Gardening, Homesteading, and Growing Food in the Tropics
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 more
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 more
I’ve never wanted to be off-grid. Until very recently. Despite not having any drive to be off-grid, we are, a little. We have our own water source, solar power, a generator, and we cook off bottled gas. We have no phone or phone signal. We live up a mountain in Queensland Australia. In the tropics, … Read more
Animals on our homestead or farm include a horse, cattle, sheep, goats, turkeys, geese, guinea fowl, chickens (many types), a duck, peacocks, a dog, cats, a snake and fish. We have almost 100 domestic or livestock animals, plus plenty of wildlife! We are located in Far North Queensland Australia, so wild animals include wallabies, snakes … Read more
What are the differences in keeping guinea fowl and chickens, and can you keep the two types of bird together. You can and we do. Let me tell you a little about each bird. Guinea Fowl and Chickens Guinea Fowl vs Chickens Roosting Chickens will “put themselves to bed” around sundown once they’re familiar with … Read more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
Yes, you can grow many varieties of radishes in the tropics with great success. As radishes are a very fast maturing root vegetable food plant to grow from seed, theyre actually a very fast crop and can thrive in a tropical climate. Both the roots and leaves of radishes are edible and can be preserved … Read more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
Mulberries grow on trees, not bushes, so despite the popular song, it’s a tree, a deciduous tree that grows easily in seemingly any climate. The fruit, bark and leaves of a mulberry tree are all edible and there are various culinary, medicinal, and other uses of mulberry leaves. This post is about mulberry leaves and … Read more
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 more
A lot of people wonder if you can eat silkie chicken eggs. Are these fluffy chickens just pets, or are they any use as egg layers or meat birds? We have a breeding flock of, currently, 12 silkie hens and roosters, and yes, silkie chicken eggs are edible. People, us included, eat silkie chicken eggs … Read more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
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 more
Growing papayas in the tropics is super easy. Or, at least, I’ve been able to grow them with no problems in a tropical climate so I think you should probably be able to too. Here in Queensland Australia, they call papayas pawpaws. Well, I’m from Europe, they’ll always be papayas to me. Pawpaw is actually … Read more
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 more
Towards the end of 2021, after almost 2 years of lockdown, we bought a farm. A homestead, if you like, a place to settle, our own land, our forever home. Can we guarantee that? No. But we’ll give it a go and if we don’t like farm life, we’ll move on again. So we bought … Read more
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 more
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 more
If you grow chillies you’ll know that each plant produces a lot of fruit! Whether you grow chillies indoors or in the tropics, and no matter what variety, your harvest should be plentiful if you have good soil, water, and warmth. For me, chillies grow as a perennial, I have fresh chillies every day of … Read more
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 more
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 more