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.