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?
