Farm happenings...

Live your best life by learning from others.

Autumn in the Garden

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Autumn in the Garden

The last few days have been so very salubrious in our garden! Cooler temperatures gave us the best indication yet that autumn is just around the corner. Yippee! And Friday was the perfect transplantin...

1 May 2026

0 110

Bailey & Co. Property

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Bailey & Co. Property

Summer on the Mid North Coast is not for the faint-hearted gardener. Farming is inherently a high risk enterprise at the best of times, but never more so than during our summer. The heat, humidity and...

1 May 2026

0 116

The GMO's are Coming

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

The GMO's are Coming

Back in August 2025 I wrote about the Californian company seeking approval to grow and sell us all GMO tomatoes. Well... Last month, the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and Food Standards Aust...

1 May 2026

0 118

Market Gratitude

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Market Gratitude

At the end of each year, Rod and I spend some time reflecting on the months behind us - the successes, the failures, and the reasons for both. Have you ever noticed that our failures tend to stand out...

1 May 2026

0 108

Beware the Little Foxes

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Beware the Little Foxes

I heard as a child that foxes love eating watermelon. I wasn’t a distrusting child, but I wasn’t quite sure about the foxes and watermelon story. Until I found a big Klondike watermelon completely hol...

1 May 2026

0 107

Raquel's Perspective

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Raquel's Perspective

Hello, Homegrown Organics friend! As I write these lines, the chime of bell miners and the rustling breeze whizzing through the gum trees create the perfect setting for a delightful moment of reflecti...

1 May 2026

0 108

The Relentless Pace of Busy

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

The Relentless Pace of Busy

My brain often feels like a browser with 47 tabs open, and this is magnified around the end of the year when I am preparing to travel to visit family, or getting ready for family to land on my doorste...

1 May 2026

0 104

Where There is a Will, There is a Way

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Where There is a Will, There is a Way

A couple of years ago our daughter Katie was so excited that her new home had a space out the back where she could grow a veggie garden. She soon discovered that it was so shaded that most of her plan...

1 May 2026

0 176

Stunted Growth

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Stunted Growth

All sorts of factors can stunt or impede the growth of the seedlings you lovingly transplant into your garden. Low soil fertility, specific nutritional deficiencies (eg. nitrogen), too much or too lit...

1 May 2026

0 117

The Invasion

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

The Invasion

Last Tuesday we first noticed the Rutherglen bug invasion our first since 2019. These small 4-5mm long grey/brown fast moving native bugs have a cross on their back from their folded wings. They are h...

1 May 2026

0 110

Dug, The Hidden Hero: Never underestimate the importance of good drainage.

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

Dug, The Hidden Hero: Never underestimate the importance of good drainage.

When we think of growing a lush, productive garden, our minds turn to compost, sunshine, and the right plants for the right season. But there’s a quiet champion working below the surface that often go...

1 May 2026

0 111

These Bad Girls - too much rain leads to powdery mildew

Masters Of Fresh, Desley Bailey

These Bad Girls - too much rain leads to powdery mildew

There's no doubt these girls are struggling. Growing cucumbers in June on our farm at Rollands Plains, outside Port Macquarie, is a hard ask at the best of times. In spite of the genetics that help th...

cucumbers gardening grow your own organic

10 Aug 2025

0 225