Vegetables
now getting more of my attention - today I am planting
out the potatoes in cages rather than in the ground -
good use of space when the vegetable beds are already
a tad crowded out with salad and onion crops. This will
be the first time I have ever planted them this way ...
so will be interesting to see how they go. I'll pop up
some pictures once they are underway.
Weeding
and mulching now a priority. I have run out of lucerne
hay, and need to order some more ... but in order to do
that I need to shift a massive pile of compost sitting
in my driveway! Oh well, I guess it needs to be shifted.
The
garden is still in its utter infancy, but I think I will
do OK over this summer. Rain still desperately low - at
least we don't have water restrictions! I need to concentrate
this year on getting the garden established before we
have any hint of water restrictions.
Need
to think rainwater tank ...
The
manferns are doing splendidly - you can just see their
tops in the pic to the right, looking over the temporary
lattice windbreak. Daffodils are just about all I have
out at the moment, but the peonies are mostly growing
on strongly. I have most of my tube stock planted out,
but I still have many, many foxgloves to go - maybe today
if I can get away from the computer.
I
wish the walnut would hurry up and leaf - the hostas underneath
do not like the sun!
11th
September:
Much
weeding and mulching, the final tube stock plants either
potted on or planted out, and now I am starting to scatter
seed about willy nilly to fill up spaces. Mulching is
not going according to plan - mainly because there is
almost no mulch available - I have had to bed pea straw
and lucerne out of suppliers. Hopefully supplies will
start to flow again soon. I've done almost all of the
garden that really needs it, but there are still spots,
and I'd like to spread out cardboard and compost and hay
down the west side of the house, over the lawn, as a no
dig solution to eventually planting it out as a new garden
bed next year.
Have
started my tomatoes - here they are, just conceived, sitting
on their heated incubator in the kitchen where, hopefully,
I won't forget to water them as I need to reach over them
five times a day for tea or coffee! I have currently planted
two varieties - Tommy Toe and Tigerella, but may plant
more as the season progresses.
The
walnut tree is finally starting to leaf up, the robinias
are all sprouting and showing signs of distinct life,
the hostas are springing, the potatoes are still fast
asleep in their cages and the seeded vegie beds are just
looking ... like bare soil, as are the recently seeded
herbs. Hopefully something shall start to appear soon.
I
tidied up the potting bench and area yesterday. Somehow
life seems so much more hopeful when the potting bench
is clean!
One
of the horse chestnut trees, grown from a conker from
my old tree at Ashcotte, is going well. I just have no
idea where to plant it ...
16th
September:
For
weeks I have been admiring a neighbour's beautiful tree
peony and wishing I had one just like it. Well, today
he held a garage sale, and he had 2 of the peony's children
for sale! Definitely a red letter day. Also, the very
first of my asparagus spears are emerging - I can't harvest
them this year, but next I will be able to take a few
spears.
The
horse chestnut can go into the front garden, I think.
Either that or to shade the side verandah for summer,
although that would block the view. Front garden almost
definitely - I can use it to shade the bay window.
Have
connected up the final two enclosures for the cats - will
set up a page for the enclosure system soon.
Most
of the seedlings have sprung in the vegie patch, the walnut
tree is finally showing signs of life, the manferns
are spectacular, one of the peonies has buds which I shall
reluctantly have to pinch off, and all the robinias have
burst into leaf. One of the paper birches is being very
slow ...
And,
finally, this week I oiled the verandah!
The
pic is of the view of the house from the front gate -
silver birch out, ancient camellia doing its best to avoid
the chop.
17th
September 2006:
I
had put up a series of pages on the cat run ... rather,
the cat
empire!
The
stevia have germinated, for which I am most grateful.
21st
September:
All
is coming along swimmingly - save for the wind, which
is too swimming for its own good! great blast over the
past few days, and snow on the mountain today. But at
last some rain, for which I am very, very grateful.
The
vegetable patch is really starting to look the part now.
Most seeds have germinated - I'll give them another week
of growth before I start to thin them out. A few days
ago I stocked up on huge pots for the tomatoes and climbing
cucumbers and gherkins - no more room in the beds! The
tomatoes are already germinating in seed trays (Tommy
Toes and Tigerellas), and hopefully I can pop them out
in late October (it being, so I am told, the correct time
in Tasmania to pop your tomatoes into the garden in Show
week which is in late October for Hobart). Below is an
early morning shot of the market square (as I call the
vegie garden). The green leaves in pots are not edibles
at all, but meadow saffron, waiting patiently in pots
until they die back for me to plant them out into the
garden. For the moment, however, they lend the Market
Square some greenery! Note my over indulgence
in watering cans ...
29th
September:
The
first of my roses is almost out - this is an ancient and
unnamed rose that I pruned back savagely in autumn - it
has responded with a burst of new growth and a multitude
of rosebuds.
This
morning a much anticipated package of blue Himalayan poppies
arrived. They will be going into the woodland-rainforest
area.
Much
weeding done, and last week made a trip down to a hardware
store and bought some you-beaut sprinklers for the woodland
- no more hand watering in there for me!
The
walnut tree is teasing in its slow revelation of leaves
- they are almost, almost out - a delicate tracery
of olive green all over the tree. At least it is now casting
some shade.
Many
savage and gale force winds this week. The robinia trees
do not like them. The manferns have lost a couple of fronds,
but haven't done as badly as I'd feared. The good side
of the weather has been that we've finally managed some
rains. Not heavy, they have nonetheless been most welcome.
I
need more vegetable room - I think one of the flower beds
will be dug out this summer.
