The following post is adapted from a workshop given at the Green Renters Expo in association with the City of Yarra, May 17th, 2011 I was challenged by my friends at Green Renters to put together a short talk about food gardening for people with limited access to an established garden. Trying to squeeze in … Continue reading I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden
So much of what is written about growing food is based on commercial information. The methods of broadscale monocultures are scaled down to home gardens, based on the experience and research of commercial food production. But this may not be the best way to go about growing things in a local home garden. Fruit trees … Continue reading Growing the seeds of stuff
Someone asked me the other day if they could eat Broccolini leaves. They wanted to use them in a recipe, some kind of quiche-like tart which called for Kale to add some greenery. The answer was "Of course you can, they are the same thing". Because ultimately, they are the same plant species. In south-western … Continue reading The way things are goin’, they’re gonna crucifer me
Everyone knows what Artichokes look like, right? Of course. They come in a jar marinated in oil and vinegar and garlic. If you look at my planting calendar you will see that in many parts of the country it's the time of year for planting Artichokes, it's also time to plant a couple of other … Continue reading I started a choke, that started the whole world laughing
I was hanging out my washing the other day, and when I finished, I found a little visitor had jumped into the empty washing basket. I'd have probably missed him otherwise, but as he was essentially trapped, I whipped out my phone and took a picture of the little critter. You can see his picture … Continue reading It’s not easy being green
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I have mentioned before that even if every bit of an average urban garden was planted with food, it would still not produce enough food to sustain a family. Things like staples, the carbohydrates we eat in larger quantities as the bulk of most peoples' diet, are required in volumes unreasonable to produce on a … Continue reading When the river runs dry
A lot of people probably don't realise, or at least don't stop to consider, that when they buy fresh fruit and vegetables, they are often buying the means to generate more fresh fruit and vegetables. Every time you spit out pips of any fruit you eat, you are probably throwing away the means to grow … Continue reading Green-age wasteland
When most people think of weeding the garden, they probably think about kneeling down and digging or pulling out the grass and the various seedlings that have popped up in unwanted places between the plants they want to keep. The most useful working definition of a weed is a plant out of place. And it … Continue reading Weeds don’t need no propagation
I have often commented that one of the major reasons, if not the single biggest reason, for failure in growing plants is forgetting to water them. There are ways around it, putting in irrigation systems, for example, or having timely reminders from people like me. But ultimately, if plants don't get water, they don't grow, … Continue reading Wade in the water
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