Tall plant pots can look quite elegant indoors or out in the garden, their shapes serving as visually appealing aesthetic design elements. One of the downsides though to using such deep pots is the large volume of growing medium (potting mix) that it takes to […]
It’s November, the last month of spring, the weather is moderate, deciduous trees are in leaf again, days are warm and there’s lots of green growth in the garden. The changeable and windy weather from October continues, but now there’s also the possibility of very […]
If we look at a healthy natural environment that hasn’t been damaged or subjected to human disturbance, we find that nature goes to some effort to protect the soil, which is not ‘dirt’, but a complex living ecosystem, known as the soil-food web. Layers of natural […]
Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) are perennial plants from the Asteraceae (daisy) family, that are native to Europe and Asia. They’re often described as ‘edible weeds’, which is a rather disparaging term, considering that the plant has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for many centuries […]
This post is contributed and may contain affiliate links When it comes to keeping your lawn looking great, there are a few simple things you can do to make the process a little bit easier. From taking better care of your lawn mower to watering […]
Citruses are flowering trees and shrubs from the rue (Rutaceae) family and are native to subtropical and tropical regions of South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Melanesia, and northeastern Australia. Plants in the genus Citrus provide a wide assortment of fruit types, including important crops […]
October is the mid-spring period, flowers bloom in abundance, the warmer weather with rain bringing ideal conditions for lush plant growth. The cold weather hasn’t quite finished yet, cold nights and even frosts can still be expected, along with strong winds, so it’s important to […]
Non-native, feral rodents, such as the Black Rat, aka Roof Rat (Rattus rattus), Brown Rat, aka Ship Rat or Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) and House Mouse (Mus musculus) are destructive pests that can cause considerable damage to a home and garden if they’re not controlled. […]
How do you know if you have rats or mice, or some other pest problem? Correct pest identification is important for deciding on an appropriate course of action. Visual identification is not easy because rats and mice are nocturnal, meaning they are most active at […]
This post is contributed and may contain affiliate links If you have a green thumb and love spending time outdoors, why not put your skills to good use and earn some extra money? With a little effort, you can turn your garden into a veritable […]
It’s September, the beginning of spring, the time of new life and renewal! The weather is starting to warm up, but there are still cold days, rainy weather and winds to contend with. Early spring is the best time to mulch garden beds, as the […]
Despite the unfounded concerns of some gardeners, setting up Queensland fruit fly traps will not attract more of the harmful female pests into your garden. These traps do work effectively to reduce the numbers of the pest already there, and are best installed at the […]
After using pruning tools, such as secateurs, loppers, hedge hedge and pruning saws, it’s important to clean them to prevent rusting, and to avoid spreading diseases from tree to tree. It’s a good idea to sterilise pruning tools after use, especially before using them on […]
Overpotting is a term used to describe the negative effects on plant health when a plant is grown in a pot that is way too big for it. While it might seem like a good idea to give a plant plenty of future growing space, […]
It’s August, the weather is still cold and windy, but the end of winter is draws near, the days begin to grow noticeably longer and the change of season is not too far away. This month is the last chance to complete the pruning of […]
The soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the ability of soils to bind and store a particular group of nutrients by electrical attraction, those that form positively charged cations, such as calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), potassium (K+), and nitrogen in the form of ammonium (NH4+). […]
The life expectancy of fruit trees varies with the type of fruit tree, and the rootstock that they’re grafted onto (if they’re not growing on their own roots). Trees on dwarf rootstock tend to have a shorter life span than their larger counterparts because the […]
Burr knots (burrs or burls) are masses of small root initials, plant cells that are dividing and transforming into root tips, which appears on the above-ground portion of a rootstock, or on the trunk and limbs of apple trees. This is an inherited disorder where […]
The goji berry plant (Lycium barbarum), also known as a wolfberry (gouqizi, 枸杞) in Chinese, is a scrambling deciduous shrub with long, sparsely spiny weeping branches. It’s a Lycium (boxthorn) species that is a member of the Solanaceae (nightshade or tomato) plant family, and is […]
It’s July, Midwinter has arrived! As all of Nature’s energies turn inwards, and life comes to a standstill, we finally have a chance to rest and reflect too. This month temperatures will hit their lowest for the year, rain will fall for half the month, […]
