How Does Your Garden Grow??

[Hello Kitty]

I've just pulled out the carpet of violets that were lying under and around my roses and jonquils. It would've died back in the heat in a few weeks anyway and I needed to dig up my plants and weed everywhere- which would've been impossible as the couch was growing under the violets.
That's "couch grass", by the way. I don't have a couch growing in my garden.

Just looking at the shape of that tree, Kitty- it looks like a plum. Don't hold me to that, though.

That's disappointing I was hoping the violets would stop weeds growing

I was really hoping you meant one of these

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was a plum?

 

[Hello Kitty]

I am far too kind to my plants and often kill them with kindness. Not sure what happened to the daphne- might've been too exposed, too much water, too much Teri-love.
Will hunt up a pic of my Mothers Love rose for you. Not sure if I have one here on my phone.

I know they don't like heat, which is why they're successful grown in shade.

 

[Hello Kitty]

The birds have already got stuck into it but there's plenty for all. When the fruit ripens up all at once, the chickens' poo turns purple. Lol

I pick and freeze containers full of mulberries and use them in shakes and smoothies.

Please send some mulberries over to me when you post the jonquils

 

[Hello Kitty]

I've had to lock my cats in the laundry at night, D'Cat- otherwise this place is as busy as Bourke St. Cat in, Cat out. Another cat out, two back in, one out... etc.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Just dug out my lime tree- probably a month too late.


Unfortunately it is covered in flowers- I pruned it a little (about 20-30%), even a couple of tiny fruit (accidentally), to compensate for the loss of roots that got chopped. Hopefully it will survive or I'll be off to the garden shop to buy a new one.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Not too sure if I will be able to dig out my feijoa, which has been in the back chook pen for >10 years and, before that, about 5 years at my other house.

We had some delicious fruit from it last year.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Hell Kitty here are some photos of my Mothers Love rose, that have been taken at various stages over the past year or so. It bloomed madly this year- I just moved the pot yesterday so I hope it doesn't protest at its new home.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Model of Perfection

 

[Teriyakicat]

Greg Chappell

 

[Teriyakicat]

Satchmo



(Yeah- needed some Fe/Mg)

 

[Teriyakicat]

Blue Moon- which is strangely pink, for some unknown reason.

 

[Teriyakicat]

That's disappointing I was hoping the violets would stop weeds growing

I was really hoping you meant one of these

Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was a plum?

Would love one of those!
The violets probably smother your everyday weeds but the couch and kikuyu just sneak around underneath and come up on the other side.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Thanks Teri, you can see why I'm so excited!
Yes, I googled the image + it is Spring Starflower - thanks Teri.
Well done! You'll be in a re-potting frenzy this weekend lol
You know that if you re-pot your orchid, it won't flower for a year or two? For some reason they flower much better when they're strangled lol

Yeah- am just potting up the baby at this stage and will decide what to do with the others later on. Might divide the cymbidium.

 

[candiehappy]

back from a week off, going to make some fruit fly brew, will post the recipe.

spent yesterday cleaning up the vegie garden ready for the new season.

 

[Teriyakicat]

back from a week off, going to make some fruit fly brew, will post the recipe.

spent yesterday cleaning up the vegie garden ready for the new season.

What will you be planting, candiehappy?

(Welcome back, btw! I wondered what had happened to you!)

 

[candiehappy]

certainly some early tomatoes, not sure beyond that. I haven't been growing my own seedlings, but that's next years mission.

I already have a sizable and very productive strawberry patch, and a couple of new passion fruit vines in (snails ate the last one ...)

any suggestions?

 

[Teriyakicat]

certainly some early tomatoes, not sure beyond that. I haven't been growing my own seedlings, but that's next years mission.

I already have a sizable and very productive strawberry patch, and a couple of new passion fruit vines in (snails ate the last one ...)

any suggestions?

Depending in your space and what you eat, I've found that I can pick a good meal from a row of beans and a few silverbeet and/or spinach plants. You can buy several varieties of climbing beans, including a purple one (which cooks up green) if you've got a restricted growing area- I really liked the bushes of butter beans and green beans though- can't remember which but, when planted at the same time, one cropped a few weeks ahead of the other - think butter beans came first.

If you've got a little more space, a couple of zucchini and cucumber plants, maybe a rockmelon?

My zucchini plants got a fungus, though I was still able to pick and eat the zucchini- and the cure for the fungus was to simply spray milk on the leaves. Didn't have any problems with the beans- they were probably the best thing I grew.

Oh- and I also grew corn but there's not a lot of reward from those plants. Tasty, though- and fun.

I'm jealous of your strawberries- lizards and birds love mine so I've stopped growing them after killing a lizard in a bird net.

And my 10-year old passionfruit- heavy cropping Nelly Kelly- died this winter. I won't grow another as we're moving in a few months' time.

 

[candiehappy]

we did have plenty of zucchini last year. I'll also put in a few pumpkins - usually get 30 or so. Still got one left from last season!

never had luck growing corn It's either the soil, the climate, or more likely - it's me !!

 

[Teriyakicat]

we did have plenty of zucchini last year. I'll also put in a few pumpkins - usually get 30 or so. Still got one left from last season!

never had luck growing corn It's either the soil, the climate, or more likely - it's me !!

Yes, pumpkins sound lovely- must remember to find an old photo of my son's wheelbarrowful of pumpkins. When he was young (early teens), I bought him a membership for Diggers Garden Club. You can buy all heritage vegetables, etc. from there. We bought broad beans, several varieties of tomato, artichoke, rhubarb, several varieties of pumpkin, radishes, beans, zucchini, a dozen salad greens, including kale and some Japanese thing, etc etc....the vegie patch was ablaze with green!
I'm not sure what the trick is with corn-no matter how far apart (in time) I plant the seeds, the corn always seems to ripen at the same time!

Now I've got chooks in the vegie patch, I haven't bothered planting anything for ages. Oh- and the bore died two summers in a row and I ended up bucketing water to the plants for hours.

 

[candiehappy]

we went for dinner last night, this is the garden next door. These are decent size chines lanterns! Sorry about the quality of the photo, a sea mist was rolling in.

 

[Teriyakicat]

we went for dinner last night, this is the garden next door. These are decent size chines lanterns! Sorry about the quality of the photo, a sea mist was rolling in.

View attachment 181126

That's the size that my Mum had in her garden a long time ago, Candie. Is it because they were old or because they're a different variety- ie more tree than bush?

 

[candiehappy]

I think it's just the age of the plant Teriyakicat.

New vegie patch going in this weekend, will take some "before and after" photo's

 

[Teriyakicat]

I think it's just the age of the plant Teriyakicat.

New vegie patch going in this weekend, will take some "before and after" photo's

Great! I look forward to watching its progress

 

[candiehappy]

Put in the new vegie patch on the weekend. A version of a no dig garden. Lined the ground with a very thick layer of newspaper. All unfolded, overlapping. So n weeding or soil preperation. In time this will both kill the weeds / grass and break down. A border of lucerne bails. Then broke up and layer another three lucerne bails. Covered with 1 1/2sm of compost soil mix/. Plant the seedlings and done! In time the borders will rot, but then just break them up and dig them in to the soil, and replace them.

 

[Teriyakicat]

Put in the new vegie patch on the weekend. A version of a no dig garden. Lined the ground with a very thick layer of newspaper. All unfolded, overlapping. So n weeding or soil preperation. In time this will both kill the weeds / grass and break down. A border of lucerne bails. Then broke up and layer another three lucerne bails. Covered with 1 1/2sm of compost soil mix/. Plant the seedlings and done! In time the borders will rot, but then just break them up and dig them in to the soil, and replace them.

View attachment 183055 View attachment 183056 View attachment 183057 View attachment 183058

Well, that's really clever! I remember watching Peter Cundall do something a bit similar with straw and pumpkins or potatoes or something... Yes, a great idea and that lucern will be a valuable addition when it gets dug in later on!

You will be rapt with your produce and I'm sure you'll want to double the size of your vegie patch over the next year or two You won't want to leave any vegies out.

What seedlings have you planted so far? Do I see beans?? Tomatoes staked in the back corner??

One thing you might need to do is edge the grass around so the creepers don't go in and under the bales or you could drop or spray a bit of herbicide just outside the bales, so as to prevent the kikuyu (?) from invading.