Child of the Planet

For the first time, on the the longest day of the year, I didn’t spring out into the garden and pull the bulbs out from the ground ( click here to see last years harvest ). This harvest season, I waited until the green leaves had begun to wilt. This first patch is the garlic I purchased from Moa valley.     Parts of the bed are wilting, but the elephant garlic is still green.     I got halfway through the garlic that I’ve been keeping for seed from last years harvest, when I realised that this garlic might still be growing.     If you can't see the video, click here

I covered the bed with cardboard to choke off any weeds.    Folded some flaps and cut some holes to expose the soil. Cucumbers were planted so they can climb up through the pallet windbreaks     Zucchini went into the top of bed.

Passionfruit are beginning to appear. I’m supposed to wait till they drop to the ground before harvesting. To make it easier to collect the fruit in the weeds under the vines, I’ve laid down some cardboard.     Click here if you don’t see the video

Updating the garden plan ( read about it here ) Garlic is almost due to be harvested. The first garden is due to be planted out. I’m going to build some new wind brecks around the individual beds. I have some initial ideas on what I want to plant.

Took the cover of the garlic today. I'm going to leave them to finish off over the next couple of months.         I'm happy with the size of the plants but disappointed to find that the dreaded rust has swept through the crop.

Moved the seedlings outside into the wood shed.

The garden has been lying fallow all winter.  I dug the mustard through including the leaf mulch which has been composting down at the bottom of the garden ( read about it here ), and buried some more fish bits. I've been cutting the mustard flowers off regularly as I've heard that any nitrogen that the mustard stores in it's roots is used up during flowering. Pulled out any weeds that I could find. Final coating of ash applied to mustard before turning everything over.

Last couple of years, I’ve been protecting individual bunches of grapes with mesh bags ( view previous post here… )     I have some boysenberry appearing so I’m curious to see if this also works on the canes?    

I usually have two different brews on the go Rather than mulch weeds that might re-root in the compost heap, I dump them in a barrel of water. The plants dissolve to make a liquid that can be used to nourish other plants. I grow comfrey which can be shredded up, or dropped into a water bath. Currently I have a bin full of seaweed and water into which I throw the plucked leaves into.

The weather is warming so it’s time to take the wraps off that have been protecting the lemons from frost and the wind. With the new spring growth, I might be close to finally obtaining my goal of growing a lemon hedge. Very happy with how well the sick little one on the end is doing now ( read previous post here ). Being doused in copper and the new waterworks ( read here ) must be working. The single lemon in the back yard is also doing well with all the wet weather we’ve been having this spring. Video of de-cloaking

The grapes are powering away but the one in the middle is still lagging behind a bit. Spending some time pinching off unwanted growth.

The fallow raised bed has had mustard growing in it. The plants are starting to flower so it's time to cut them back. Video of pruning...

The walnuts have finally budded ( read about it here ).     Two of the hazelnuts are looking pretty good.     Not sure what is going on with the last hazelnut?

 I planted these seeds ( click here )  a few weeks back. They've kicked off...

At the beginning of of September, I started constructing a non-permanent windbreak structure ( read about it here ) The aims of this project are… To be easily taken down in the summer once the winds have moved on To not be a barrier to the wind but to take some energy out of it To be recyclable.The bamboo I can mulch and the pallets will find other uses around the property. To allow me and the street to continue to interact. The angled pallet construction interleaves with a row of lavender bushes that have been struggling to grow behind the fence line. Though they now have to put up with more shade, I’m hoping that they will also be a bit more protected from the winds. I gathered some more pallets and bamboo cuttings to finish off the length of the front fence. There are now a lot more, and taller, bamboo stalks inserted into the pallet frame. As soon as I got it all finished the spring westerlies started up, and half of the pallet units got blown over. I found some old bits of pallet ...