Apple Pip

18/06/2022

Thanks everyone for your support with ApplePIP over the years 😀
I have decided to move into a new venture, one that is still outdoors and helping people! It’s called Deep Breath Nature Therapy and I’ll be offering nature immersion through walks and meditation here in the Blue Mountains. Please follow me on FB or Instagram 🌿🌟🦋 or visit my webpage

https://www.deepbreathnaturetherapy.com.au

25/01/2021

There are 30 000 edible plants - WOW!

Non-profit Food Plant Solutions represents five decades of work by agricultural scientist Bruce French to catalogue more than 31,000 edible plants so children do not have to go hungry.

24/01/2021

Celebrating water in the landscape 😀

Stormwater drains are an essential suburban utility, but are often neglected eyesores. Now the barbed wire fences are being replaced with vibrant public parklands.

03/10/2020

It’s spring and the pears have flowered for the first time this year!

29/07/2020

Harvesting native grains for bread 🥖
Go Bruce Pascoe!

Writer’s farm in East Gippsland, Victoria, is producing native grains for flour and bread using traditional Aboriginal techniques

25/06/2020

Can’t get fresher 😲😀

Grocery store takes “local” to the next level, one story above the produce section IGA is the first grocery store in Canada to sell veggies from its own roof. More than 30 kinds of organic produce are grown on the 25,000-square-foot roof=top farm, including heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, eggplant, ...

21/06/2020

Another great diagram that shows how the sun position and intensity is different throughout the year. Have a cup of tea in your garden and observe it, where is the sun, where is the shade at different times ☕️

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!

Today is the shortest day of the year. Traditionally it's a time of reflection. It is also a time to celebration of the return to lengthening days and the impending spring.

The Earth tilts on its axis throughout the year. This makes the Sun "appear" to change its path at different times of the year. I write "appear" as we all know that it's the Earth that moves not the Sun!

In winter the Sun appears to rise very north of due east and set very north of due west. At midday on the winter solstice in Melbourne it appears very low (28 degrees) on the northern horizon.

In summer, the Sun appears to rise very south of due east and set very south of due west. At midday on the summer solstice in Melbourne it appears almost overhead (75 degrees).

You can use this knowledge to accurately predict which parts of your garden are going to be in full sun and shade at different times of the year. This helps you to analyse your site and decide where to locate elements such as veggie garden beds. There’s finally a use for your high school trigonometry! This image shows the calculations for MELBOURNE (and all locations on the same latitude).

Of course, the amount of sun your backyard receives at different times of the year is influenced by many factors. These calculations are only for sun angles at midday. They don’t take into account morning and afternoon sun, the influence of trees (deciduous vs evergreen) and other factors.

In some of our upcoming workshops we will be exploring how changes in light impacts your garden at different times of the year.

Photosynthesis: Just add Water, Air and Sunlight (as part of The Science of Edible Gardening Series): https://site.corsizio.com/c/5ecd823d6c05e540415b69a2

Small Space Foodscape Design Class: https://site.corsizio.com/c/5dbfb200a6bc555fafdc5fae