John from Northland writes: I gather seaweed from a local beach. It gets washed up in big tides so it’s easy to collect. We had so much of it that I just dumped it in a pile in a place that was easy to get to with my trailer. This weekend I have been preparing […]
JO from Waimate writes, “I too was happy with the New World Little Gardens. My kale has lasted me all year. Sure it got a bug and the leaves turned white, but after some hard frosts the new shoots are looking fresh, green and juicy, so I am cutting some leaves nearly every day.”
The first day of September is a Red letter day for the DIY oily rag community. But first to your letters. Alchemist from Dunedin writes, “Sometimes buying meat from a butcher is cheaper than the supermarket. Shop later in the day and make friends with your butcher. S/he will be happy to tell you how […]
A reader writes, I am looking forward to the next Little Garden promotion by New World. My kids love collecting the seeds and watching them grow in the raised garden we have created. The Little Garden website says they are planning some exciting things ahead. Can’t wait. Oily Rag Ed’ – Unfortunately in the last […]
A reader recently contacted us saying that they are recent oily rag gardeners and that they enjoyed the summer harvest so much they are planning a winter garden. Winter vegetables include cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, lettuce, spinach and silverbeet. Since we too enjoy feasting fresh from the garden, we decided to include in our winter […]
Caron from the Waikato writes, Last Spring I bought an unusual yellow heritage tomato plant at a Farmer’s market. It grew very well and produced the most wonderful large bright yellow, delicious fruit. I cut a thick slice from the last one, placed it on a paper towel and let it completely dry out on […]
Oily raggers are getting busy in the garden, and so too are the slugs and snails. A reader has asked for ways to control these blighters, without having to resort to poison. A number of readers have commented about this problem previously, so we thought we would recap on the oily rag way to control […]
Dandelion Farm from Whangarei writes, Most gardeners we have found are generous with plant sharing because nature provides an abundance. My husband helps prune people’s fruit trees and if they have a good variety he takes cutting material away. Often we see a plant we like which is in seed and ask the gardener for […]
A reader has asked if there are ways to save money on landscaping costs. In particular, they would like to know which plants are easy to propagate from cuttings. If you can help our reader, please drop us a note. From experience, we can say that Yucca plants are easy. They are very fashionable and […]
A reader has written in about Jerusalem Artichokes. “They are vigorous and easy to grow. When they flower, they look like a sunflower and are as tall, but the edible part is the root tuber, which is harvested when the flowers wilt and the plant starts to die. To harvest, the plant needs to be […]