Out Of The Garden and On The Road

Yesterday was spent travelling the 200+ kilometres from home to the city, where I will be spending a couple of days. That means I will be suffering from garden withdrawal symptoms for a short time.

Canola in the distance

On the trip down south I was astounded by how green the paddocks were, except for those where Canola crops are in flower.

It was a cloudy overcast day, with occasional burst of sunlight, and those patches of sunshine always seemed to have picked out these Canola crops. The bright yellow colour was at times incredibly bright.

With the wattle trees along the sides of the roads also in bloom at this time, and patches of soursob in some places, the countryside is predominantly various shades of green, from the crops of wheat, barley, oats, peas and beans, and the yellows of the plants mentioned earlier.

This is a huge contrast from the browns and pale  straw coloured yellows of summer and autumn.

It's amazing what some rain will do. And this year's rains have been good, with the farmers at this stage looking to have bumper crops. Some have been trying to make sure that their crops get the best chance of great production by having them sprayed by air. I saw at least 3 crop dusting planes in action on my trip.

It won't be long and the crops will be starting to dry, and the roads will be busy with grain trucks heading to and from the silos.

It'll be back to the garden in a few days, no doubt to pick some more peas, and check how well things have grown.

The Patient Gardener or The Gardening Patient

Being a gardener helps with developing patience. It takes time for plants to grow, and there's not much, apart from making sure the plants are watered, fertilised and protected from the elements or predators.



Wattles in Spring



This has been reinforced for me recently after returning home after a couple of weeks after a short hospital visit. The need for fresh fruit and vegetables has become important for me, but there is not much that can be done to speed up their growth.







As we head into spring, however, I can look forward to some of the work done earlier bursting into life. Some examples:


• Broad beans that have had flowers for weeks now should start to set their pods soon. I heard some bees  buzzing around them today, and should get some pollination going.

• I can't keep up with the snow peas. I have to give lots away.
• The grape vine around the back  shed are starting to shoot new leaves.

• Blackberries are also shooting new leaves. The young plants looked dead all winter.
• I discovered a Chaste Tree (very small at this stage) buried in the weeds, and it has leaf buds about to burst.
• The olive trees planted months ago are also shooting.
• Flowers are forming on the orange and lemon trees.
• And more.....

I'd better stop writing now and get out there to do some more of those jobs that Spring weather produces. Weeds!

My Useful Weeds

The weeds in my back yard have grown incredibly well this winter. Heading into spring, I am sure that they'll take off even further.

Rather than let the work involved in getting rid of them get me down, I thought I would see if I could get them to help me in the garden.

Fertiliser From Weeds

Firstly, I have made some fertiliser/plant food from the stinging nettles. Well, some of the stinging nettles. I've far more than I can use to make the nettle fertiliser, or containers to make it in.

To make the fertiliser, I filled a plastic rubbish bin with nettles, covered them with some of my excess rainwater, added a little Seasol (fish extract plant food) to kick the brew along a bit and sat back to wait.

Well, actually I left home for 2 weeks while it did it's bit, leaving any smell for the neighbours to suffer through. Sorry no pictures, of this one, it's just too gross looking, almost as bad as it smells.

In a few days I will separate out and bottle the liquid, for adding to my vegetables to give them a nutrient boost.

Straw For Mulch
Secondly, I have started to cut down some the grass type weeds, like barley grass, rye grass and wild oats. They have been put in a couple of places in the yard to dry out and form the straw that I can use for mulch when the weather warms up.

So weeds are not all bad. Now I just have to work out ways to use the other weeds, like marshmallow and the horrible prickly ones with milky sap.

Any suggestions?

Growing Tomatoes Down Under: Part 1

Time to start Tomatoes Down Under (Australia that is)

After nearly 2 weeks away from home I was really thrilled to see that some tomato seeds that I had planted some time ago had finally germinated.

There were 3 different methods that I tried and amazingly they all have started to germinate at the same time.

Mini Greenhouse, Plastic Cover Removed

One group were started in small pots with seed-raising mix, started in mid-July and placed in my small greenhouse with the hope that enough warmth would be provided to get them started. After several weeks of no action they were moved into the shed near a north-facing window that has several hours of sunshine (when the sun is shining, of course) each day. Still no action, despite making sure that the pots did not dry out. I was about to give up on these so I set up another couple of trials.

Another group were sown in a small wicking bed, and a transparent plastic meat tray placed over top to act like a mini greenhouse. These were sown in mid-August, and nothing appeared to be happening by late September, when I was away from home for about 2 weeks.

The other group were sown like the first group, in small pots and kept in the small greenhouse. They were also sown in mid-August. They also had not germinated by late September.

The results:

Wicking Bed Seedlings
Small, but germinated at last!

When I returned home on 13th September all 3 groups had started to germinate. The group in the Wicking bed had the best rate of germination, the pots left in the shed had dried out a bit, because they could not be watered while I was away, but 1 seed had germinated. The 3rd group had a couple of germinating seeds.

What next:
The seedlings that have already started will be nurtured so that they can be planted out when the weather warms up a little, and after the last frost.

I will keep some of the plants in the wicking bed, because I want to check how they go in there, and also because it can be moved around the yard into the best position to help with growth.

I have been surprised how much the simple act of growing a few vegetables has excited me, and that is the perhaps the prospect of having fresh and nutritious food to eat when they mature.

Progress reports should follow in the next few months. I might even have some extra tomatoes to share.



Small Tomato Seedling



Back Home Again. And It's Raining

After 2 weeks away from home for a minor operation, I arrived back home to find that the weeds had grown another 30cms or more. I just had time to have a quick walk around the yard before the rain set in, AGAIN!

Every time I come home it seems that the rain starts immediately. At least this time I think the gutters will hold up and I won't get any overflow into the bathroom.

This is what it looks like out my back door. I can't get any further, it's too wet!

The Back Yard.

The weeds are almost hiding the vegetables. Broad Beans (on the left) are the most visible, because we cleared the garden beds in front of them just before our time away.

In the centre, the telephone peas are just peeping over the weeds, but everything else is hiding.

There are 2 wheelbarrows in the yard. Can you spot the second one?

On my quick trip around the garden I found:

• 
  
  The Broad Beans will need support around them to stop them swallowing up the vegetables nearby. The poor old Globe Artichokes can hardly be found. The Beans have lots of flowers but not much evidence of setting pods yet.
• 
  
  I have about 10 or more meals of Snow Peas to pick, when the rain stops.
• 
  
  The Rainbow Chard are doing well. Growing in size and showing great colour.
• 
  
  The Telephone Peas are starting to set their pods, and there are lots of flowers. They got battered around in the storms when we were away.
• 
  
  The Rhubarb is starting to develop new leaves. We thought we might have lost them in the cold, wet winter.
• 
  
  New leaves are developing on the Thornless Blackberries. They also went quiet in winter.
• 
  
  The bugs still love the Tuscan Kale. I'm not sure we'll get much from those plants this year.
• 
  
  The Broccoli is starting to flower, so it looks like I'll have a few meals with fresh Broccoli in the next few days.
• 
  
  The Horse Radish has sprung back to life.
• 
  
  In the Wicking Beds, the Rocket has gone to seed, Lettuce has reached maturity, Broccoli (planted later) are growing well, new plantings of Rocket and Lettuce have stablished themselves. See the photo below.
• 
  
  I have some Tomato and Capsicum seeds that have germinated. Now to nurture them to get started with this summer's crops.
• 
  
  And that's just the vegetable patches!

Wicking Beds in the Rain!

As I was coming into town I just had to check what was happening under the bridge, and YES the Rocky River has water in it!

With today's rain I guess that it will get some more, so I'll have to get out in the next few days to take some photos.

In the flower beds, we have some progress too. A couple of Nasturtium plants have flowers, so I'll be OK if hay fever sets in soon. I chew a Nasturtiun flower at the first sign of hay fever, and it seems to work a treat.

The Herb Robert Geranium is going crazy, as is the Fruit Salad Sage. These are 2 plants that we have had difficulty with in the past.

I just can't wait until tomorrow to have a closer check of all that is happening as Spring starts to make its presence felt.

Winter In Full Swing

It's more than 2 weeks since the last entry, but the last fortnight has been a tricky time.

A few days in hospital waiting for a diagnosis for the severe stomach pains I felt, and then a trip to city to have the specialist blast the stone that was a major contributor, meant that there was no time for working in the garden.

I think the weeds must have known something. they have grown tall and thick. Especially the Stinging Nettles. I have never seen so many in such a small space, but at least the rain we have been having has kept the ground soft, which makes the nettles easy to pull. Some of the nettles will hopefully made into a soup for fertilising the garden.

Those weeds that I am not pulling by hand being cut down to ground level using a second-hand scythe that I found at Crystal Brook last weekend. I was not expecting to be able to find one so soon after deciding that it might be a suitable tool for the job. Good exercise and no fuel or fumes.

It has been raining most days for the past week so the makeshift water storage containers are overflowing. I really must get another rainwater tank. But it  has been great to sit inside on those rainy days, listening to the rain on the roof, especially when there is a loaf of bread being baked in the breadmaker.

Although it's winter, and sometimes the range of vegetables to harvest might be less, we have enjoyed the salads that we had for lunch in the last couple of days. Thanks to the Snow Peas, Lettuce, Italian Parsley and Rocket that have been established. Now is the time to get some more going, because they won't last forever. I also had the first of our Brocolli from the garden yesterday. It was only tiny but at least the caterpillars didn't get it!

How come the bugs in the garden only choose the vegetables to eat and leave all the weeds alone? And it's hard to catch the little critters, although the evidence of their presence is obvious.

As I'm writing this, the rain is falling again. I'm wondering if the amount of rain this winter is typical of the location.

Mid-Winter Update

It's about time to give a quick update on some of the progress being made with the garden.

In the Vegetable Patches:
The first Snow Peas have started to set some pods, and in fact we had a small serve of them with lunch a couple of days ago. There are lots of flowers and little pods setting on the plants. Another small patch of Snow Peas has been planted, after I scrounged some old cyclone fencing and posts, to make their climbing frame.

The Asparagus crown that were split up and transplanted several weeks ago have sent up their first spear, so they have been covered with some more compost and soil to encourage longer spears. We may not get much from them this year as they establish themselves after transplanting. Hopefully those that were not moved will provide us with some good spears.

A perennials vegetable patch has been started, with Aparagus, Jerusalem Artichokes and Rhubarb being planted there. Some Globe Artichokes have also been planted near the Broad Bean patch. The Beans are continuing to grow well, and look like they will be in flower soon.

Some more Broccoli seedlings have been planted, this time in the wicking bed that has just had the Lettuce removed. I am hoping that this might make it easier to keep pests like earwigs (I think it was them than that wreaked havoc with the first young seedlings that went in) and cabbage moth caterpillars at bay.

The Spring Onion seedlings are growing well and some more seeds have been sown. One lot has been transplanted and another lot is being kept in the large planter box where they were sown.

To get an early start with some of the summer veggies we have bought a cheap and small greenhouse to help with propogation.

We met another gardener at the Port Augusta today, and he asked if we had Tomatos started yet. He said that he plants out his seedlings on 1st August, with plastic protection, and starts harvesting in November, with plants about 2m tall. That supplies him and neighbours with plenty of Tomatos. I planted some seeds a couple of days ago in the little greenhouse, so they won't be ready by 1st August, but hopefully I'll get some to plant out soon after that, and get an early start. Just have to keep the frost away.

I also have some Capsicum and Coriander seeds in the greenhouse. Hoping to get the same thing as the Tomatoes going with them.

Picked up more Australian Native Shrubs at the market, from the gardener mentioned above. And some chook, sheep and pig manure (from another seller) to help add nutrients to the compost and garden beds.

Some people think that Winter is a time to catch up on some of the maintenance jobs, but I'm finding that it can also be a busy time getting things started for Spring and Summer. There's still lots to do, like finishing pruning the Grape Vines that haven't been pruned in years.

And I haven't mentioned the weeds that are growing centimetres each day!!! Well I have now! But that won't help get rid of them.

Lost To Frost

We returned from a weekend away to find that there must have been at least one night of frost as some of our plants were damaged.
The most affected were a Salvia, the poor Chokos (that we are having trouble establishing) and some recently germinated Nasturtiums.
To help prevent any further damage and to protect some other possibly frost tender plants I put some covers over them.
When I inspected the back garden this morning this is what I found.

This scene was possibly devastating, as everything was covered in thick white frost, and many of the plants might just be destroyed.

Even the Broad Beans were covered with ice and limp. They soon recovered, but not before they caused me some concern.

Ice was everywhere this morning, on the car, over the ground, on leaves of plants and also over the top of water that has been collected from a leaking downpipe. That water is in a wheelbarrow, and the ice was a couple of millimetres thick over the top.

It looks like the action of covering the affected plants was worthwhile as they don't seem to have been further affected. And those plants that did get a coating of frost this morning have all bounced back, without apparent damage. Time will tell.

To help with recovery for some plants I splashed them with some water to wash off the frost. For the Loquat trees, that seemed to have worked as the leaves don't appear to have any damage. I did notice that the water on those leaves did freeze over again, but that was just on the surface, hopefully preventing any freezing of the cells in the leaves.

In some future posts I hope to outline what has been planted, and how they are going.

Winter Is On The Way

I spent Sunday at home, tending to the wood fire in the kitchen stove, stirring the soup on the stove and enjoying the smell of freshly baking bread in the breadmaker.
All that and listening to the rain on the roof, and the rainwater tank overflowing.

There was very little happening in the garden for me, but it seems like there of plenty of action going on there.

The little broad bean plants seem to have grown a couple centimetres overnight, the peas have started to cling onto their framework by their tendrils and everything looks damp and clean.