Blog
Weekly tales from The Outpost.
The lost fence post
The post was abandoned, but the fencing project was not.
Pruning fruit trees
Everything you need to know about pruning stone and pip fruit trees: equipment, technique, tree shapes, and the golden rules.
Green banana flour
An experiment in making a prodigious banana harvest last longer. More useful than expected, with some caveats
Surprise cows
We weren’t expecting them, but surprise! We have a new herd of cows.
Our chicken coop
After I decided I was ready for chickens, I had to find them a house. 3 years down the track, I evaluate how I did.
The catnip swale
The story of Kat’s Nip and working out how to grow enough to supply demand.
Turning worms into chickens
How I turned a wodge of worms into 3 egg-laying machines and made my poultry economically sustainable.
Trees that count
Last week I went on a planting spree and we got 70 native trees into the soil.
The complicated tale of Bunbun
When a cat brings you a healthy baby rabbit, what do you do?
Learning to farm
I’ve had to learn how to look after my land and animals. Here’s what I’ve done so far.
A bush engagement
He asked me to marry him! The story of how Richard and I got engaged.
Strawberry fields forever
My imagination ran away without me and now I have incredible strawberry beds.
Raining in my head like a tragedy
An update on our rainfall, and how we plan to hold onto it for longer.
Interpreting my soil test
What do the numbers on a soil test actually mean? How I interpreted mine, including macro and micro-nutrients, and what I’m doing about it.
Taking soil samples
Taking soil samples and sending them away to the lab for a soil test.
Why our wetland is important
One of our paddocks was once a very valuable ecosystem. I’ve got plans to return it to its former glory.
My brilliant broccoli
This year my broccoli has really pumped. Here’s what I did, and what I learned along the way.
Growing garlic
A little history about my love-affair with growing garlic, and a peek into the future.
Return of the garden center
On the first day of Level 2, I made a trip to the one place I missed most: the garden center.
Tomatogeddon
The garden has started going bonkers. I’ve currently got an avalanche of tomatoes going on – in May.
Imagining a house
Lately I’ve been thinking about what a real house at The Outpost might look like.
Walking to the mailbox
Some observations and musings on a long, mostly-up hill walk.