4th November 2006

Yes, I know, I've shifted the site again - sorry. We're fixed here at the Victorian Flower Garden now. Really. Promise.

The potatoes are doing spectacularly - currently growing at over an inch a day - my life is spent packing them with straw. I hope I have a bumper crop of spuds - love the things. The vegie garden is romping ahead as well - now I can eat my greens off it each day - they taste just spectacular.

The birds are doing well (save for the blackbird chicks, which the cats ate). When I first arrived here the garden had very few birds. Now I am inundated with blackbirds, Indian doves (which take up residence in the pea straw ... I find them curled up asleep in the stuff!), sparrows, rosellas. By late summer we'll be getting the great sweeping raucous crowd of sulphur crested cockatoos as well, come to eat the walnuts and shit on the cats. Oh my Lord, can these Nonsuch birds shit! Never have I seen such great piles of excrement! It can't be all the solitary chicken ... the others must be responsible as well.

This weekend - pack in more straw about the spuds (done). Compost and straw out the side garden. Weed.

Hopefully this year will be the worst for weeds - so much of the bought-in compost had weed seeds in it, as well this garden simply hasn't been weeded for over 20 years, so I am dealing with the previous owner's sloth. If I can get on top of it this year, it won't be so bad next year. This is what I keep telling myself, anyway.

7th November 2006

On the weekend I commenced the final slaughter of the remaining patch of lawn. Currently this runs up the western side of the house. It is a lovely wide patch, and sheltered, and will become a wonderful flower garden ... oh, the plants I can put in there!

But first I must slaughter the grass. I have been saving cardboard and newspapers for weeks, and so spread them out thickly, watering them in, then piled masses of pea straw atop that. Unfortunately I ran out of newspaper and cardboard not even a third of the way in, and so the slaughter of the final two thirds shall need to wait until I have accumulated more paper and cardboard. I'd been awaiting the delivery of a large parcel yesterday, and was sure that it would come wrapped in cardboard, but it came wrapped in useless plastic. The grass celebrated.

I don't know why people like lawns. I loathe them. what a waste of garden space! People carry on and on about lawns, but they invariably are full of weeds, take many hours of care, and just look ... suburban. Why anyone would want a lawn over a garden bed or wonderful herbaceous border I have no idea.

My tomato seedlings are inching into life. Perhaps in a couple of weeks I can plant them out into their final pots. They're already doing well in the outside, but need to be a tad bigger before they dare the big pots.

13th November 2006

Death to all lawns, I say! I can't understand the Great Australian Fixation with lawns - they are hideous (usually), ugly (usually) and time-wasting (always) affairs. They get in the way of a garden.

To the right you see the final patch of lawn on a half acre block in its death throes. I am laying down thick swathes of paper and cardboard and then adding a thick layer of pea straw mulch atop that. Hopefully in about 6 months I will have no lawn and a big new area to turn into garden.

It is a good area - it may not get any morning sun, but it does receive lots of afternoon sun and is sheltered from the terrible winds we get rolling in from the north-west.

Now ... what shall I plant ...?

19th November 2006

A tired day today, and wondering why I can never ever find an end to the weeding ... it isn't so much an end to the weeding, but finding the time to do it. Today I was certain I'd have an hour or so spare - the front garden desperately needs a weed, but the food garden also needed attending, and seeing as that feeds me then that got the attention and not the front flower garden.

Radishes now all mature - sown more today. Should have done it weeks ago ...

Also planted rocket, more spring onion, more carrots.

Took out some of the lettuce - planted far too many. Took out some of the bloomsdale spinach that was starting to bolt - had a lunch of spinach from the good leaves, and fish. Yum. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to eat from my garden.

I have finally planted out all the tomatoes - plus I walked down to the nursery and purchased a couple more varieties. Now I have about 16 plants ... hopefully I will get a good crop from them.

While I was at the nursery I bought a lemon tree. I have never liked lemon trees, but this one looked quite pretty and it begged to come home with me ... so now it, too, has its own little pot among the tomatoes.

My strawberries are nearing maturity! I haven't netted them (more a lack of time than anything else) so pray the birds won't get to them. I'll definitely plant more strawberries next year. Also I ate a small meal of raspberries the other day.

Suddenly I have food!

Next year, an apple tree or two. Possibly down the side garden?