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23.01.2022 we’re now in the danger zone of Mr almost 3 wanting to pick it because it’s apparently ready

23.01.2022 Zucchinis have jumped into life. Let’s hope we get a decent harvest before the humidity arrives

23.01.2022 Need to fill a raised bed and have to buy in soil to fill it? Here are my tips choosing and for making that bought soil 1000x better -> https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/the-best-soil-to-fill-a-vegg/

23.01.2022 My greatest achievement of 2020 was growing this watermelon I have never had success due to rain at the wrong time causing them to split but we had this one grow in a wicking bed and it survived the wet spring. I was going to crack it open on Christmas Day but glad I waited to enjoy it now, although I do regret not planting more

23.01.2022 New bed ready for spring stuff

23.01.2022 Need some inspiration for what you can plant this month? I've got full lists for Australian climates on the website here -> https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/what-to-plant-now/april/

22.01.2022 Spring is a lovely time of year for us, but it does get hot very quickly! I would liken our Spring to more like a Mediterranean summer, it’s hot and dry (although with the predictions we might have a different spring this year). In this post I thought I’d share some of the things we’re doing this Spring to make sure we get through summer reasonably unscathed. Check it out here ->https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/subtropical-spring-garden-to/... I've also included a video tour of our patch progress in this post

22.01.2022 I wish you could smell this pineapple we’ve got 2 more babies on the way, maybe 4. We started with 3 pups around 5 years ago and we patiently waited (I think the first one took 2.5 years). They’ve now multiplied with the tops being replanted and the mother producing 1-3 babies after harvest and we have 26 plants (and we’ve lost a few due to neglect). We get around 8 fruit per year and they don’t really get any special care (maybe we’d get more if they did!).

22.01.2022 I often get asked whether cat or dog poo can be placed in the compost bin. The short answer is yes. With a big fat caveat. You don’t want it mixed with your regular compost that goes in your veggies. In this weeks podcast/blog I talk about why you shouldn't compost your pet poo in your regular compost bin and what to do instead. ... https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/can-you-compost-dog-and-cat-/ P.S How cute was little Lucy (she's now 14 blind, deaf and incontinent - but is still as naughty as she was as a puppy)

21.01.2022 I finally broke my potato curse and grew potatoes! Unfortunately I only grew as many as I planted for these royal blues but alas I am still calling it a win as it’s way better than previous attempts. If you want to see our season of growing potatoes from start to finish along with some of the lessons we learnt this year you can check out our latest video on YouTube https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/growing-potatoes-in-the-subt/

21.01.2022 Blink and they’ll quadruple in size. I’ve been adding the small okras into just about everything but the big ones I am not sure if they are destined to the chickens or compost bin. Has anyone tried pickling the big ones?

21.01.2022 I did an experiment on thinning - I didn’t thin the beetroot seedlings like I normally do. The 2 biggest on the left ended up living a solo life by chance, where as the tiny ones were living together in 2s and 3s. It definitely affects the size, but I guess it depends on if you prefer baby beets for salads or slices for your hamburgers

20.01.2022 Super happy with the fennel and celery this year

20.01.2022 Note for myself for next year - start carrots in April. I managed to let 2 plantings dry out too much so germination was low (yeah I should have gone out and replanted when it was raining heaps). I did the same thing last year too bok choi, Caulis, broccoli, swisss chard, tomatoes and peas are in

19.01.2022 Spring view from the mailbox zucchini, cherry tomatoes, things going to seed and a spot ready for corn I wasn’t going to plant corn until December but spring is predicted to be to be wetter than normal so I am going to risk it what are you guys planting at the moment?

18.01.2022 For those who were curious about what happens if you leave rosellas over winter. They basically look like sticks. They tried to flower but didn’t get anywhere. I’ve left them as a wind break but will probably cut them down when babies start to emerge. Luckily the cosmos self seeded amongst them so they don’t look all bad.

17.01.2022 New Blog/Podcast/YouTube clip up all about how we manage Aphid infestations. Check it out here ->https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/aphids-how-to-manage-aphids-/

16.01.2022 The bees are loving the daikon radish flowers

16.01.2022 I feel like every time I grow a new type of beet I get a new favourite. The flatter looking ones pictured are called early wonder, the more round ones are your standard red Detroit. The early wonder lived up to its name, I planted these waaaay after the Detroits and they are bigger (just flatter). I am growing the cylindricas over summer as I find them more resilient to heat but I’ll give the early wonders a crack too as they matured so quickly in pretty poor conditions. I’ve seeds available for all these types in my shop, we’re having an end of season sale at the moment with 20% off all seed packs

15.01.2022 This is the third year of this blue butterfly pea plant. They die back here over winter and start going again as soon as the humidity arrives (frosts would probably kill them). I’ve got lots of little babies coming up now too. We eat the flowers straight from the vine (tastes like a pea) but you can use them for tea or natural blue food colouring (we’ve used them as paint as well), some people also eat the young pods. We’ve got a couple growing amongst the Madagascar climbing bean on our bean teepee and also some along our chicken run to create shade in summer

14.01.2022 I've just loaded a new blog about what we got up to in our patch last month. What we harvested, what we planted, what pests were about and what our plans are for this month. Check it out here-> https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/september-in-our-subtropical/

11.01.2022 August was a good month, we harvested almost 20kgs of food - that's not including the garlic because I haven't weighed it yet. I did the monthly round up post on the blog of what happened in August and what our plans are for the next month. You can check it out here ->https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/august-in-our-subtropical-ve/

09.01.2022 That’s a wrap for our 2020 Garlic 60 decent sized bulbs hanging in our undercover entertainment area keeping vampires away. Way better than last years attempts. Learnings this year - good soil prep is key. We did a green manure crop, let the chickens forage in there for a bit, buried fish guts in the soil from aquaponic harvests plus lots of compost and a bit of horse poo. They got plenty of water and sunshine I did a YouTube video that shows our 2020 crop from start to finish if you want to check it out, https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/growing-garlic-in-south-east/

08.01.2022 Want some inspiration for what to plant this Spring? Here is a quick round up of our top picks for Spring in the subtropics (before it gets too hot!) https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/what-to-grow-in-spring/

08.01.2022 One of the most challenging things when growing food is often having a continuous supply. We often get in a trap of filling spaces at the start of the season but really we need to spread it out. If we want to harvest something every week we need to make sure that we’re also planting every week to keep up the momentum. This week I am keeping up the momentum by planting another run of cucumbers and beans. What are you planting this week?

08.01.2022 Anyone who comes to visit is always surprised that this garden looks so much smaller in real life. We really do have a small yard, I literally have to squeeze myself up against the house to get this shot. I wish I had more space but also think this is probably enough to manage especially with two tiny humans. Swipe to see what it looked like 2 years ago

07.01.2022 We're having an end of season sale over on the website. Grab 20% off our seed range. Limited time only, while stocks last. https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/shop-seeds/

07.01.2022 I know I shouldn’t do it but there’s just something about rows of greens we’re getting organised with the succession on our leafy greens, normally the aquaponics is our green machine but there’s talk of it being rejigged over summer so I want 0 lettuce down time. I am also going to keep going with the pak choi and see how far we get with it over the warmer months. Can you spot the fairy creeping in the background

07.01.2022 If you’re looking for a great tasting prolific tomato that grows amazing in a pot this is it. Pink Thai Egg. Copes with those drought/flood conditions of life in a pot and still does this I still have seeds in my shop for them Edit: no more seeds, sorry guys

07.01.2022 Rejigging things. Patiently waiting for things. Planting new things.

04.01.2022 Last of the winter tomatoes that I pulled out last week slowly ripening. We’ve done paste, relish, kasunda, ketchup, soup, bottled and frozen heaps. I think I’ll dry some of these. I might bottle some more - try the pink thai canned, but what else can I do?

02.01.2022 Don’t mind the jungle vibes

02.01.2022 Looks like the passionfruit has taken the sunflowers hostage

01.01.2022 Freckles is one of my favourite lettuces. It’s a cos type with what looks like purple paint splotches over it. Last year when I grew it I thought I had plenty of seeds so I didn’t worry about saving any, I was pretty upset when I realised I didn’t have any left. But not to worry, nature did it for me and self sowed one of in the park next door (along with tomatoes and cosmos and parsley from our yard ). I patiently waited for it to go to seed so I could get more seeds, hoped no one would knock it down or mow over it. I didn’t have high hopes but here we are. lots of times the kids would yell out ‘muuuum what are you doing’ as I’d collect the seeds as soon as they appeared. Freckles is back in the garden and I am going to save all the seeds this year!

01.01.2022 Cauliflowers are one of my favourites to grow in the garden. But our window is very short here in the subtropics. Here's my tips for a good Cauliflower harvest https://www.loveofdirt.com.au/growing-cauliflower-in-the-s/