Blog
Weekly tales from The Outpost.
The Vespex sting
Vespula wasp numbers have exploded at our place this year, so it was time to run a poison operation with Vespex.
Growing paprika
Paprika is made from specific varieties of capsicum, and this summer, I grew and processed my own.
Animal tales, part 4
Our lives are made richer by the creatures we share this place with. Sometimes I write short stories about them. This is the fourth post in that series.
March in the garden
Not sure what needs doing in your garden this month? I’ve got you covered.
Oh, Christmas Tree
This year our pine nut tree is tall enough to be our outdoor Christmas tree!
Where are the avocados?
We have a lot of trees at The Outpost, but we don’t have any avocado. It’s not just because we’re saving to build a house.
Planting peanuts
I’m feeling more on top of things in the garden, so I’m growing something new.
My happy place
3 years ago I wrote about my frustration at my new garden. Today, it is my happy place.
Paying for my cow’s farts
How will the proposed agricultural emissions scheme affect my little farm and tiny cattle herd?
Vegetables that pay off
All things considered, what vegetables deliver the best returns on investment in the garden?
Five trees you’ll find at The Outpost
A tree that can grow 6 meters in a year; another that you can wash your clothes with. A guide to a few of our trees.
Tidying the berry house
The berries are flowering, so it’s time to secure the berry house against birds. If only it were that simple!
A mid-season update on the garlic
After last year’s disaster season, how is the garlic growing in 2022?
The shopping spree
I spent my 40th birthday buying and planting trees. 16 year old me would be horrified.
Why I don’t keep bees
You’d think with so much native bush (and with more trees planted each year), we might put in a few bee hives at The Outpost. But we won’t be. Here’s why.
Planning a miniature food forest
I’ve been thinking and scheming – and I think I’ve come up with a plan for our first area of ‘food forest’.
Project grow-a-mango
This week I spent $13 on a piece of fruit – and it was worth every cent. But can I grow good mangoes in New Zealand? Well, I’m going to give it a try!
Another month’s worth of rain
The rain fell quite spectacularly this week. We’re now in our fourth year of weather monitoring, so how wet has the last year been?
Five things I did this week
It’s been an unexpectedly dry week, so we got some things done.
The berry house
We’ve finally planted our collection of cane berries into the ground!
Gran Shirley’s Sally Lunn
We’ve got too many potatoes so I’m looking for new ways to use them. Turns out, my Gran had a delicious way around a potato glut.
Let’s go fly a kite
It’s taken nearly 3 years but I realised that all our space and wind make a fantastic combination for kite flying, so I bought a kite.