I love simple, cheap and appropriate ideas that make gardening easier and fun. At the first Seedy Sunday we showed three videos with this philosophy in mind.
My two previous attempts at worm farming had ended badly with the bins being overrun with nasties that killed off the worms. But I so love the simplicity and ease of this idea I’m going to give it another shot. This is a great way to get nutrients straight into your garden.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scUTrypzyY0&hl=en&fs=1]
I think that’s the last of my cherry tomatoes. Just as well really, I was getting totally sick of them. We had sooooo many. It was a bad year for tomatoes in the Wellington region and nearly all mine ended up being cherry-sized.
I even had to buy a couple of kilos to produce the year’s supply of tomato chutney. Neither us nor our friends, can live without the all-time famed Anna & Richard’s Tomato Chutney. (Recipe not forth-coming – you can have anything else, just not my tomato chutney recipe. It’s the sauce of my popularity. I shall not share!)
We’ve made a gallant effort with our bite-sized crop but I’m fed up with the rest and I’ve been jarring them. Here’s how. Bottled cherry tomato recipe after the jump…
I’ve just found a great article from an old Soil and Health magazine about willow water, and thought I just had to share. I don’t take a lot of cuttings from plants because quite frankly they’re tricky and they just haven’t worked well for me in the past. I might just have to give this one a try though – especially as it won’t cost me a thing.
Willow water promotes rooting better then than any known substance. This probably comes as little surprise to anyone who has dealt with the invasive roots of a willow before. It also may explain why it’s effective putting an aspirin (originally from the bark of willow) into the water for cut flowers to keep them fresh.
Instructions on how to make your own rooting compound for free with willow, how to use it and some useful links after the jump.
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It’s a beautiful sunny, summer day and my garden is rocking right now. I’ve been in a fairly lazy mood pottering around, taking some photos, pulling some weeds. It’s been a great day. My St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is looking fantastic . The bright yellow flowers are looking resplendent. Today I’m going to bottle some of that golden goodness and make a tincture.
St John’s wort has been used centuries as a healing and magical herb. It’s been talked about a lot over the last decade due to it’s use as a treatment for depression. St John’s wort is also incredibly effective as an antibiotic and to heal neuralgic headaches and external injuries, burns and bruises. And that’s what I’ll be using my tincture for.
More on St John’s wort, how to grow, harvest, infuse and use it with lots of pretty pictures after the jump….