Notes from Urban Veggie Gardening Workshop # 4 While most of our vegetables result from planting seeds, there are other ways that plants can be propagated. This is a huge topic so will learn provide a few examples here related to some of the plants we actually grow. Starting from a tuber Sweet potato (Kumera) [more]
Notes from Urban Veggie Gardening Workshop # 4 There is so much magic in a tiny seed. Dormant, still, silent: the seed speaks of an unimaginable potential. One of the most exciting aspects of our work is gardeners is to germinate seeds and generate our own seedlings. Not only is this much more economical than [more]
Spanakopita Margaret Vickers This recipe is based on one provided by Stephanie Alexander. 1 finely chopped onion 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 spring onions finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint 2 tablespoons chopped parsley freshly grated nutmeg 500 gm washed and chopped silverbeet leaves (if you use some Malabar spinach, cooking and squeeze it [more]
While plants differ from each other in terms of their tolerance for acidity or alkalinity, most plants do best in neutral soil. This is because roots cannot absorb nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium if the soil is too acidic, and they cannot absorb trace elements like iron, manganese and copper if the soil [more]
Healthy plants develop by taking in nutrients through the roots. Roots can only absorb nutrients that are dissolved, so solid soil components and compost need to be broken down through the action of soil micro-organisms. Thousands of fungi and soil bacteria naturally exist in fertile soil, but worm castings are also a great source [more]