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I need a garden icon.
Things are happening!
It's the change of the seasons, which means the bounty of summer is over and we're looking at getting ourselves through the winter.
I did some major work on Sunday, and there are guys coming on Thursday to clear the little red 'lava' rocks out of the front bed and shove it in a dumpster we've hired for a few days.
Anyway, the garden photos.
This is the view of the garden from the west(facing east, from the open door of my garden shed):
7th Dec:
7th Jan:
22nd Feb:
20th Mar:
And the view of the garden from the north (facing south, from the step off the porch:
22nd Feb:
20th Mar:
You can really see how things have changed over the months - how things have grown and died and been reincorporated into the ground.
I'm sort of getting to the stage of the garden where I'm pretty happy with it - hopefully we'll be solidified by next spring, with the fruit trees in the ground and the vegie cycles worked out.
I do need to start growing some perennials, and not just annuals. Artichokes and asparagus and...other things.
The bad
1. The potatoes completely failed. I have a dozen teeny tiny potatoes that might be okay for replanting, and two small potatoes that are probably okay for eating.
2. The tomatoes almost all developed fruit fly - the 50 Shades Of Grape and Buddha Belly tomatoes were probably the most resistant, but the standard cherry tomato just bred the damn things like crazy. Maybe also because it got planted pretty much where the first zucchini was, and so it didn't have very good soil and couldn't build up any resistance. I haven't seed saved it.
3. The carrots forked - mostly because the soil about two inches down wasn't very good. So, lesson learned. At least six inches depth of good soil for the carrots. Which I'm going to try now in the same bed which has been completely turned and added to with semi-mature compost from a heap that I was using to burn grass off.
4. That curcubit growing all along the back fence? Is a horned melon that is apparently not bad to eat, but totally not what I was hoping for. And the butternut pumpkin of which I had such hopes has failed me completely. There's a small sprout left, we'll see what it produces in the autumn.
The Good
I've kind of worked out where I want everything, and clearing the centre bed of everything has given me a much better idea of where the fruit trees and garden beds should go.
The sister and I are currently negotiating the placement of the washing line - the current thought is that we keep it (instead of turfing it completely), but move it into the north-west corner of the garden (which is largely screened from the sun by the house). Most of the stuff we hang on it is stuff that we leave out overnight, or for a few days - sheets and roughworkwear and suchlike.
There's a fence just behind the shed (down to the west), and a large space that's currently part of the front lawn. If we move the fence three metres west, then there'll be a nice little space that should be perfect for fruits that need 'chilling time' - apples and stone fruit, mostly. South side of the house with open space to the west for the warm sun they need, but not so much they'll all go to leaves.
Now I just have to find and pay a fencer!
With the extra space in mind, I'm refining the plan for the garden: it opens up a bit more space in the backyard, and might allow us to keep some chickens. It would be nice to have chickens - egg layers, waste eaters, and ground-grubbers. :)
Our winters in Sydney are pretty mild - the temperature can go down to freezing overnight, but it's above during the day (if only 5C) so greens should do pretty well.
The plan is to have no shortage of greens this winter, and to minimise buying.
Things are happening!
It's the change of the seasons, which means the bounty of summer is over and we're looking at getting ourselves through the winter.
I did some major work on Sunday, and there are guys coming on Thursday to clear the little red 'lava' rocks out of the front bed and shove it in a dumpster we've hired for a few days.
Anyway, the garden photos.
This is the view of the garden from the west(facing east, from the open door of my garden shed):
7th Dec:
7th Jan:
22nd Feb:
20th Mar:
And the view of the garden from the north (facing south, from the step off the porch:
22nd Feb:
20th Mar:
You can really see how things have changed over the months - how things have grown and died and been reincorporated into the ground.
I'm sort of getting to the stage of the garden where I'm pretty happy with it - hopefully we'll be solidified by next spring, with the fruit trees in the ground and the vegie cycles worked out.
I do need to start growing some perennials, and not just annuals. Artichokes and asparagus and...other things.
The bad
1. The potatoes completely failed. I have a dozen teeny tiny potatoes that might be okay for replanting, and two small potatoes that are probably okay for eating.
2. The tomatoes almost all developed fruit fly - the 50 Shades Of Grape and Buddha Belly tomatoes were probably the most resistant, but the standard cherry tomato just bred the damn things like crazy. Maybe also because it got planted pretty much where the first zucchini was, and so it didn't have very good soil and couldn't build up any resistance. I haven't seed saved it.
3. The carrots forked - mostly because the soil about two inches down wasn't very good. So, lesson learned. At least six inches depth of good soil for the carrots. Which I'm going to try now in the same bed which has been completely turned and added to with semi-mature compost from a heap that I was using to burn grass off.
4. That curcubit growing all along the back fence? Is a horned melon that is apparently not bad to eat, but totally not what I was hoping for. And the butternut pumpkin of which I had such hopes has failed me completely. There's a small sprout left, we'll see what it produces in the autumn.
The Good
I've kind of worked out where I want everything, and clearing the centre bed of everything has given me a much better idea of where the fruit trees and garden beds should go.
The sister and I are currently negotiating the placement of the washing line - the current thought is that we keep it (instead of turfing it completely), but move it into the north-west corner of the garden (which is largely screened from the sun by the house). Most of the stuff we hang on it is stuff that we leave out overnight, or for a few days - sheets and roughworkwear and suchlike.
There's a fence just behind the shed (down to the west), and a large space that's currently part of the front lawn. If we move the fence three metres west, then there'll be a nice little space that should be perfect for fruits that need 'chilling time' - apples and stone fruit, mostly. South side of the house with open space to the west for the warm sun they need, but not so much they'll all go to leaves.
Now I just have to find and pay a fencer!
With the extra space in mind, I'm refining the plan for the garden: it opens up a bit more space in the backyard, and might allow us to keep some chickens. It would be nice to have chickens - egg layers, waste eaters, and ground-grubbers. :)
Our winters in Sydney are pretty mild - the temperature can go down to freezing overnight, but it's above during the day (if only 5C) so greens should do pretty well.
The plan is to have no shortage of greens this winter, and to minimise buying.
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no subject
It was fascinating to see the progression, but the months attached to each challenged my Northern Hemisphere privilege. I'm sure it was salutary for me. :)
no subject
And it's never bad to have your Northern Hemisphere privilege checked. :)