Saturday, September 24, 2016

seed sewing

The other day I purchased 4 punnets of seedlings from our local supermarket. I got Tomatoes (grosse lisse var.), Lettuces (mixed), Marigolds and Capsicum (not sure of their var.).

Today the Lettuce got planted out into my grow tower.  The tower is a set of connected trio pots that has four layers. It all stacks neatly up and sits nicely on a wheel-y circular base for easy moving.  Well it would be easy if the ground was level - mine isn't as some of the pavers have dropped or risen; only a tiny bit but enough to make trying to move the tower an effort.  I haven't put anything into the lowest set of pots as yet - I am waiting to see if the puppy will dig in these.  Last time I put veges in the lowest level they got dug out by one of the dogs.  This level does have mulch in it though so I can see if he has been digging in them.  The tower also has 4 strawberry plants from last year that didn't die over winter (bonus) and onions in the very top layer.



I am thinking of putting a couple of tomatoes in with the roses and the Nashi pear, some in the new back yard bed and the others out in the front yard.  The ones not with the roses will need staked; maybe I could use the old plastic trellis from around the roses to make a circular frame to go around them as support.  I might do the same with the capsicums and marigolds too.


Six of the peas that I planted the other week in the grow box have sprouted so I have placed some wire towers over them for them to climb onto.  I noticed that one bean has poked up through the mulch.  I have moved the mulch and found a couple more are also starting to sprout.  I will have to get that trellis in a couple of weeks.


I mixed up some carrots seeds (atomic red var.) with some sugar into a spice bottle and have sprinkled that over the soil in the rest of the grow boxes.  I added in the sugar so I could see where I had sprinkled the carrot seed as it is the same colour as the wet potting mix.

I must be feeling very energetic today as not only did I take 2 dogs for a walk I also did a bit of work on the vege beds out the front.  They got a digging over - well 5 did, the last one is chock full of weeds.  I removed lots of teeny potatoes and the weeds.  Beds 1, 2 and 3 all need manure and compost and mulch.  Beds 5 and 6 need the same but a lot more of it.  These are the newest beds so they don't have much in them in the way of soil.  I will be fill them up no-dig-style - cardboard, manure, straw, manure, straw, compost, straw.

There is an ever getting larger Agapanthus next to my Dwarf Orange tree's tub that is home of lots of snails.  The snails love eating orange leaves.  So the Agapanthus got a a severe hair cut too - every single leaf chopped off.  As nice as they are, I don't really care if it dies.  I doubt it will though.  Those things are as tough as nails.  This particular one is a baby from the one that lives at the front of the driveway.  That plant is 30 years old.  I did try to dig it up once - failed miserably.  This is it when in  flower......



You should see the size of another plant in my front yard.  It is supposed to be a dwarf Diosma.  It must be over 10 feet wide!  This is the monster......


I have decided it has to go.  It has smothered a native bottle brush and a convulvulus and is harbouring what I think is a prunus variety.  It is threatening too take over my apple tree too.  The poor apple is leaning over trying to get away I think.  So something for me to do during the week - plant chopping.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

more seeds

Not much to report, but I recently planted some dwarf snap peas and three different lots of climbing beans in the earth boxes. Peas in one and beans in the other.  I had help via the puppy who was very keen to see what I was doing.  When the time is right I will put in some carrot seeds in the rest of these boxes.  I have a Moon Gardening Calendar and am trying to follow that.

I also removed the old plastic fencing from around the roses and replaced it with the wire fencing I bought last week. I also added in some sugar cane mulch around them.  You can see it in the background of this photo.


I also finished off the fencing around the new vege bed and mulched the path to the clothesline.  The fence section that is in the bottom left of the pic is the gate so I can access the bed.  I have yet to lay out the pavers for stepping stones. Luckily the puppy has gotten big enough to not fit thru the fencing any more.


The seeds that I started in peat pellets are doing well. The kale seems to have all spouted and quite a few of the tomatoes have too, as has the broccoli and the asparagus.

Two weeks ago I got an avocado seed and took off the outer layer of the seed, stuck some toothpicks into it and popped it into water. I checked it today and have noticed that there is a large crack in it on the bottom and I can see what appears to be a root inside the crack. Exciting stuff.  Last time I tried to grow an avo tree absolutely nothing happened. I had that seed sitting in water for over 6 weeks before one of the cats decided to play with it. This time I may have success.  I haven't changed the water yet, just been topping it up with straight tap water.