We always plant our pea seeds in lengths of spouting filled with potting mix. When the seeds have germinated and are ready for the garden, all we do is dig a trench and push the length of pea plants into the trench. Works better than trying to get the seeds started in the soil and […]
I live in a small unit with a courtyard. I will be buying potting mix, which I will be putting directly into bags. I bury the bags out in the courtyard and plant directly into those bags by simply cutting small slits in the bag. No mess no fuss. This will be my first go […]
I grow silver beet – however don’t always eat it all. I also had a problem with the plants going to seed as I didn’t pick it fast enough. Now I just pick and chop up and freezing in bags works nicely. Bags can also be reused. When I cook I just put the frozen […]
Save seeds from supermarket or market purchased vegetables. If the seeds are moist such as tomato, pumpkin etc, space them out onto handitowels or toilet roll sheets. Write the date and variety on the paper. I love checking out farmers markets for unusual varieties of vegetables that contain seed to grow. You get to have […]
When raising seedlings, put old tea bags in a dish of water and sprinkle or place your seeds on top. When they shoot and grow up a bit, transplant them to potting mix in raising cups with tweezers from your wife’s manicure set (while she’s out!). This way you definitely get only one seed per […]
When planting carrot seeds, put an egg tray in the ground at ground level, fill with seed mix soil & plant 1 carrot seed per egg hole When the carrots come up, you don’t have to thin them, they grow to a good size because they are spaced & if any don’t come up you […]
Reuse potting mix safely. I fill a 3 litre plastic ring basin with the old mix (moist) and give it 12 minutes on high in the microwave. Give it a stir at about 10 minutes. I test with my big thermometer and if its reading over 90 degrees so all the nasties have been zapped. […]
Collect water for your pot plants, place a bucket in the shower, and collect the water you waste waiting for the shower to reach the right temperature. I leave the bucket in the shower and collect what I splash around.
To keep pot plants watered, punch a column of small holes down the side of a thin plastic bottle. Bury it in the pot with the top poking above the soil, and the holes facing the plant. Fill the bottle up and it will act like a reservoir and drip feed the plant.
Keep you packets of seeds in the bottom of the fridge in a container and they will stay usable for years. I once grew carrot seeds that were 5 years past the use by date.