Removing excess fruit from an over-burdened tree rewards you with a more robust tree and better fruit (this year and next). From mid-spring on keep an eye on your fruit trees and thin heavily loaded trees as fruits reach marble size. Because Steady is Good Thinning is removing extras to improve the remainder. And it […]
Preventing + Managing Fungal Disease
By | LastUpdated February 5, 2024
By far and away the most common cause of garden disease is airborne fungi. The mild moist conditions of spring set the scene for primary infections of rust, black spot, leaf curl, shot hole, brown rot and other fungal delights. As I write this it’s raining and cool, the kind of conditions that strike fear […]
Wild + free + jamming with life
By | LastUpdated September 1, 2020
Dear Gardeners, As you gear up for your spring and summer planting here’s a phrase I’m chucking out for you to ponder – relay intercropping. Its like companion planting on steroids and will take the health of your vegie patch next level. In a nutshell, it’s plant combos of different root depths and nutrient needs […]
Pump Up Your Fruit Production
By | LastUpdated September 1, 2020
Today I’m sharing a September task that’ll really up your fruit production in your deciduous fruit trees – pears, apples, plums, apricots. An awesome party trick to slow growth down on over zealous plums and stubbornly upright pears. It’s time to tie down young branches, to change their direction from up to out. Especially important […]
The Ins and Outs of Choosing Bought Compost
By | LastUpdated March 31, 2024
Compost is the heart and soul of your garden. Does it matter which compost you buy? Damn straight it does! Well made compost is all our soil needs to grow abundant crops with minimal disease. But rubbish in, rubbish out – compost made with sub-standard ingredients will wreck your soil and your crops. So too, […]
Kawakawa + Ginger Tea
By | LastUpdated August 1, 2020
Kawakawa has a special place in my heart – it was the first ‘real’ (ie not from a bag) herb tea I ever made many moons ago. Such a powerful healer – 72 medicinal uses according to Murdoch Reilly’s “Maori Healing and Herbal” – and I was at the time healing up from wicked eczema. […]
