Blog - Page 4 of 7 - Growing Home

Introducing our Medicinal, Herb and Indigenous Garden

June 8, 2017

Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Herbs, Guilds & Companion Planting, Herbal & Home Remedies

Every garden deserves a wild place. Ours is filled with indigenous plants, medicinal herbs and healing plants. It wraps itself around the far corner and along the back wooden fence; closest to where we sit under the shade of the big bottle brush tree that is so often filled with birdsong. It is still new – everything lovingly placed with intention in carefully chosen places. All of these plants will act as companions to our entire garden as they attract…

The Medicine Garden: Mother-in-Law’s Tongue to Relieve Earrache

June 3, 2017

Shireen Freeman

Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Herbs, Herbal & Home Remedies

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A few years ago I attended a talk and demonstration by Master Herbalist, Peter M Von Maltitz who shared some of his (vast) knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs with us. It was fascinating and I took copious amounts of notes. He told us that in Nature, the problem is often the solution. A good example of this would be stinging nettle. It irritates the skin with thin, spiny bristles while at the same time it contains compounds in the…

New Garden, Dew Drops & Spiderwebs & Good Ol’ Manure ~ May ’17 Round Up

June 1, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Planning & Design

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The Seasons are changing. The nighttime grows colder, longer; quieter. Morning’s coming later; creeping in with the mists of the sea, over the wetlands towards Our Garden. The chickens sleep in a bit longer now. So does Merlin, aka Blue, the resident peacock. The horses don’t seem to mind or even notice: like old friends of Time, they do not even rise to greet each other anymore. They just carry on, as usual, knowing they share an unspoken…

Friends & Foes of Onions

May 26, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Vegetables, Guilds & Companion Planting

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Onions are shallow growers, making them excellent companions to deep rooted vegetables. The best onion plant companions are members of the cabbage family because onions naturally repel pests that love cabbage family plants, such as cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, and cabbage maggots. Cabbage family plants include: Broccoli Kale Brussel Sprouts Cabbage Kholrabi Onions deter aphids and Japanese beeltes which means you can use them as companions to plants that often suffer from these pests. Other companions to onions include: Tomatoes…

What’s The Deal With Dynamic Accumulators?

May 22, 2017

Shireen Freeman

Barefoot in the Garden, Guilds & Companion Planting

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The term “dynamic accumulator” is often heard in Permaculture circles and is used to describe plants that have long tap roots that allow them to draw up nutrients and minerals from deep in the ground. These nutrients and minerals are stored in the leaves of the plants which are later “chopped and dropped” or naturally die back or fall to the ground around the base of other plants, allowing them to release the stored nutrients as they decompose, making them…

A Lemon Tree Guild

May 16, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Fruit, Guilds & Companion Planting

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We love lemons and believe every garden should have a lemon tree. Lemon trees are quite hardy and established trees can tolerate drought conditions remarkably well. The cuticle layer that makes the leaves so shiny is what helps to conserve water. We have inherited a lemon tree on our new garden plot that has not been watered in over 6 months, during a very hot summer drought: and it is still blossoming and baring fruit! We have had to prune…

7 Tips for Pruning a Lemon Tree

May 15, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Fruit

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We have been blessed with a lemon tree on our new garden plot. It has not been maintained for quite some time but it still blossoms and bares fruit. We decided to give it a prune to get rid of dead and broken branches, as well as to train the branches to grow out and up and not into the middle of the canopy: air flow and sunlight filtration are important. We will also be planting Comfrey and other Lemon…

The Song of Soil & A Tale of pH

May 10, 2017

Shireen Freeman

Barefoot in the Garden, Planning & Design, Soil Care

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To Garden is to be part Artist, part Scientist & part Dancer. The Artist seeks & sees beauty (in many forms). The Scientist questions, calculates and experiments. And the Dancer weaves between leading and being led. In this Dance of the Garden, we are partnered with Nature. Hearing her music. Moving with her rhythms. We cannot make the sun shine, that is her domain. Her song. Part of the universe. And when the tides are turned, and we are reaping…

An In-Depth Look at Growing Asparagus Seedlings

May 8, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Vegetables

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We are very excited about growing Asparagus! While it can take up to 3 years before asparagus is ready to harvest, this perennial plant can keep producing for up to 20 years! Talk about commitment and abundance in return – we like that! In our research, we have found some great advice that we would like to share with you. Feel free to share your tips and tricks with us in the comments section below. Crowns vs Seeds Plants can…

Asparagus Companions

May 7, 2017

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Barefoot in the Garden, Growing Vegetables, Guilds & Companion Planting

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Companions for asparagus or any other vegetable must be compatible with each other. Asparagus is a perennial that likes a sunny area of the garden. They take 2-3 years to reach a full yield and, thereafter, produce spears for the next 10-15 years! This means that companions for asparagus must like sun exposure and be able to work around the semi-permanent asparagus. Asparagus Loves …. Parsely – helps with plant vigor Basil – helps with plant vigor Tomato – plant…