My Productive Backyard
Turn your backyard into a productive food-growing paradise
Sustainable and environmentally friendly Ideas for entertaining the kids during the winter school holidays.
Chances are if you are reading this, you have not jetted off to warmer parts for the school holidays and are looking for some ideas to keep the kids occupied during these holidays. Some people dread the thought of the kids being home from school, where as I always...
Growing and using Sorrel.
Is it a herb or is it a vegetable? who cares! Tart, tangy, lemony and sour are all words used to describe this versatile green. Sorrel (Rumex acetose) is an herbaceous perennial, related to rhubarb but is even tougher and less demanding. So is one of the...
Keeping your chicken dry in severe rain events.
If you live just about anywhere down the east coast of Australia,you would have experienced extreme rainfall last week. Here in the Southern Highlands we received over 600mm in 48 hrs, that is approximately 24 inches in the old scale. (I know it has been 40+ years...
Easy composting with autumn leaves.
If you have never composted, then autumn is a great time to have a go at it. I am not a great composter I don’t have the time to measure out portions of green and brown product, check moisture and pH levels or turn a pile weekly. I find it is all too time consuming...
Growing and using Broad Beans
If you are in a temperate climate, such as the East coast of NSW, it is time to get your broad beans in. As I am in a cool climate I put mine in about a month or so ago and they are up and growing well. Broad beans are suitable to plant in either a No-dig garden or in...
How to use your wonderfully exotic Finger lime crystals.
Finger Lime crystals are probably the most intriguing food ingredient I have ever come across and I am finding wonderful new ways to use them by experimenting and adding them to as many dishes as I can. So what does the finger lime add to a dish? Flavour Whilst most...
Determining when your finger limes are ready to harvest.
Finger Limes, also known as citrus caviar or caviar limes are full of little balls of juice called vesicles, which look like and are referred to as crystals. The crystals are crisp and burst when crunched between your teeth and are just a delightful addition to any...
Freezing your corn crop.
Every year I always grow more corn then I can consume whilst it is at its best, so freezing is a way to preserve my crop for use later in the year when I am unable to grow corn. Here is a series of photos that explains what I do to achieve this very easy crop...
Saving seed from your favourite leafy greens
After several weeks of warm dry weather in the highlands, it is the perfect time for me to be saving seed from my summer leafy greens. I don’t save a lot of seed as I often buy punnets of seedlings or packets of commercial seed, simply because they are easy to pick up...
Preparing a display orchid.
Here is how to turn a $30 potted orchid into a stunning professional looking $100 gift by adding an extra $10-$15 of product and 10 mins of your time. Most of the How to instruction on the internet you see show you how to re-pot an orchid for this kind of display. I...
Controlling scale on my potted finger lime and other citrus
To enable me to grow citrus in a cold climate I have a selection in pots so I can move them into warms spots throughout the year. Now most Citrus can be attached by soft brown scale (coccus hesperidum) but it is particularly prevalent on potted specimens. Brown scale...
Get Growing – why not start today!
If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to start a veggie garden or grow more of your own food, but you don’t know where to start or you are having trouble getting motivated, here are some tips Increase your knowledge. Do some internet browsing or buy a book - there...