Dear Diary: 28th February

It's February and everything is growing. We're still in the hot and sticky days, but the temps are now in the 30s and not hitting the 40s so much.

Sowing: Planted a lot of things a few weeks ago - mostly the winterveg: cauli, cabbage, broccoli, wombok - some of the heirloom stuff isn't doing so well (Early Snowball Caulis from seed collection for inst), but the F1 plants are doing really well on the growing front. (Some were bred for warmer climates)

Have let the chooks into the driveway bed to the north, they dug it up quite thoroughly, now trying to clear the space for the brassicas.

Need to set up the piping from the water barrels to the driveway space. Check the barrels for leaks and fix. Wonder if I could get the young man I used to hire to help out with that...

Am thinking of planting the Black sapote around the base of the jacaranda and then eventually cutting down the jacaranda. I don't see any other way to get a bunch of trees into the ground where I have no more space to put them...

Incidentally, I've managed to grow some lychee trees from scratch! This is really novel. I've tried before, but they never sprouted. These ones did! I would really like to see how it goes, because I buy the marcotted ones, but they always seem to die on me. Hopefully I can get them to young adult stage, with a decent root ball, suitable for planting out. And then... IDEK where I'd put it. Probably next to the avo.

I discovered that passionfruit only lasts for seven years, which might be why the last one died without fruiting. Need to get the one I have in the ground pronto. Also work out where it is going. 

The wormwood has died (I don't know what happened to it) and I need to start planting along the chook fence line – doesn't really matter what, they just need some kind of shelter and shade.

So: kumquat, passionfruit, maybe a choko during the summer months? I pulled out a fig that was becoming unwieldy, but I am wondering if I could maybe set it up along the chook fenceline

Also gotta get the grapevine in. I really am starting to think that next to the gas meter might be a good idea. May have to float that idea with other people and work out any reasons why it might not be a good idea. Root systems? The grapevine I want to be a shademaker, and not just a fruiting thing. I want more stuff growing across the brick wall in the front, so it doesn't heat up so much – particularly in summer.

Right now, I'm mostly harvesting persimmons. That is, there are so many persimmons that I'm practically giving them away. It seems that putting them under a net also slows down their ripening – everything else went ripe really fast, but the ones under the net are holding strong.

I need to feed a few more things in the garden:

TOMATOES:
· Epsom salts
· Seaweed solution
· Potash

CUCUMBER
· Seaweed solution

CORN
· Seaweed solution
· Chook poop

EGGPLANT
· Seaweed solution

SEEDLINGS
· Seaweed solution

The CAULIFLOWER (Serenity F1) and the BROCCOLI (Monty F1) seedlings are growing very nicely, and just about ready to plant out. There's going to be quite a few of them, I think, and I have space prepared next to the driveway, and in the CREPE-APRICOT bed (and probably the APPLE-CREPE bed, because half the stuff in there isn't growing very well). There should be no more crazy hot days now that we've hit March, and I just need to keep things well-watered.

None of the standard seeds germinated; it might be that the weather is too warm for it. So the F1s do okay now for over the winter, and the heirlooms do better over the winter? Maybe? I guess we'll have to see during March and April what we can actually germinate.

I need to pull out the two metal garden frames from the TRIANGLE ORCHARD, and redistribute the soil from them elsewhere. They're in the wrong place for the summer, and they might be in the wrong place for the winter, too...

Finally, I need to put together the IBC – perhaps with a little bit of help. My original thought for the grapevine was to put it in there, and that's still an option. But IDK. I have to think about it some. Do grapevines need more rootspace?

Retrospective for 2024

VEGIES

Late autumn and through the winter, I did well with the PUMPKINS, AVOCADOES, GINGER, LEAFY GREENS (particularly the ones which had been planted last winter). The TOMATOES in the small vegepod (on the path) did fine through the winter, although they really came into their own come spring.

The early flush of spring TOMATOES and the midsummer CORN (which I've just harvested) was wild. The LEAFY GREENS did well during this period too (backyard bathtub).

TOMATOES planted in spring according to the timetable of Anthony of Sydney Backyard Veggies did okay, but the tomatoes I expected to be Roma turned out to be something else (a bulbuous determinate type). They were super-tasty for salads and what, but they weren't Roma!

The early CORN (planted mid-July) grew and produced, but it wasn't very impressive – very short. I tried planting them in the middle of a 'clover lawn', trimming down the clover os they'd get the necessary nutrients, but they weren't impressed. They were also irregularly watered A ZUCCHINI and a CUCUMBER planted around the same time and in the same bed didn't get anywhere.

First sets of BEANS did okay, but not great. But also: I don't really like beans fresh, unless they're snake beans. (And all the SNAKE BEANS died this year.) So I'm growing them for storage over winter, and I think I need to pick a better variety and have better harvest management for them.

GARLIC was a complete loss. Seemed to grow well at first, but then developed black aphids and the bulbs were tiny. (Although they do seem to store very well out of the fridge.)

Only one EGGPLANT that I planted in mid-July and planted out around September. It's only just produced fruit. I feel like I should feed it again, hm.

The second round of CORN I planted got planted out into the Vegepod and supercharged. It was absolutely nuts. Variety was 'silvermine' (heirloom) and the stalks grew to 1.8m tall easy. At least one cob per stalk, some of them two.

A ZUCCHINI planted in the vegepod bed with the CORN didn't do well. A couple of TOMATOES (yellow variety, round and fly-resistant) did well, and there's a 'moon and stars' MELON doing okay in the back, along with a bunch of SWEET PEAS (although they're growing well, they're not really blooming much.)

Galeaux d'Eysines PUMPKIN has already produced one and is working out another.

I bought CUCUMBERS from Bunnings, and a BASIL from Harris Farm and planted them out; both are doing fine so far.

At every turn of this year (and all the previous ones), the attempts to grow POTATOES to a decent size has failed.

FRUIT TREES

The usual run of PEACHES and NECTARINES were solid, although less productive than usual after a big prune year. That said, I could actually manage the harvest which was a nice change. Still, I might take a leaf out of M&K's book and run a 'harvest day' in 2025 for the nectarines and peaches: picking and processing.

APRICOTS flowered a little but not much. I don't think they had long enough in the ground, or the right conditions. At least, I guess that's what happened, I'm not entirely sure. A few teeny tiny fruit that promptly fell off.

MANGO flowered in mid-spring and had small fruit on it, but they vanished at some point, and I suspect the birds got them. 2025, I will put a cover on the instant the fruit sets.

Again, the DONUT PEACH didn't do so well: I don't know if it needs more pruning or different conditions to fruit successfully.

PLUMS – in the (formerly) DUAL PLUM there were lots of flowers,a couple of fruit set, but not much else. The (formerly) FOUR STONE PLUM had a decent crop, but they mostly fell to fruit fly.

APPLES: the crops of apples in early 2024 – Delicious and Gala - weren't fantastic, just okay. I think they were left on the tree too long and went floury, but I don't know how to stop this. I need to work out when they're ready to pick and maybe store. And if so, how to store.

The Golden Dorset apples (late in the year, early in the season) were pretty good. I think I got about 10 of them, between rats and whatnot.

The FOUR APPLE didn't even get its flowers out. There's something eating its branches and leaves in the back and I don't know what. Maybe I need to net it and give it a chance to grow? IDK.

Finally, the CHERRY was entirely a loss. I now have a SOUR CHERRY that mum gave me, but I have to work out where to put it. It's a big question right now – does it need the kind of chill hours that the CHERRY needs (and didn't get)?

I have two FIGS, an APRICOT, a BLACK SAPOTE, a KUMQUAT, an ICE CREAM BEAN, a WHITE SAPOTE, and possibly a LONGAN to plant, with a LYCHEE on the way.

My inclination is to make another 'orchard' along the chook yard fence line, that will both shade the chook yard in summer and provide somewhere to hang netting.

RASPBERRIES did okay, although in the midst of the hot dry months we had of November and December, they could have done with regular watering. Maybe this year, I need to tell my sisters to pour out one bucket of water into the raspberry bed every time we do a wash when it's hot and dry.

And the BANANA has finally produced a bunch.

>

GARDEN FIXTURES

Daofu compost

woodchip compost

woodchip paths

major trim of most fruit trees

Dear Diary: 17th January

OBSERVATIONS:

It's January, things are hot and wet and growing.

Hot hot hot hot hot all the way through Christmas - on some days absolutely boiling - up to 40C. And then just about a week ago, the cool weather broke, and we had some lovely lovely rain. The next two weeks is going to be rainy, but still warm – between 20-30C daytime temperatures – but scattered showers.

Excellent growing time.

EDIT: It was reasonable growing time. The problem was that we've had a couple of storms. BIG ones. The kind that knock over the corn and mean you end up harvesting somewhat earlier than expected...

CHOOKS:

Chooks are all good, Siyao, Kerry, and Gladys are all laying. Goong is broody, and neither Haamyu nor Carambah should be laying, although if we don't replace the implants, they're likely to start up again shortly.

They've been allowed back into the TRIANGLE ORCHARD again and at least one of them keeps getting out and destroying the garden bed I set up for potatoes, so...no potatoes this year, I fear! DAMMIT.

COMPOST:

I turned and remade a compost, and it's about 50C, which is not pathogen-levels, but should be good enough for the purposes of decomposing pretty fast.

PREPARING:

Nothing prepared, really. It's mostly been harvesting.

SEEDS:

CABBAGE - Red Acre (2 rows), Golden Acre, Early (2 rows)
BEANS - Burgundy?

Also tossed a bunch of seeds out through the garden beds so they can start growing over the next couple of weeks during the rain.
LEEKS, BEETROOT, 'HORTA' (that's not the name, but I can't remember it), and a bunch of other seeds.

eta: they nearly died during the CRAZY HOT day we had on Monday 13th but I might have managed to save most of them

PLANTING OUT:

EGGPLANTS from...IDK. October? I didn't plant all of them out, mostly because I knew that if I did, they'd all die on me. So right now, we're looking at two weeks rain, so I figure it's safe.

HARVEST:

CORN is in full prep. I think I'm going to need to pick them, cut up, and freeze them. Maybe on Sunday when things are quiet.

I got all of eight DONUT PEACHES after netting and pruning the tree. I think I need to prune it harder – much shorter, and maybe feed it too?

Need to check the SOY BEANS.

FEEDING:

Haven't been feeding anything properly. Really need to.

PRUNING:

want to prune list:
- DONUT PEACH
- FOUR STONE
- DUAL PLUM
- CHERRY
- DUAL STONE

THOUGHTS:

I have PARSNIP that is actually setting seed under the FOUR APPLE. Unfortunately, the FOUR APPLE itself is doing badly. I'm going to need to put a growing frame in this year for espalier purposes because if I don't, then I'll probably never get a crop of anything.

Bought some F1 seeds that are heat resistant, while also growing seed-saving heirlooms and working to get a better crop from them in increasingly hot temperatures.

BROCCOLI: aurora for winter (400), Monty for summer (40)
CAULIFLOWER: di bassano (100) for winter-spring, Serenity (15) for summer
WOMBOK: matilda (40 seeds) 
CARROT: Kuroda (1000 seeds) for warm season
(Actually, some of the seeds are heirloom, not F1, and I can grow from them. I got fewer seeds, but the goal is to be able to plant them out ASAP.)

The beds under the PERSIMMON (both sides) are going to have to be pulled out and rebuilt, most likely as wicking beds, and not in the same places. I'd want to move one bed out to where the APPLE ESPALIER is.

Ideally, I'd like to remove the VEGEPOD and set up the space next to the driveway for growing things in the winter and spring (in particular) maybe set it to clover and meadow in the summer? I still want the VEGEPOD on the front verge, but getting the locals to interact with it? THat's another level of involvement and engagement. Most people don't want to do anything other than the convenient option; so it's not unexpected. Just...not comfortable.