digging in the rain

Ok, so it is raining and apparentrly will continue to rain until the next millenium. So what? Well, I can't plant in the heavy rain for these reasons:

• rain increases the chances of soil compaction

dpi.nsw.gov.au

• when the soil dries, a crust forms over the top preventing some seeds from germinating



ipm.iastate.edu

• heavy rain can change the soil structure - especially in a heavy soil like Tamborine volcanic soil



fao.org

• the soil sticks to everything when it is wet - I will end up with more on me than in the patch!

So! I wait and wait and wait and hope I can get some food into the ground before too much longer.

prepared earlier!

plotting and planning

The winter season is over. As soon as it stops raining, I have to remove all the spent growth and prepare for the next planting. There are a few broc and cabbages still to mature, but then it will be bye-bye cool crops hello warm crops.

My big decision this year - NO tomatoes. I can not win the battle against the birds and my neighbour excels at growing tomatoes.

I am going hard on the lettuce, carrots, capsicum and eggplant. These are my staples, along with parsley and garlic and chillies.

Will also soon be time to harvest my garlic... hope it turns out. There is a heap of it.

BTW, found the sneaky culprit who has attached  my purple podded peas.... king parrots, just as I suspected. Just as well they are so bloody beautiful!

multi coloured carrots

Carrots have not always been only orange. They come in a variety of colours, but orange become the popular choice in Europe, particularly Holland, in commemoration of the Royal House of Orange (the Dutch Royal family). Now, you can grow them in all kinds of colours - as I do - and brighten up all your vege stews!

I have had no problem growing the Purple King variety or the mixed colour variety. I grow from seed and and don't even thin them out as they grow. I pull them up when they are still  young as I don't really like the thick vibrator-looking  numbers you buy in the shops. I also like the feathery tops of carrots - they add a textural dimension to the garden.

(ref: recipegirl.com)

Oh, they also grow all year round here. I have had success through the wet summer season and the dry winter season... they will become a staple crop in the patch

jasmine secrets

From the dark corners of by bookshelf, I pulled an old Readers Digest book about plants. I now refer to the books as the 'bible'. It has all the answers, man!

We have the most amazing star jasmine bush creeeping all over the washing line. It is now in full bud and bloom and you get high every time you walk out the back. I love the smell of jasmine but when I cut a sprig for the house, it loses its fragrance. Then I consulted the bible!

Solution: immediatley place cut sprigs of jasmine into 2-3 cms of boiling water for 1 min. This stops the bleeding process. Then stand in cold water for an hour before arranging.

I did this last weekend and the house is still full of fragrance - all from 3 sprigs.

Hey Apple! What about inventing scratch and sniff monitors?

star jasmine

peach pash

At the moment, the peach tree is still sleeping, although a close inspection this morning reveals swelling buds. I planted this tree 2 years ago and at that time, it was as tall as me. Now, she towers over the patch and provides good shade in the middle of summer. Last season I saw some small fruit on a couple of  limbs, I wonder what I will get this season? Fortunately I have to prune it too, so I will get some great sprigs for the house.

winter peach

spring peach

spring sprung?

The first sign of the wisteria. A stunning climber capable of ripping your house of its foundations! Beware of anything that is beautiful. It come sin mauve and white. The one outside the window and covering the tank at our place is mauve... and she works it, baby!

Want to know more? Good old Gradening Australia has all the answers

winter update

The last couple of weeks have seen typical August weather - cold and windy! The nights have been close to freezing and I suspect the odd frost has sneaked in unexpectedly. Last week, a ferocious wind whipped through the patch and bent back my peas! They are purple-podded peas and they had just go to the top of the frame and started to flower - a very pretty flower too. Now I have my fingers crossed that they will survive the beating. That's life in the patch!

(ref: purplepoddedpeas.blogspot.com)

The comfrey is hibernating, the brocs and cabbages are powering along - not a white moth insight, so they are blemish free. The garlic and leeks are plodding along - they need to be harvested befor the wet season starts. There is new greowh on the chillies. I took a risk and pruned the bushes back hard at the end of last summer, now they seem to have survived the winter and are getting a new lease of life.

I am loathe to do any kind of spring planting until there is no longer the chance of a frost.