dear diary: 31st October

OBSERVATIONS

Well, everything's gone kinda beserk. Warming weather and sufficient rain to set things off. Downside: a lot of the weedy grasses have started taking over in the front yard. This is not ideal, and I don't know how to deal with them - other than dedicated pulling out, or else poisoning. Don't want to do too much poisoning - prefer not to do any at all.

CHOOKS

We've gained a friendly little refugee - a mysterious and missing miss who was found on a street in Warrawee and hasn't been claimed. Guess she's going to end up part of our flock... Not sure if we should check her for any diseases or such.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of rats and mice right now, too. I'm contemplating one of the treadle feeders, but debating between those and the Dine-A-Chook ones that seem otherwise pretty good for keeping rats off and away...

PRUNING & PREPARING

Everything in the backyard. Probably will have to go to the chickens for best scrappage.

PLANTING

All the stuff I didn't get around to before I left.

TOMATOES need planting out.

CUCUMBERS

RIPENING

peaches and nekos are growing, as are the apples - some donut peaches, some plums...

HARVEST

Potatoes, purple-podded peas, artichokes, leeks, all the leafy greens, cruciferous brassicas (mostly the leaves, but possibly not even those: I think they got hit by the bug)...

NOTES

I have to start facing that I'm not going to be able to deal with the entire property. Everything's growing right now and it's more than a little bit crazy. It's also spread all over the property, which is a reasonable size, and the grass weeds are a big problem right now - not to mention the issue with things being warm and wet and therefore growing. I need to find another lawn guy.

dear diary: 8th October

Last garden post for a while. I'm going for a round-the-world trip on Sunday, won't be back until November! There's someone to look after the cats and the chooks on a day-to-day basis, but hopefully the rain will keep everything humming while I'm away...

OBSERVATIONS

During the week's crazy rain, the gutters started leaking again - downspouts were blocked with jacaranda leaves. During October (Sept school hols) need to climb up on the roof and clear the gutters, preferably when the weather is clear and not in the middle of crazy rain while home alone!

Grass is super damp in the ridge running parallel to the triangle orchard on the south side. Superdamp and squishy.

Definitely some 'soft spots' under the backyard woodchip. Going to need a refill when I get back.

CHOOKS

B1 took Coldie to the vet because she was concerned that Coldie was gaining weight and her comb was starting to grow and go floppy again. Apparently she's fine, but the implant that keeps Coldie from laying might have expired. It's only been 3 months, and they usually last 6-12 months so...she got another implant. Dear heavens but that chook is expensive.

The chooks now have a roof over the west end of their yard thanks to Mike of Let's Grow Shopping, so they can still go outside in the rain a little, rather than being stuck in the triangle coop.

PRUNING & PREPARING

Covered several beds with sugarcane mulch.

Got the trellis up for the BACKYARD APRICOT espalier, but the arms aren't tied down (yet).

Dug up the driveway vegepod weeds and then covered with damp paper and cardboard, and sugarcane mulch. See if it manages to cut down the weeds by the time I come back. (Wish I'd put down a layer of comfrey.)

PUMPKIN-POTATO bed:

PLANTING

QLD Sunrise, Rosewood, and Argentina Phoenix PUMPKINS in a black recycling box full of compost down by the picketfence bed. Literally tossed in clumps of seed, covered with sugarcane mulch we'll see what's up by the time I get back.

FLOWERING & RIPENING

The Berry Wall behind the washing line is flowering. Avocado is in full flower but not many avos are being pollinated (damn) - may need to consider a second avo tree for better cross-pollination.

HARVEST

Asparagus, various leafies. Broccoli leaves? Fennel! CRAAAAAP. So many things to eat and not enough time to eat them! Or even prep them. (Frankly, I'd love some of Margaret's delicately flavoured sauerkraut.)

NOTES

We're going with the uPVC double-glazed windows, sometime over the course of the summer. Going to have to start moving things away from the windows so the installation can take place. That's going to be fun getting organised/tidied for that.

Dear Diary - 3rd October

Trying to plant out everything that will need to be in the ground for the next three weeks while I'm away. While it's another La Nina year, and there'll be plenty of rain, I don't want to leave it to that, so pretty much everything is either going into self-watering pots, in the shallow rain-tray, or it'll be planted out.
At least that's the plan.

OBSERVATIONS

found what looks like some baby wandering trad in front of the chook coop - have found Wandering Trad before in the coop, pulled it out, binned it. I think that the chooks might have eaten seed and pooped it out, resulting in patches of tiny leaves (that give me creepy feelings). I dug up the patches I could find and am going to drown them in water for a long time. Downside: mosquito breeding, UGH.

CHOOKS

before I leave, they're spending every day in lounge-dining-kitchen stretch of yard, to trim down the grass; not sure how successful this will be since they like the young tips, not the older weedy stuff. Still, good for digging things up, it just takes them a while. May end up having to mow the grass in any case, but wanted them to give it a go first.

PRUNING

Pruned the FOUR-APPLE in the backyard: the two strongest grafts have been severely trimmed down to give the two weaker grafts a chance to catch on.

PREPARING

Netted NECTARINE branch of backyard FOUR-STONE, am not going to net the PLUMS at all.

Got the espalier frame up around the APRICOT, will tie the branches in the coming days. Will aim for a fan espalier with this one.

PLANTING

POTATOES: one in a poly planterbox.

Have a POTATO and a SWEET POTATO with some potential for growing but nowhere to put it. Maybe in the DINING VEGEPOD once the chooks have cleared it...

Although I should probably plant some more lettuces and silverbeet...

PLANTING OUT

SNAPDRAGONS went under the FOUR-STONE, along with the TREE LETTUCE, and three AFRICAN MARIGOLDS.

CROPSWAPPED NASTURTIUM (probably Empress of India or something) went out in the FRONT PICKET FENCE.

RIPENING & FLOWERING

Stone fruit under netting, all ripening.

Still no apricots this year, not a one. *sigh*

HARVEST

the WASABI LETTUCE and the KALE are both going great guns, so are SILVERBEET all over the garden, and the CORIANDER has gone to seed. I cut one of the SHALLOTS for a stir-fry and it was great.

PURPLE ASPARAGUS in planter box.

NOTES

I feel like noxious weeds have gotten out of control in the garden - the mugwort, the salvias, the wandering trad, even some of the comfrey is worrying me - and it's a bit distressing, tbh. Also, the backyard garden is lovely through 8 months of the year, but cold and miserable and non-productive in winter. Which it would still be if it was grass, but I wouldn't care except to mow it. *sigh*

Need to arrange windows - looking at a company that does uPVC double-glazing windows, but I would really like to see the quality of work before purchasing. And it's really annoying that the guy who does the metal-framed double-glazing hasn't contacted us back at all with a formal quote.