dear diary: 31st August - trying to keep on top of it all

OBSERVATIONS:

We've had some crazy hot-and-windy days and those dry the garden out something terrible, especially when we haven't had much by way of rain lately.

Turns out the Apricot by the front fence (the Tilton) blooms later than the Paterson (in pot). Paterson had about three flowers, all died without pollinating. Tilton has a bunch of buds starting up! That's definitely going to need some kind of an espalier frame to hang the net off if they pollinate into teeny tiny apricots!

Downside: someone yanked out some of my flowering plants by the roots – at least two days ago – and now I'm anxious about theives. I need to stick some nettle stalks in among the last plant.

CHOOKS:

Goong still broody. Carambah still being medicated. Tofu still has the hernia, but otherwise seems okay. B1 (sister) thinks that the hernia might be growing, but it looks...ordinary. The problem is usually when trying to herd Tofu somewhere: she runs and is absolutely desperate not to get caught. She's a slippery one, and prone to getting out of the coop and the run, and I'm worried about her catching on something and then tearing herself.

Alphamites seem to be working. Have ordered some 'pen pals' mites to sprinkle in the compost and in the coop, hopefully that will hold them.

COMPOST:

Pen Pals mites ordered for the compost – 2L.

GRAFTING:

Addendum to the grafts: with the hot days, I'm hoping the grafts where I removed the plastic around them haven't dried out. One was looking a little dry, but then the soil around the tree was also dry, so I watered it.

Did another two Royal Lee Cherry grafts on the cherry since it's not yet budding. We'll see if they take.

SOWING:

Tomatoes – Waspinicon Peach

Capsicum – Seven Wonders

Watermeon – red Moon and Stars

Pumpkin – Galeaux d'Elysine

Pumpkin -

Zucchini – black beauty

Cucumber – burpless

SEEDLINGS:

Tomatoes are large enough to plant out

Eggplants could probably do with another week

Beans:
Cherokee Wax (bush) – 2/8 germination
Snake beans – have almost all sprouted (7/8 germination rate)
Royal Burgundy (bush) – 0/7 germination
Tiger's Eye – 1/5 germination

Corn – about 50% strike rate, which isn't very good

PLANTING OUT:

Tomatoes (roma) into the newly created Tomato bed (thursday evening)

Eggplant, bush beans, summer lettuces, radishes into AVO-SHED

Need to think about where to put the snake beans; they'll want to grow up a structure, but we don't really have a structure that's big or reliable enough right now. Although I'm tempted to put them at the eastern edge of the lawn, out in front of the street facing windows and see how they grow. Apparently they like lightly depleted soil, and that should be pretty much the deal there. The problem is structure.

Picked up and dumped the big flowering salvia between Donut Peach and Cherry. Trimmed it back. We'll see how it does.

HARVEST:

Avocados mostly Still oranges.

Did the last of the sweet potato, but haven't really done anything with it. It's a “just in case' kind of food, right now, not a staple. Eventually, though, I think it'll be a staple. We'll want it to be a staple.

An asparagus spear popped up! Just one!

FEEDING:

Did the mango tree (bagged chook manure, plus sawdust to cover). Should add some pea straw around the base for a bit more eventual nitrogen.

Potassium water on just about everything. Hopefully sufficiently diluted that they won't kil everything they come in contact with!

start using the seaweed brew

PREP:

Avo-shed is sitting ready. Tomatoes didn't do so well there last year, so I'm hesitant to try again. Maybe some eggplant if suitably fed. Eggplant, bush beans, summer lettuces, basil, radishes. That's the plan.

'Tomato bed' – a space in the triangle garden:
- dandelion 'weed tea' & worm castings raked in together
- add garden lime and superphosphate – rake in together
- cover with hay
- protect with black siding
- flyscreen 'A-frame' to cover

'half-garlic bed' – other side of the garlic bed, had sweet potato vines all through it
- pulled out all the vines and all the potatoes I could find
- worm castings raked into the soil
- cover with hay
- protect with wire baskets

DONE:
- tractor moved to Plum-Stone
- netting over two-stone
- netting over dual stone (needs pegging)
- galangal and blue turmeric planted at the edge of the chook yard – inside edge; may not last, might need some rocks/bricks or something to keep them safe

TO DO:
1. Plant out tomatoes in new tomato bed (Thursday night)
2. Snake beans into front lawn.