Yard Update



Angelica and Catnip




Veg. Patch




Itis




Passionfruit



Yellow Creeper



White Jasmine



The yard is now starting to look a bit better now than it did..The veggie patch has been cleared of the weedy mess and the Silverbeet from last summer now in the compost bin along with the weeds....(said compost bin is groaning with pleasure <grins>)

Right now its getting a much needed soaking, even after the rain in the last week or so, there are still patches where its a bit harder to dig over. Must be time for some more seaweed to help over the coming summer months... Hopefully, in the next week or so, more veggie plants will go in. Such as Sweet Corn, beetroot, lettuces etc.

The Herb patches are now starting to come along nicely. The Garlic chives got a much needed haircut and the Catnip and Angelica are loving being in the ground instead of pots at the back door.

The raspberries are now starting to form fruit, along with the strawberries. Later today the strawberries will be covered with netting to keep the birds of. The birds have already gotten to two of the ripened strawberries and they are for me to eat, not the birds.. <grins>.

The side  fence has been planted out with Iris's, Jasmine, Passionfruit and a yellow creeper. In a few months it should to look great... (the side fence I am  talking about is just near the loungeroom window, so the jasmine of a night should smell amazing)

Veg. Patch

Beans

Celery and Silverbeet

HotHouse

Generally other plants and weeds.

  

 

 Above is some photos of my veg. patch which badly needs some work doing in it. After being away for about 3 weeks, I think somehow today is the day it will get some much needed attention before I get too busy working for other people...<grins> ... we all need the cash to live eh.  The weeds need to go.. <evil grin>.

I have in it Currant Bushes, Beans,Silverbeet, Raspberries, and a few other things.

The Hothouse is where I have any plant that I am establishing to be planted out. It is a cheaper, movable one that I bought a couple of years ago. At the moment it is just outside the kitchen window and tied to the drainage pipes due to windy conditions here. (that is usually from about August to February) Tying it down seems to be the only way to keep it in one spot and it is sitting on a cement path to add warmth to it.

Raspberries



Weeds need removing



Most of yesterday...............

Was spent out in the garden mulching with lawn clippings.

Why the lawn clippings, well ya gotta do something with them other than chuck it all out, and the garden always needs mulching. <grins>

Mulching is good and helps keep the soil moist and somewhat weed free. I grab whatever I can to put around the garden beds really. Seaweed is my preferred mulch and it feeds the ground, as do many other forms. Here we can go to the local beach and just bring it home by the bag full ( and I mean the bag full, trailer full and or ute full)...

I must admit that when I do water or its raining the seaweed smells terrific as the water hits it and the beds look great once there all done.

Growing your own Food.

What is better and healthier than growing your own food, nothing at all.

For me, it means getting out of the house and doing something other than sitting in front of the box in the corner of the lounge room. Being more active and my mind isnt dwelling on nonsense or make believe problems. The problems of the world can be fixed by gardeners.

Not only that, it means I am being proactive with the environment as well. Looking after my garden spaces equals looking after the world in a small way.

Its a great way to have a positve impact on the environment and your community.  Community gardens are springing up in most towns and cities for those who dont have the space because of apartment/flat living or other reasons.

A community garden is a green space cultivated on common land by a group of people. Community gardens come in all shapes and sizes

Having said all that now, my little garden is a never ending supply of food, depending on the season, and constant weeds that need pulling out. But do I mind, no... it gives me satisfaction that I can go out and just pick whatever herb, tomato, potato, silverbeet or corn when I am getting tea or lunch ready...

Not only that, watching things grow and being able to use them is a job well done in my book. Even when I am working on farms, I can always see where I have been, right at the end of the day it makes perfect sense.

Tomato Patch update 29th November 2010

The picture above is my Tomato patch. It was planted about a week or so ago with plants and thought I would try them in this spot rather that the veg. patch where I normally grow them. (Might just add here that the veg. patch is getting rather full so cant really grow the tomatos in it anyway).

Picture Right: I was pottering around this morning and found that the Apollo

Tomato's had started to form and earlier than I had expected. Last year it was almost Christmas day before we had any Tomatos to eat... So hopefully, there will be some ready well before then... <grins>... well I am really hoping they will be..tomatos

A friend who is Santa......

A friend of mine every year for as long as I known him has done the Santa thing for real. He and his wife spend every Christmas setting up their front yard as Santa's house. The kids in the town and area look forward to this every year and go and have photos taken, write letters to Santa and deliver their letters to his mailbox. My friend actually writes back as Santa and spends many hours driving around dressed as Santa delivering his replies. The local kids get so excited when they see him and get their replies.

Not only that, they spend hours raising money for charity. The charities are usually for under privilaged kids and families.

Now my friend and his wife are doing super things as they themselves doing it hard living on a penison, raising their own kids and paying of a mortagage.  Yet they always find time to help others out where ever they can.

A true hero.

The Veg Patch...

My Little Tomato patch (below) is full of a mix of Apollo, Grosse Lisse, Black Russian tomato's,Lettuce's and Zucchinis.

The Vegie Patch (below) is full of Lettuce's, Silverbeet, Beans, Cauliflower, Sweet Corn, Celery and Beetroot at the moment. Later on today, the green manure growing will be dug into the ground and will be ready for more plantings.

After being away for about 3 weeks due to family commitments, the poor old veg patch has been rather neglected, as has the whole garden. But it has been one of those years and as it draws to an end, I am hoping that next year will be a better year all round... 

Couple of my Fav. songs

Oh the joys of the compost heap.....................

About a year ago, I went out and bought one of those pre made plastic compost bins.

Actually, it was a good choice to get started with, although I would of preferred to have made my own compost heap with the twin bins made of wood, but will get to that project at some stage.

Yet the bin will just have to do for now, I can (and have) move it around once the compost is ready. Just about everything I can get my hands on gets turfed in there. Lawn clippings, leaves, shredded paper and cardboard, kitchen scraps (leave out the meat, fish is ok) and the many weeds and small clippings from pruning.

So far, compost no. 4 is on the go, having already used no.1 and 2, no. 3 is currently being used (thats what is under the blue tarp)..Its surprised me that I actually had enough to put in and start composting, yet I did. The compost is a delirious mix that the garden and worms just love.

Compost No. 3 is being used whenever I plant out seedlings and re pot plants indoors and outdoors.

Now as much as I like being around people ...............

I also love to escape outdoors to different locations around the place... This photo was taken at Lake Lewellyn which is not far from where I live.  

The one on the right was taken just up the road from the lake. Many a day was spent here when my kids were younger, having picnics, bbques with family and friends.









Now only if I could afford to buy in this particular area, it would be great. But at the moment, its just not possible. But then again, it would be a toss up between here or having a small farm holding if I ever won lotto...<grins>.

Tomatos, herbs and other things

As the heading says, tomatos, herbs and other things, let me explain a little here.

The main reason that I grow my own Tomatos is that the ones you can buy in the shops are generally tasteless and in my opinion ( and its my opinion only) that all they are good for is the compost bin. Not really any taste for using in summer salads etc.

The first time I have actually grown passionfruit. I decided that the fence at the side of the house needed something growing on it for a bit of decoration.

I have grown Black Jack Zucchini's before and have found them to do really well. This year I have put in about 1/2 dozen of them as well as a yellow zucchini buckingham to see how it fairs.

And yet another Tomato... one of about 14 this year.

My other section of the garden contains Herbs... Last year I had bought heaps and was growing them in pots just outside the back door. This year they have gone into a patch of the garden bed to have more room and to fill a few spaces. Its not that far from the kitchen, so can still go out and get fresh herbs for cooking.

I might add here that photos will follow in future blogs.