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Tag: Soil

compost dirt

How to start a Compost Pile

Debbie,

May 25, 2023May 12, 2023

Composting is an awesome way to turn your kitchen and garden waste into wonderful nutritious…

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Welcome to Merchant Homestead

This is me, Debbie, in my natural habitat. Messy hair, natural face, wearing Dan’s borrowed jersey. This is the happy face of a girl in the sunshine, snacking on peas and picking spinach. It’s a good time and I’m glad you can enjoy it too. Thanks for following along my garden journey.

Ventured out to the mandarin tree without a basket

Ventured out to the mandarin tree without a basket today, came back with loaded pockets 🤣🍊

Well it's been a hot minute, but focaccia is back

Well it's been a hot minute, but focaccia is back on the menu! 😋🍞

#thegoodlife #fromscratch #homemadefood #sourdough #bakingbread

A moment please for this delicate pink starburst l

A moment please for this delicate pink starburst little blossom. Just sprouting up from the lawn, and sure, it's a "weed" but that doesn't mean it's not a thing of beauty. Hello flower 👋🌸

If you're anything like me, you haven't removed yo

If you're anything like me, you haven't removed your dead hydrangea flowers from last season yet. Turns out it only takes like two minutes, so let's do it now. 😅🪻

#mybackyard #gardening #flowergarden #nzgarden #gardeningtips

It's porridge season! Time to stock up the oat jar

It's porridge season! Time to stock up the oat jar and unleash warm creamy breakfasts on my unsuspecting family. 🤤🥄

#fromscratch #homemadefood #breakfastideas #inmykitchen #healthyeating

First broccoli harvest of the year! And what a bea

First broccoli harvest of the year! And what a beautiful specimen too. 😊🥦

It's mandarin season and these are some of the swe

It's mandarin season and these are some of the sweetest juiciest little balls of goodness - what a sunny winter blessing 🤩🍊

#thegoodlife #urbanhomestead #growyourownfood #urbanorchard #wintergarden

You can see why they call this dinosaur kale 🦕🦖🥬

You can see why they call this dinosaur kale 🦕🦖🥬

Curried kumara soup, coming right up! 😋 #thegoodl

Curried kumara soup, coming right up! 😋

#thegoodlife #fromscratch #homemadefood #soupseason #dinnerideas

When I say we're having baked beans for dinner, th

When I say we're having baked beans for dinner, this is what I mean 😋

My life now 😅 #nzmum #nzbaby #relatableparenting

My life now 😅

#nzmum #nzbaby #relatableparenting #pov #funnyanimals

Hello beautiful 😍

Hello beautiful 😍

So I was unaware that it's time for the bulbs to s

So I was unaware that it's time for the bulbs to start flowering. We are one day away from the shortest day of the year and already these little bulbs are up and about to blossom! Which reminds me, I have another bag of daffodils that haven't even made it to the ground yet 😅 😬 time to hustle!

Homemade tandoori paste! 🤤🤤 #fromscratch #homemad

Homemade tandoori paste! 🤤🤤

#fromscratch #homemadefood #UrbanHomestead #cookinghacks #homecooking

I love these little beauties. I never planted them

I love these little beauties. I never planted them, they just grow here. And every now and again I spy one of these tiny little flowers peering up at me from under the grass, and that makes me happy. 😊

Easiest way to deseed a pumpkin! Put the knives do

Easiest way to deseed a pumpkin! Put the knives down folks, you only need a spoon. 😊🥄

Loving the butternut in our @wonkybox.nz this season!

#fromscratch #homemadefood #cookinghacks #inmykitchen #soupseason

The winter veg are really starting to shine now! R

The winter veg are really starting to shine now! Rain or shine, frosty mornings, still thriving. 🥬

Fritters!! An attempt at making a savoury pancake

Fritters!! An attempt at making a savoury pancake snack for the wee man. Not posting a recipe for this one because it certainly did not meet the deliciousness threshold... 😅

#fromscratch #homemadefood #babyfood #cookingfail #homecook

Shout out to this tiny ornamental kale. Victim of

Shout out to this tiny ornamental kale. Victim of an over enthusiastic (or careless?) lawn mowing man, who took out a third of our beautiful front flower garden... but hey! Look at em, he's back and ready to shine. 🤩🥬

It's starting!! Broccoli begins 🤩🥦

It's starting!! Broccoli begins 🤩🥦

There's something really lovely about orange manda

There's something really lovely about orange mandarins on a frosty winters day, bringing the brightness to the garden even when the summer sun is away. 🧡🍊

The most satisfying five minutes of food prep 😋 🥬

The most satisfying five minutes of food prep 😋 🥬

#growyourownfood #KitchenGarden #homegrownfood #gardentotable #nzgardener

And just like that we're home again. Seeing off au

And just like that we're home again. Seeing off autumn and welcoming winter. Red and yellow leaves litter the lawn. Mushrooms sprout around the trees. The broccoli starting to form tiny little heads. And this wee garden gnome is seeing it all for the first time. ❤️🍂

Peep the gardener! 👀 But for real, gardens are alw

Peep the gardener! 👀 But for real, gardens are always under maintenance, there's always weeds creeping in or old dead growth to clear away. And while we don't need to do it every single day, it often is easier when we stay on top of things.

Life seems much the same you know? Little bad habits or niggles can creep in, old ways of being might not serve us as well as they used to. There are always things to be pruning from our daily lives to stay happy and healthy, and while it's not something we have to obsess over daily, it is much easier when we regularly prune just a little here and there.

It's a good time to reflect on what I could prune to make my life more lovely.

#thegoodlife #mindfulness #japanesegarden #gardening #intentionalliving

Long time, no post! If you haven't grown suspiciou

Long time, no post! If you haven't grown suspicious yet, the rumours are true. We are adventuring across Japan as we speak. I have a huge backlog of photos and videos that I haven't had the time to post because I've been too busy living life to the fullest. Perhaps I'll catch up at some point, but for now, let me show you a beautiful torii gate at Meiji Jingu. The first Shinto shrine we visited on our trip and one of the most beautiful.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit this place, I highly recommend taking a tour with Alex from @welcome_to_jpn_ he is the best tour guide we've met on our trip so far and made it a great and insightful experience.

Sending love to everyone back home ❤️✨️

Sourdough kit from @symbiota_fermenting has delive

Sourdough kit from @symbiota_fermenting has delivered! Look at this beauty of a loaf. Got to be happy with that! 🤩🍞

#gifted #homebaking #fromscratch #sourdough #sourdoughbread

I know these aren't turning into fruit this time o

I know these aren't turning into fruit this time of year, but I still appreciate the effort and the little blip of yellow in the winter garden. 💛

Smashing out some banana pancakes, too easy 🤤🍌 #f

Smashing out some banana pancakes, too easy 🤤🍌

#fromscratch #homemadefood #cookwithme #breakfastideas #satisfying

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