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Blog feed

The simple chronological feed of all the blog posts published on this site.

From the most recent to the oldest post, follow the entire journey.

Felted tomato, garlic, mushroom, mussels, prawn, chili and capsicum in an aluminum pan.

Felted foodstuffs

Take some old toys, a new hobby, and a dash of creativity.

Entering The Outpost before we fixed the driveway.

A new driveway

Some major work has been occurring in the subdivision that will make visiting us easier and more pleasant.

Two slices of banana bread - one smothered in butter - on a plate.

Banana loaf

A reliable, delicious way to deal with an arm of quickly-ripening bananas. Freezes well too.

A flock of chickens eating with Tommy the rooster off to the side

Changes in the pecking order

There’s been changes to the pecking order of our flock, and it’s come with benefits!

Dill seeds in a seed tray with a heart drawn into them.

Seed saving

How to collect, clean, store, and swap seeds from your garden. The skill that makes gardening significantly cheaper, and more resilient.

A single sunflower, just before sunset.

What’s happening in the garden?

The gardens are starting to really pay off!

Garlic harvested in 2023

All the alliums

The garlic harvest is in – and for sale!

A whole lot of dahlia flowers.

Summer update

A few of the things I’ve been up to over my summer break.

A tūī feeding on a harakeke bush

Reevaluating the plan

The last blog of 2023. I’d like to start 2024 on a new page, so I’m taking a longer-than-usual break from the blog this summer.

Garlic drying on a laundry rack

Giving up on garlic

The first half of this year’s garlic is up, and the results are… not great.

The flower garden on Saturday evening.

A diary of my week

Ever wonder what I do in a week? Well, here’s one week in my life.

Planting potatoes with my new "spud spacer"

5 things I did in the last fortnight

A round up of what I’ve been up to in the garden over the last couple of weeks.

A bowl of aglio e olio.

Aglio e olio with green garlic

The simplest and most satisfying thing to do with fresh green garlic. Every garlic grower should know this one.

Looking out into the Roman Catholic section of Karori Cemetery

A week away

I left the farm for a whole 8 days! I had so much fun! Here are some highlights.

An arrangement of flowers including dill, carrot, rocket, buttercup, plantain, and red clover.

The restorative things

Weirdly, life isn’t all about gardening. Sometimes you’ve gotta find some balance.

Edible flowers in my birthday cheesecake.

Five easy-care edible flowers for your garden

Some edible flowers you can get easily established in your garden. Ready and fresh for any special occasion.

2023 Garlic Crop on 30 September 2023

Spring updates

Things keep ticking along here at The Outpost, so how are all those projects going?

Stem of bananas growing on our property.

Banana farmin

We are officially eating our own home-grown bananas!!

A large pile of bark mulch with two dogs for scale

The mulch pile

A giant pile of mulch stands between us and our dream home.

My grandfather and my father (as a child) playing in the sand in New South Wales, Australia, 1965

Three things my Dad taught me

This Father’s Day, I’m looking at the values I gained as my father’s daughter.

The area I planted trees in this year, after I planted the trees.

Planting trees

Any day you get to plant a tree is a good day. And I’ve planted 96 trees so far this month.

Pieces of coconut slice.

Gran Shirley’s Coconut Slice

A classic slice from Gran Shirley’s recipe book. Simple, reliable, and always popular.