I already have 1 bed all filled with compost, manure and soil and planted with Primula and Pansies. Another bed had tomatoes in it - the bugs liked them - the tomatoes have been pulled out and chopped up back into the bed and then all that has been covered with lucerne straw. The idea is to cover the straw with manure and lots of compost and soil.
The corn is still planted although it is all dead. I have harvested around 20 ears. We have eaten some - not that sweet to eat. The youngest commented on how full the corn is compared to store bought. Here's some that I picked a month ago.
The rest I have put into the freezer. They are actually quite long.
I have also harvested all the potatoes - not happy with these either. Most are really small - bite sized is best way to describe them - and they have quite dirty looking skin. Maybe I will try them again next year - maybe not.
Yesterday when I was planting out the flowers I noticed that I have 1 lonely small KENT pumpkin grown from seeds saved from a store bought one. It's about 7 inches across. I have sat it up on some bricks in an attempt to keep the bugs from eating it.
In checking a website called gardenate.com I have found that I can grow peas, spinach, pak choy, lettuce, carrot as we eat these. I have tried broccoli in the past with no success. So once I chop down the corn I think I will put in peas (will need a frame of some sort), carrots, lettuce and pak choy.
So......Jobs to do in the front yard :-
in no particular order.......
- remove all grass from around the vege beds and lay down a thick layer of mulch.
- cut down/remove the corn and chop up
- add 1 bag of manure to each bed
- add heaps of compost and soil to each bed (I really need them to be full of soil as I can't wait for it to be made anymore)
- sweep up the leaves from down the side and compost them (probably in the vege beds)
- make up (or purchase) a frame for peas and plant out pea seeds
- plant out carrot, lettuce, pak choy seeds
- put an edge between vege beds and car parking area
- rip out lawn to make car parking
- rip out all plants behind letterbox
- remove existing garden edge behind letterbox
- redo garden edge along front up to letterbox
- weed front garden and redo mulch (this was last done around 5-6 years ago)
Since the eldest now has a car we really need to get cracking on making proper car parking for 4 cars. The only way we can think of doing this is to rip out the front lawn and lay down some gravel. Having 2 cars in the car port, 1 behind them and the fourth on the nature strip means lots of shuffling of an evening so the first person to leave of a morning can get their car out. Having car parking on the front lawn is the easiest way. It may look ugly, but it is the best option. And then if the overseas child comes home and gets a car that puts us at 5 cars!! oh boy...
