Automating your Irrigation in 2024

Tired of watering your garden by hand? Want to keep your food garden well-watered while you are away? After decades of this time-consuming gardening activity, I decided to automate the task, and found that with today's technology it is totally achievable and affordable for home gardeners. Here is what I learned.

Food Gardens and Wildlife

Most food gardeners realise that the land they live on would have been or still is part of Tasmanian wildlife's habitat, and that therefore it is not unreasonable to share some of the food you grow. In most cases, however, sharing with wildlife means that you get nothing, so establishing clear boundaries is the only way to grow food and enjoy the fruits of your work. This blog post discusses effective fencing options that will make growing food wherever you live in Tasmania completely feasible!

Rosalie's food garden enclosure at South Hobart (Dec21)

Success with Blueberries

We have had blueberries in our garden for many years, but in the last few years they haven't done so well, so I decided try and find out why, learn from those whose blueberries have been an ongoing success, and start a brand-new blueberry patch. Here is what I learnt.

Brassica snapshot

In early April it was time for me to plant my winter crop of brassicas. Here I tell you what I did, and what I didn' t do, and why, adding some thoughts about planting seedlings along the way. Those who want to know more about sowing and planting vegetable seedlings might find this snapshot of what I did that afternoon a useful read.

Large Tomatoes on Show!

Would you love to grow large tomatoes, but wonder which good-tasting varieties do well in Tasmania? This blog post shows the varieties that Food Garden Group members put forward for the 2024 Golden Tomato Award, a description of the variety, and where to get seeds and seedlings if commercially available.

Ross T. picked this 560 gram fruit in his garden on 18Feb24

Tomato Care & Repair

Most tomato plants are like demanding prima donnas. Everything needs to perfect all the time, otherwise they will play up. Add to that Tasmania’s fickle climate and you find that even the most experienced food gardener struggles at times. This blog post might help you make things ‘just right’ for your tomato plants or improve things if they tell you that they are not happy.

Make the most of your Cucurbits

Cucurbits are members of the Cucurbita pepo plant-family. Cucumbers, zucchinis, pumpkins, squash, marrows and melons are all cucurbits. They all need very similar soil and climatic conditions and need to be treated in much the same way to be a success.

Buying soil for veggie beds

Grow healthy soil and you will have healthy vegetables is the motto of many food gardeners, so, when starting a new veggie bed, people want to buy the best soil they can get. Many food gardeners, however, have been disappointed with the quality of soil they bought. The aim of this blog post is to give people a few ways of checking the quality of soils before buying, so they can make the best possible start with their new veggie bed.