Jessica's Page

I've been working a fair bit with companion planting, and thought I'd share what's been successful (so far), and then you can tell me what's worked for you, so next year I can try them out!

1. Garlic/Onions and roses. Title of a book for good reason. The roses sharing space with the garlic bed and the onion bed are blooming like mad and not too bothered by bugs.

2. Spinach and nasturtiums. The spinach looked like it would take over the entire garden. So we ate it. Yum!

3. Potatoes and marigol… Continue

Having just coughed up a whopping $900.00 to access the internet, I thought I should make up for lost time. I realise that most people would consider time on-line as lost time, but for the amount it's costing us to remain connected to the world we've moved away from, it more of an investment, really.

What a lot of changes for us in the last 6 weeks! I used to pride myself on keeping the car in the driveway and walking everywhere. I used to brag that we were a 1-car family. I used to pop off to… Continue

I need to rant.

I was pointed to an article on the BBC website about artificial turf lawns being an environmentally friendly alternative to grass lawns. You know the stuff, they were in the 'organics' section of Canada blooms this year. The argument is that, for people in desert climates, this way they can have green grass without using water or pesticides or fertilizer. People with allergies can play on them without fear of hives. You can buy a variety (O my goodness I'm not kidding) which has… Continue

I spent the spring square-foot gardening here in my 12 by 15 vegetable garden. I've put more plants in it this way than I ever managed doing the usual rows. It's as pretty as a picture, but I'm worried the collards will attack the tomatoes some night when I'm not looking. What a fantastic way to manage a vegetable garden.

Unfortunately, most of the vegetables won't be ready to eat until after we move house. Would I look stupid filling the moving truck with potted veg? And have you ever heard of… Continue