Another Step Closer...

 

At long last the Asparagus is planted. I had to add some more compost and mix to the tub because it had settled but luckily I had enough left over to finish the job. I put some bamboo stakes in just to give the fronds a little support while they establish themselves because we get a tad breezy here on the coast. All together I have five plants, it looks like there are four males and one female so far but that may change as the plants grow. I was watching a tutorial today where a chap picked the ripe berries of his female plants to re grow which I thought was interesting as most people recommend removing them because the spears of the female plants are larger and can be woody. Some others just leave their plants to grow randomly and don’t take too much notice of it at all. I decided to plant mine and see what happens, for the sake of curiosity and because I enjoy the challenge of going against the grain sometimes. 

I already have Purple King Beans and Peas up in the pots I did a few days back. Every morning I take them out to sit in the sun and then at night bring them back in under the veranda. It was quite surprising to see them pop up so quickly and I am now waiting to see signs of life from the others. The other night I planted up some of the seeds I saved from the sunflowers grown last year at the old house. Out of the ones I planted back then only two survived but they were the most magnificent giants and much admired by everyone who seen them. I am hoping that as I have planted about eighty seeds (yes, I know that is alot!) I will have a good germination rate. And if by some small miracle they all grow then I will have a whole yard of sunshine. The rest of the seed I am saving for seed bombing, something I have wanted to do for ages and now I have a partner in floral criminality it will be much more fun!  

It is coming near time to say goodbye to the little garden so to prepare it for summer. I was going to plant it with a heap of corn but then I found some Urenika seed potatoes and had second thoughts. The bright purple colour (sometimes with flecks of white) of the Urenika is quite striking and it holds its colour throughout cooking. It is waxy when small but gets floury as it gets bigger and while it is known as a good potato for boiling or steaming, some swear to roasting as the nicest way to enjoy this heirloom treasure. Urenika has been found to have many more times the antioxidants of modern potatoes, are rich in amino acids and full of nutrients and minerals. I did grow these many years ago using the tyre method which was reasonably successful but this time I want to avoid the tyres and go for something a little more neutral if I can...thinking, thinking...

Yesterday I finally got around to dividing up the Aloe Vera that had been squished up in its pot for far too long. I got halfway through the job and had to do a mad dash into town for more mix because there was alot more to pot up than I initially thought. After a long session of dissection I have twenty five pots of Aloe, each with two or three plants. Enough to replenish my supply, give some to family and put some on the recycling site or at the gate. Aloe anyone?

Small Things, Big Potential...

Despite the rain we have had the last couple of days, the new garden is slowly coming together and starting to look quite spiffy. In between showers I have been nibbling away at it and have almost half of it done (well, as done as I can do lol). Today was a busy day but I did manage to get most of the concrete tub filled so I will finally be able to plant my asparagus in it now which is a relief. The plants have had a growth spurt and are getting rather big so it will be nice to free them from their pots. I used a layering system for filling the tubs...hay, compost, carbon rich material, manure and I will also dig in some of my own compost which should hopefully give the plants a good medium to grow in. 

I did have someone mention that sometimes hay can have a lot of seeds and straw might be better, but for me it has worked well as a mulch on the smaller garden with no more weed growth than before it was put on. Whether I have just been really lucky, the chooks have eaten it before it gets to the garden or if it is because we have such a diverse bird life here and the seeds just don’t stand a chance I don’t know. What I do know is it gets used first as chook bedding, then as a manure rich mulch and finally it will be turned into the soil to compost down...so far, for me it has been a great addition to my garden.

I was coaxed into a stroll on the beach the other day so I took advantage of being there by collecting a bag of colourful stones for the path. Once we got back I scattered them around the larger stones and they look so pretty. When it’s been raining, it seems to enhance all the colours and they look even nicer. Next time I go down I will find a few more to stash away for when I make some more pavers, I have some cool new ideas I am dying to try out.

Doris has started laying but not in the hut, she does so under the stairs by my bedroom. I was quite surprised yesterday to see a large egg nestled behind some driftwood where obviously she had found herself a comfy spot to do her thing the day before. She was not a happy girl yesterday when I disturbed her having egg number two so I thought I would keep them in their run a little longer today to see if she would settle down in the hut. As if a show of protest, there was no egg for me today but I have left one in the nesting box where she always sits so hopefully she gets the hint. Her eggs are much bigger than Petunia’s but we are not sizest here, all free range welcome!

I am now waiting in anticipation for my seed order to arrive from my heirloom lady in Christchurch. As soon as they arrive I will be planting another lot of seeds for the summer garden which I am keen to finish tomorrow. It is always so exciting waiting for seeds...it’s like a small packet of huge potential.

Heirloom Honey and Pearl Corn

Heirloom Golden Bantam Sweet Yellow Corn

Heirloom Mini Sweet Carrots

Crown Prince Pumpkin

Heirloom Early Onward Peas

Heirloom Neekar Golden Runner Bean

Heirloom Teepee Dwarf Bean

Goji Berry

I decided this time I would resist the urge to buy anymore Tomato seeds considering I have over 20 heirloom types already but my next order might have one or two as well as heirloom Artichokes, green and purple. While I always plant a few extra seeds just in case of low germination, usually I end up with more seedlings than I need. When talking to a friend the other day it was suggested (as I was going to put them at the gate with a free sign) that the local kindy and schools had gardens and might appreciate some unusual and interesting plants to add to them so I now have problem solved and no waste...yay!

Well, it is now 1am and I better snuggle myself down and get some sleep if I want to finish this garden tomorrow. I will take some photos tomorrow to add to the post but for now the bed bugs are calling my name. Hope everyone has had a fantastic week, Earthlovelive x

The First Day Of Spring...

I have now dragged the concrete tub into place (nearly killed me lol) and placed it up on a few concrete blocks. I just need to fill it and it will be ready for the asparagus. Because the couch/twitch grass is like trying to dig through carpet even when killed off and talking to some wonderful people about it, I have now decided to opt for a no dig/semi dig garden. I am slowly covering it with thick layers of card and paper, old chook bedding and I will get some compost to add to my home made gold. Once everything breaks down somewhat, I should be left with a lovely garden mix ready to plant all my yummies in. This will be much easier than breaking my back or hip trying to dig it over and apparently much better for the soil, so I am looking forward to comparing the results. I have some good lengths of bamboo to arrange into frames for my climbers to grow on as well, hopefully a little shelter for the other plants too.  

The original garden is doing so well, it is providing food every day for me, the chooks and Lipstick...amazing just how much you can grow in a small area! The Passionfruit has grown a lot in the last couple of weeks so I am thinking of planting that on the fence line so it can spread out and take over. I am going to layer some cranberry too so I can get some more plants to pot up. Tomorrow I need to repot the huge Aloe in my kitchen...it has so many babies on it that need their own pot so those will go either on the stall or recycle sites. 

I got word on a chap who may be able to get me four old, large bike rims/tyres to make a couple of carts so that is this week’s mission to track him down. I want to build a cart for the garden for humping things around and one for a stall. He runs a place in Wanganui called Green Cycle, a place where old bikes are made new again to encourage people to get biking...we certainly need community projects like this so please show your support for this wonderful idea and this very clever man who started the project and has been there for five years.

The chooks are well, Alfie has grown so much from the teeny little thing she was...she now looks like a cross between Kramer and an angry bird hehehee. She is still quite scatty but is getting faster and cheekier when it comes to food. Petunia is still laying daily, the most delicious eggs. They follow me anywhere now days, always hanging around for a snack and let me know if I haven’t given them their tea! I caught them in the garden few days ago, no damage but I did shoo them off. They are very vocal these days and often hear them chatting away...

                      

I got given a big bag of Lemons last week so I have been sipping on large glasses of chilled water with a Lemon squeezed into them...very refreshing and very good for the body. Was thinking, seeing as I have lovely free range eggs now, that I should make some Lemon Honey. I haven’t had it since I was little so would be so lovely to try it again.  It tastes divine when piped into little sweet shortcrust cases and topped with a tiny dollop of cream and some very fine cut rind.  Makes great treats for a high tea too!

Seeds, Seeds And More Seeds...

Sorry it has been awhile since I updated, I now have a another big life distraction and a few small ones so I am just getting into a routine...I promise lots of great things are happening and they will be posted a little more often now.

Yesterday I potted up a couple of trays of seeds for the new garden. I already had some of the recycled card pots but decided to use some of the papers I had lying around to make some more. There are many tutorials on you tube on how to make all these fancy schamcy types but I found our small weekly paper folded long ways into three, leaving a couple of inches left over....was the perfect size for rolling around a Screaming Turtle coffee jar. Fold the bottom under using a pleat method and it will sit well in the tray. 

I did put one very small staple at the top to stop the sides slipping but you can do almost anything that suits. This not only uses up all the newspapers lying around but make a container that can be planted straight into the ground that breaks down quickly and naturally and is great for reducing any shock to the plant through transplanting. Certain types of paper and print are not suitable so it would pay to check if you are unsure.Some people use empty toilet rolls...

I ended up with 18 newspaper pots and 15 of the stiffer card type, a present from friends who know me well. So seeing as these are going to be for my summer garden, I chose seeds for that purpose. I didn’t actually realise I had so many varieties of tomato so choosing was hard but finally I settled on ten types for now, threw a few of each in and any extra plants I will pass on to others. Some of the seeds are from my seed saving last year so I will be interested in the germination rate of my efforts. The ones I chose are as follows and should make a fabulous variety of colours, tastes and sizes for the kitchen and the stall...

*Chocolate

*Voyager

*Yellow Pear

*Mr Stripey

*Orange Blossom

*Green Sausage

*Black Krim

*Hazel Mae

*Amand Orange

*Zapotec Pleated

I also planted some fresh parsley for Granddad and myself, some Capers, Tamarillo’s, Capsicum, Banana Capsicum, three types of Bean including Purple King Bean and some peas. I know I will have to plant some more soon but for now I will get these ones going and then get onto the next lot. Once I have the potting shed set up how I need it, they will have a sheltered warm spot to start growing. Because I needed some way of tagging them that would last, be clearly read and waterproof, I used an old icecream container. If you cut the sides and the bottom carefully you can get a pile of name tags, recycling something most throw away and not having to spend a cent on expensive tags from the stores. A fine vivid marker works well and both sides can be used.