Kath Irvine

🌻May in the Vegie Patch, Prep for Strawberries, Asparagus + Trees🌻

May is our month to get ready for planting trees – planting season is my favourite! I'm always pumped to add more fruits and nuts, improve shelter and support our soils to be great - plant power is the way! I've made you up a handy checklist to

🌻April in the Veggie Patch, Fruit tree to-do's + Nitrogen + Living Mulch FAQs 🌻

Dear Kath, I'm worried about looming food shortages and want to get a veggie garden growing quickly..... " I've had loads of these messages of late, so lets dive in. Getting a veggie garden up and running quickly = choose a good spot for your patch + find

Month by Month

April in the veggie patch

Out with the old unproductive plants, and in with the new – now! today! to make the most of the last of the warm days. Start with a whip around, chopping-and-dropping, or chopping-and-compost making, to create space.

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Month by Month

April Fruit Tree To Do List

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Soil health

The Best Nitrogen is Free

Mulch + Living Mulch

Living mulch FAQ's

I'm so excited for all the living mulch questions. I've been getting so many I figured an FAQ page is called for.

Month by Month

March In The Vegie Patch + Greenhouse

As the mornings and nights start to cool off, the soil temperature soon follows. As soil cools, microbes, worms and plant growth slows. Grab the planting window! Focus on planting autumn and winter crops while a little warmth lingers to keep the flow of good food coming into your kitchen.

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Fruit Trees + Berries

March Fruit Tree To-Do List

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Mulch + Living Mulch

How to Mulch Your Vegie Patch

February in the vegie patch + Why hasn't my fruit tree fruited?!

This month, alongside your regular vegie patch and fruit tree to-do list, I'm answering a fruit tree question that I get a lot at this time of year - why hasn't my fruit tree fruited? Or it may equally be, why has my fruit tree got

Month by Month

February in the Vegie Patch and Greenhouse

Its time to turn your attention to planting Autumn and Winter crops. Before planting, check in first with your soil. Use your best soil for heavy feeders like brassicas or leeks.

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Fruit Trees + Berries

Why Hasn't My Fruit Tree Fruited?

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Fruit Trees + Berries

February Fruit Tree To-Do List

Books Featured

My New Book! Homegrown Fruit: A Practical Guide

by Kath Irvine and Jason Ross Homegrown Fruit: A Practical Guide takes you step-by-step to an abundant, naturally healthy home orchard, and along the way teaches you all the skills you need to be an epic fruit gardener. With a healthy setup, and well-suited varieties - fruit trees

Vegies + Herbs

January in the Vegie Patch and Greenhouse

Keep planting! In a little and often way to keep the food rolling in.

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Fruit Trees + Berries

January Fruit Tree To-Do List

Pests + diseases

Natural Ways With Pests #1: Why Do Pests Come Along?

There are 3 main reasons why pests come along. Let me greatly simplify the work of Dr Phillip S Callahan, John Kempf and Elaine Ingham: Stress. Pests are attracted to plants for a variety of reasons, all of which can be traced back to a stress of some sorts e.

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Pests + diseases

Natural Ways With Pests #2: Four Steps to Prevention

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Pests + diseases

Natural Ways With Pests #3: Simple, Natural Solutions

Month by Month

December in the Vegie Patch

If there's one thing on your mind as you head into summer - let it be soil care. When the soil is well the crops are well. Here are your 3 soil health essentials: * Keep your soil covered in plants at all times. * Plant new crops amongst greencrops, or

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Fruit Trees + Berries

December Fruit Tree To-Do List

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Vegies + Herbs

How to Prune + Train Tomatoes, Peppers + Aubergines

Vegies + Herbs

How to Grow Awesome, Organic Tomatoes!

It's entirely possible to grow abundant tomatoes without artificial tomato food, or tricky fertiliser brews. Here are my very simple, tomato growing strategies - each one is a key thread, and success comes when they are all in action, together. Set your tomatoes on the road to glory by

Intros

November in the Vegie Patch + My New Subscription Model Begins!

This month, dear friends, is the last month of the Edible Backyard newsletter as we know it. For 15 years I've been sending out all your edible backyard to-do's + how-to's on the 1st of each month, for free. But the times they

Month by Month

November in the Vegie Patch + Greenhouse

The most important mission this month is planting out long term crops like kumara, yams, pumpkins and peppers - drop everything else and get them in the ground! Yams need about 6 months to fatten up, kumara and sweet peppers need 4 - 5 warm months and pumpkins 4 - 6 months (variety