Back On Track
Scarecrow's Log: 29:03:2009:
Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 6C
Highest Max 31C
Rain 0.5mm
Bed 2: Beetroot, Swedes, Turnips and Peas.
Highest Max 31C
Rain 0.5mm
Bed 2: Beetroot, Swedes, Turnips and Peas.
Bed 3: BrassicasWhat's happening in the garden?
The bed has been topped up with some mushroom compost with a dose of Dolomite and Fecondo slow release fertilizer, which is produced locally.
This will give me room to plant the last of the Green Goliath Broccoli and as the Rockmelons ripen these too will go and I will plant some Broad Beans in the center of the bed.
Net curtains over hose hoops now cover all three bedsto keep the bad bugs out!
In the Dog Pen Garden I've cleared a new 'in-ground' bed. Shaped it into a keyhole bed, added compost and mulched it. This weekend I built curtain covers over it because I have some brassicas to go into it. This area has many tiny grasshoppers that devastate most of the greens I plant there.
In the Dog Pen Garden I've cleared a new 'in-ground' bed. Shaped it into a keyhole bed, added compost and mulched it. This weekend I built curtain covers over it because I have some brassicas to go into it. This area has many tiny grasshoppers that devastate most of the greens I plant there. 
While I was stirring the mulch up I noticed a few slaters and bugs so I employed old Blackie to help...her payment was some fresh juicy Dandelion leaves she found in the herb patch!I don't mind her rates of pay!
Propagation:
Potting up and Planting out:
Snow Peas - Roi de Carouby have been planted by the back gate to climb the trellis there. I added mushroom compost and mulched the with organic sugar cane mulch.Potted up cuttings of Santolina, Rosemary and Pigfaces.
Cuttings/Division:
I'm busily taking cuttings and dividing plants up before winter sets in.
Mints - Ginger, Apple and Curled leaf
Pink Violets Viola odorata rosea
Spiderplants Chlorophytum comosum
Dusty Miller Senecio cineraria
Pink Violets Viola odorata rosea are very popular at the markets.
Dusty Miller Centaurea gymnocarpaThis drought hardy plant, useful to brighten a dark corner,
is also popular at the markets.
New in the Garden This week:
Doc recently bought me one of those cute little hot house shelf thingys...I wasn't too sure about how useful it would be but I've noticed them popping up on other blogs (like Peggy's over at Organic Growing Pains) and they do look useful.
Doc recently bought me one of those cute little hot house shelf thingys...I wasn't too sure about how useful it would be but I've noticed them popping up on other blogs (like Peggy's over at Organic Growing Pains) and they do look useful.So thank you Doc!
Weekly Harvest Tally:
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.
Carrot Atomic Red***56g
Cucumber Lemon***871g
*Greens Stirfry Mix***111g
Pumpkin Jumbo Pink Banana***5kg
Rockmelon***1670g
Tomato Ida Gold***56g
Zucchini Costata Romanesco***1970g
Zucchini Black***931g
Zucchini Tromboncino***1562g
Pears William***375g
Total to Date (since Dec 01 08)***117.4Kg
Further grazing on Grapes (and a bag frozen) and Red Fuji Apples.
Plus a yummy mix of greens for salads...Lettuce, Watercress, Lebanese Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Gotu Kola.
*The Greens Stirfry Mix included Red Kale, Beetroot leaves, Radicchio, Kang Kong, Lebanese Watercress, Celpar, Purple Basil and Garlic Chives.
Plus 14 Eggs from the girls.
***For those interested in Moon Planting the Cosmic Gardener has posted an Australian April Moon Guide on her blog Here
And check out the Gardenate site for what to plant in April...be sure to set your zone (Aust,NZ or UK) at the top of the page!
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15 comments:
What a good effort! We got our first little germinating winter beet today, and were over the moon. And it sounds like you're getting some delicious yields!
Hey Scarecrow, do you pot rosemary cuttings by sticking them into potting mixes? Are they very slow-growing? Mine takes a lot time before any sign of life is observed.]
BTW, my hubby also bought one of those DIY mini greenhouse from bunnings! Cheap and good! Yes and stronger than it looks! I find that very useful to keep young plants warm. But plants do quickly outgrow the height of the shelves.
Hi Kelly your garden is looking good...that heatwave was a killer wasn't it...but you had lots of things that survived. :)
Hi SM
If you checkout the 'Taking Cuttings' post on this link there is mention of 'soil for taking cuttings'. As rosemary likes a dry climate it would be best to use a sandy, well drained mix. If you are planning on taking lots of cuttings it might be worth buying some 'propagating sand'. They can take a while to grow roots but as long as the tops still look alive there is hope. ;)
Yes I did notice the height of those shelves...but it should be good for starting seeds off.
Great to hear that you found it useful too.
Very inspiring Scarecrow, love seeing what you've been up to! What sort of netting do you find last best over the hoops/tunnels?
The mini greenhouses are excellent but make sure they are anchored down if outside in windy weather!An idea for brassicas is to soak rhubarb leaves in water for a few weeks, it becomes an evil smelling brew, not harmful but confuses the bugs with the smell. Just water it into the brassicas with a watering can.
Hi Em
I have been reusing secondhand net curtains from op shops and garage sales. They are very cheap and repairable.
They seem to stand up to the weather well. If they are fairly well anchored to the hoops they shouldn't blow in the wind and catch on anything that might rip them.
I have tried purchased 'row cover' fabrics in the past only to find it disintegrates very fast in our hot sun and works out expensive.
Remember that these nets are also shaded with 50% shadecloth (or natural leaf cover) during summer...these are about to be removed (and the autumn leaves fall) as the heat of our summer sun leaves us for a while (at last). Later in autumn I should be able to remove the covers as the threat from the moths/butterflies subsides.
Thanks Peggy I did notice the bags of compost in the base of your units. Doc is planning to anchor mine down with pegs of some sort! Rhubarb spray is supposed to be quite effective, thanks for the hint! Brewed that way it could also have a feeding effect on the growing plants.
Hey Scarecrow, I have one of them mini greenhouses, they are great for starting seedlings. The only prob I had was the plastic cover weakens quickly in the sun and then has a tendency to tear.
I placed mine in between some raised beds so that I could have 4mm poly pipe coming off the 13mm poly that runs along the raised beds for drip irrigation. I gaffered the 4mm to the frame and stuck some semi circle micro-sprays on the end. works great 'cos things dry out quickly in there, doesn't get much use with water restrictions though!!
Hi Aldrum
Yes I could see the plastic not lasting long over here too. I've set this one up in a shady spot for now...using micro sprays would be great if we didn't have the water restrictions. :(
I intend to use the spray unit to water new seeds in this like I did with the Trees For Life see this link
Hi Scarecrow, thanks for that! Yeah! I did buy some propagating sand recently! :)
We have one of those mini-greenhouses. Needs to be in almost permanent shade, or gets too hot in summer. We fairly quickly put a layer of six pavers on the bottom shelf. Lost a couple of inches of height, but now firmly fixed on the ground in the wind.
Cheers
LindaB
Scarecrow, I noticed that you used a trellis for your peas. Are they treated or untreated? Do they last a long time in the weather? I am trying to figure out something (cheap & good hehe)to support the following : passionfruit,cucumber, bitter melon and grape vine. :)
Hi SM
That is an old trellis...I'm not sure if it was treated or not.
If you ask at the hardware store they may have some trellis that isn't treated. I think they have made the 'treated' pine safer these days, but do ask first!
There are lots of trellis type products around these days. I have used a plastic trellis (you can buy in a roll) product on cucumbers and peas successfully. That stuff seems to last alright in the weather.
Hi Scarecrow, regarding mulching...what do you usually use? I am trying to suppress weeds and have been buying composted pinebark. THis new garden i have uses a lot of redgum barkchips as mulch. I am not sure how safe they are as they are done up by the previous owner.
Hi SM
In the 'ornamental' we tend to get enough mulch (leaves and bark) from the trees growing around our garden and in the street out front. Our local council sells shredded green/garden waste occasionally (when they have enough).
The wood chips should be ok on non-food plants.
In my food beds I like to use local straw/hay when I can get it...lately I have had to buy in certified organic sugarcane mulch from K-mart! We buy it when it's on special or just get one when we shop there (about once a month)
The local farmers haven't had decent crops for 3-4 years here so they don't have any straw available. Maybe this year things might be different!
Thanks Scarecrow! :)
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