Ah, what a change in the weather today. Sun shining, much
less wind but very cool though not unpleasant. A few days ago I finished the
third side of the bamboo fence and it looks really nice...so far Sugar hasn’t
tried to get in but once all the seedlings get bigger she may well be tempted
so I will have to keep my beady eyes on her. Yesterday I planted some more sunflowers,
beans, the last surviving peas and in a terracotta pipe some cucumber plants. The
potatoes are finally in...It feels like I have been waiting forever for them to
be ready and I can’t wait until they sprout up through the soil so I can bury
them again.
I also started weeding under the stairs outside my bedroom, it had
lots of Wandering Jew and some Agapanthus in it...both of which have to be
removed properly because any bits left in the soil will re grow. I did half the
garden yesterday and finished the rest of it today and it looks lovely. In this
spot I have decided to put some tomatoes, it will get lots of sun and should be
reasonably sheltered from the wind...whether they are safe from Sugar is
another story!
So far I have planted five under there and dotted them around
some driftwood but now that the weeding is completed I will be able to put
quite a few more in. The wood has lots of small grooves in it that make great
nooks to slot the name tags of each variety in. I also found a nice old shell
that made a great name holder as well. Because the balcony is quite high on one
side I am thinking of putting some of the yellow pear tomatoes in one of the
wire hangers I got from the op shop and hang them so they cascade down. At
least I know I am guaranteed “some” fruit if they are out of reach from the
troublesome nibbler.
At the back of the garden I have planted some Statice
seedlings that were kindly given to me (thank you Mark) and once they get
bigger I’m sure they will look quite impressive poking through the driftwood. As
well as the statice, there was some lettuce, celery, melons and a
tamarillo...all things I didn’t have and very healthy plants too, Mark you definitely
have green fingers!
My neighbour Grace wasn’t home when I went over with the
eggs and tomato plants a couple of weeks ago so I left them on the doorstep for
her. A few days later when I went to check the mail I found some strawberry
plants tucked away by the shed, another welcome gift for the garden seeing as
someone, not looking at anyone in particular *looks at goat* ate my other ones.
I also traded a bag of fresh eggs for a lovely old spade and two large pots
with a chap called Mike. One of those large pots I have reserved for the
tamarillo, the other for my passionfruit plant.
Slowly I am finding homes for everything, there is alot of
pots of things under the veranda but some will be going to a school gala this
week to help raise funds for sports equipment so it isn’t as daunting as it
looks. Once I take out the gala seedlings it will look more like a garden nook
instead of a garden nursery.
I had to plant some more of the Austrian oil seeds
as the last lot got knocked over so while I was doing that I planted some crown
pumpkin seeds too. My poor parsley has been dropped four times (yes I’m a klutz)
so I might have to put another lot in but all in all I think I will have a good
variety of nibbles come summer. Now all I need is about a thousand bamboo
stakes for the new garden and I will be set...
