Category Archives: A Forest Garden – Record of Progress
How long for a Prickly Pear to fruit?
Starting a conversation about my attempts to grow prickly pear go something like this: “I cut off one of the pads as a cutting,” says I. “To grow?” they ask, brows furrowed. “Yes…” Here it comes, but they mean well. “You mean prickly pear, that cactus weed? You want to… grow it!?” Shock, Horror, et […]
Why your Summer is incomplete without figs
There is something of a tradition at my place now with freshly picked figs being scoffed in the backyard from the middle of summer. By mid January the fruit darkens a purple stain through the green skin. And there is the matter is getting to them before the birds, which according to my chickens (who … Continue reading
The Joy of Springtime in the Garden
There are many joys waiting in the Spring garden. The most important one for me is sitting on a log watching it all go by. There is Zen somewhere between chickens scratching at the ground and the hum of a city carried by the wind. Nectar feeding birds fight for the highest branches of the Banksia tree, while … Continue reading
Eating Fuchsia Fruit
So you need food to eat in your forest garden, and you are growing all the regulars – apple, pear, citrus, fig, and so on. Then your shrub level (using Patrick Whitefield’s 3 level arrangements as per his How to Make a Forest Garden), is hard at work. All those empty spaces are getting filled with … Continue reading
Broadbean Seedling
This broadbean seedling was growing too close to some garlic so needed to move it. I was surprised by how vigorous the root system was so wanted to share this with you. See how those little grains of rock are growing into the roots? The result of remineralising my soil with basalt and granite dust. … Continue reading
Tree following – April 2014
A full week of rain in Melbourne marked the transition from an Indian Summer wannabe to Autumn proper. It felt like the soil itself let out a welcome sigh of relief, as a contestant drizzle eventually soaked the earth until it could hold no more. The best (or worst) sign of this is when find a heap of … Continue reading
