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.
4 things to consider before buying fruit trees
You’ve finally got a place to plant fruit trees—but there’s dozens at the garden centre! Which one do you buy?
The International Year of Millets
The UN has declared 2023 the International Year of Millets, so I tried growing some millet.
Autumn garden update
As we hurtle towards winter, I’m working away in my garden to get it ready for next summer.
My first peanut harvest
My first peanut harvest is in!
Pam and Tommy
Six weeks ago we welcomed two new occupants in our zoo – Pam and Tommy.
Apple crumble
The best use for an apple harvest, in my opinion. A simple, reliable crumble that never disappoints.
Chickens love coprosma
An accidental observation leads me down a rabbithole.
Apple harvest
Three of our heritage apple trees produced small harvests this year.
Getting over garden overwhelm
Gaining a focus on turning around the garden for another season.
Testing the coffee beans
After a recent workshop to learn how to process my own coffee, I put my own coffee beans to the test.
Storm surge
We weren’t entirely unscathed by Gabrielle, but we are left feeling very grateful.
The pursuit of self-sufficiency
We’ve been here a while, so how close are we to being self-sufficient?
Making Nana Retter’s Fruit Cake
Last Christmas I joined a long line of women who have made this cake. My great grandmother’s recipe, finally made.
The pros and cons of owning chickens
If you love eggs, you might be thinking about owning some chickens… but should you?
Six things I did this summer
I’ve had a wonderful summer break, though I’m not sure how relaxing it was. Here’s a catch-up of what I got up to.
2022 Garlic harvest (part 1)
Four of our six garlic varieties are out of the ground! See how it went!
On patience
Time marches on and if you’re patient enough, it delights you.
Oh, Christmas Tree
This year our pine nut tree is tall enough to be our outdoor Christmas tree!