Blog
Weekly tales from The Outpost.
December in the garden
The most important tasks for December in your garden.
How my garden grows
A peek at how the garden is doing going into the main growing season.
Making joy
The world is a lot right now, so I took some time to create some joy in it.
November in the garden
It’s full-steam ahead on all your fresh summer faves.
The spring garden
A seasonal tour of the garden: bed-by-bed.
Doin’ it with stile
I built something on the farm and now I don’t have to roll in cow poop!
What do we do with a broken shadehouse?
After a big storm recently, we’ve had to re-evaluate what we do with our shadehouse.
The bush cam
I got a new toy for my birthday and it’s absolutely revolutionised the pest and weed management of our native bush.
The dreaded garlic rust
One of the worst things that could happen to a garlic grower has struck us this year: rust. So, what will I do?
Planting potatoes
Potatoes can be planted as soon as the last frosts pass. Find out what to do now to great crop next season!
Clearing the clearing
This week we cut down a bunch of gorse and cleared out a nice spot for a picnic in the bush.
Rainfall
We’ve got two full years of weather data now. What does it say?
Manual of the New Zealand Flora
How do you learn to see the trees for the forest? You look closer. And then you look closer again. And again.
Cloche hoops
All about our wonderful cloche hoops – and how you can have them too.
Everything I know about looking after garlic
My main crops are half way through the season and I’m working on setting them up for good bulb growth in the next couple of months.
Square foot gardening
Low rainfall in summer each year means my garden always suffers. This year, I’m planning to share our water with one bed that really pumps… and grows everything.
How to grow ginger (Zingibar officiale)
A surprisingly simple and satisfying little crop to grow. Find out how to take a small piece from the supermarket and turn it into a year’s supply of ginger!
Down the garden path
Paths are a perhaps overlooked, at yet very important part of the garden. Here’s a look at my trials (and errors).
The eggless chickens
Every year about this time, our chickens stop laying eggs. Each year I swear I'll be ready for it the next, but it always, always seems to catch me by surprise. One day we'll look in the cupboard and there's no eggs. Our supply is dry. It's part of a natural cycle....
Garden time
A bed-by-bed tour of the winter vege garden.
Garlic growing 2021: the experiments
Each year I experiment with new garlic varieties to see if they’re worth adding to my “garlic collection”. This year I’m trying 3: Russian Red, Spanish Red, and Kakanui.
Garden of smiles
I’m slowly learning plants don’t have to be “useful” to be worthwhile. So this week, I planted a flower garden just to put a smile on my face.