Wow - it has been nearly 12 months since I lasted posted anything (really must not let that happen).
Guess what - the garden is calling again!!
I planted out all those seedlings that I had gotten going last year and only 1 actually survived. It was a melon and it had 1 fist sized fruit that the bugs got too before I found it. So I didn't bother with trying to do any vege growing over autumn or winter. The everlasting spinach is still going strong and the potatoes that I put in last year (and did not harvest) kept on going.
I did manage to mulch a bed in the back yard with some straw - but did not get anything planted in it. The dogs thought the straw was terrific to nose around in. Since hubby is useless at mowing the grass out the back the dogs ended up pooping in the mulched bed and on the path to the clothes line. I have decided to take matters into my own hands and provide the puppies with their own toilet area. How I am going to do this I am not sure yet - I think it will involve spraying an area up along the back fence with weed kill to get rid off the grass and then adding some sort of edging and then filling with mulch. I have an idea of where I would like to put it - I just need to do it.
I also want to put up a barrier around the bed in the back yard to try to keep the dogs out. That will need fencing material, stakes to keep it said material upright and ties to attach the two together. I will need to create a 'gate' of some sort so I can access it to plant things and probably some stepping stones down the middle.
It's a shame hubby has this idea that the backyard can't be all mulch. He hates mowing the grass and seriously only does it 4 or 5 times a year - usually when the grass has grown taller than the little dog who is the size of a cat.
Of the raspberries that I planted last year that survived they are all sprouting again. There are even some bits that look like under ground runners that have taken off too. We didn't get any flowers last year so I am hoping that we do this year. They should be a variety that has fruit on first year canes - so grow cane/branch, flower and have fruit - as opposed to those that need last years canes to produce flowers on. I did not do any pruning of them so I will see what happens over the coming months.
The other berries have also survived the winter and are growing madly again. These are marion berry and logan berry and are both long caned varieties that really need to be trained over a trellis. My attempt to use tomato cages did not really work as they out grew them. Both of these have the nastiest thorns but I really need to train them on a trellis of some sort.
They are growing in containers next to an olive tree - maybe I can prune back the olive a bit and get them to use the olive for support?
I have been following a blog of another gardener here in Melbourne. She has converted her WHOLE FRONT AND BACK YARDS into her own market garden. She has a large variety of apples and stone fruit trees, an almond tree as well as citrus trees. She numerous beds for vegetables - seems as though are mostly wicking beds too. Maybe I need to follow her lead and turn my beds into wicking beds? Maybe I just need to get out there every second day and water and pull weeds and plant things?
sometimes it is all just too much.
