06 Jul
0
3549
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 6th July 2022
My go-to method for filling a raised vegetable or garden bed was inspired by three composting concepts that weren’t quite the hot composting method per se, but which came close for the purposes I needed — that of..
06 Jul
0
2189
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
(This article was originally posted here on our Jujube Tree Nursery site.)
First published here 6th July 2022.
Composting is an age-old technique of converting waste organic matter into nutrient-rich soil amendments that add fertility to a so..
20 Nov
0
3357
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 20th November 2021
Like homemade white oil, this too is dirt-cheap to make, highly effective, lasts forever, and rats and mice cannot develop resistance to it.
First, the recipe:
One part rolled oats to one part plaster of Par..
03 Nov
0
13172
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 3rd November 2021
Introduction
I do enjoy my citrus collection, and they are all healthy-looking and fertilised and watered regularly. But at the same time I’m sadly a very out-of-sight out-of-mind kind of person, and the tree..
02 Nov
0
3920
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 2nd November 2021
I’d never be without this classic remedy for arthropod* pests. Simple and dirt-cheap to make, lasts forever, and with the added bonus that arthropods* can never develop resistance to it.
First, the recipe:
Ha..
07 Aug
0
2260
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 7th August 2021
My background is microbiology and biochemistry, but I developed an intense interest in botany much later, and wow, that discipline just does your head in, as investigating what exactly a fruit is reveals!
(Just..
24 Jul
0
1535
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
(This article was originally posted here on our Jujube Tree Nursery site.
First published here 24th July 2021.
Edited to include the public domain image below, of a flower’s anatomy, not available at time of original post.)
Fruits
Bananas, pe..
17 Jul
0
1496
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 17th July 2021
Many plants respond very well to an Air-Pot container, but sometimes a little too well to the point they outgrow it quite quickly — their root balls become so dense that they uptake water faster than can be held..
18 Jun
0
1866
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 18th June 2021
First off, I am a complete novice to bonsai, and not to be regarded as some kind of knowledgeable person, because I am not. In fact, this blog section will be me documenting my experiences and mistakes as I go, ..
18 Jun
0
6676
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 18th June 2021
Mints belong to the genus Mentha, and 24 species are recognised. Mints readily hybridise and around 15 different cultivars and varieties are recognised.
Mints can tolerate a range of conditions, but always do be..
28 May
0
913
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 28th May 2021
This is a summary of plants with a reputation for pest control, presented without opinion or proof. That part will come with time!
Anise (Pimpinella anisum) is said to repel:
aphids
cabbage worms (caterpillars of..
24 May
0
703
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 24th May 2021
Plants produce many phytochemicals (literally ‘plant chemicals’) to defend themselves against everything from microscopic viruses, bacteria and fungi, to macroscopic insects, aphids, mites, birds and animals. Som..