The Big Feed

Keeping your plants healthy can seem
like a constant battle. Too much rain, not enough sun, pests undermining all your good work.

As a balcony gardener I've found that keeping your plants well-fed strengthens their root systems and defences so they are better able to tolerate fluctuating conditions.

This morning every pot got a good dose of Dynamic Lifter. This fertiliser comes in pellet form and needs to be well-watered in. It's a little pongy at first because it contains nutritious chicken manure, seaweed and fish emulsions - everything a hungry edible loves. But the smell disappears within a few minutes after application.
My plants are already glowing.

Worm Potpurri

I wish I had room on my balcony for a worm farm. But alas there is only so much you can do with 20 square metres!
The next best thing is to adopt some worms. My friend Aymeric has a colony of very happy worms on his balcony two floors above me. And all they need is lots of organic green waste - and that's something I have in bag-fulls.
So every week or so I deliver a bag of delicious worm 'potpurri' for Aymeric's worms and in return he gives me their worm juice to feed my plants. Worm juice is a wonderful nutrient-rich fertiliser that worms produce as a by-product of their metabolism. It's so much better than the synthetic fertilisers on the market.
So even in an apartment block we've managed to create our little own biodynamic cycle.

Wayside Chapel roof garden blitz

There's nothing better than starting the day with a bit of gardening.

And to be able to do it in the middle of a skyscraper metropolis on a roof with the morning sun warming your face seems so surreal.

But that's what we did today. My garden blitz team of Alan, Aymeric, Paula and Neroli, in just one hour, were able to pull out the old summer veggies , top the pots with fertiliser and mulch and a good soaking of worm juice from the newly installed worm farm.

The plants loved it. And so did we.

Balcony Basil Bunch

The flush of balmy weather over Easter has sent my basil bush ga-ga.

A few quick snips and it was transformed into some garlicky pesto.
Recipe on page 47 of my book The Edible Balcony.

Easter - Growers Market Pyrmont

Easter is my favourite time of the year in Sydney. Everyone heads down the coast or to the country leaving the streets quiet and relaxing.

Many of the harboursiders who remain make the annual pilgrammage to the SMH Growers Market in Pyrmont.

The morning is already balmy with huge blue skies.

How pretty do the white canvas stalls look?

I'm stocking up on all my fresh organic veggies for tonight's dinner.

maybe some orchids as well...

And it's hard to go past daffodils this time of the year

 My mother-in-law Gwen is getting some of these chocolate filled easter eggs in real painted shells

ok... I'm getting some for me too!

If you missed them this month they'll be back again in May. I might bump into you.