Homely CapersAuthor Archive
Transplanting Seedlings
A Biodynamic gardener once had a row of broccoli plants. Only two plants had aphids, but both were quite infested. The two plants were dug up, and the gardener discovered that the plants had experienced root damage during transplanting. The healthy broccoli, which had experienced uninterrupted growth, were untouched by the insects, while nature eliminated the [...]
Pineapple propagation at home
Pineapples or Ananas comosus is one of the edible species of over 2000 that make up the bromeliad family. Originally grown in the warm tropics of the Caribbean, pineapples can be grown almost anywhere there is warm weather. Many people may think that they are a difficult plant to grow, but in reality they are very [...]
Preparing soil for Passionfruit
You could say that this applies to all plants, but the key to a successful passionfruit plant is great soil. Starting with any old soil is fine, but the key is to change that soil into living soil. Preparing the soil to hold moisture and nutrients while harboring millions of beneficial bacteria and bugs will [...]
Whats in your freezer?
It wasn’t anything to do with global warming and it is winter here, but today we had the big thaw. The frost build up on our chest freezer was getting too much, so out came all of our frozen goods and in came the ice scrapers. In the aftermath I found that we had quite [...]
Why I don’t use weed mat
After moving into our new house, we spent a couple of hours over the weekend looking around my new garden. What we found was a lot of poor soil and what seems like an acre of weed mat in the garden beds! My past experiences with weed mat have not been good, and this one [...]
New House – time for a new garden
What a big fortnight it has been! Moving house has really taken it out of R and I, but the enthusiasm to garden is coming back. Below are some photos of our new back yard, there is some framework for a huge tropical oasis garden. I think I counted 11 palm trees in the yard! [...]
Potato Tower: Harvest
After watching the tops go yellow for a week, today was the day to do the big harvest. Who would have thought that four months had passed since the build stage of the potato tower? Above you can see the yellowing stalks and leaves, a sure sign that things are coming to an end inside [...]
Heirloom vs Hybrid
In December I started two tomato plants growing as seeds in Jiffy pots. After having them crop prolifically for many months, they were left to the elements and mealy bugs. They haven’t had any water, love or attention since March, and now being the end of July there are two distinct differences between them. One [...]
About Me
My name is Ben, and I'm a self confessed gardenoholic. My other interests include growing plants, looking at plants, drinking coffee and taking the odd photo. My wife thinks I'm mad, but is getting into the whole garden thing, possibly going mad as well. In my spare time I'm a geologist (must be something about dirt and rocks...)- Get me on Twitter
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