Some Success in My Vege Garden

 My garden is still very up and down and the weather has been the same. We alternate between 30+ degrees Celsius and freezing rain and wind. I even had the fire going about a week ago. 

I've just been spending some time in the sun, listening to the bellbirds singing in the oak tree, trying to make a dent in the weeds that have taken off and reflecting on what a lovely and peaceful place it is even so.

I wasn't able to provide fresh peas for Christmas lunch, but I was able to pick four pods yesterday. I did provide some new potatoes. They were carefully exposed and picked without disturbing the rest of the growing potatoes or plants very much.

Unfortunately, all the rain has created a problem with the old water trough I planted carrots and radishes in. I had hoped that the stones I'd filled the bottom with would be sufficient drainage, but they weren't enough for the amount of rain we've had. 

Many of my carrots and radishes have rotted just beneath the surface. I did look at the bung that these troughs have at the bottom. But I don't think this has moved at all since the trough was made however many decades ago and it isn't moving now.

We've discussed drilling it out and drilling holes in the trough itself but no one is prepared to commit to retiring it from possible future use as an actual water trough. 

My tomatoes are doing very well. I've been sticking the laterals I pick off into the ground. They seem to sulk and wilt for a day or so, but the majority look like young, freshly planted tomato plants now. I'm hopeful for a good crop.

Both my cucumber plants (third Lebanese and second apple) are thriving. I have a small maybe 4 inch long Lebanese cucumber on the plant and I can honestly say it's the biggest cucumber I've ever managed to grow. 

I had to take the nets off as the beans were starting to grow through the netting instead of the support strings I've provided. 

I've decided to leave the wild part of my garden alone for now. I'm not keeping up with the weeds in the planted parts of the garden as it is and I don't currently have anything to plant in it. 

December in My Vege Garden

 It's been a while since I shared any of the goings on in my garden, I was asked about it recently by a friend who has been following the story.

There hasn't been a lot to tell really. 

I tightened up the nets since the blackbirds were still finding ways in. I planted more beans and sunflowers. Some of them have even started growing. 

Both my cucumber plants suddenly died. I've been told not to plant another cucumber in the same spot as there may be fungus in the soil that attacks cucumbers. I don't know if this is true, but it's easy enough to plant new ones somewhere else. 

The chilli seeds I planted have shown no signs of coming up. So I visited my Happy Place, as I've started calling Woodend Nursery, a local garden centre. The only chilli varieties they had were Jaiwas, a green chilli I'd never heard of before. I bought two and while I was there, I bought two new cucumber plants, one Lebanese and one Apple. I also picked up some red capsicum plants. 

I've since bought some habanero plants and wildfire chillies. 

Something was still eating my plants. It looked like slug damage, so I spread around some slug and snail bait. 

What a difference that made! In a week my beans doubled in size and grew new tendrils. 

Potatoes are still growing beautifully. I've been struggling with finding material to go into the tyres. We ran out of old branches to mulch and my pile of aged, rotted manure has all gone. I could use some of the fresher stuff from the paddocks but there is a fairly high chance of lots of problem seed growing in it too. Grass clippings and leaf mulch have been in use with some mulch from freshly cut branches. 

I haven't done much more clearing of the wild untouched parts. Partly because of the lack of mulch, partly because I don't have much yet to plant in it and partly because the weather has been hideous for the past few weeks. Any fine days are spent weeding and caring for existing plants. 

I have set up a mini greenhouse for raising seedlings. I had plenty started in it when a nasty storm with a lot of wind threw my little greenhouse and all its contents across my deck. I scooped up all the soil and unsprouted seeds into a large tray. We'll see if anything comes up in that. I rescued the sprouting sunflowers and Kumara. 

My plan was to start a few more brassicas every few weeks in successive plantings. They don't really freeze well so fresh is better. 

I haven't spoken about the drive behind this garden. I didn't want to open myself up to judgement if I failed. 

I've given up smoking. Gardening has been my distraction and my reward. Garden art has also played a fairly big part. I'm painting rocks to put around my garden. I've made a 'Welcome to My Garden' sign, although that hasn't made it into the garden yet.

I've also made personalised similar signs as Christmas presents for family, but you don't get to see them until after their new owners do.