Looking back at last month's photos (1st Oct), I can't believe how much things have grown or changed!! But then, this is spring, and everything is now growing at a rapid rate (especially the weeds and grass!). Next month's pics are sure to be even more astonishing. Meanwhile, let's take a wander around my garden as it was on the 1st of November....I've got lots of new ideas going on!
The main vege beds - lots of brassicas in flower, which the bees are LOVING, along with the flowers of the lavender, chives, strawberries, raspberries and boysenberries.
Coming to the end of the brassicas now, though there are still some good things to eat! Because I was not yet ready to plant anything new in this bed, I let some of the brassicas flower. The purple cauliflower in particular produced huge flower stems. I won't be saving the seed from them though, as I've decided the purple cauliflowers take up WAY too much space for the food they produce, and we just don't like them enough to justify it.
The front part of this bed has been cleared of all but a few of the lettuces which had gone to seed - I've left one of each variety, staked for support, at the back to produce seed. The spring onions around the edges are flowering; I've left these for the bees as well as seed, plus with spring onions when they flower, the plants go right ahead and produce new spring onions off the same base, which they are already doing.
I've planted the middle with beetroot seedlings, and left the chickweed that is growing across the front of the bed to add to salads.
The back half of this bed contains leeks. I've learned two things about leeks - they take AGES to grow to maturity, and in certain conditions they bolt easily, making the leek almost useless. Unfortunately, most of these are bolting - I'm going to harvest them for stock and plant new ones elsewhere, in a location they can become a perpetual crop as per the excellent explanation I found HERE
I've planted the middle with beetroot seedlings, and left the chickweed that is growing across the front of the bed to add to salads.
The back half of this bed contains leeks. I've learned two things about leeks - they take AGES to grow to maturity, and in certain conditions they bolt easily, making the leek almost useless. Unfortunately, most of these are bolting - I'm going to harvest them for stock and plant new ones elsewhere, in a location they can become a perpetual crop as per the excellent explanation I found HERE
At the beginning of last month, this bed was covered in a mulch of lawn clippings. Now the back half is planted in broad beans, with alternating rows of spinach (they benefit from each other's shade). In the front half are three zucchini I planted out despite the risk of late frost - figuring if we didn't get one I'm ahead of the game, and if we did, I'd simply replace them. There are also three bok choy plants, just to see if they do ok or bolt. All of these are inside cut off plastic bottles to provide some wind protection when they were planted as we've had two months of howling gales almost non-stop. Time to remove those now that the weather has settled and the plants have outgrown them.
There is also a solitary broccoli seedling in the corner - more about that in a minute.
The broadbean rows have a wooden batten in the ground at each end, with string running the width of the bead and around both sides of the stakes, with multiple layers of the same. This provides some excellent support for the broad beans, which grow up between a line of string on each side. As they get taller, I add more string higher up the stakes.
There is also a solitary broccoli seedling in the corner - more about that in a minute.
The broadbean rows have a wooden batten in the ground at each end, with string running the width of the bead and around both sides of the stakes, with multiple layers of the same. This provides some excellent support for the broad beans, which grow up between a line of string on each side. As they get taller, I add more string higher up the stakes.
This bed has been sown in a cover crop of buckwheat. I've never done that before, but the theory is that the plants will be flowering within 4 weeks of sowing, the bees love the flowers, and at that point it can also be pulled or cut and laid on the surface as an instant mulch. I'm wanting this bed for tomatoes soon, so we'll see how it goes. When this photo was taken, it was 12 days from sowing.
The strawberry bed now has the hoops and netting over it, and is beginning to produce lovely, luscious berries. The chives are also looking particularly magnificent! Frequent comments from visitors include "WOW, look at the SIZE of those strawberries" or "Wow, look at those chives!!" Something about this combination is working really well!
Since the garlic I planted in 3/4 of this bed isn't much use, but there are cloves in the ground still, when I scored a pack of free broccoli seedlings I decided to plant them in here, strictly as an experiment to see what happens with the white butterflies begin doing their thing (I've seen a few flitting around). One plant I put in the other bed with the broad beans, as a control. The rest of the garlic is doing well.
The silverbeet and even the celery (which I molly-coddled under cover all winter and only planted out in Sept) are all going to seed. There are some peas doing ok, but much smaller than the ones in my other pea bed, and a couple of very large leeks that are going to seed. I think I'm going to leave the leeks and one silverbeet to produce seeds - everything else will be cleared out to make room for tomatoes.
There are a few small cabbages still growing along the front, but most of this bed is past it's prime and will also be cleared for tomatoes. I'm going to leave one broccoli plant in to produce seed. One thing that has astounded me is the sheer side of the purple cauliflower stems and root systems (at left in photo). When I pulled these babies up (a couple of days after taking this photo) I just about broke both a spade and a garden fork trying to lift them - and half the soil in the bed wanted to come with them! The stems are so thick my fingers don't meet (by a long shot) when I wrap a hand around them!
Brussel sprouts would have to be my major flop-crop this year! They bolted too fat to produce many useable sprouts, though the parsley underneath is looking good. I'm going to clear this bed and turn it over to one of my daughters to grow things in this summer.
Peas are looking good now that I've vanquished the snails! As soon as they are done, I'll be moving the rosemary at the front of the bed and turning this bed over to another daughter to grow veges in.
Carrots looking good - and still needing thinning. I keep saying I'm going to do it....
Raspberries and boysenberries are looking really great - and the first of the raspberries are ripening! I'm going to need to get a frame and some bird netting over these asap!
I've planted one of these tyres with cosmos, phacelia and zinnias - flowers for the bees and insects. I've under-sown the blackberry with some buckwheat too.
The red currant was getting really battered by strong southerly winds, so my husband helped me put up protection in the form of a spare piece of plywood, wired to two steel rods (rebar) inserted in the ground. No more broken stems - yay! The tyres have been mulched in sheep's wool from our sheep, and the bees are loving the lavender!
I finished digging over the potato patch, and it has been planted in chitted (sprouted) certified seed potatoes. There are four long rows, two each side of the boards I put down the middle. The boards are so I can walk down the middle without compressing the soil too much. Each spud had the following put under it:
1 heaped TBSP Neem Tree granules
1 level TBSP Gypsum
1 tsp Rok Solid
1 tsp blood & bone
handful sheep pellets
Because I was planting out 50 seed potatoes, rather than try to measure the above out as I planted each one, I got 50 paper cups from the $2 shop, lined them up on my table, and measured Neem into each one, then Gypsum and so on. When planting, it was a simple matter of dump a cup in the trench, stir in a little, then pop a spud on top. The cups are stored away in the shed to be used for similar garden projects, or to be used as mini-plant pots.
1 heaped TBSP Neem Tree granules
1 level TBSP Gypsum
1 tsp Rok Solid
1 tsp blood & bone
handful sheep pellets
Because I was planting out 50 seed potatoes, rather than try to measure the above out as I planted each one, I got 50 paper cups from the $2 shop, lined them up on my table, and measured Neem into each one, then Gypsum and so on. When planting, it was a simple matter of dump a cup in the trench, stir in a little, then pop a spud on top. The cups are stored away in the shed to be used for similar garden projects, or to be used as mini-plant pots.
I put down my first pallet bed at the beginning of the month - this is laid on thick cardboard (for weed suppression) then filled with a mix of compost and old rotted down sawdust. I've planted it with leaf lettuce for salads. The location is next to a building that provides some afternoon shade - should be perfect for the lettuce which don't like it too hot.
Pallet beds are good for shallow-rooted crops. The wooden slats help to minimise weeds, shade the soil, and retain moisture.
Pallet beds are good for shallow-rooted crops. The wooden slats help to minimise weeds, shade the soil, and retain moisture.
In the last week of October, my daughter laid out and filled two more pallets, ready for planting in November
I've been wanting to put up a fence to keep the dogs out of the vege gardens for some time, and right at the end of Oct my darling daughter did most of the work erecting this, due to a shoulder injury that was preventing me doing much heavy work. It's perfect - just how I imagined! I will write a separate post about exactly how we constructed it. One side is high so I can plant a climber there; the other side is low so that looking out from our dining/living room I can still see across into the garden area, and if any livestock get into the yard I'll be able to see them too. Next plan is to build raised beds along the base of both sides.
This area here just behind the fence I'm planning to dig over and plant with yacons and who knows what else?
The newly created (last month) bed with feijoas in it has been underplanted in flowers for the bees (and to conserve moisture) - zinnia, phacelia and cosmos
With help from two of my teens, we've constructed a triple-bay compost bin set up out of free pallets. The middle one will remain empty until the grapes are harvested from behind it, so I can step into that bay and reach the vines. The bin on the left has partially-done compost I turned into it from the pile that was beside it. The one on the right is just in the process of being filled.
A lovely brew! Horse manure in a porous sack is suspended from a wooden batten in a barrel of water. Every time I walk past I use one end of the batten to lift and lower the "tea bag" in the water. It's quickly developing into a lovely, nutritious brew for the garden.
The bicycle rims you can just see the edge of are part of a pile I'm collecting to use to make various trellises. My son had collected a lot of bikes he used to make other projects, fix things etc. When it was time to clear the remaining junk I asked to keep the wheel rims.
The bicycle rims you can just see the edge of are part of a pile I'm collecting to use to make various trellises. My son had collected a lot of bikes he used to make other projects, fix things etc. When it was time to clear the remaining junk I asked to keep the wheel rims.
Two worm bins set up - the new on top of the old. Compost, manure tea, and vermicast - three excellent ways to feed my soil!
A temporary fence made from pallets prevents the dogs from getting in from the other end of the garden by the greenhouse. When we rebuild a glasshouse instead, a more permanent fence will be put in. Meanwhile, the middle pallet swings like a gate, hinged on a waratah.
The greenhouse is choka with seedlings ready to be planted out this month (the picture shows less than half of them!)
I want to dig a large bed along the fence behind the washing lines. The fence shades it for most of the day, but I reckon there's lots of things I can plant along there!
My husband and I recently added wire to the top of the fences to keep the chickens out of the yard. Yay, no more chicken invaders. Well, except for this ONE....but that's another story!
My husband and I recently added wire to the top of the fences to keep the chickens out of the yard. Yay, no more chicken invaders. Well, except for this ONE....but that's another story!
And this area here....part of it is wet and low-lying; I'd like to dig a pond there. The rest of it...I have lots of ideas! I wonder what it will look like by next month's photos?? Lawn's are seriously over-rated, and I don't need any in my food garden area!
My awesome kids have collected 18 trailer loads of sawdust/horse manure from a stables so far - it's composting down on the front lawn. I haven't had time to do any work in this area yet - coming up as soon as I get the bulk of the prep and planting done in the back yard.
I scored a load of brand-new concrete bricks off of Freecycle last week - how cool is that? Got lots of ideas........watch this space!
Found this gorgeous wee bird-seed feeder at Pak 'n Save for less than $6 - couldn't resist. Wonder how long it will take the birds to figure out there's free food?
What do YOU have going on in your garden this month?
What do YOU have going on in your garden this month?
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