Let it rain (apologies to Harry Angus)

Yep it rained - Bacchus Marsh had 51 mm of rain in 20 hrs. About time I say, as for the previous three weeks we had 2.2 mm and an extremely hot run of weather. Especially hot for November. So, now the tanks are full, and the garden has had a damn good drink. I should just about be right to get through the summer in the veggie patch without having to use mains water. Happy days.

All veggie beds have been stripped of winter crops, had manure, compost, blood and bone and dynamic lifter added, and have been planted out.

Bed1: Companion plants this year. Corn, zucchini, pumpkin "trombone butternut", and varieties of cucumber.

Bed 2: Acid loving plants. I'm hoping the extra nitrogen from the green manure crop over winter really gives them a good kick along. Three varieties of tomatoes (sweetie, gross lessie and beef steak), eggplants and capsicum. I have also planted a couple of sun flowers to give the birds something to chew on.

Bed 3: Legumes this season - and in particular beans. Climbing beans Purple King and Blue Lake, as well as dwarf beans bush beauty and Cherokee Wax.

Bed 4 and 5: Root veggies. I have planted leeks, beetroot, onions and potatoes. Yum!

The herb garden is also growing very well, and makes the front garden look both good, and productive.

Finally I have also added some pictures of various Eucalyptus trees growing around my back year. I love these particular species in particular.

E. macrandra

E. forrestiana

E. cinera

E. burdettiana - This is my favourite.

Recent event in the patch - and new chicken digs.

It has been a while since I updated the blog, so I guess there is a bit to catch up on.

 

Like most people in Melbourne I suspect, February 7 killed the patch. Things were going beautifully up to that point. I lost 60% of my tomatoes, along with the climbing beans. Most distressing was the sweetcorn, which was looking so good, and was then unceremoniously cremated that day. On the plus side we got some pumpkins and zucchini. I have no photos of this as I want to forget it.

 

By the end of March the remaining tomatoes were picked, and everything ready to come out. Bed preparation consisted of adding some compost, handfuls of blood and bone, and three bags of manure (chicken, cow and sheep) to each bed. The tomato bed (Bed 3) also had some dolomite lime added to it to sweeten the acidic soil.

 

Bed 1 got dug up, weeds and grasses removed, and another root crop of onions and leeks were planted, as well as turnips (which are magnificent). Also in this bed is silverbeet, pak choy and spinach.

Bed 2 has a green crop, including mustard greens. The mustard green contain isothiocyanates apparently, which killed root not neamotode. These will be dug in, followed by planting of acid lovers for summer.

 

Bed 3 has legumes. Two types of peas, "Massey Gem" and "Telegraph Pole" climbing, as well as snow peas and broad beans.

 

Bed 4 and 5 have the Brassicas planted. Mostly broccoli, but also cabbage and cauliflower. These are growing so well at the moment, with the broccoli only a handful of weeks away from being picked.

 

All beds have had a helping of liquid fertilizer (fish emulsion in this case), and are due for another dose this weekend.

 

We have also moved the herb garden out the front. I have a bed culinary herbs, and one for medicinal. The medicinal herb bed will have echinacea, evening primrose, chamomile, and feverfew. I'll also add some pyrethrum as it is a nice flower, and perhaps some salvia and comfrey. Culinary herbs will include thyme, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, oregano, tarragon, marjoram, chillies, sweet basil, Genovese basil, Thai basil, and whatever else springs to mind. I will also plant some sunflowers somewhere. The chooks will love these.

 

We have also built a new chicken enclosure. I have planted some rosemary in the coop as it is meant to help them, and I also plant some lavender for the same reason. From what I have read they keep away parasites. If nothing else it will make a little more pleasant looking.

 

Some other additions include an 8000 L water tank, and corresponding water pump. This should keep the veggies well watered over the summer months, and hopefully drought protect me somewhat. We have also ordered some photovoltaic cells for the roof to generate solar power. I can't wait for these babies to arrive!

And finally, I have noticed two new birds in the garden, a white naped honey eater and a silver eye. I found the silvereye after it knocked itself out on a window on the garage. A very small but pretty bird.

 

 

January veggie garden update

It has been an absolute bonanza recently in the garden. So far I have picked around 4kg of beans, with the "Blue Lake" climbing beans yet to produce anything. The "French Dwarf" and "Purple King" have been astonishing with their yields to date. And what's more they are delicious. What has been disappointing have been the butter beans. They seem to grow well and flower, but yield no beans, then wither and die. I won't be growing these again. Photo's of the beds taken on January 2 are below.

Bed 1

Bed 2

Bed 3

Bed 4

Bed 5

I have also picked 8 zucchinis, a pile of rocket and lettuce, 6 beetroot, 15 or so carrots, 6 leeks and a miserable amount of potatoes. The tomatoes have heaps of fruit on them, as well as the capsicums and egg plants. The corn plants are over 6 feet tall, and all have at least three cobs on them. I must remember to keep the food up to them (heap compost around the base) as well as the water. The pumpkins have flowers on them (male and female), so these should not be to far away from fruiting. Hopefully be next month I'll have tomatoes, corn, egg plant and capsicums picked, with pumpkins fruiting and growing nicely.

And finally, the chooks have started to lay. We have had two eggs this week. It won't be long before we have more eggs than we know what to do with.

Tim with our first egg

Our new "Tree chook's"