Child of the Planet

I had the weed stored from the glut we had this winter. Now I need to get a layer of horse manure on there.

Seems to be doing quite well. Have started to apply liquid fertilizer. Needs a good weed. I don’t know what the yellow flowers in the back are, but it’s the're vibrating with bees so I’ll leave it alone for now.

I was weeding the front raised beds this morning and discovered that the pomegranate that I planted on a whim last year, had started to bud. I was expecting a bit more winter this year and decided to accelerate the timetable and quickly dig it out of the annual part of the garden and replant it into the perennial section. It didn't want to come out of the ground easily, and I had to chew through for a whole lot of roots to pull it free. I tried to keep a clump of dirt around the roots, but it crumbled away in transit to the back yard. Wish I had known that the damn thing had spikes before I bought it. Not even sure if this is going to survive? At the same time as I planted the pom, I had dropped papino and a cape gooseberry in the raised garden beds out the front, just to see if they would 'take'. These also had to be moved to sit next to the drive way, so I could plant this years tomato explosion. An update from when I first posted this item, the pomegranates seems to hav...

Grapes have started to bud so it’s time to install the new suspension lines. I’m growing the grapes next to the patio and training them across the space under the roof, so that the leaves provide shade in the summer. Last year I had just the two lengths of clothes line to string the vines across, and found that the distances were too great to provide support. I’ve purchased some marine grade fixtures to withstand the salty sea breezes and strung a couple of  rows of  coated line. What I'm setting out to do different this year is that the kitchen is now installed and opens out onto the patio. All water is going to be collected from the kitchen and it’s a short walk to pour it onto the vines.

Last week, I started this mini series on peoples solutions to things attacking their veg ( click here for last weeks post ). This week there is Billies box. Constructed by a mate of hers, and as you can see, it’s an huge wooden frame enclosure covered in plastic shade cloth. At first glance, it's solid construction looks a bit unwieldy but the segments tip to open. The segments are easy to peel apart to get access to the garden.

I'm hoping that the poor ol blueberries are going to have a chance to put on a decent head of foliage this year. [Update: FB has just reminded me that I noticed the first buds today on the 3rd Sept, back in 2017 so the plants this year are earlier then that by a few weeks.] I've applied Rok Solid fertiliser under a layer of newspaper to smother the grass and weed. A  horse shit blanket holds everything down. Going to be hitting them hard with the BT cause I reckon something has been eating the leaves and the Neem oil doesn't seem to be stopping it. Discovered that ash reduces acidity so won't be applying any of that anymore. Will mulch everything with pine needles to push up the acidity. Turns out that blue berries can be really different in what sort of conditions they enjoy, these are two different varieties and though they both share the same environment, and were both planted at the same time a few years back, one is doing a lot better then the other. ...

I've laid down a good layer of fertiliser around the apple trees. There's some lengths of seaweed saved from the winter glut we had. Ash from the fire and some Rok Solid. Then a layer of newspaper to keep the grass down, and finally a pile of horseshit to hold everything down.    Things I'd like to concentrate on this year, are making sure plenty of water and horse shit is applied. I think the trees got a bit thirsty last year.  Last year ( as per Kath Irvine's advice ) I weighed down selected branches on the trees to flatten them out.   

Previously I’ve detailed my lemon frost prevention strategy  click here . Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to post some examples of physical solutions that locals have come up with to protect their gardens. Local retired mechanic Malcolm has built a selection of cages from aluminum strips reclaimed from a double glazing window renovation. The Aluminum is easy to cut, shape, and drill. All the pieces are pop riveted together and the build is really neat and tidy. Once covered with chicken wire, the cages are lightweight and several different sizes allows him flexibility. Some of the cages are slightly smaller and can be overlapped. A layer of cloth provides frost protection Light enough to hang up when not in use He also has a rampet grape vine which he attmpts to protect

I'm kinda late to the rhubarb party having never grown it before. I know it likes horse shit, but I didn’t know that it likes the cold. I cooked some up back in the autumn and was disappointed with the flavour. Turns out that the plant needs the cold weather for the sugars to develop. We’ve had a few frosts now and the flavour of this roasted batch is much better. I’ve been moving away from plastic storage and purchased these glass boxes from the Warehouse. There is the bonus that I can bake in the box, then move straight to the fridge thus saving time and dish washing. Decided to embed a stick of roasted rhubarb into some oat cakes