A pause and a breath. What a year. Not a lot has gone according to plan. But as usual, back to the garden for respite, relief, restoration and renewal. What to do in the garden this spring Right now: Prepare vegetable bed soil for seedlings, with compost, manure and fertiliser. See Wagtail Urban Farm‘s videos for how to prepare your soil, and Starting a Garden in Adelaide ebook* p. 18-20 if you’re deciding what kind of vegetable beds would work best for you. Prepare soil for later spring tree planting (p. 28), bearing in mind to choose locations for your subtropical treasures where they’ll h ..read more

What a wonderful soaking we have had! About 80mm at our place over two big rains in the past week. How are your tanks looking? Don’t have any tanks? How about digging a few swales to catch rain this winter and recharge the soil? It sounds like there will be plenty more on the way! Now is a good time to top up mulch on paths, to protect soil from erosion, prevent mud being trafficked everywhere and to suppress weeds (works best with a layer of cardboard underneath). It’s also a great time to work on soil improvement with a view to planting out native trees, shrubs and ground covers during ..read more

Do you ever find yourself mentoring someone a bit newer to gardening? Or wishing that you had someone to do this for you? When we started front-yard food gardening about 12 years ago, we quickly learned to allow a bit of extra time for over-the-fence conversations during each job. Sometimes we fielded curious questions from passers-by, and at other times we were offered friendly advice (including “No offence, dear, but…” usually followed by something about how this garden had always been lawn – and presumably always should be). We were never lonely! But what if you don’t know the gardeners in ..read more

Happy Easter, Adelaide. NB: may not be an actual bunny egg. It’s a strange one, I know, without camping and all the gatherings that usually go on, but maybe a time to reshape (not lose) some of the rituals that mark our seasons and cultures. And to do some reading! (more on this at the end). We talked recently about zones, and I used this central permaculture concept as an analogy for how I was approaching care of home and community while physically distancing. Today the same zoning concept can apply to what we’re doing over Easter. And, since we’ve all had our lives reshaped by a scar ..read more

As this isolation thing unfolds, I have never felt less isolated in my life. Every day of ‘lockdown’ uncovers more community connections and deepens family relationships. There is so much meaningful work to do that it hasn’t had a chance to become boring (yet) and rarely do we look for entertainment (in which case one need look no further than a pair of chooks catching slaters in the compost!) What’s happening in the garden Click to view slideshow. This weekend we made over a raised bed which, until now, had been the source of innumerable seeds for sowing and sharing. Our little seedlings, so ..read more

Happy Sunday, Adelaide gardeners! The new PDF format eBook is now up on a new page of Nadja’s Garden and is free to download – but be aware that it is a very large file and may take a while depending on your connection speed. FREE eBOOK: Starting a Garden in Adelaide – a guide for beginners Please feel free to share with your gardening (and about to be gardening) friends. There will be improved editions to come, replacing this first edition over time. Love, Nadja ..read more

Good morning gardeners, Amidst the current chaos I hope that you are finding an oasis of peace in your gardens. Perhaps a few of you may be just beginning your own garden and yet to discover what a source of comfort, security and emotional release it can be at times like this. While we’re all affected by the pandemic situation (not just the virus but the far-reaching impacts of its disturbance to ‘normal’ life) I hope to share information and encouragement for resilience at home and in the garden. And I hope that every single one of us, and every single household or family that gardens can be ..read more

In this issue: Seasons that defy the calendar Voila! Delicious dinner from whatever is growing right now Community gardens, workshops and events Trees x 10 pilot activities are underway Spring planting suggestions THE WINTER THAT WAS – AND THE SPRING THAT IS… Welcome back, gardenfolk. It’s been a while… so long, in fact, that this little blog has stopped trying to be monthly and gone seasonal instead. So allow me to offer you some treasures of the wee winter that was and the spring that is announcing itself proudly in every birdsong and blossom! Here’s a pair of little apples that set in aut ..read more

Good morning gardeners, I’m sure I’m not the only one torn between enjoying the unseasonal July warmth and worrying that I shouldn’t really be this warm when we’ve only just passed the solstice. Hearing willy wagtails declaring their intention to nest nearby and magpies jostling for territory, seeing rogue apples setting fruit when they should be dormant… all in all the season feels scrambled. But there hasn’t been much time to dwell on this, with so much productive climate action going on. In between Trees for Life planting, Trees x 10 planning and drawing trees into home garden designs, I’ve ..read more