20 Nov
0
13491
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
13
22481
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
1
6713
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 2nd November 2021
Updated 29th October 2025
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..
07 Aug
0
4373
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
4803
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
(This article was originally published 8th December 2020 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...
17 Jul
0
2058
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
3209
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
7663
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
1368
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 o..
24 May
0
1221
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..
20 May
0
5970
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 20th May 2021
This earlier post covered the rules that apply when naming a plant scientifically.
This post follows on from that, by listing the words which are quite common to these names — and this can be both fun and really ..
13 Mar
0
4434
Title image above is copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
First published 13th March 2021
Your own bay laurel shrub not only gives you immediate access to fresh bay leaves whilst cooking, but also access to year-round, free, safe-to-handle insect repellant!
The leaves of the Bay Laurel (Laurus nobil..