It rained on Saturday night, not a lot, but a heavy thunderstorm that got the ground moist again. So I got into the new beds and sowed a new lot of seeds. In this pair of steep narrow terraces I put in a repeat crop of brassicas; radish champion, radish early scarlet globe, daikon, and turnip gold ball. In the rich looking level bed next to it I put a second sowing of some of the salad greens that have poor shows from the May sowing; mustard osaka purple, endive…
Read MoreMonth: June 2014
First orchid.
My first orchid to flower in the new place. The yellow and burgundy Oncimiums have been gracing (and perfuming) the living room since we moved, but they were already in flower. This one has gone from spike to inflorescence, and survived the possibility of being chewed by whatever lurks under the house at night, although it did lose a terminal bud or two. Until I can secure my greenhouse, I’m glad to get any flowers. This is the lesser, Winter flowering, so I hope to get more in late Spring. I…
Read MoreNew beds
These beds will be a change. Flat land is not a feature of this property, and here I’ve tried making two small terraces with a goat track in between. This is the last of the beds made by the previous owner, which have sat covered in black plastic and cardboard for some time. Mum and Dad helped me pull that off, exposing this sloping plot beneath a corrugated metal retaining wall, but inside the old fenced area. There was at least one big ants’ nest underneath, so we pretty much…
Read MorePerformers at 4 weeks
It’s four weeks today since my first vegetable sowing, and there are some standout early starters. Choi sum is up and going; it’s used as flowering stems. Bok choi is looking good too; it’s used as little cabbages. Behind it is Wom bok, the tall chinese cabbage. And also a Brassica, Mibuna is looking like it will be ready to pick for salads in a couple more weeks. Some vegetables that I expected to be quicker, particularly the radishes, are still coming along, although looking good. The bed was very…
Read MoreNursery and gift plants
It’s been a week of plant nursery visits, and fortunately there are a lot to choose from around here. We took my parents to Kingscliff, a beach town, on Saturday, because the markets were on and it’s just a nice place for coffee anyway. The markets were true to form and we picked up some shade-loving plants for the South-facing front of the house where we will make a formal entrance. At the moment it’s a bit wet underfoot as it sits at the base of a cutting and is…
Read MoreNew veggie patch.
We have fenced the veggie garden. It became a priority because the broad beans I had sown in a rough bed came through earlier than expected, and the sprouts were being eaten by chickens and possibly night -time visitors. Fortunately my parents arrived on Thursday, and they have more experience than I with fencing, so they helped get a chicken wire fence round the developing veggie patch. It’s not your classic patch, as there is no level ground of any size, so the far corner of the rectangle goes way…
Read MoreChickens
The previous owner left us eight chickens, housed in an old coop. They’ve been nice company round the yard, and have bonded quickly after a bit of feeding, so now they follow me to the coop in the evenings, which is handy. They had been used to free ranging and some used to roost on the roof of the coop at night, so it’s good to have them locked into the hen house away from danger. They weren’t laying at first, I think they are old and out of training,…
Read MoreFirst weeks
Beginnings – first new-cut beds and the edge of the established veggie garden. It’s been a busy first ten days, unpacking boxes and getting to know the house and the neighbourhood. In among all the essential first things like seeing to the floors, deck and railings, which were a bit weathered, I’ve dug a few new beds. As you can see from the photo, the land around the house is mainly pasture, with an established veggie garden right in front of the house. The established patch, with…
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