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Monday, March 30, 2015

School Holidays- Day 1

 
 
Day one of the autumn/ Easter school holidays and it is a lovely day. Overcast and a pleasant 24degC. If the predicted showers would eventuate then it would be just about perfect. Perfect in my opinion anyway. I've even had help in the garden today. Hope has been trimming the roses while I weeded nearby. Doesn't happen often so it's extra nice when it does.
 
 

Hope's photo of one of the cosmos flowers. I always tell myself not to plant them because they do tend to take over and self-seed so easily. I didn't plant any last spring and those that did pop up have been well behaved. That probably means I'll sow some seeds next spring and have a jungle of them. Actually I have to sow some seeds of a variegated variety I found on my travels.


 
I spent quite a bit of Saturday sprucing up the front flower garden. Kikuyu was all over the place but no longer. The dahlias are all staked up and look happy to be free of the weeds and grass that was growing at their feet.

 
And as a reward for the weeding, some planting. Garlics are in. Watered and waiting on that promised shower of rain to give them an added boost to get growing.
 
On the crafting front, I've been making a few hexagons for the Lynette Anderson project from Girls day in the Country. It's my first attempt at English paper piecing and so far I'm not a fan. I think my hexies look messy and the stitches are showing too much for my liking. Practice. Maybe by the time I finish the project I will have produced one I'd be happy enough to share a picture of. Maybe!
 
Tracy

Thursday, March 26, 2015

I'm Back

I'm back but I didn't actually go anywhere, just felt poorly with a cold. A day or two of rest and a Saturday spent stitching at the Girls Day in the Country and I'm all good.
 
We have had some unruly weather lately. HOT in the mid to high 30s degC and extra strong wind on the weekend. The wind is the worst, it knocks trees over which knock fences over which cows then see as an invitation into the neighbours yard. Then it's all chainsaws and wire straining and those jobs are not my favourite farming chores.
 
 
We did have some rain on Tuesday evening which was lovely. 15mm, it's not a lot but very nice and refreshing.
 

The chillies are magnificent this summer. Jalapenos especially so, big and extra hot.


My favourite flower right now is of course the dahlia. They really come into there own in early autumn. Such a pity they don't have a scent but then they would perhaps be too good to be true.


My roses are suffering from the dry weather but the Chameleon rose close to the house is still pretty and producing some flowers. The rest of the roses need a prune and a rest.


No rest for me now. I have bulbs galore to plant. The garlics are no problem, they have a spot just for them in the vegetable patch but all those spring flowering bulbs. Every time I order them I succumb to temptation and buy up big and forget that I will have to find a place to plant them all.

No planting or gardening or much of anything for now. I'm going to watch the cricket and write a letter or two... multitasking.

Tracy

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Off colour


Just popping in to say I'm feeling a little off-colour this week. A kind of cold that is making me feel tired and sore and generally blah. I want it gone tomorrow. I haven't even made my swap item for next week's Girls Day in the Country and I'm feeling bad about that. I'll get it done though... I'm going to feel better tomorrow and that's all there is to it.

Tracy

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Garden Share

Messy
 The beginning of the month is time to share bits and pieces from the vegetable garden via the Garden Share Collective. It comes around so quickly.

This month the theme in my garden is beautiful mess. It truly is a mess out there. Grass growing all over the place because I won't disturb the pumpkins rambling every which way. I like a beautiful mess now. I'm not sure how keen I'll be when it's time to tidy up said mess.


Beautifully messy cucamelons

 Harvesting
  • flowers
  • herbs
  • cucumbers (the cucamelons/ Mexican sour gherkins are a favourite)
  • tomaotes
  • chillies
  • capsicum
  • melons
  • potatoes
  • carrots
  • tomatillos
  • strawberries
  • limes
  • eggplants
  • spinach
  • zucchini

 I'm waiting impatiently on pumpkins of all different sorts.

Messy again

Atlantic Giant .
 Planting
I'm sticking fairly close to the Gardenate guide this month so I have plenty to sow directly and into seed trays. I also have an order from Diggers on its way so I'll have spring flowering bulbs, garlic and such to go in too.
 
 
A mini disaster a couple of weeks ago, the little greenhouse with my seed trays blew over. Not all were lost but it is disheartening. The survivors are looking a little worse for their experience but maybe it will help toughen them up. Fingers crossed.
 
 
To do
My list of things to do this month will probably take me longer than a month to complete. That's all my jobs, not just gardening. I'll stick with the gardening chores here.
  • remove plants as they become non-productive
  • mow
  • tidy up compost bays and make compost
  • weed herb garden path
  • plant autumn/ winter vegetables
  • and all of the things I've forgotten or don't know about yet
 
http://www.strayedtable.com/grow/garden-share/
 
The Garden Share Collective is a group of bloggers who share their vegetable patches, container gardens and the herbs they grow on their window sills. Creating a monthly community to navigate through any garden troubles and to rival in the success of a good harvest we will nurture any beginner gardener to flourish. Each month we set ourselves a few tasks to complete by the next month, this gives us a little push to getting closer to picking and harvesting. The long-term goal of the Garden Share Collective is to get more and more people gardening and growing clean food organically and sustainably.
The Garden Share Collective runs on the first Monday of each Month
 
 
Happy gardening
Tracy