Homestead Gardens Nursery

24/06/2026

Aren't they adorable?

🐢🤣 WARNING: TINY TURTLES WITH ZERO ROAD SENSE AHEAD 🤣🐢

Hatchling season is here, which means we may have hatchlings who think footpaths, driveways and carparks are perfectly reasonable travel routes.

Spoiler: they are not.

💚 Found a wandering baby turtle? Here’s how to be their hero (cape optional):
• Gently scoop them up — they’re basically 20 Cent pieces with legs
• If they’re cold or sleepy, warm them in your hands until they wiggle
• Deliver them right to the wetland edge, tucked safely in the reeds
• If they look injured, take them to a wildlife hospital or call Wildcare Helpline 9474 9055
• Log your sighting on TurtleSAT so science can celebrate too

💛 Please don’t:
• Leave them on paths or roads (they will absolutely make bad choices)
• Put them in deep water
• Take them home — they’re wild, not pocket pets

Every hatchling that reaches the water is a tiny miracle… Thanks for helping these little legends survive their first big adventure.

22/06/2026

I love it when we use discarded, reycled materials to make functional, aesthetically pleasing items! ♻️♻️
Today's task, after picking up a leaky rainwater tank off marketplace (thanks Marc) was to convert it into two usable raised gardens. Total cost, $50.00 for the tank, one angle grinder blade, a couple of dollars for the aluminium netting arches, 10 tek screws, a length of damaged poly pipe we inherited, and an hour of work! Voila, two quality garden beds to add to the nursery cutting garden! 🥬Saved us several hundred dollars and used 'stuff' we had around. Winning! 💚

22/06/2026

Timely article from Edible Gardens by Craig Castree regarding the herb Mullien (Verbascum thapsus) as I have also been using it this week. I don't currently have any plants availble at the moment but I am sure that Made For The Earth will have some. If not they will have seed.

20/06/2026

I was chauffeured to Toodyay today as I was still feeling decidedly under the weather, and our first stop was the fabulous Butlers Essentials where I needed to replenish my herbal supplies! Butlers are my go to for Immunity Boosters and Fire Ciders, and they stock a lovely variety of different tonics and organic herbal preparations. Needless to say I stocked up on my favourite products and will be set now for the Winter and for a couple of birthday gifts I have coming up.
Next up was the always outstanding Toodyay Bakery where we had morning tea. Nothing beats their delicious range of Sourdough loaves, delish meat pies and fabulous variety of cakes, plus the coffee is pretty damn good as well! Lastly we strolled down to the old mill to check out the newly opened Toodyay Antique shop. We used lots of restraint and only succumb to three items😉🙂

19/06/2026

Toodyay Community Garden are excited to announce our 2026 Interactive Workshops program!

We are kicking off with a Sauerkraut and Pickling Fundamentals Workshop on Sunday 24th May. Attendees will learn the science behind this ancient food preservation technique and how to craft the perfect pickle with your favourite natural herbs and spices.

Spaces are limited, so please register your interest by completing the registration form below:
https://forms.gle/YPXNwm3dhh4tEiqC7

15/06/2026

I was invited to attend this fabulous field day and just had to share. The day will cover everything soil health, compost and regenerative gardening practices, healthy, natural remedies and an informative fruit tree pruning demonstration. The main speaker is a Master Orchardist with a wealth of experience, so ideal for those of you that have fruit trees or food forests and need to tackle those tricky pruning tasks. You will also get a garden tour of my friend's absoloutely, beautiful, productive garden Iris Affair! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity as remaining places are limited!

14/06/2026

I love it when my darling husband goes shopping at the Green Life Soil Company with the truck! ❤️💚Unloading four tonne of bulka bags containing 2 x certified organic veggie mix, 1 x certified organic veggie concentrate and a bag of potting mix has made for a VERY big morning. I am SO grateful that we have tractors 🚜 🚜!! The nursery garden beds are now top dressed, veggie concentrate has been incorporated into new beds at a 30% rate, with the remaining concentrate distributed under roses and fruit trees to build up the soil and give them an extra boost for Spring.
The main focus this morning however, was topping up the raised garden beds which we have been adding to for the past two years. We have lined the bases with recycled shade cloth and then geotek fabric to function as a root barrier, as we have previously had issues with native trees invading the beds. We then combined both heuklculture and lasagna principles in building up and establishing the beds as we wish to recycle ♻️ garden waste e.g. tree branches, leaves, and ruined hay and straw plus sheep dags to line and insulate against the heat and composted sheep and cow manure from the property.
Apart from purchasing the geotek fabric, every other component has been recycled including the steel on the long bed (old shed roof) recycled rain water tank, cut in half and bartered from a neighbour and the remaining raised beds all came from FB market place.
These beds we top-dressed for planting later in the week after we have a nice shower of rain. These beds are so bountiful, that we managed to keep three families in vegetables for more than 6 months last year.

08/06/2026

Thought I'd share some pretties before it rains!

07/06/2026

Well that was another fabulous day at the Kalamunda Garden Festival. We were blessed with the most glorious weather and got to spend time catching up with lots of friends and customers. It was especially lovely to catch up some of our rural ladies, Katharine, Tania, Sharon and Ngairie and our fellow stall holders. Thanks to Funjobs Garden Gloves for the loan of your charger, you saved the day! Huge thanks to Mandy-Jane Osenton, Andrew and your army of volunteers for organising another outstanding day!! Thank you all for supporting our small family business, we greatly appreciate it!