plant family, and is one of the most famous foods in the world. This is due to its versatility in cooking and its medicinal qualities. I grow a ton of turmeric every year, and you can too- just follow these key points. Scientific tests have shown that turmeric stimulates
This carrot cake with warming spices and dried apricots is so very more-ish! There’s no need to feel guilty either; it’s vegan, gluten free and contains no refined sugars. We eat this carrot cake for breakfast, lunch and dessert! If you can make this carrot cake last for longer than one day, you have amazing
Welcome to winter in the humid subtropics- all three weeks of it. Okay that’s a local joke where I live (Brisbane, Australia), but it’s not far from the truth. The subtropics give us a specialised climate- one unlike any other. Most gardening information found online and in books is written for cool or temperate climates,
This wonderfully purple recipe is a traditional Dutch dish. Red cabbage with apples is sweet and a little sour, easy to make & an extremely good way to get kids (and adult kids!) to eat red cabbages. Originally it is eaten with baked potatoes or potato croquettes and a beef stew that is literally translated
Although it is autumn, I’m still harvesting summer carrots. I love them and I love making delicious recipes with them. This is one of those recipes that I come back to again and again because it is so easy, healthy, yummy and you don’t even need an oven for this one! It is also vegan
This poem was salvaged from a scrap piece of lined A4 paper handwritten half in pen and then finished in pencil – I can’t recall but my biro must have run out. I do remember writing this rather crude piece in 1990 on a rain-soaked day in the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area near Rockhampton
Most of us can benefit from a little more vegetables in our lives, and growing them at home is the best way to ensure those dinner plates are stacked with a heap of greens every time. But what if you don't have much space outside to grow your favourite vegetables or you live in a
The following article is a modified transcript from a video I created on how to grow galangal so if you'd rather watch the video instead of reading scroll down to the bottom of the page. This is my five top tips on how to grow a ton of galangal for some reason I think of
Make a winner out of your kitchen dinner by adding some easy to grow Asian herbs and spices and turn bland into YUM. In this article, I'm going to give you seven of my favourite easy to grow herbs and spices we grow at home and you can as well to use in your own
For our readers over in the USA (of whom they're many… THANKS) I thought I would inform you about how some Birdies raised garden beds are now starting to be sold on Amazon. Those that don't know, Birdies was one of the very first companies (about 12 or so years ago) to see a future
If you are considering growing backyard olives then the Arbequina variety is worth checking out! Arbequina olive trees are a popular commercial variety of olive because they produce a good olive oil but they are also a common variety sold on the domestic market due to being an early fruiting tree and often produce
Updated on 20th Sept 2022 If you have been reading Self Sufficient Me and watching some of my YouTube videos over the past several years, you’ll know how passionate I am about raised bed vegetable gardening. There are many advantages raised bed food gardens have over the traditional in-ground garden beds that use the furrow method
Videos Latest Videos Garden The following is a playlist of all our gardening videos. Gardening is by far the most popular videos I make on YouTube and interest seems to be growing as more people discover the beauty of this video platform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLnWt3n5uUaIqT5eK0VLP6W-jJfcq_SRtd&v=mTIYEJ2TRtQ&feature=emb_title ul > .bdt-post-list-item; delay: 350;”> How to remove thorns from a yellow
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.
