In a cold climate, such as in Melbourne, Australia, the summer is never quite long enough to grow all your summer annuals vegetables, such as tomatoes, chillies, capsicums and so on. The best way to get a long productive season is to start the seedlings […]
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How to Build a Small Water Garden
A serene, reflective pool has its allure, it’s something that has always drawn mankind. There is something about water that relaxes us, that makes us feel peaceful and calm. It resonates with a deep inner part of us, a part perhaps long forgotten, but the […]
How to Make Compost in 18 Days Using the Berkeley Hot Composting Method
Regular composting, also known as cold composting, involves placing a variety of organic materials in a compost bin, enclosure, or even just in a large heap, and leaving it there until it breaks down several months later. It’s a very slow process and typically takes […]
How to Graft Eggplant onto Devil Plant
A veriety of “Devil Plant” , giant devil fig Solanum chrysotrichum for grafting eggplant Would you like to grow an eggplant tree, yes you heard right, a tree, that can produce dozens of eggplants, and not die down in winter? Well, you can if you […]
How to Build a Self-Cleaning Rainwater Tank from a Wheelie Bin
Wheelie bin as a water storage container You can never have enough water storage, and a spare wheelie bin makes a handy water carrier that can easily be moved around (when it is empty of course, a full one can’t be moved!) This design was […]
How to Make a Rainwater Tank from Recycled Plastic Drums
Rainwater is a valuable resource that is largely under-utilised in urban environments. It’s one of nature’s free resources that we can use to grow food, and considering that Australia is the world’s driest continent, rainwater is a very valuable resource, far to valuable to let […]
Backyard Orchard Culture, a New Approach to Growing Fruit Trees in Limited Spaces
This article is an introduction to the gardening technique of Backyard Orchard Culture – a system of high density planting of fruit trees which allows for a wide variety of fruit to be grown in a limited space, and harvested over a prolonged period of […]
Urban Food Forest Garden Yields, One Year In
Here are the annual figures for the garden yields for the period of Oct 2008 – Oct 2009, the garden’s first year. The annual production for this garden was: first year: 133 kg The total garden bed area is 686 sq. feet (64 sq. metres). […]
How to Build a Capillary Watering Tray for Raising Seedlings
A self-watering capillary tray is a wicking tray with its own water supply, which can keep seedlings in pots watered. All you have to do is occasionally top up the main water reservoir, and that’s all! They’re great for watering seedlings, freshly rooted cuttings, and […]
How to Make Plant Labels from Recycled Plastic Containers
Plant labels are an item that gardeners use aplenty, but there’s no need to ever run out when you can make your own by recycling polypropylene plastic food grade containers. A white plastic container can be cut with a pair of scissors to produce around […]
How to Build an Espalier Support Trellis
What is an Espalier? An espalier (pronounced “es-PAL-yer”) is a tree that has been trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall,fence, or trellis, though the term has also been used to describe the technique of training a tree to grow this way. […]
How to Build a Timber Raised Garden Bed
A raised garden bed is an elevated garden bed that sits higher than the surrounding soil, or the ground that it sits on, and is usually supported by some sort of frame or enclosure, though this is not always the case. Timber Raised Garden Bed […]
How to Build a Grape Vine Trellis
Here are the instructions for the construction of a basic 2.0m x 2.4m (6′ x 8′) grape vine trellis as shown below. Construction materials required are as follows: 2.4m (8ft) steel star pickets (x3) Plastic coated or galvanised wire, 2.0mm or 12 gauge (x30ft/10m) Turnbuckles […]
Companion Planting Table
Good Companions Bad Companions Apples Chives, Horsetail (Equisetum), Foxgloves, WallflowersNasturtiums, Garlic, Onions Grass, Potatoes Apricots Basil, Tansy, Southernwood Tomatoes, Sage Asparagus Tomatoes, Parsley, Basil Basil Tomatoes, Asparagus, Parsley, Apricots Beans Carrots, Cucumbers, Cabbages, Lettuce, Peas, ParsleyCauliflower, Spinach, Summer Savory Onions, Garlic, Fennel, […]
What is Companion Planting and How Does it Work?
What is Companion Planting? Companion planting is the practice of planting two or more types of plants close together for some kind of benefit, such as the control of pests, increased health and vigour, resistance to disease, or higher yields. These are termed “good companions”. […]