The Biosphere Blog

(This article was originally posted here on The Wollongong Nursery Blog.) First published here 2nd April 2026. By far the best all-round pest control method is to simply exclude them. This is of course often easier said than done, but for many many… more »

Soil Organic Matter (SOM) ‘Organic’, in science, means nothing more than ‘contains carbon’. It doesn’t imply ‘healthy’ or ‘good for you’ — atrazine is as much ‘organic’ as is glucose.… more »

This post is for people with small (or no) yards, or who otherwise can’t or don’t wish to set up an outdoor compost pile, but who would still love to ‘do their bit’ and feed their trees at the same time. This composting-in-a-box… more »

Composting Composting is an age-old technique of converting waste organic matter into nutrient-rich soil amendments that add fertility to a soil. There is the slow method of ‘cold’ composting, and then there is the faster ‘hot’… more »

While waiting for the terminal buds of the 2020 Ta-Jan blogging tree to do — or not! — as predicted, I thought a post on transplant shock an interesting diversion this week. Back on the 22nd September 2020 I did a photoblog post showing the two years of… more »

The Air-Pot® Having recently discussed root anatomy here and here, and this being the time of year deliveries are being prepared and people may be thinking about pots and potting, I thought I’d keep to the root theme by writing about a particular… more »

Many hobbyist/backyard fruit enthusiasts prefer to plant their jujube trees in large pots either because of their soil type, the tree’s suckering habit, or both. Keeping a tree in a pot also helps control its growth and manageability. And pots of… more »

Planting Aspect Jujubes do best in full sun and prefer exposure to the sun all day. If a solitary tree, and/or a tree in a pot, position it such that it faces north and is free from surrounding shade-casting trees or structures. If planting several,… more »