We've had a couple of welcome wet days here. Friday saw some very heavy falls. Low, dense clouds blanketing the sky and rain drumming loudly on the roof and gushing from gutters. An inside day for everyone! Sir Steve dog's walk was cancelled due to lashings of precipitation ... but try explaining that to an enthusiastic Labrador who feels hard done by!
The rain continued to fall in heavy showers throughout Saturday. Breaks in the weather, peeks of sunshine now and then, humid and warm. Beautiful boy's cricket match was cancelled, much easier to explain than a Labrador's missed walk! The garden beckoned, that sense of impatience and optimism that I find comes along with soaking rain. So, on with my old, torn and soil-stained gardening clothes and gumboots (that I keep for just such occasions) and outside into the rain ...
Drenched!
The main veggie patch was cleared of its tangled cucumber vines and frazzled celery amongst other things. Ready for rejuvenation!
Cleared veggie patch.
Cranberry Hibiscus and yellow Clivia Lillies were planted in the garden that surrounds the spot where our son's sandpit used to be. There are established shrubs there; a Little Gem Magnolia right in the top corner and two Michelia Cocos either side. I'm trying to grow this garden cheaply by using plants that I propagate from cuttings or through division. I hope to add salvias around the birdbath at some stage too. The pumpkin vine keeps wanting to spread out into the lawn so something more compliant is needed in that spot.
The sandpit garden.
One of three tiny Cranberry Hibiscus that I grew from cuttings.
Division of one yellow Clivia Lily now makes for three!
Sunday dawned a little brighter and so, after a walk with the beside-himself-with-joy Sir Steve, I returned to the veggie patch I'd cleared. I lifted the soil gently with a garden fork, loosening it without turning it over. A sprinkling of little leguminous leopard tree leaves that I collected on our walk and some torn pumpkin leaves from that pesky vine up the back. As they break down, they will nourish to the soil.
Little leopard tree leaves & torn pumpkin leaves to nourish the soil.
A layer of manure and compost over the top.
Watered in with worm tea & protected with a blanket of pea straw.
In a few weeks time I will plant in our rejuvenated veggie patch. I'm already dreaming of lettuce, spring onion, silverbeet and kale. Definitely beetroot too! Perhaps we'll have a few more wet days before then.
What did you get up to during your weekend days?
What did you get up to during your weekend days?
Meg
Great post Meg, it always interests me what other people do when replanting. I can see why your plants and veggies always look so healthy. I too got in the garden again this weekend, I dug in some home made compost, and planted seedlings of Long Chilli's, Perpetual Spinach, Comfry (between my citrus tree's for chop and drop purposes) and my beloved Cornflowers, which I spied at Bunnings yesterday. (I'm definitely collecting the seeds this time, cornflower seedlings can be very hard to come by at times. We had rain too, but now it has come out all hot and humid again, perhaps I was a little too keen to get gardening again??
ReplyDeleteHi, Cheryl! I will hold off on planting until I think we've seen the last of the Summer heat (mid March maybe??) It's hot and humid here already today with 33C expected so no seedlings in the veggie patch for a little while yet. I didn't know that leopard trees were leguminous until I did the Intro to Permaculture course. These grow along many streets in our neighbourhood so are a free and easily accessible resource for the garden. Works well! I must keep my eye out for cornflowers too, I usually get them in at the city farm's nursery. They are such a beautiful blue! Meg:)
DeleteI think we have a leopard tree in our front yard, I will identify it properly and if it is, WOW thanks for the tip!
DeleteI also spent the weekend working in the garden, weeding, pruning, fertilising and laying down mulch in the much neglected flower beds which are a part of my veggie patch. Over the next week or so I will be doing the same in the veggie gardens in preparation for autumn planting.
ReplyDeleteMeg, I still need to pull out my zucchinis although the rain seems to have rejuvenated one plant. I had two cucumbers growing but something ate them during the night. I bought some cornflower seeds a couple of weeks back to grow for using in soap. It says on the packet to plant in Autumn so I will hold off. I have never grown them before. It has been very muggy here and overcast. Hate the heat and hope it goes soon.
ReplyDeleteVery humid here, Chel. Glad I worked in garden over the weekend! Meg:)
DeleteI like the way you pressed your veggie patch.
ReplyDeleteI sowed seeds and prepared several raised beds. My broccoli is almost done now.
So I'm going to cut it up and put it in the beds to compost.
I hope to grow some broccoli this coming Autumn, Nil. It's one of my favourite vegetables. I need to get in and sow some seeds too. Meg:)
DeleteLots of hard work will pay off, once you start bringing in the crops. That area looks so inviting. They all do. We got rain too, but not as much as your region, by the sounds. The ground really needed what fell though. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you've had some rain, Chris. It makes all the difference! I can't wait to get planting but I know it's best to leave the veg patch now for a couple of weeks at least.
DeleteThe area up the back is quite lovely, shaded in the afternoon. My son spent so much time up there playing in his sandpit when he was young. The hardwood timber that edged that sandpit has been turned into garden edging and steps at a friend's place. Lovely to see it reused in someone else's garden. Meg:)
It's much easier weeding the garden after some rain I find....
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! Weeds come out so much more easily when the ground is moist and soft. Meg:)
DeleteOur grand son Will was here most days, and at 1 he takes center stage, we had loads of fun watching him toddle around.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely that you get to spend lots of time with your grandson, Marlene. Little ones are a real delight as they toddle around exploring their world. Lots of fun! Meg:)
DeleteYour soil looks so rich and fertile. I layer compost and straw mulch, too. It's wonderful that you are getting so much rain...
ReplyDeleteThe rain really has really soaked in and plants are loving it. Nothing like rain for a garden! Meg:)
Delete