Winter Solstice this Week

Scarecrow's Garden Log: 19:06:2010:

It's Nettle time in Scarecrow's Garden
they are coming up everywhere in the chook runs.
Time to make some nettle soup I think!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min -3.5C
Lowest Max 11C
Highest Max 16.5C
1.5mm Rain

What's the weather been like in the garden?
A frosty morning, some windy days and a little rain...that's winter downunder for you!
June 21 is the Southworld's Winter Solstice...our shortest day!

Propagation:
Potting up:
Tree Onions
Shallots
Italian Parsley
Curled Leaf Parsley
Pelargonium "Madame Salleron"
NZ Spinach

Cuttings/Division:
Ceanothus papillosus roweanus
Lavender 2 types
Rosemary prostrate
Eremophila mauclata
Myoporum ellipticum
Arctotis purple
Jade plant Portulacaria afra

In the Garden This week:
A working bee at a friends house on the weekend saw us out pruning her front garden. That's where I borrowed most of those cuttings on the list! Just in case we pruned too hard of course!

Potatoes
I am planning to plant out some potatoes quite early this season. I have saved some Purple Congo from last year an found some well sprouted Sapphire Potatoes in the shed. The Sapphires have been planted into a large pot in the hot house as I don't think I could have kept them alive much longer.

I have received my first order of potatoes through The Lost Seed in Tasmania. Some Dutch Cream and Pink Fir Apple Potatoes that are now 'chitting' in egg cartons in my study along with the Purple Congo.

Chitting is the process of encouraging sprout growth from the 'eyes' on potatoes before planting them out. It is not vital but at least you know that the potato in question will be off to a good start. It is also a way of determining if the potato has a virus as the infected ones may have long white shoots. You are aiming for stout healthy green shoots about 1.5 to 2.5cm in length.

On the subject of early plantings I went down to the old chook run the other day and found a few potato plants (Blue Sapphires) growing seemingly oblivious to the frost we had last week! These were leftovers from a planting 2 years ago! I shall mulch these up for a real head start on the growing season.

The Soup Celery and Purple Sprouting Broccoli
growing under the curtain
in the Almond Area Wicking Bed.

Weekly Harvest Tally:
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.
Beetroot-Golden***186g
Celery - Soup Kintsai***28g
Celery - Tendercrisp***71g
Mangel-Wurzel Greens***267g
Mixed Kale***175g
Parcel***45g
Apples Red Fuji***2150g

Eggs
21 From the Farmyard Ferals
14 From the Barnevelders
6 From the Faverolles

To see how the various Garden areas fit on our half acre block check out the newest Map of our place HERE