A juvenile eastern spinebill uses its curved beak to access nectar in kangaroo paws.
Build your garden

How to bring more birds into your garden

Insects play a vital role in supporting native birds. Here's how you can plant to attract more bugs, and so more birds, to your backyard.

Don't throw that old milk out, you can use it on your garden.
Basics

Don’t cry over out-of-date milk & other tips

Our experts have some simple solutions to help you grow your harvest organically.

As soon as you stop digging the soil starts to repair itself.
Basics

Join the no-dig revolution

There's a growing number of gardeners who have hung up the spade and adopted the no-dig approach. Phil Dudman explains why.

Red wrigglers are the best worms to use.
Soil

Worms in small spaces

Not everyone has a backyard with space for a compost or worm farm, but these ideas from Kate Flood will work on a benchtop or balcony.

Guano is a word that originates from the Andean indigenous language, and means, “the droppings of seabirds”.
Build your garden

From seabirds to soil: the use of guano to boost soil health

Sponsored content

Guano is a natural fertiliser that, once harvested, can be processed sustainably. The result? A soil additive that provides essential nutrients for plants.

With a bit of prep work you'll have a bountiful garden this summer.
Maintenance

Your end of spring to-do list

Before spring ends and the worst of the heat arrives, take some time to prepare your garden for a successful summer, writes Angie Roach.

Sophie Thomson's mini wicking beds in old washing machine drums.
Basics

Small container wicking beds

ABC Gardening Australia’s Sophie Thomson was sceptical about wicking beds but now has 22 and is a convert, saving huge amounts of water, and time, in her vegie garden.

Raising your own seedlings is a great skill to have as an organic gardener.
Build your garden

Success with seedlings

If you think raising your own vegies from seed is too hard, or you’ve tried it with limited success, don’t give up! Phil Dudman is here to offer some help. 

Chicken can help keep garden beds tidy.
Bees, poultry & livestock

Health-boosting plants for your chooks

Jessamy Miller suggests some crops to grow that your chooks will love, but are also good for their health.

Elemental sulfur corrects sulfur deficiencies and  lowers soil pH.
Soil

Does your soil pass the test?

Knowing which nutrients are in short supply (or oversupplied) can help you take a more targeted approach to fertilisers that you add to your soil.

MIFGS Superbloom display
Basics

Create your own patch of diversity

The future of native gardens was showcased at the 2023 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. You can even create one in your own backyard!

Bantams lay eggs that tend to have a larger proportion of yolk to white.
Bees, poultry & livestock

Bantams: the small space chook

If you’d love to keep a few low-cost chooks for eggs but have limited space, bantams are the answer, writes Jessamy Miller.