Sustainable Gardening Tips for November

The November newsletter is packed with my best tips on container gardening and how to grow food in a dry climate. Plus a drought tolerant plant list, how much and often to water your plants, what to plant now and a bonus laminated garden guide gift with purchase offer. Dig in!

Sustainable Gardening Tips November from The Micro Gardener

This month’s plant profile is the spice of life, Chilli Peppers. What a powerhouse! I dig deep into how to grow, store and use chillies for health.

Sustainable Gardening Tips for November

In my local climate in SE Queensland, Australia, weather conditions have been harsh for gardeners. This is the toughest season I think I’ve ever experienced. It’s been so dry that even the natives, trees, and hardy perennials are showing signs of drought-stress. Months on end without our normal seasonal rains. These are the rains that replenish the water table and deeply rooted trees. With heatwave after heatwave and no rain respite, it’s extremely challenging trying to grow food.

When you are on town water, that’s not a problem. However, for many gardeners like myself on tank water, every drop is precious. I’m invested in my garden. Each plant is like a member of my family! I’ve nurtured hundreds since ‘birth’ and to watch some of them struggle is emotionally hard.

Most of the vegetables and fruits we grow need consistent moisture. Some plants like our leafy greens and fruiting crops are super thirsty. It’s no surprise that when it’s dry, hot and windy, that plants suffer. There’s no moisture reservoir from recent rains to draw on in the soil. Thankfully, the effort I’ve put into building humus in the soil and thick layers of mulch has helped most plants survive. I find it interesting to watch which plants cruise through hard times like this versus those ‘princesses’ that have a hissy fit as soon as the weather is not to their liking!

List of 75+ Drought Tolerant Foods for Dry Climates

I’d love to help you if you’re trying to grow edibles in dry times. In my latest article, I share an extensive list of vegetables, herbs, fruit, nuts and herbs that are resilient and hardy. I explain how much and how often to water different types of plants. Also, how to select drought resistant species and how plants adapt with some of their incredible survival strategies. I hope you find the practical tips and list helpful. Here’s a peek at just a few on the list! You’ll find the rest here.

Sustainable Gardening Tips November: 20 Drought Tolerant Vegetables for Dry Climates

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ― Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

How to Grow Food in a Dry Climate

  • Strategies for Gardening with Climate Change – Learn how to adapt to changing climate conditions – rain, dry spells and cloudy skies that reduce photosynthesis. I share solutions to help you ‘design out’ problems . Plus crop protection strategies to help you achieve a harvest even in challenging weather conditions.
  • Garden Strategies to Cope with Drought – Part 1 and Part 2 – Practical tips to help you rethink your water management strategies. Design and utilise microclimates; choose plants wisely; and downscale your garden to pots.

Seed Saving Guide & Plant Propagating Guides

Container Gardening Tips

There are so many benefits to growing your food in pots, planters or even raised beds . These are really large containers!

In dry times, one of the key benefits to crops in pots is that plants don’t compete for water with trees and shrubs. Positioning them under trees and taller species can provide welcome shade relief during the heat. Trees also offer canopy protection during storms and a microclimate that mitigates wind damage.

Download these helpful printable PDF tips on container gardening:

Dig into these articles to learn more:

Grow Microgreens Chart and Booklet Bundle

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

November has been much drier than average. Heatwaves, storms and unpredictable weather are typical for this time of year! I try to be prepared for just about anything as the growing gets tough. Download your November Gardening Tips PDF for planting ideas, tasks to do in the garden plus issues to watch out for. These articles may also help your garden survive a tough few months ahead.

If you can, try to time planting in harmony with the moon phases. Working with Nature’s timing can improve seed germination, help cuttings take root when propagating plants, and encourage healthy plant growth and establishment. The new moon phase each month is the best time to optimise the quick uptake of liquid nutrients. This helps plants access nutrition and get off to a good start. Working with moon phases and a Moon Calendar has distinct benefits. It helps me stay organised! I plan forward for the best times to take specific actions in my garden and reap the rewards. The natural cycles of energy and water that ebb and flow each month are there for us to tap into. Learn more here.

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. It includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in Other Locations

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2023-11-26T20:12:04+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for October

Welcome to the sustainable gardening tips for October newsletter. Changing climate conditions and weather patterns are making it challenging for many gardeners. Hot, dry weather with no rain for long periods creates tough conditions for many plants. However, microclimates can be a great ‘tool’ to achieve greater success. You’ll discover five benefits of creating microclimates in your garden so you can match the right plant to the right place.

This month’s plant profile is the healing spice Ginger. Plus I share tips on choosing, growing and eating tomatoes, broccoli and kale to maximise the health benefits. There are plenty of practical seasonal gardening tips as always. Dig in!

Sustainable Gardening Tips for October

Sustainable Gardening Tips October

“In our society, growing food yourself has become the most radical of acts. It is truly the only effective protest, one that can-and will-overturn the corporate powers that be. By the process of directly working in harmony with nature, we do the one thing most essential to change the world – we change ourselves!” — Jules Dervaes Jr. (1947-2016)

5 Ways to Create Beneficial Microclimates

Microclimates are one of the biggest factors affecting success in growing healthy plants. Every garden is totally unique. By playing ‘detective’ we can discover clues in different garden zones. This helps us to fully understand the opportunities and challenges. My latest article digs deeper into what kinds of microclimates might be in your garden. Plus I share how to use them to your advantage. Here’s a brief peek.

1. Use plants to create a living windbreak.
2. Create shade with climbers and mitigate damaging wind.
3. Utilise cloches to protect seedlings.
4. Protect plants from heat, storm, wind and sun damage with shade cloth.
5. Use shade to water less often. Learn more …

Healthier Vegetables: Did you know?

Choosing the right variety of some vegetables and eating them raw or as microgreens can make a huge difference to the health benefits. Dig into these tips.

Tomatoes

  • Cherry tomatoes are higher in lycopene than large red tomatoes. Generally the darker the colour and smaller the size, the more nutritious the tomato. Studies show Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, helps protect cells from damage.5 Free radical damage is one of the main causes of diseases such as heart disease, premature aging, cancer and cataracts.
  • A tomato-rich diet is associated with a diverse range of health benefits. These include anticancer properties; reducing the risk of cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, and bowel diseases; and improving skin health, exercise recovery, and immune response.5 

Broccoli

  • Eating raw broccoli provides up to 20 times more sulforaphane (beneficial phytochemical) than cooked broccoli. There is growing evidence that sulforaphane is found to be effective in preventing and treating various cancers such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, skin, urinary bladder and oral cancers.6 This compound is naturally present in broccoli sprouts and microgreens, kale, cabbage, cauliflower and garden cress. Try raw broccoli florets in this delicious salad recipe.
  • Broccoli microgreens contain 10-100 x the anticancer compounds than mature broccoli. Consider the space, water, time and resources required to grow broccoli to harvest mature heads! Doesn’t it make sense to grow this vegetable as baby leaf microgreens?
Sustainable Gardening Tips October: 5 Easy Ways to Eat Broccoli Raw for all the nutritional benefits

5 Easy Ways to Eat Broccoli Raw for all the nutritional benefits

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2023-10-19T20:16:44+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for August

Welcome to the August newsletter. I’m digging deeper into ways we can garden more sustainably by managing insect pests without chemicals. Growing a food garden can be frustrating when you feel insects get to enjoy your crops more than you do. This month’s plant profile is rosemary and there are seasonal gardening tips as usual. I hope you find these practical and helpful.

Sustainable Gardening Tips for August

Sustainable Gardening Tips for August

“The more life there is in a garden, the more likely there will be a balance between pests and diseases and beneficial organisms.” – Dennis Crawford (Garden Pests, Diseases & Good Bugs, 2015)

How to Prevent and Get Rid of Aphids Naturally

Aphids are sap-sucking pest insects that every gardener deals with at some point. I’ve lost plenty of plants to aphids over the years, so in my latest article, I’m sharing what really works and the science behind why. Unfortunately, aphids are one of the most destructive pests because you can suddenly have plague numbers almost overnight. You’ll discover how this happens and why you need to have some ‘tools’ in your pest management toolkit for getting rid of aphids fast. There’s some fascinating research from scientific studies so you can feel confident about using natural strategies to manage this pest without chemicals. I hope you enjoy reading How to Prevent and Get Rid of Aphids Naturally to learn more about this insect. You’ll be armed with knowledge and tactics for when they visit your garden.

Severe infestation of onion aphids Neotoxoptera formosana on shallots

Severe infestation of onion aphids Neotoxoptera formosana on shallots – a common issue in spring

Insect Pest Management Tips

Maintaining a biodiverse ecosystem in your garden is one of the best ways to minimise pest insect numbers. Beneficial insects, soil microorganisms and birds play important roles in the life cycle of pest insects and the food chain. When Nature is in balance we have few issues to deal with. These are some other considerations.

  • Habitat. Insect-eating birds need shelter, water and a food source. Locate a bird bath close to a bushy shrub or protective tree canopy to encourage regular visits from small birds. They need to feel safe when looking for dinner and have a place to retreat to, drink and bathe.
  • Maintain good garden hygiene. Avoid bringing in pest-infested plants. Carefully check plant stems, leaves and buds at the nursery before purchase.
  • Crop rotate. To avoid a build-up of soil-related pest (and disease) problems, it’s wise to move members of the same plant family of annual vegetables to a different spot each season. Like human families sharing the flu, plant ‘cousins’ are prone to similar seasonal pest problems. Rotating crops interrupts their life cycle.
  • Propagate for plant health. Crowded plants create an environment suited to many pest insects. Plants weaken as they compete for nutrients. Air circulation becomes poor and parent plants can lose their vigour. Divide and separate perennials to encourage healthy plants. Learn propagation skills!

Plant Propagating Guide

  • Keep weeds in check. Weed species that are related to crops or ornamental plants are hosts or food sources for pest insects. Once they exhaust their food, they often migrate to your more valued plants.
  • Avoid using chemicals. Quick fixes that disrupt nature’s sensitive ecological systems results in long-term damage. Every action has a consequence. Many synthesized chemical products indiscriminately kill your beneficial insect populations as well as pest insects. They can also harm bees, lizards, soil microorganisms, birds and aquatic life. Biological non-chemical pest control methods are safer and don’t destroy the very life you need to keep problem insect populations in balance.
  • Water consistently. Over or under-watered plants can suffer water stress and are more vulnerable to pest attack. Water the soil deeply and cover with mulch.
  • Avoid over-fertilising. Feed your soil naturally with organic matter, compost, minerals and mulch. Soil biology will do the rest. Flushes of growth from NPK or nitrogen-rich fertilisers are a major cause of unnaturally fast soft new leaf growth. This artificially creates a banquet of food for herbivorous insects. Slow and steady feeding avoids creating this issue.
  • Record your observations in a garden journal. Each season, write down when pests arrive in your garden and which plants are attacked. Note what remedies you tried. What worked? What didn’t? Your knowledge base is a valuable tool to use year after year.

Garden Journal Planner and Workbook

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

August is typically when our temperatures start to warm up during the day. It’s usually dry and windy with an increase in pest insects after overwintering. We also notice many plants starting to wake up from winter dormancy. Some plants may be under stress if it’s too dry. Before the warmer weather arrives, it’s an ideal time to get all those big garden projects finished. Building new garden beds, mulching, setting up vertical garden structures for spring and getting shade covers ready. It’s exhausting trying to do those jobs when it’s hot and humid!

Download your August Gardening Tips PDF for planting suggestions, tasks to do in the garden this month plus issues to watch out for. 

If you can, try to time planting in harmony with the moon phases. Working with Nature’s timing can improve seed germination, help cuttings take root when propagating plants, and encourage healthy plant growth and establishment. There are also times each month to optimise the quick uptake of liquid nutrients. This helps plants access nutrition and get off to a good start. Working with moon phases and a Moon Calendar has distinct benefits. It helps me stay organised! I plan forward for the best times to take specific actions in my garden and reap the rewards. The natural cycles of energy and water that ebb and flow each month are there for us to tap into. Learn more here.

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. It includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in Other Locations

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2023-08-08T13:34:06+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for July

Welcome to the July newsletter. So much to dig into this month. Beneficial ways to use weeds + The Weed Forager’s Handbook; 8 tips for plastic-free gardening, potassium nutrient profile, cauliflower tips, what to plant this month + QLD Garden Expo details.

Sustainable Gardening Tips for July

Sustainable Gardening Tips for July

“A weed is a plant whose virtue is forgotten.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wonderful Weeds!

Firstly, I’m sharing ways we can garden sustainably by learning more about using edible and medicinal weeds.

Most agree that a ‘weed’ is any plant out of place, but WHY are they really there? What’s the real purpose of weeds? Weeds are pioneers! They are the first plants to inhabit nutrient-deficient, bare or disturbed soils. Their role is to repair, improve and remediate the soil. Weeds are also educators and a symptom something is out of balance! They provide us with clues as to why they are there and help us learn more about our soil. e.g. They may be telling us the soil is poorly drained or compacted, lacking specific minerals, has a pH imbalance or excess fertiliser.

For example, true Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) helps to bring calcium (Ca) back up to the soil surface in its biomass. Dandelion has a deep taproot (1m or 3-4 ft deep) that opens up the subsoil to improve drainage. It typically indicates heavy, compacted, acidic soil, but also grows in fertile well-drained areas. We can harvest the stem, leaves, roots and flowers for food and medicine; chop them as mulch; use as a compost activator to add Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Selenium, Zinc, Boron and Silica to the soil; or make a liquid fertiliser to feed other plants. Dandelion is extremely nutritious (more than many vegetables)! This herb is rich in “vitamins A, B, C & E and is widely used medicinally, including as a liver tonic, to alkalise and purify the blood, cleanse and regenerate cells, and absorb toxins from the bowel.” [How Can I Use Herbs in My Daily Life]. I add these nutritious leaves to salads almost daily.

True Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) herb and weed

True Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) herb and weed

“Our common weeds, possessing vigorous root systems, go down into the lower soils for a goodly portion of their mineral foods because the minerals which plants require are usually abundant down there. Being strong feeders, the weed roots take up great quantities of the minerals and then bring them up to be stored in the stems and leaves. So, when the weeds were burned on the garden, those minerals were deposited there in the ashes, ready to be taken up easily by the growing vegetables. In this manner – and in many other ways – weeds are Nature’s true guardians of the soil.” – ‘Weeds Guardians of the Soil’, Joseph A Cocannoue

July is a good time to start your weed control. Working with moon phases you can slow weed growth and maximise your efforts. The Last Quarter moon phase is ideal for weeding because seed germination tends to be lower at this time. So you are less likely to stimulate additional weed seed germination while weeding. The perpetual Moon Calendar is a handy tool with the best dates each month. Many weeds that germinate in cultivated soil are hosts to common vegetable pests and diseases. Remember to recycle the nutrients in your weeds to feed your garden via compost or as liquid fertilisers.

NEW! The Weed Forager’s Handbook

A colourful, illustrated field guide to the top 20 edible and medicinal weeds in Australia. For foragers and gardeners keen to learn about eating, identifying and using nutritious weeds. This compact book is ideal for popping in your pocket and taking outdoors on a walk to help identify plants. Discusses the role of weeds, getting rid of them and how to make ‘weed tea’ as a liquid fertiliser for your garden. Descriptions of common Australian weeds, advice on how to differentiate edible plants from similar-looking plants that aren’t edible, notes of caution, recipes and resources. Dig in!

The Weed Forager’s Handbook

Plastic Free July

Plastic Free July is a global movement helping people be part of the solution to plastic pollution. How can we have cleaner soils? By limiting our use of plastics like PVC in the garden we can reduce plastic waste and keep plastic chemicals from leaching into our precious soil. Whilst some plastic products like irrigation pipes may be necessary, there are plenty of creative ways to minimise plastic in the garden.

  1. Avoid weed mat. It kills soil life by limiting access to water, air and light. Consider a natural fibre option like breathable hessian or old cotton sheets. In some situations, cardboard or sheet mulching may work well.
  2. Raise your own seeds instead of buying seedlings in plastic punnets.
  3. Make biodegradable pots from natural materials like banana leaves or toilet rolls. Jiffy pots and coir-based seed raisers are other options.
  4. Avoid plastic stakes. Use sustainable options like bamboo, wood or upcycle pruned branches from your garden.
  5. Make your own plant labels. e.g. hand-painted rocks and wooden popsicle sticks.
  6. Choose bulk supplies like mulch or soil from a landscape yard rather than buying small quantities in plastic bags. At the very least repurpose the bags so they are not single-use.
  7. Buy bare-rooted trees and plants in winter when dormant. They come in sawdust or coconut coir rather than plastic.
  8. Grow plants from cuttings to avoid buying more mature plants in plastic pots.

Wooden popsicle stick plant labels with chinographic wax pencil plant names

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

Cool days and nights in July mean most pesky insects are overwintering – yay! It’s the ideal time to prune citrus, plant winter crops and bare-rooted fruits. Download your July Gardening Tips PDF for planting suggestions, tasks to do in the garden this month plus issues to watch out for. 

I always aim to time my planting in harmony with the moon phases to optimise seed germination, help cuttings take root, and encourage healthy plant growth and establishment. There are also times each month to optimise the quick uptake of liquid nutrients. This helps plants access nutrition and get off to a good start. Working with Nature’s timing and a Moon Calendar has distinct benefits. It helps me stay organised. I plan forward for the best times to take specific actions in my garden and reap the rewards. The natural cycles of energy and water that ebb and flow each month are there for us to tap into. Learn more here.

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. It includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in Other Locations

Click here for what to plant and when. Or visit Gardenate.com (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa)

Subtropical Planting Guide

NUTRIENT PROFILE: Potassium

Potassium (K) is a vital water-soluble nutrient that leaches quickly from poorly structured soil. Potassium plays important roles in regulating plant growth; chlorophyll production and photosynthesis; opening and closing stomata (leaf pores that exchange oxygen and water); root, fruit and seed development; strengthening cell walls; improving the colour and flavour of flowers and fruits; and disease resistance.

Potassium-deficient plant symptoms appear on the older leaves first because this mobile nutrient is sent to the young newer leaves as a priority. Potassium deficiency can also make plants prone to frost damage and disease. Mineral balance is essential for healthy plant growth. Too much potassium can create an imbalance in soil pH, calcium and magnesium!

Rock minerals stock the soil pantry with all elements plants require. You can also add other organic materials to boost potassium levels. Bury banana peels around your plants or make a liquid fertiliser. Comfrey is rich in potassium. Chop leaves and stems as mulch or add to the hole when planting. Make comfrey or lucerne tea, add liquid seaweed or fish emulsion, seaweed meal or compost. Use wood ash or potash carefully as it can impact the soil pH level. Sulphate of potash or potassium sulphate is a safe water-soluble form that provides a quick source of potassium after applying it to the soil. Add organic matter to your soil, especially if it’s sandy or lacking clay.

Tomato leaf with potassium deficiency symptoms

Herb and Medicinal Plants Growing Guide Chart

Cauliflower Tips

  1. To form their ‘curd’ or edible flower head, cauliflowers need cool temperatures. They are best grown in autumn to winter in warm climates so they mature before warmer temperatures in spring. Choose cultivars that suit your climate including early and late varieties. Small head cauliflowers with short days to maturity are a good choice. Long days to maturity varieties extend the harvest.
  2. Keep moisture up to seedlings so they grow quickly and develop a large canopy of leaves as solar panels. The cooler weather triggers the flower bud to form. Cauliflower is a heavy feeder and benefits from liquid nutrients including seaweed, potassium, fish emulsion and vermicast tea (diluted worm leachate). Apply slow-release nutrients, compost and mulch during the growing season.
  3. To help a maturing cauliflower curd stay white, gather the outer leaves together around the head. Use a clothes peg at the leaf tips or tie strong twine in a bow. This also prevents grubs from attacking the head + frost, sun and rain damage. After harvesting, don’t remove the outer leaves. Keep them wrapped around the head while in the refrigerator to extend freshness. Nature’s wrapping is best!

Cauliflower head forming inside leaves - wrap to protect from grubs, frost, sun and rain damage

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2023-07-03T20:55:03+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for June

Welcome to the June newsletter. So much to dig into this month. Tips for small gardens with inspiring photos, comfrey plant profile, an update on my garden, garden therapy and what to plant this month.

Sustainable gardening tips June: Small spaces and container gardens

Sustainable Gardening Tips for June

Firstly, these are a few easy ways to garden sustainably in small spaces. I’ve spent 13+ years helping people grow food in compact urban gardens. The smaller the space, the more important the decisions we make regarding design, plant varieties and functionality.

  • Give priority to your sunniest locations for fruiting crops and fruit trees. Fill in the gaps with plants that can tolerate shady conditions.
  • Group plants with similar water needs together. This saves time, a precious resource and avoids over- or under-watering problems.
  • If you have limited room, consider removing plants that don’t serve you. Replace them with edible species that do!
  • Grow at least one pot of edible flowers in your favourite colour. Beautiful blooms make you feel happy, attract pollinators to improve your harvests and provide you with nutrients.
  • Use space wisely. Position tall and climbing plants at the back of a garden bed to protect and shade low-growing species.
  • Use vertical structures to access sunlight higher up. Boundary fences, railings and hanging baskets are a few opportunities.
  • Consider portable planters to give you more flexibility for accessing sun or shade seasonally. Container gardens on brackets and mobile trolleys are ideal solutions.

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

In June, we experience cooler days and nights as winter sets in. We typically enjoy lower humidity and fewer pest insects as they overwinter. Yay! When there’s rain we have almost perfect growing conditions with only a few regular pests to worry about like cabbage butterflies. It’s the ideal time to plant winter crops and bare-rooted fruit varieties. Download your June Gardening Tips PDF for planting suggestions, tasks to do in the garden this month and issues to watch out for. 

I always aim to time my planting in harmony with the moon phases to optimise seed germination, help cuttings take root, and encourage healthy plant growth and establishment. There are also times each month to optimise the quick uptake of liquid nutrients. This helps plants access nutrition and get off to a good start. Working with Nature’s timing and a Moon Calendar has distinct benefits. It helps me stay organised. I plan forward for the best times to take specific actions in my garden and reap the rewards. The natural cycles of energy and water that ebb and flow each month are there for us to tap into. Learn more here.

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. It includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in Other Locations

Click here for what to plant and when. Or visit Gardenate.com (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa)

Subtropical Planting Guide

PLANT PROFILE: Comfrey

Comfrey (Symphytum Officinale) is a flowering medicinal perennial herb with a deep tap root and attractive foliage and blooms. ‘Comfrey‘ comes from Latin and means “to grow together”. Makes sense it is also known as ‘Knitbone’, ‘All Heal’ and ‘Woundwort’. Comfrey grows year-round in most climates and is one of the most valuable plants you can grow.

Sustainable gardening tips June: Comfrey is a perennial medicinal herb with healing leaves and flowers

Comfrey is a perennial medicinal herb with healing leaves and flowers

Common comfrey has so many uses I can’t imagine my garden without it. The most popular way to grow it is from small root cuttings (even the tiniest piece) and crown division. It also grows from seed. Make sure you plant it in a permanent position though or a pot as it will be very difficult to dig out after it matures and can self-sow. Comfrey is one of the 72 herbs covered in the Herb and Medicinal Plants Growing Guide.

Comfrey Uses:

This is just a VERY brief glimpse into comfrey as it is highly valued as a medicinal healing herb. It is also incredibly useful to support the healthy growth of other plants.
  • Use leaves as medicine – a poultice, applied topically has been used since 400 BC to heal many ailments including burns, broken bones, bruising, tissue damage and arthritis. See How Can I Use Herbs in My Daily Life for 8 pages of information on this and 500+ herbs. It’s my go-to herb bible!
  • Comfrey roots gather potassium and other minerals from deep in the subsoil. So this plant is ideal to fertilise flowering and fruiting crops like tomatoes and potassium-hungry potatoes.
  • In situ fertiliser. Chop and drop leaves and stems around plants as a nutrient-rich mulch.
  • Comfrey tea. Add to water and allow to steep for several weeks. Dilute and use around plants as a liquid fertiliser. Watch them grow!
  • Compost activator and dynamic accumulator. Chop leaves and add to compost systems and worm farms to release nutrients.
  • Poultry forage rich in protein, calcium and phosphorous.
  • Cooked leafy green like spinach, or enjoy in salads, juice, soups, casseroles and stuffing.

Comfrey Likes:

  • Seeds typically germinate in about 25-30 days at a soil temperature of 20-22°C. Best sown in the new moon phase.
  • At least 3 hours of sun or shade and soil pH 6.0 to 7.0. Enjoys protection from hot summer sun.
  • Aged manure releases nitrogen for quick leaf growth.
  • Thrives in moist, fertile, well-drained soil but tolerates poor soils and can help break up clay.
  • Regular moisture until established but will tolerate dry conditions when mature.

Comfrey Dislikes: 

  • Can die back in cold weather. Prune and use leaves at the end of autumn or in winter if this occurs.
  • Thin soils over rock.

Herb and Medicinal Plants Growing Guide Chart

What’s Been Happening in My Garden?

May was very dry so I did a LOT of watering and mulching. It was a busy month of sowing more peas, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, leeks, onions, shallots, celery, broccolini and cabbage. A few pumpkin vines are still hanging in there with fruit maturing. To my delight, I discovered several butternut pumpkins hidden under vines I never planted! Who knows how they get there? I just love surprises in the garden. It’s been a tough few months for pumpkins and arrowroot. They certainly need a lot of water to thrive. So I’ve been watching their needs in this soil and working on strategies for going forward. Staple plants deserve support. I’ve harvested well over 100kg of pumpkins this season and had plenty to share. They store well so I have enough to last until spring planting time.

Lettuce, sorrel, rocket and spinach are keeping us busy in the kitchen making salads and cooked meals to use up the leafy greens. I’m out daily picking raw ingredients and edible flowers like nasturtiums, cosmos and herb blooms to add colour, nutrients and flavour to salads. Pawpaw fruits are growing well. Our mandarin and lime trees are loaded with fruit. Two of the mandarins didn’t get watered except sparsely by nature. Consequently, the fruit is smaller this year and I’m in awe of the abundance. Clay soils have their benefits! I’m incredibly grateful the citrus have valiantly produced a full crop, despite the hard times. It’s a testament to the miracle of mulch to lock in moisture and help trees during times of stress. Mulch is a vital strategy for every garden.

My kitchen garden June 2023: Leafy greens and herbs; nasturtium flowers and herbs harvest; lettuce and garlic; potatoes in grow bag.

My kitchen garden June 2023: Leafy greens and herbs; nasturtium flowers and herbs harvest; lettuce and garlic; potatoes in a grow bag.

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2023-07-02T19:49:34+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for May

Welcome to the May newsletter. I’m looking forward to showing you a few ways I’ve been building healthy soil and retaining moisture in my garden. It’s been dry, hot and windy for months. So protecting our soil health is a big priority. Dead, dry dirt grows unhealthy stressed plants. Keeping it covered with mulch is vital.

Gardening tips May: Organic mulch is a vital way to protect and build healthy soil

Sustainable Gardening Tips for May

I’m sharing ways to save money and garden more sustainably with mulch without buying it. Sure, you can go to your landscape yard, nursery or hardware to buy bags or get mulch delivered in bulk. However, if you want to save money, why not consider all the potential materials you could use as mulch from your garden or neighbourhood?

Dig into my latest article How to Mulch Your Garden for Free. There’s a barrowload of creative ideas on organic vs inorganic mulches plus 5 mulching tips. Here’s a sneak peek! I hope you get some valuable insights and inspiration.

Organic free mulch materials - Top Left: Dead leaves | Top Right: Nut shells | Bottom Right: Corn Husks | Bottom Left: Pine cones and needles

Organic mulch materials – Top Left: Dead leaves | Top Right: Nut shells | Bottom Right: Corn Husks | Bottom Left: Pine cones and needles

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

May is our last month of autumn. We experience cooler days and nights, lower humidity (yay!) and fewer pest insects. Hopefully, perfect growing conditions if we get rain. It’s the ideal time to plant winter crops. Download your May Gardening Tips PDF for planting suggestions, tasks to do in the garden this month and issues to watch out for. 

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. Includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in other Locations

Click here for what to plant and when. Or visit Gardenate.com (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa)

Subtropical Planting Guide

PLANT PROFILE: Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a flowering edible and medicinal perennial herb that grows year-round in most climates. In subtropical QLD we sow in autumn.

Gardening tips May: Plant Profile - Edible and medicinal herb pink yarrow in flower

Edible and medicinal herb pink Yarrow in flower

According to a review of Yarrow’s medicinal properties, the most medicinally active part of the plant are the flowers although the leaves are also used. Yarrow has been found to intensify the medicinal action of other herbs taken with it and helps eliminate toxins from the body. Studies confirm it has analgesic properties, is an anti-inflammatory agent, is used to control bleeding, blood clots, lower blood pressure and purify blood. Yarrow is used for colds, chicken pox, circulation, cystitis, diabetes treatment and many other ailments. It’s a wonderful addition to your home pharmacy garden as a first aid plant. Yarrow is one of the 72 herbs covered in the Herb and Medicinal Plants Growing Guide.

Likes:
  • Seeds require light for germination and a temperature of 18–24°C (64–75°F).
  • At least 3-4 hours of sun or partial shade in hot climates.
  • Will do best in compost-rich, well-drained soil but is tolerant of poor soils within a pH range of 5.5–7.0.
  • Regular moisture until established but will tolerate dry conditions when mature.
Dislikes: 
  • Poorly drained soil and poor air circulation as these conditions can contribute to powdery mildew.
  • Too much shade affects flowering.

What’s Been Happening in My Garden?

April has been a busy month as I always look forward to the start of autumn! Cooler temperatures make gardening more comfortable without high humidity. This is the best time of year for planting so many crops so I don’t waste time. I aim for a diverse variety of foods that we most love to eat. Lots of salad ingredients, leafy greens, tummy-filling root vegetables like potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, peas and beans, broccoli, kale, cabbages, garlic, leeks, onions and of course tomatoes, eggplant and capsicum. A rainbow of fresh ingredients to pick daily including cool-season herbs like coriander and dill. I change the menu to incorporate these new flavours. Soups, curries, stir-fries, salads and roasted or marinated vegetables are a few of our favourites.

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2023-06-04T13:12:52+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , |2 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for April

Welcome to the April newsletter. A sustainable garden aims to provide sustenance and nourishment for minimal time, money and energy.

How can you maintain and support a sustainable garden to meet your needs for a long time? By:

    • Choosing efficient inputs, minimising waste and making as little impact on the earth as possible.
    • Being a good steward of your resources.
    • Using practices that won’t deplete or permanently damage the resources and environment.
    • Working in harmony with nature to create a healthy ecosystem that is self-sustaining.
    • Applying Permaculture principles.

Sustainable Gardening Tips for April | The Micro Gardener

Sustainable Gardening Tips for April

This month I’m sharing tips to garden more sustainably by avoiding food waste.

According to Foodwise.com.au, an estimated 20-40% of fruit and vegetables are rejected even before they reach the shops. This is mostly because they don’t match the consumers’ and supermarkets’ high cosmetic standards for size, colour and shape. Sadly, by expecting all fresh food to look perfect, we contribute to this unsustainable problem.

When food is thrown out, the water, fuel and resources that it took to get it from the paddock to the plate are also wasted. What a huge cost!

So why is so much food wasted? Many people don’t check the fridge or menu plan so end up buying and cooking too much food. Some people don’t know how to use leftovers or throw food out before the use-by or best-before date. Planning and sticking to a shopping list can help this problem.

"Imagine walking out of a grocery store with four bags of groceries, dropping one in the parking lot, and not bothering to pick it up. That's essentially what we're doing in our homes today." Dana Gunders quote on food waste

Permaculture Principles

Permaculture has some practical design guidelines for creating a sustainable garden, particularly when it comes to avoiding waste in its many forms.

‘Produce no waste’ Permaculture Principle:

When it comes to food waste, my goal is to have none. All the food we grow or buy is reused in one form or another to produce a yield. It adds value to our meals or garden in some way. Let’s look at a few ways you can ‘close the loop’ on food waste at home.

  • Grow as many crops as you can so there’s no packaging or wasted fruit and vegetables in your fridge. Pick fresh ingredients as you need them.
  • Eat all edible parts of the crops you grow. e.g. Beetroot, radish, squash, pumpkin, carrot and brassica leaves can be used fresh in salads or added to soups, stir-fries and cooked meals. Spinach and chard stems are just as tasty and nutritious as the leaves. Edible flowers from your herbs and vegetables add nutrition and flavour to your plate. Roasted pumpkin seeds make a delicious high-protein snack.
  • Regrow food from peels, seeds and roots to save money on buying new plants.

In this video, I share a few simple tips on ways to use 100% of your food in the kitchen to save seeds, propagate new plants, cook creatively and compost to close the loop on food ‘waste’. If you need seeds and plants to grow an edible garden, you may be surprised just how easy it is to grow food for free from what you already have in your fridge!

  • Learn to cook creatively with leftover ingredients.
  • The nutrients and moisture in kitchen food scraps such as peelings, cores, stems, roots and eggshells for example, can be recycled back into the garden. Food waste can be:
    • Composted by earthworms and decomposers in the soil food web to create ‘humus’, the finished product. Humus is a natural fertiliser rich in nutrients and helps stabilise your soil, reducing the need for purchasing inputs. No plastic bags! Compost also creates heat during the decomposition process, which can be used to keep neighbouring plant roots warm.
    • Added to a worm farm to produce worm castings (vermicast) as a solid fertiliser and liquid concentrate to feed plants.
    • Fed to animals like chickens. They convert the nutrients in the food scraps into manure, another valuable money-saving input for your garden. Chickens also produce eggs as a food source.
    • Processed into another form to fertilise your garden. e.g. eggshells can be ground into a fine calcium-rich powder. You can add this product to compost systems, worm farms or potting mix; sprinkle it into the soil; and make it into a liquid fertiliser. Banana peels also make a wonderful free fertiliser.

7 Benefits of Adding Food ‘Waste’ to your Garden

Recycling the nutrients in your food scraps:

  1. Improves your soil fertility and structure.
  2. Adds moisture to your soil.
  3. Feeds the microorganism community and enhances biodiversity.
  4. Encourages free self-sown ‘volunteer’ seedlings to germinate from compost, saving time and money.
  5. Provides you with free fertilisers.
  6. Increases your yields.
  7. Avoids landfill with the associated transport and energy required.

Hungry for value from your vegetable garden?

One of the easiest ways to double your harvest from lettuce is to REGROW a second head from the base. Loose-leaf lettuce varieties like this baby Cos (as well as Asian greens, celery and spring onions), will quickly grow new roots and leaves if given the right conditions. In this video, you’ll see how quick and simple it is to encourage new root and leaf growth so you can replant your lettuce and pick a second time! Make every vegetable count and provide you with the maximum harvest possible to save money. When your lettuce finally goes to seed, save them and you’ll never have to buy lettuce ever again! An easy low-cost way to grow good health.

‘Catch and Store Energy’ Permaculture Principle:

Composting captures the energy and nutrients in kitchen and garden waste and converts them into healthy soil. One method is to chop and drop green ‘waste’ as mulch. Layering the nutrients feeds plants and protects the soil from moisture loss and erosion.

Another way to store the energy embodied in our food crops is to preserve it when it’s in season. Sometimes we have a surplus. A lemon tree may have many fruits at once. Preserving them as marmalade or preserved lemons helps reduce potential food waste.

If you have an abundance of fresh herbs, you can dry them for when they are not in season to use in herbal teas, as seasonings and medicine.

I often make a ‘clean out the fridge’ soup with leftovers that are perfectly fine to eat. Download my Free Recipe. You’re welcome to adapt it to whatever ingredients you have on hand.

video
play-sharp-fill

These sustainable practices help minimise food waste and build a healthier garden that feeds you for longer.

Resources to Help you Grow Food

These are a few articles to dig into:

9 Foods You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps | The Micro Gardener



Affiliate Links: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Your support of this site is appreciated!

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

April is a time of transitioning from summer to autumn. We expect cooler days and nights, lower humidity (yay!) and fewer pest insects. Hopefully, perfect growing conditions if we get rain. Download your April Gardening Tips PDF. 

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. Includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting. 

What to Plant Now in other Locations

Click here for what to plant and when. Or visit Gardenate.com (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa)

Subtropical Planting Guide

PLANT PROFILE: Spring Onions

(Allium fistulosum) – this vegetable is one of the easiest, most compact and nutritious vegetables to grow. I have them tucked in tight spaces all over my garden. I treat them like chives when young but they can get as thick and tall as leeks as they mature. The flavour is mild and ideal for salads, stir fries, egg dishes and as an onion substitute. Sow regularly for a continuous harvest. Their pretty white pom pom flowers you can see here gift you free seeds.

Spring onions (Allium fistulosum) are a member of the onion family

Spring onions (Allium fistulosum) are a member of the onion family

Spring Onions Like:
  • Well-drained, humus-rich soil. Add compost and mulch.
  • Soil pH 6-7. Add lime if your soil is too acidic or sulphur if too alkaline.
  • Regular watering + a sunny position.
  • Liquid fertiliser 2-3 times while growing. To keep the leaves green, I feed mine diluted seaweed or a weak ‘tea’ made by soaking worm castings, comfrey or compost in water.
Spring Onions Dislike: 
  • Being planted near peas and beans.
  • Drying out and getting stressed.
  • Weed competition.
  • Feeling hungry!

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2023-05-02T11:16:19+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for March

Welcome to the March newsletter. To grow a sustainable garden, we need to make thoughtful informed choices in tune with our values, time, resources and energy. If we can’t sustain our garden, it won’t sustain us!

Sustainable Gardening Tips for March

This month I’m sharing ways to garden more sustainably with seeds. Within a seed is the gift of life. Every tiny seed gives birth to a new plant. Amazing! Food crop seeds have an especially high value. Every gardener has a role to play in preserving the biodiversity of their own home seed bank. If we are to have a resilient, healthy garden with plants that have the characteristics to survive climate challenges, it’s vital to select and save seeds wisely. What we sow, we reap!

“The seeds that bring forth life and food for our planet and its people are indispensable for the continuity of all living things. Thus our care for seeds is one of the most vital things we can do amid our many challenges of the present.” — Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-director, Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale University and Emerging Earth Community

Sustainable Gardening Tips for March - Sowing and Saving Safe Seeds | The Micro Gardener

How to Choose Seeds for Sowing and Saving

One of the vital steps in growing a sustainable garden is choosing the types of seeds to plant. Biodiversity builds resilience. Certified organic, open-pollinated, heirloom seeds and these types that are grown in home gardens without chemicals are safe to grow and save seeds from. They will grow ‘true-to-type’, like their parent plants. Safe seeds have inbuilt DNA from generations past.

The seed banks we have today are the result of dedicated gardeners who carefully selected their best crops to save seeds from. The tallest. Strongest. Those that had superior size or flavour. I’m grateful to these past gardeners and farmers for the work they did on our behalf. What we eat today is a result of their efforts. Food for thought! Farmers and gardeners a hundred years ago had a significantly greater diversity of plant varieties than we do today. Sadly, we are losing vast numbers of crop varieties to genetically modified industrial monocultures. Every seed we save makes a difference.

Safe seeds are not the only options in the market. When I first started saving seeds in 2009, I had a LOT to learn! Hybrid, genetically modified (GMO) and chemically treated seeds have no place in my organic garden. Watching Genetic Roulette is a great summary of information. Whilst hybrids have their place, especially in ornamental gardens, they are not suitable for home gardeners to save seeds from. That’s because they have been bred from different plant parents so you won’t know what you’re getting.

Before purchasing seeds, if you want to be able to save them and avoid varieties that can be harmful to health, read the description carefully. Visit the ‘About Us’ or ‘About our Seed’ page to find out more about the philosophy and source of the seeds you intend to purchase. We can support seed sustainability by buying from companies that help preserve seed diversity. Look for those selling traditional varieties that have been handed down for generations. These heirloom open-pollinated seeds help to sustain our seed diversity and food security. Small decisions with a big impact. Here’s a list of companies around the world with heirloom, open-pollinated and organic seed production.

My goal as a seed steward is to source and save seed varieties that have robust flavours, aromas and colours, pest and disease resistance, high yields and are drought-hardy. I also look for varieties that are compact for small gardens, mature earlier or later to extend the harvest and those well adapted to my region. Why? So my garden is resilient, productive, easy to maintain and I have fewer problem plants.

Saving seeds saves money and helps to garden on a budget

Positive Seed Saving Steps

1. I encourage you to start saving seeds from your garden and swap them with other local gardeners. These varieties will adapt well to your local conditions. An easy-to-save crop like lettuce is an ideal variety to start with. At least you’ll be sustainable in one food crop! If you want to upskill with an easy-to-follow guide, check out the Seed Saving & Collecting Guide.

Seed Saving and Collecting Guide

2. Contribute your seeds to a local seed saving group or seed bank.

Download your FREE printable Seed Packet Template.

3. Join a seed library. Seed ‘libraries’ have recently started up in our local community. These are a great initiative. Library members can not only borrow books but also take locally grown seeds home to sow and save. At the end of the season, they return them to their library to share with others in the community. If you haven’t got a seed library in your community, why not get one started? From little things, BIG things grow!

Learn more about rekindling the lost art of seed saving.

“There is no more beautiful gift from nature than the seed — and its protection is vital to our survival.” – Vandana Shiva

Saving organically grown edible cosmos flower seeds from my garden

Saving organically grown edible cosmos flower seeds from my garden

Self-Sown Seeds

Annual crops may ‘bolt to seed’ or progress to the flowering stage of maturity, in hot or dry weather, or just at the end of their natural life. If you don’t get a chance to collect the seed, the plant may naturally disperse them by wind, animals or birds. When you move your compost into the garden, there may still be viable seeds in it with the perfect growing environment.

You may see seedlings popping up in places you never sowed them! These ‘volunteer’ seedlings often make the best plants. They have saved you the time and effort of seed raising. The resulting seedlings are often strong and healthy. What do you do with them? (more…)

2023-05-02T11:18:31+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for February

Welcome to the February newsletter. This year, I’m focusing on helping you grow a sustainable garden. Plants and strategies that sustain you in food, health and medicine. Helping you design a garden you can manage with your unique time, energy, money and resources. A garden isn’t sustainable if you lose your joy, it costs too much and you don’t get the results from your investment.

Sustainable Gardening Tips for February

This month we are looking at ways to save and use water wisely to grow a healthy garden. I rely on rainwater tanks for our house/garden water supply. I’m very conscious of every drop. I intentionally capture, recycle and use water to help the garden thrive. Read on as I share some of my watering practices and principles with you.

There is so much instability in the world. Food producers are closing due to labour shortages and food facility sabotage. Here in Australia, we’re facing a potato shortage. You’re likely aware of accelerating inflation and food prices; fertiliser shortages; supply problems due to transport system disruptions; biosecurity threats; unnatural weather and climate impacts of floods, storms and droughts on crops and farms. Many factors are increasing the likelihood of global famines in the near future. Some countries may experience food riots and rationing. NOW is the time to be growing an edible survival garden with urgency. Find joy in taking empowering actions. Be prepared, upskill and network within your community with like-minded souls. I look forward to helping you grow.

"As I work on the garden the garden works on me" quote garden art sign

“As I work on the garden, the garden works on me.”

The clouds in our minds seem to disappear in connection with Nature. A garden gifts us that healing feeling. If you are experiencing stress and anxiety, especially related to health problems, the good news is that gardening provides us with a wealth of health and wellbeing benefits. 

“Swedish research studies (Stigsdotter and Grahn, 2004; Stigsdotter, 2005) found that people who had access to a garden had significantly fewer stress occasions per year. They found those living in apartments without a balcony or outdoor area had more stress annually than those with a patio or small garden. Those who had the least stress were people with a large leafy garden, and the more frequently people spent time there, the less stress they suffered.”

Read my article on ‘Growing a Garden for Health and Wellbeing.’ Food for thought!

10 Water Saving Tips for your Garden

Water is a precious resource we need for healthy plants. These easy practical water-saving tips help you save money and manage water wisely in hot, dry weather and drought. By re-evaluating your garden design and watering habits, you can eliminate inefficient practices that waste water and grow your garden more sustainably.

Hand watering with watering can



Affiliate Links: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Your support of this site is appreciated!

14 Water Saving Tips for Container Gardens

Download this PRINTABLE PDF with easy ways to conserve water and grow more sustainable container gardens. It’s packed with simple steps you can take to minimise moisture loss and plant stress, choose plants and pots wisely, and make more informed decisions. Enjoy!

Water saving tips for container gardens

What to Plant Now in Subtropical SE QLD

It’s summer! Heat, humidity, dry spells, storms + rain, sometimes! A challenging growing season in our climate. Time to protect your crops from pests and a wide variety of weather conditions. Download your February Gardening Tips PDF. 

The Vegetables Growing Guide is a reference chart to help you grow 68 of the most popular vegetables in Australia and New Zealand climate zones. Includes information on companion planting, making compost, soil and moon planting.

What to Plant Now in other Locations

Click here for what to plant and when. Or visit Gardenate.com (USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa)

Subtropical Planting Guide

PLANT PROFILE: Aloe Vera – Living First Aid Plant

Aloe vera barbadensis is one of the lowest maintenance, easy-to-grow perennial herbs on the planet. Everyone should grow at least one plant! It’s a long-lasting evergreen herb with a compact habit, spiky leaves and attractive flowers. Perfectly suited to pots or garden beds. Aloe is an attractive indoor plant, especially in a well-lit bathroom where you can use it as an anti-aging moisturiser, after-shave balm and to promote collagen production. We cut ‘fillets’ from the leaf daily for this purpose. Aloe is an excellent healer for all skin ailments including rashes, bites, stings, sunburn, dry skin, grazes, infections, acne, blisters, scar tissue and burns (keep a few fillets in the freezer). There are numerous research studies that reveal it has anti-aging properties as well as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and six antiseptic agents to name a few. Dip cuttings into aloe vera gel to promote rooting hormones when propagating. If you only have room for one medicinal herb, this should be top of your list! Read More

Aloe vera herb fillets with healing gel

Aloe vera leaf fillets with healing gel

Shop Gardening Guides and Resources

Use Coupon Code: 10%OFF during checkout to save 10% on all gardening guides and books.

Grow Microgreens Chart and Booklet Bundle

If you are still taking potluck and sowing at any time, your results will likely vary! Some plants might thrive while others fail, bolt to seed, wither or seeds never germinate. Adjusting the timing can make the difference between a productive garden and a frustrating one. It may help to learn more about the benefits of moon gardening. You’ll wish you’d done it sooner!

Moon Calendar Gardening Guide

How to Make Potting Mix at Home Guide

(more…)

2023-05-02T11:21:04+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , , |0 Comments
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Sustainable Gardening Tips for January

Welcome to the January newsletter. A fresh opportunity to plan your gardening projects and grow your knowledge. What seeds of change will you sow, grow and nourish this year? Without intention, goals and action, nothing changes! I have spent time reflecting on what I achieved last year after moving to a new property and starting a garden from scratch. I put in the thought, time and effort and it has paid off. We eat out of our garden daily with significantly less reliance on outside sources. Now is a great time to think about your goals and plan this year’s garden. I encourage you to start small if you’re a beginner gardener to build your confidence and save money. If you already have a garden, perhaps set a goal to expand it with new plants or improve your harvests.

Container gardens with salad greens and herbs are easy, portable and affordable

Container gardens with salad greens and herbs are easy, portable and budget-friendly

Sustainable Gardening Tips for January

There is so much instability in the world. Food producers are closing due to labour shortages and food facility sabotage. You’re likely aware of accelerating inflation and food prices; fertiliser shortages; supply problems due to transport system disruptions; biosecurity threats; unnatural weather and climate impacts of floods, storms and droughts on crops and farms. Many factors are increasing the likelihood of global famines in the near future. Some countries may experience food riots and rationing. NOW is the time to be growing an edible garden with urgency. Find joy in taking empowering actions. Be prepared, upskill and network within your community with like-minded souls.

Time to focus on sustainability! It makes sense to consider how you will sustain your health, food supply, nutrition, and ability to maintain your garden long-term. A few tips:

Relying on supermarkets and long-distance food delivery systems won’t be sustainable when prices are too high, supplies are short or unavailable. When health is compromised, energy levels are low. It’s all in the ‘too-hard basket’ to feel like gardening or growing food. It’s wise to have a plan to hedge against threats like ill health and the unavailability of seeds or garden materials. Remember in 2020 how there was a run on seeds and they sold out?

Do you feel confident your garden can meet your needs with herbal and natural remedies and survival food and medicinal plants? It’s a thought worth pondering. Self-reliance is empowering. Self-sufficiency gives you a level of control over your life, food, emotional wellbeing and ability to thrive rather than just survive. I never underestimate how vital nutritious food is to sustain health. It’s wise to keep in mind Hippocrates’ words: “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.”

Tips for Sustainable Gardening from my Garden

The Micro Gardener's kitchen garden and harvests

One of my raised beds with vegetables, herbs and edible flowers and some of my harvests this week. 4kg of cherry tomatoes and 18 pumpkins!

I’m designing my kitchen garden for optimum production with minimal inputs of time, water and energy. I am intentionally planting low-maintenance species that provide multi-functional benefits. If you choose plants wisely, they can play many useful roles. My biodiverse garden includes edibles and flowers for food, colour and beneficial insects; compact early maturing species that provide quick harvests in tight spaces; herbs for flavour and medicine; and companion plants that minimise pests and diseases or create useful microclimates. Even after a short time, I am seeing the benefits of implementing these design features in my garden. Consistently abundant harvests, vibrant resilient plants, a balanced ecosystem and living nutrient-rich soil. Reach out if you need personalised advice or help.

Getting the principles right and growing strong healthy plants is like giving your children that vital support before you send them off to school. You give them a good grounding so they will survive on their own for periods of time without you! That’s what designing a sustainable garden is all about. Providing the foundations for resilient plants. It’s incredibly satisfying.

Encourage Fast Plant Growth by Getting your Timing Right

I grow plants such as Queensland Arrowroot (Canna edulis) and Comfrey (Symphytum spp.) as ‘chop and drop’ mulch and compost ingredients. They help build bulk organic matter in the soil quickly and add vital nutrients. In this video, I show you how pruning your plants back and taking cuttings at the right time of the monthly moon cycle can make a massive difference to your results. Timing is everything in gardening! You might be surprised at just how fast plants grow when sap flow is running high. I hope you enjoy it. Plus you get a peek into my compact home pharmacy garden next to the house for quick remedies.

During the new moon to full moon phase, it’s an ideal time to sow and transplant all above-ground plants. The moon influences the movement of all water on earth. Not just the tides, but also the water table, soil moisture and plant sap. Seasonal leafy greens, fruiting crops, shrubs, herbs and trees are best planted at this time. I take advantage of this cycle each month to maximise new growth, encourage flowering and fruiting, germinate seeds and propagate from cuttings. With more nutrients available in the plant sap, they ‘strike’ much faster.

If you are still taking potluck and sowing at any time, your results will likely vary! Some plants might thrive while others fail, bolt to seed, wither or seeds never germinate. Adjusting the timing can make the difference between a productive garden and a frustrating one. It may help to learn more about the benefits of moon gardening. You’ll wish you’d done it sooner!

Moon Calendar Gardening Guide

(more…)

2023-01-16T11:12:21+10:00Categories: Newsletters|Tags: , , |2 Comments
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