Recent content by Mark

Hello, Everyone; it has been a long time since I posted a thread here, and to some degree, the reason for not being as active on our forum these days is exactly why I partnered with Jellysmack (a content creation company) on Facebook (FB). It's not a secret, but I have been working with...

G'day Marianne, I'm sorry to hear about the freight costs—that's a lot! Hopefully, Plastic Forests can work something out for you. Congratulations on your Birdies beds. Raised garden beds will certainly help with drainage, especially during the wet season. 👍

Lots of great tips and answers to the original question. I couldn't add much more except to back up what Josh pointed out about higher raised beds are less likely to have grass runners infect the soil from the base because it runs out of energy before it breaks the surface. However, I have seen...

Well done on this article and also the build, of course! There is a lot of very interesting information here about your hydroponics system. I appreciate you taking the time to detail the equipment used, some of the technical stuff, and the general setup here on our forum 👍

What a top idea to create this "living article" on container gardening - love it.

Lots of good points here, but if I may... Organic matter like compost or broken-down woodchip won't make your garden beds too heavy. Animal manures and clay-based soil or additives to increase water-holding capacity can inadvertently make a bed too heavy and anaerobic. I've documented in...

It does look like a Jap (Kent) pumpkin. So hardy but great eating and perfect for the backyard grower! :)

Liz sent me an email today about how her book has just hit the best sellers list on Amazon! Cool :)

Hi Traci, I can't give you advice on medications for hens but here in Oz there are a few retailers that provide ivermectin with some instructions that may be helpful: https://citychicks.com.au/products/121/ and https://www.uneekpoultry.com.au/products/vetafarm-avimec-ivermectin-solution-50ml

Passion fruit vines (most of them) grow well in most soils. There are some varieties that are fickle but these are usually grafted into better rootstock if purchased at the nursery. I would go ahead and plant them in your native soil they should be fine.

You can get root barriers or weed mats for the base of raised beds that will allow water through but not roots. Root barriers are usually made from recycled plastic and are long-lasting. Put the mats or liners in the base of the garden bed and then backfill. The other thing that can work to an...

Summer in the subtropics can be tricky but there are a lot of food plants you can grow. I do experiment all the time but I tend to stick with crops that like the heat and some of our best performers are: Jap pumpkin, corn, eggplant, Yams, kangkong, Egyptian spinach, rosella, gourds, chillies...

Hey Stevo, yes mate that's correct. Kevin took away most of his hives and left me with one. We split it about 12 months ago but sadly the new hive didn't make it but the old one is doing well. The native bees are everywhere in our veggie garden - I couldn't do without them. I see you are...

G'day! Yes, cut stems buried shallow horizontally with some sticking out if kept moist should take root in the ground. This is a good way to get more out of your vine. You can also leave the vine together and plant it as usual and then spread the branches out over the ground/bed and bury...

It depends on the weather at the time - you really have to assess it yearly to see if you have a wet hot summer or milder summer when you can start tomatoes earlier and have them fruiting through late autumn and into winter before the fruit fly and other pests smash them in spring. Even in hot...