We are in the middle of the subtropical autumn. The very first “cold-weather” greens and veggies are ready for harvest. Others are starting to compete with each other and with the self-seeded ones which are also trying to claim some space in the garden bed and around, and I love it! Food everywhere 😀
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Hawaiian Pink Guava – Psidium Guajava Who doesn’t love a quick-growing fruit tree which bears delicious fruit within a couple of years after planting, contains lots of nutrients, and benefits your health? Guava is one of them! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the blossoms and fruits forming just about years after planting the tree in my food forest. The plant was about one year old when I planted it into a slightly raised garden bed. There are many different guava varieties. I have been growing three of them, all delicious and easy to grow, but today, I will concentrate on the Hawaiian Pink Guava – Psidium guajava. General… Read More
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Longevity spinach – Sambung – Gynura procumbens – Perennial Spinach by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer and educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate Longevity spinach, Gynura procumbens, is one of the plants everyone should grow. It is not only tasting delicious, and grows super quickly so can be used as biomass in your garden, but it also has many health benefits. According to Tan HL et al, “Gynura procumbens (Lour.) Merr. (Family Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant commonly found in tropical Asia countries such as China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Traditionally, it is widely used in many different countries for the treatment of a wide variety of health… Read More
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April – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. April is the month when we start to feel the Autumn, and we love it! The lower temperatures make gardening so much more enjoyable. The first winter seedlings are emerging out of the soil, and you can literally watch them grow, or at least some of them. Let’s have a look at the jobs which we usually do during this month. General jobs in April Regenerating, enriching the soil, and mulching, if not done yet. Check my previous articles and Youtube videos on how to do it. Sowing… Read More
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March – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. March is the month when we get busy! Very busy! Even dough it still feels like summer, we do have autumn. The winter sowing and planting have started and I am really excited about it! I also look forward to the following weeks when I can spend more time in the garden. The summer heat and humidity didn’t make it very easy lately. General jobs in March Pruning and trimming perennial bushes and vines and turning them into mulch. Those which don’t have any seeds go straight onto… Read More
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Autumn – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant, and healthy food advocate. March, April, and May are autumn months. The days are getting shorter and the summer heat is slowly going back. Very slowly, I would say. The ‘summer bugs’ are getting less, which is a bonus! We can start to sow and plant the winter crop. Yes! The time of radishes, brassicas and other subtropical winter veggies has finally arrived. Yummy! While March is still very hot and humid, the following two months will bring some relief, and the garden work becomes a pure pleasure. I promise! Listening to… Read More
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February – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture designer, educator, sustainable living consultant and healthy food advocate. February is one of the hottest months in our subtropical parts of Australia. Hot and humid! We are thankful for every single drop of rain and appreciate the food we are harvesting at this time of the year, and there is plenty to harvest! We are not running out of the jobs in the garden, however we are limiting the work to the early morning and very late afternoon hours. Additional to the summer gardening jobs described in my post here, February is the month where I prune… Read More
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Elderberry Cordial Recipe – Elderberry Syrup This is a very easy to follow recipe. Elderberry – Sambucus nigra, grows very well in most parts of the world. If you are interested in this plant, check my article here for more info about this amazing plant. This is a basic recipe and can be used in different ways: diluted in cold or hot water, as a topic for cake or ice-cream or you can use it to make a delicious liqueur. Per 1.5kg Elderberries, only black ones, cleaned and without green stalks, you need 750g sugar and 1L water Place water, sugar and elderberries in a large pot and bring to… Read More
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Summer – Permaculture Sustainable Food Gardening in Subtropical Australia by Ewa Bekiesch, Permaculture and sustainable living designer and consultant. January, February and March are the hottest months in Australia. Well, this is the summer time so what else should we expect? This is also the time where we slow down with seeding and planting, and enjoy our hardy self-seeding and perennial edibles in our food forest. The garden beds need to be watered every day unless we get some rain, which may come or not, while we still harvest our annual spring vegetables. The gardening hours are limited in this time of the year. The most work is done in… Read More
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Time to Reflect on 2021… Hello my lovely friends, What a year this was! We all know that the recent past wasn’t easy for many. The last two years have shown that nothing can be taken for granted and it doesn’t take much to bring uncertainty and anxiety among people. However! There is a Polish saying that “it doesn’t matter how bad things go, they will turn to something good at the end” or “there is no evil that would not turn out to be good” Well… I was reflecting on it and I found one very important positive change: huge number of people have started to grow their own… Read More
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