Compost, Mulches & Soil Conditioners: What are you really getting?

How many times have you gone to the nursery wanting to buy something to improve your soil (because that’s what they tell you to do before planting anything) and only come away more confused than before you went in? There seems to be dozens of bags to choose from:...

Edible Flowers

Read a nice article on edible flowers at www.treehugger.com but too often they forget to give us the botanical names to avoid confusion (and potential poisoning). So here’s the list again with botanical names.1. Allium (Allium sp.) 2. Angelica (Angeleica...

Guavas: perfect fresh fruit to grow

Stone fruit have gone by the end of summer but apples and pears aren’t due until late autumn (fall) so what do you do for fruit in between? Well, I’ve discovered the delicious in-between-season cherry guava is just the perfect fill-in.I bought a few different fruit...

Growing Macadamias in the Home Garden

I’m eating my way through a packet of dry roasted and salted macadamias as I tap out this story on the keyboard and I’m having a hard time getting on with it because their SOOO delicious! Macadamias are my absolute favourite nuts to eat, so when I heard that a visit...

Problems I’ve Had Growing Zucchini (Courgette)

Towards the end of summer we invariably start to see pests devouring plants and diseases ruining our crops. Some common problems arise every season and are predictable enough to take evasive action. One of these culprits is the 28-spotted ladybird. What you’ll...