The aspiring apiarist...

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

Desley has long wanted to learn about bees and honey production. Inspired a few years back, she bought a few books on the topic, and has flicked through them a few times and maybe read a chapter or 2. No time. Months ago, before winter, she was given a couple of hives full of bees. She had no idea how to manage them, so they have been sitting doing their own thing. Last week she joined up with her friend Gayle and a bunch of bee enthusiasts who share knowledge, experience and r...

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Summer

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

It's here, it's hot, with hotter to come! In the wake of that 39 degree day last week, we were very thankful for a few cooler days that gave us some relief, but we are firmly in sweaty territory this time of year! Summer is a difficult time of year to grow a wide range of crops in this climate. Many of the greens struggle in the heat, some crops shoot to flower/seed quickly, the swarming pests have voracious appetites, and the humidity allows fungal diseases to pro...

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Introducing... Salad Mix!

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

We have finally found a way to produce high quality salad mix by growing a new variety of lettuce whose leaves are all baby leaf size. We now have red & green crisp, red & green butter, and red & green oakleaf varieties that go in the mix.  Bagged in convenient ziplock bags, this lovely crispy, crunchy, and uber fresh salad mix is picked just the day before market/delivery to ensure freshness. This is super important - the tragic salmonella cases in salad ...

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A Time to Relax

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

A big thank you to everyone for their support over the past week or so. We have felt so supported and blessed to receive your kind thoughts and messages. Clean up, transplanting and seeding are well on their way and although there is still much to be done we have taken a weekend off to visit our son out west who is turing 21 next week. It is refreshing to come away and relax with family, re-focus and spend time watching the "Bushmans TV"....

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And then there was none....

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

You know the days that seems to go along as normal and then... something completely unexpected happens, and you are left with your mouth hanging open wondering what just happened.  Wednesday was one of those days at the Eastward Garden. In a short 20 minutes we went from transplants, cultivating, harvesting as usual, to destruction. Hail stones, some as large as tennis balls, battered our garden, completely destroying some crops, and significantly damaging all others. Only ...

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Zucc's on their Way

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

Sweaty days, flying insects, afternoon thunderstorms, bugs eating little holes in the pak choi and spinach, chard growing a foot in a week, and booming clover fields all tell us that spring is well and truly springing in Rollands Plains! But when the zucchini's start producing, we know for sure that even summer is not far away, and Jack picked our first little zucc today! I know for some of you (I'm thinking Cecile and Cindy...) this is great news! And I ...

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Broccoli Bites

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

With all the lovely broccoli coming out of the garden at the moment, last week I decided to whip up an addition to our hot food range we sell at the Real Foods Market on Tuesdays. And Broccoli Bites were born. Our market customers loved them, and came back for more, so here's the recipe for you to enjoy as well! Broccoli Bites 1 large head broccoli 2 eggs 2 slices of bread, crusts removed 1 Tbsp onion powder 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes ...

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Favourite Tomato Varieties

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

Yay! Today we planted our advanced tomato seedlings out into our polyhouse. They look as pretty as spring itself... Pride of place in the polyhouse goes to the variety Brandywine. This is the tomato we grew to love last year - as close to the perfect tomato eating experience that I have found. To boot it is a very strong and vigorous plant that just kept on growing and growing. "Brandywine has an unmatched succulennt texture that melts in your mouth. The flavor enlivens...

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Temperature and Light

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

Temperature and Light Each type of seed has an optimum germination temperature. Above or below this soil temperature, the germination rate will be lower, and at some point either up or down, none of the seeds will germinate.  Here are some optimum temperatures (°C for common veggies): Broad beans 20, Lettuce 20, Greens 20-25, Broccoli 25, Carrots 25, Pak Choi 25, Onions 25-30, Peas 27, Beans ...

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Watering

6 years ago by Rod Bailey

Watering OK. So far we have a container (punnet, seedling tray, marmite jar or toilet paper roll...), we have filled it with a seedraising mix, sown our seed, and covered it with vermiculite.  Next we need to label it! Use something that won't be affected by water or sunlight, eaten by mice etc. Pencil on white plastic labels (or icecream container lids cut up!) works fine. We write on the label the name of the variety (eg. Brandywine, Russian, etc) and the date we sow ...

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