Technically it's now autumn, but the weather has remained extremely hot and mostly dry. Despite January being one of the driest on record (we had 5mm of rain in the entire month here), my garden has continued to grow. February saw more rain, and growth became rampant. Unfortunately, this time also coincided with me being extremely busy in some other areas of responsibility, so my garden has suffered 8 weeks of near total neglect. About all I did was continue to water my greenhouse, herb tree, and other potted plants.
So now, I have a jungle to tame. On the plus side, there is food growing everywhere I look. But the weeds, especially, have taken advantage of my lack of attention, and have become rampant. Super-cyclone Pam is also bearing down on NZ - due to hit tonight. The wind is has already picked up and is increasing. I don't expect it to do a great deal of damage here, close to the western coast, but one never knows.
So now, I have a jungle to tame. On the plus side, there is food growing everywhere I look. But the weeds, especially, have taken advantage of my lack of attention, and have become rampant. Super-cyclone Pam is also bearing down on NZ - due to hit tonight. The wind is has already picked up and is increasing. I don't expect it to do a great deal of damage here, close to the western coast, but one never knows.
So, today I will batten down the hatches - moving vulnerable pot plants to more sheltered locations, relieve young fruit trees of any remaining fruit, and check there's nothing to blow around too much.
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll also be working on one section of my garden at a time, taming the jungle, clearing the weeds, harvesting crops, and preparing and planting for winter. I'll post updates each day I'm able to work on the garden, with before and after photos. My aim is to have my garden reasonable under control by the end of the month, and well on the way to being prepped and planted for winter.
Actually, I've made a start already - I've managed to work on my garden for three days. So I'll post about those first.
How about you? How's your garden looking? Are there any tasks you need to take care of? Have you started sowing and planting winter-bearing crops? Whatever you need to do, now is a good time to get started. Unless, of course, you're in the Far North or East Coast of the North Island. If that's you, then right now you need to just make sure you and your household are safe and prepared for Pam. Stay safe folks, and once things are calm again, let's get stuck into those gardens. Remember: if you don't plant it, you will never know just how much food you can grow!
Over the next couple of weeks, I'll also be working on one section of my garden at a time, taming the jungle, clearing the weeds, harvesting crops, and preparing and planting for winter. I'll post updates each day I'm able to work on the garden, with before and after photos. My aim is to have my garden reasonable under control by the end of the month, and well on the way to being prepped and planted for winter.
Actually, I've made a start already - I've managed to work on my garden for three days. So I'll post about those first.
How about you? How's your garden looking? Are there any tasks you need to take care of? Have you started sowing and planting winter-bearing crops? Whatever you need to do, now is a good time to get started. Unless, of course, you're in the Far North or East Coast of the North Island. If that's you, then right now you need to just make sure you and your household are safe and prepared for Pam. Stay safe folks, and once things are calm again, let's get stuck into those gardens. Remember: if you don't plant it, you will never know just how much food you can grow!
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