Mistakes We Made In The First Two Years On The Farm

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Sheep and lambs on a tropical homestead

This post is going to be very real, and it may draw some criticism, but this is our journey. We bought our 5 acre farm property (homestead, if you prefer that term) just over 2 years ago now, we acquired a whole bunch of animals, grew a whole bunch of food and it’s been great, … Read blog

10 Foods You Can Grow For Free!

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foods you can grow for free

Gardening is not an expensive hobby if you have time and patience, infact, many plants you can grow for free. We are all feeling the pinch financially these days. Growning more fruit, vegetables, edible flowers, and herbs in our own backyard (or even indoors) is a sure-fire way to reduce food bills and save money. … Read blog

Will Chickens Destroy a Garden?

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Chickens in the garden destroying garden beds

Yes, chickens will destroy a garden in a variety of ways, if they have access to that garden. If you have a small number of chickens in a very large garden you may not notice much damage, but chickens can and do destroy mature plants and can be particularly damaging to young plants and seedlings, … Read blog

Can You Grow Basil in The Tropics?

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Basil growing in the tropics

Yes, you can grow many types of basil in a tropical climate, with great success. In cooler climates basil is normally grown as an annual, but in our tropical climate you can have great success growing basil year-round, so long as your winter temperatures don’t dip too low. What Types of Basil Can You Grow … Read blog

Can You Grow Lettuce In The Tropics?

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types of lettuce to grow in the tropics

Yes, you can grow lettuce in the tropics. Many varieties of lettuce or salad leaves do well in a tropical climate, which may be surprising as they prefer cooler temperatures. The trick is, to grow them in winter, and as the weather warms up, keep them shaded. Lettuces bolt, or go to seed much faster … Read blog

Can I Grow Chillies From Supermarket Chillies

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can you grow chillies from supermarket chillies

Yes, you can grow chillies from supermarket chillies, in fact, chillies are one of the best plants and food crops to grow from supermarket scraps. Our post tells you how to grow chillies from supermarket chillies, to save you money by growing your own food. You can grow edible plants indoors, or outside in raised … Read blog

Best Edible Plants To Grow Indoors

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Edible plants you can grow indoors in pots

You can grow many of the best healthy edible plants indoors. Here on our list you can find plants that don’t take much space and are delicious when they’re ready to harvest. The best part is, they are easy to set up, taking nothing more than some water, good soil or potting compost, and light. … Read blog

Baby Guinea Pigs Available

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Baby guinea pig

Baby guinea pigs available in Port Douglas, Mossman, Cooya Beach, Julatten and surrounding areas. We can deliver. Simply leave a comment with your email address or phone number and we’ll be in touch. Located in Far North Queensland Australia, we have baby guinea pigs as pets or lawn mowers. Guinea pigs are easy to keep, … Read blog

Colours of Guinea Fowl

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guinea fowl colours

Domestic Guinea Fowl come in many many colours, including Pearl ( dark grey, wild type), White, Peach, Buff Dundotte, Cinnamon, Copper, Coral, Royal Purple, Porcelain, Slate, Chocolate, Violet or Mulberry, Lavender (also common, light grey) and Coral Blue. In addition almost any type can be pied, pied birds have white patches. Guinea fowl also have some blue red and white markings around their … Read blog

What Nuts Will Grow in The Tropics?

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Nuts tropics

Many types of nuts will grow well in the tropics, including coconuts, cashew nuts, macadamia nuts peanuts and almonds. While peanuts and almonds are not true nuts, most people would think of them as such, we give you the botanical definition of a nut in this post. Don’t mistake nuts for vegetables, because nuts are … Read blog

How To Grow Bananas

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How bananas are grown on farm

Growing bananas is relatively easy, but requires a warm, humid climate and well-draining soil. Bananas are generally grown in the tropics and are an excellent food plant to grow in a tropical climate. This post covers how to grow bananas for new gardeners who want to branch out from vegetables. Each banana plant will only … Read blog

Does Growing Fruit and Vegetables Save You Money?

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People say that gardening is when you spend $300 to grow $1 worth of tomatoes. This can be true for some people, but if you get it right, growing your own fruit and vegetables can be a great way to save money. In these difficult times, with household expenses going through the roof and a … Read blog

Can You Freeze Lemons?

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lemons

Yes, you can freeze lemons. You can freeze lemons whole, halved, sliced, as zest or juice. The way in which you freeze lemons must be determined by what you plan to use the frozen lemon for. This posts talks about the various ways to freeze lemons, and uses of frozen lemon of all kinds. Lemons … Read blog

Can You Grow Mulberries in The Tropics?

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Mulberries growing

Yes, Mulberries do grow in the tropics. We are picking or harvesting ripe purple mulberries from our tropical garden right now, in early October, our spring. Which came as a surprise to me as I first encountered mulberries back in my home country, Wales UK, and later in the mountains of Romania, where winter temperatures … Read blog

Why Won’t My Plants Grow?

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Plants not growing

Why won’t my plants grow? I’ve been there too. Plants not growing, seedlings not germinating, small, weak plants much smaller than they should be and taking far too long to grow. It may not be your fault, you may not have a “black thumb”. The problem could be your bought soil or compost not being … Read blog

What Does Tropical Mean? Tropics and Tropical

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tropics and tropical map

Tropical is defined as relating to the tropics. But what are the tropics? The tropics are the part of the world closest to the equator, with the northern boundary being the Tropic of Cancer, the southern boundary being the Tropic of Capricorn. However, being in the tropics and having a tropical climate aren’t exactly the … Read blog

Can You Grow Cucumbers in a Pot?

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cucumber growing in pots

Yes, you can grow cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) in a pot, container or raised bed so long as you provide them with good soil, adequate water, and adequate sunlight. You will need to provide a stake or trellis, in the pot or nearby if you plan to grow them vertically. A vining cucumber will trail and … Read blog

Food Plants to Grow in the Shade

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food plants that can grow in shade

Full, deep shade isn’t the best choice, partial or dappled shade is more what we need for these shade-tolerant food plants. Shade can be very useful in summer to stop plants such as rocket and lettuces from bolting and going to seed. Shade can also reduce the rate of a plant’s growth in some instances. … Read blog

Lemongrass Recipes, Using Lemongrass in Recipes

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lemongrass recipes uses lemongrass recipes

Lemongrass recipes are surprisingly diverse and this traditionally Asian ingredient has found its way into dishes from diverse cuisines around the world. We give you a round up of lemongrass recipes, which you’ll need if you’re growing lemongrass in your tropical or subtropical garden. Some people even grow lemongrass in their gardens in cooler climates, … Read blog

Bananas, Growing Bananas and Banana Plants

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growing bananas banana fruit

Growing bananas and banana plants is pretty easy if you have a warm-tropical environment, This post covers how to grow bananas , some important tips and tricks to produce your best banana crop, and some vital facts about growing bananas. Growing Bananas Bananas grow in bunches on a banana plant. A banana plant is not … Read blog

What Does Point of Lay Mean? Chickens at Point of Lay

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point of lay chickens

Point of lay chickens are chickens that are just at the point at which they will start laying eggs. You’ll often see chickens advertised for sale as being at “point of lay” and this is a good time to buy chickens, you should get eggs from these birds within days or weeks. Of course, nobody … Read blog

How To Chicken Proof Your Garden. Protect Plants From Chickens

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how to chicken proof your garden photos protect plants from chickens

If you have chickens free-ranging in your garden, on your property, homestead or back yard, you’ll need to chicken proof your garden, pots, raised beds, and vegetables. These are the chicken-proofing ideas and designs that have worked for us in our garden over several years of keeping chickens in a garden or homestead, in suburbia … Read blog

How To Grow Lemongrass?

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how to grow lemongrass growing lemongrass preserving lemongrass uses of lemongrass

How to grow lemongrass? Lemongrass is very easy to grow outdoors if you have the right growing conditions. You can grow lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus or Cymbopogon flexuosus) in a large pot, raised bed, or direct in your garden soil. Growing lemongrass is easy if you have a tropical climate. In cooler climates, you will likely … Read blog

What Fruits Grow in Tropical Climates? Tropical Fruits

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what fruits grow in tropical climates

The list of fruits that grow in tropical climates is incredibly long. There are so many tropical and subtropical fruits you can grow in a tropical climate that you’ll never be able to taste them all. Some fruits that grow in cooler or temperate climates will also grow in the tropics. This post lists all … Read blog

What Grows Well With Pumpkins?

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what grows well with pumpkins tropics

Pumpkins are easy to grow and can give you a huge volume of food. But what grows well with pumpkins? What can you plant near pumpkins that will help them grow better? Are there plants that will not be happy near pumpkins and do pumpkins actually have any companion plants? Will pumpkins choke other tropical … Read blog

10 Essential Tips For New Gardeners

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10 essential tips for new gardeners

Essential tips for new gardeners, a top 10 of things you need to know, before starting a garden or setting out to grow your own food. It doesn’t matter where you’re gardening, these 10 tips for new gardeners are great for everyone. Here are our best tips for new gardeners. The most important, is probably … Read blog

Food Plants You Can Grow From Supermarket Scraps

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Growing food plants from scraps

There are many, many food plants that you can grow from supermarket scraps. Don’t believe anyone who says you can’t. There are way more than I can even mention in this post, but I’ll do my best to tell you how. Once you know how, for different plant, herb, and fruit types, you can try … Read blog

How Often to Water Basil Plants?

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How To Water Basil, How Often, When to water

How often to water a basil plant depends on many factors. Is the plant small or large and bushy with lush green leaves? Is it in a small pot and is that pot plastic or permeable like terracotta? Is the plant in good soil, rich in organic matter, or is the soil poor and hydrophobic? … Read blog

How Do Pineapples Grow?

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how do pineapples grow

Pineapples are sweet, delicious, golden yellow fruits from tropical regions. If you love to eat pineapple but have only seen it in tins or at the grocery store, this post explains how do pineapples grow, and how to grow pineapples. Pineapples are farmed commercially in our region, field after field of rows of spiky pineapple … Read blog

The Best Mulch is Chop and Drop

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What makes the best mulch leaves from tree and fallen fruit

In the tropics we really need to mulch. Mulching keeps weeds down, retains moisture, adds nutrients and keeps harsh rain and sun from damaging your soil. I’ve mulched with every imaginable substance, straw, hay, coconut mulch, grass clipping, and now I’ve found the best mulch for my garden. Chop and drop makes the best mulch … Read blog

Keeping Guppies Outside in a Pot or Pond in the Tropics

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keeping guppies in a pot in the tropics ceramic pot

Guppies should do fine in outside pots, ponds, or other containers in a tropical climate. They are very easy to keep, and depending on your set-up need almost no maintenance. Finding a suitable pot or container to keep guppies outside can be tricky, we’ll talk about that, also about maintaining water temperature, filtration, water plants, … Read blog

40 Great Benefits of Growing Your Own Food!

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list of benefits of growing your own food (2)

Growing your own food is not just a hobby, it’s an investment. You are investing in future food supplies, in nature, in sustainability, your health, and in your soil. You can save yourself a lot of money by growing a tropical edible garden, and you’ll be helping the planet at the same time. Lets look … Read blog

How To Grow Green Chillies

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growing green chillies

It may surprise you to know that green chillies and red chillies come from the same plant, just one is ripe,and one is picked early. Of course, there are many, many varieties of chilli pepper plant (chile or chili to our US friends, the double l in chilli is the British English version also used … Read blog