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.
Spring updates
Things keep ticking along here at The Outpost, so how are all those projects going?
Banana farmin
We are officially eating our own home-grown bananas!!
The mulch pile
A giant pile of mulch stands between us and our dream home.
Three things my Dad taught me
This Father’s Day, I’m looking at the values I gained as my father’s daughter.
Planting trees
Any day you get to plant a tree is a good day. And I’ve planted 96 trees so far this month.
Gran Shirley’s Coconut Slice
A classic slice from Gran Shirley’s recipe book. Simple, reliable, and always popular.
The New Zealand Whole Earth Catalogue
Why and how I collected the complete set of The New Zealand Whole Earth Catalogues.
Befores and afters
A look at how far we’ve come since we purchased The Outpost.
An update post
A collection of updates about eggs, chickens, worms, weather, and garlic.
Planting comfrey under fruit trees
Organic farmers know comfrey as a ‘dynamic accumulator’ – bringing deeply buried nutrients to the surface to feed my fruit trees.
Cleaning up my rusty tools
It’s pruning season but my tools are rusty and I can’t afford new ones. So I tried cleaning them up with vinegar.
How to make your own pruning paste
Pruning paste is helpful for keeping your fruit trees healthy after pruning.
Gardening equipment you won’t regret
Some of my favourite pieces of equipment for taking your garden to the next level.
Sponge-top pudding
A comforting baked pudding that uses whatever fruit is in season. Simple enough for a weeknight.
Winter gardening in the Far North
It’s time to tidy the strawberries, plant garlic, and prepare for potatoes.
Eating water-glassed eggs
Preserving eggs in lime water when the flock slows down. A traditional method that actually works.
Tidying my garden shed
My garden shed is (once again) a mess! Time to tidy it up.
In-ground worm farming
Installing some new worm farms directly in the garden to continuously improve a poorly-performing garden bed.