dear diary: 13th September, post-surgery

Got out of hospital on Sunday, have been taking it easy (where 'easy' is relative to what I usually do; it's hard to stop entirely) but the problem is that this is spring and there's so much to do!

I'm presently negotiating with friends to do a few things around the place while I'm still unable to actually do stuff.

OBSERVATIONS:

AVO-STONE: has been left for a couple of weeks. A TOMATO (unknown) has sprouted, and a couple of BRASSICAS (unknown).

Apricot graft on STONE has produced two apricots, they'll shortly need to be netted.

Flowering SALVIA between DONUT PEACH and CHERRY isn't doing great (not well-watered, didn't dig a hole for it, just set it down.

Don't think any of the grafts are going to make it. The hot-and-dry wind of late August/early September stalled them all, and they're not going to make it.

APRICOT at FRONT FENCE seems to have a couple of tiny apricots.

MANGO at FRONT FENCE is shooting what looks like fruit florets. It looks like the fruit florets come off new wood which grows off old wood.

LYCHEE seems to have died during the dry winds of last week. Roots weren't covered enough, weren't watered enough. Dammit. I think I have / had a LONGAN, but that doesn't seem to be doing so well either.

The PERSIMMON fruits (like the MANGO) on new wood, which sprouts off old wood, as seen in the pic:

CHOOKS:

Goong is STILL BROODY. Argh. Just going on four weeks.

Everyone else is fine, dustbathing in the triangle garden is the pastime of the day. Tunnels set up to channel them carefully across the grass. Trying to grow clover around the tunnel.

Hoping that the next week or two will be damp enough to give them something to grow and dig into the ground...

COMPOST:

Not getting above 30C. I think that's just going to be a slow compost.

Should move the black compost bin from by the fence to...somewhere else. Don't know where. Have to think about that. I want to open it up to the public, but it'll just end up with a shitload of dogshit in plastic bags. Because people are literally crappy.

PREPARING:

PLUM-STONE: Start tossing handfuls of rockdust and other fertilisers in.

AVO-STONE: has been left for a couple of weeks. A TOMATO (unknown) has sprouted, and a couple of BRASSICAS (unknown). Planting out to commence next week.

PLANTING:

Planted a new set of Royal Burgundy BUSH BEANS – direct into AVO-SHED, with plans for planting out.

Have SILVERBEET, ROCKET, LETTUCE, SPINACH, KALE to grow in and around things. Also BASIL and CORIANDER.

SEEDING:

Germination pattern of the beans I planted; some died during the hot-dry wind that we had last week.

PLANTING OUT:

Snake BEANS – next to driveway, near flowers. I keep trying here but it never seems to go well with peas and sweet peas, maybe snake BEANS will?

Snake BEANS – between APPLE ESPALIER to grow upwards

Tiger's Eye BEANS – in old APRICOT (now LYCHEE?) - up the back fence.

AVO-SHED: one EGGPLANT, various BUSH BEANS, assorted LETTUCES, KALE, SILVERBEET, maybe some RADISHES

TOMATOES (Roma) – in 'TOMATO GARDEN' – will ask Kris to do it next week.

HARVEST:

Asparagus! The fourth spear (previous 3 picked and eaten) here:

Still AVOCADOES. One ORANGE left. I harvested some GARLIC stalks for cooking with BROCCOLI, and they were excellently tasty.

FEEDING:

Need to work out a feeding schedule for TOMATOES, EGGPLANTS, CAPSICUMS (including the two still in the CREPE-APRICOT.

THOUGHTS:

I wish I could better tighten the connections from the water tank pump; so when they turned on, they wouldn't leak so much. Connect the watering system to the water tank for the summer, run it once a day before dawn?
Move tractor to APPLE-CREPE? nothing grew well there in the previous cycle, none of the brassicas, barely any of the beetroots, everything's going to seed right now. Maybe the second crop of CORN goes there? CORN generally does pretty well in the backyard, and it's a limited-season crop, so by the time the light fades from there, we're already well into autumn.
Work out where CUCUMBERS, ZUCCHINI, SOYBEAN, TOMATOES, two PUMPKINS and a WATERMELON are going to go this summer...

PUMPKINS and WATERMELON: maybe one PUMPKIN in the BANANA CIRCLE, and the other PUMPKIN in front of the LOUNGE ROOM? Except the GRAPE and the PASSIONFRUIT are already in front of the LOUNGE ROOM.
Turn the IBC into a WICKING BED (I wish I could have done this sooner, alas), then plant maybe the GRAPE and the PASSIONFRUIT in it, or one of the PUMPKINS, or the WATERMELON.
What if I ran the WATERMELON out of one of the VEGEPODS, along with the TOMATOES and GARLIC? It would need heavy feeding, like heavy heavy feeding. Otherwise, wherever the WATERMELON goes, it's going to want an olla, at least, maybe something a bit more? Dig a compost circle around it?

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.

not entirely random list of things

Preparing

How to green manure clover?
-          Mow the clover early spring – fairly high
-          Plant established plants and trim around them fairly low
-          End of season, mow low and plough in  

ESPALIER-DUALSTONE (in front triangle yard)
-          Scrape back hay
-          Lay down comfrey, Lucerne, chook poop
-          Sprinkle potash, dolomite lime, superphosphates
-          Dig it in (hoe/mattock)
-          Smooth it out
-          Water with banana liquid
-          put hay back over
-          protect from chooks… (flyscreens in A-line, add wire at ends to keep chooks out – risk: someone tries to climb up on top of them – may require a post in the middle of the ends)  

Planting out
Tomatoes: at 10cm plant out – potash, dolomite lime, in ESPALIER-DUALSTONE
Eggplants: - potash, dolomite lime, plant out at four leaf stage?
Corn: - DRIVEWAY PATCH. Add worm castings, mature chook poop, water with banana liquid.
Beans: up next to the house?
Sweet Peas:

What to plant in AVO-SHED now that it’s been readied?
-          Leafy greens in the back
-          Eggplants in the front
-          bush beans in the front
-          Radishes?  

To plant:
Lettuces?
Capsicums/Peppers? – plant out at four leaf stage  

TO DO

Sharpening the clipper/shears?

Watering system to front beds (a clip-on watering system would be great)
-          Similar to the setup in the back: but with a snap-on component? Then snap-ons with valves for all along the watering system

Mulch delivery
-          Get someone to put the loads on the paths and the garden
-          Probably not going to happen before November   TO DO before surgery:
- chicken tunnels
-

dear diary: seeds and grafts and spring oh my

OBSERVATIONS:

Things are really starting to get going in the garden

The Lychee isn't doing so well – it's leaves are pale and a bit brown.

The tiny Longan isn't doing well either – it's very small and hasn't grown at all.

CHOOKS:

Tofu has a hernia, Carambah hasn't fully recovered from her infection, Kerry has recovered from her eye stye, Goong is broody again.

I'm still trying to build the space for them to get to the triangle garden (in the right season and weather) and haven't gotten around to it. Not likely to get to it before I have surgery (6th Sept). In the meantime, they have an access path but it's not very good.

Coop has mites. Need to keep alphamiting the water

COMPOST:

Still mites. Haven't done anything about them.

GRAFTING:

Both Fireball Apricots have stuck the graft, haven't seen the third one.

Bulida? Not sure. Cotton Candy? Also not sure. Waiting, waiting, waiting. But I'm glad the Fireball took! Not sure any of my apricots are going to produce this year – one had no flowers, one had only a couple of flowers, and the one in the backyard is still in flower but hard to spot if anything is happening. *sigh*

I think all the Royal Lee Cherry grafts failed. The Minnie Royal ones are looking good, and I think at least one Royal Crimson is taking.

SEEDING:

Tomatoes are growing. They probably need a feed.

Eggplants are growing. Also probably need a feed.

Capsicums: ABSOLUTE FAIL

Planted beans (several kinds) and Corn (F1, honey and gold).

PLANTING OUT:

A couple of Brassicas in the backyard. Maybe into the CREPE-LYCHEE,

HARVEST:

Mustards and avocados. Still oranges.

FEEDING:

Mango tree with chook poop

might need to buy some more chook poop, leave the coop scrapings for a year or so to kill the mites?

blueberries need feeding?

PREP:

Got Mike, Lou, Sue, and Cecelia over to help set up the frames for the netting. Paid them in cake. It was good.

Need to fling a netting over the dual stone

TO DO:

1. Dig out the last of the sweet potato.
2. Put chook poop (shed) under the mango.
3. Cover under the mango with woodchips
4. Dump the straw bale in the triangle garden.
5. Netting over the Dual Stone
6. Move tractor to PLUM-STONE

THOUGHTS:

Tea bushes – along the chook yard

Big flowering salvia – between Donut Peach and Cherry

better way to plant the galangal in the chook yard so the chooks don't keep digging it up?

dear diary: somewhat random post from early August (maybe?)

OBSERVATIONS:

GOLDEN PEACH has finished flowering, NECTARINE, and DUAL STONE are in full flower.

GOLDEN DORSETT is flowering.

PLUM on (former) FOUR STONE is budding.

MARIPOSA on (former) DUAL PLUM is budding

CHOOKS:

Several chooks are sneezing, dammit. That's kind of worrying.

Got several chooks laying – getting 3-5 eggs a day now. We're starting to work out whose eggs are whose: some are known – the dainty little cream eggs are Goongbao,

COMPOST:

I made a compost, it wasn't heating up fast enough – the only part that was heating up properly was the woodchips that I piled on top. I turned it to try to mix it all in, and added woodchip shavings, and now there are mites and flies all through it. ARGH.

I'm worried that the woodchip shavings that I picked up from someone local had mites in them, and this has just spurred everything on.

PREPARING:

Where Tomatoes are going to go: compost, then chicken manure (for early seedlings to give the boost), then dolomite lime and potash. Lime needs to go in early before planting tomatoes. Anthony planted out buk choy.

SEEDING:

PLANTING OUT:

HARVEST:

FEEDING:

Some instructions about dealing with brassicas
potash - at growing heads
nitrogen - to get them started
4 wks - sulphate of ammonia (blood and bone) for better structure

PRUNING and GRAFTING

Got a heap of scions for grafting – cherry and Apricot

Apricot: cotton candy, bulida
Cherry: minnie royal, royal crimson, royal lee
I wanted the Plum: gulf gold, ruby god, but they were already in flower so it was too late for tem.

• grafted new cherries onto cherry after trimming it DOWN
• grafted new apricots:
2. one to frontyard FENCELINE APRICOT

This is the CHERRY:



I took

It's a Stella variety which did really well the first year I put it in but hasn't really supplied since. Let's see how the grafts take.

THOUGHTS:

Dear Diary - 12th July 2024

INTERLUDE – around the 29th June

Digging up half the 'sweet potato bed' to plant the garlic into. It will need maintainence - the vines.

Chaffcutter doesn't work pragmatically. (blades not sharp enough? Too frequent? Cogs don't have enough grip?

Planted the Purple Turban variety in the other side of the 'sweet potato bed'. 

Covered both Rose Du Var and Purple Turban with a box of chook run material. 12th July 2024

OBSERVATIONS:

Chilly week, going to be even colder next week – possibly frost.

Garlic (rose du var) are poking through, I added some water/clay to them, but maybe need to give them a regular feeding of the various microbrews

Teen worker wasn't able to start the mower when he tried today. Might need to take it for a service.

CHOOKS:

Siyao has a clean bill of health!

Daofu is a bully to Kerry, while Gladys seems capable enough of running away, at least. But the others all make threatening moves towards the two girls.

Laying again – Caramba, possibly Siyao, Gladys and Kerry seem to be doing okay.

I need to teach Kerry and Gladys to go through to the tunnels to the tractor, where they can scratch and dig all day long!

Someone is rolling the eggs out of the laying box! This is very odd behaviour, because usually the hens want ALL the eggs.

COMPOST:

Still gathering things.

Been making leaf mulch the last week or so. Stopped because I wasn't carrying the big black boxes for the leaves, but there's SO MUCH of them around the place.

Got teen!worker to chop up the branches I had,now should be able to chip them more easily when I get around to it.

PREPARING:

SEEDING:

Tomatoes, Eggplants, capsicum - set them in the new (flimsy) greenhouse to grow

PLANTING OUT:

moved: Ginger/Turmeric roots to the new flimsy greenhouse to grow

planted out: three Brassicas (probably purple cabbage or broccoli) - also in fllimsy greenhouse

dig up brassicas in PLUM-STONE, pull out coriander, move tractor let chooks in? Still want to build better compost in the garden bed spaces, but it's only Kerry and Gladys who are doing the job.

HARVEST:

Avos, Oranges, still good, harvested some scarlet silverbeets, the peas will shortly be ready, I reckon. Still gotta try that cabbage.

FEEDING:

Some instructions about dealing with brassicas
potash - at growing heads
nitrogen - to get them started
4 wks - sulphate of ammonia (blood and bone) for better structure

PRUNING:

Was going to get the lawn guy to do it, but his dad went to hospital and he didn't know if he could get it done. (I told him to go be with his family and not worry about the lawn.)

Did a bit with J's chainsaw (best chainsaw ever) but can't do all of it.

prune the backyard trees more neatly, and with an eye to a) espalier, b) netting

THOUGHTS:

After the

TO DO LIST:

Improve the flimsy greenhouse:
- aim of a greenhouse is to warm during the day and stay warm at night.

Problem: plastic isn't going to do this; heats up fine during the day, loses it once the sun goes down.

Solution:
1. Make a cloth-cover for the flimsy greenhouse to slip it down overnight. Make sure that the cover is down by the time the sun is setting. (Old cheap blanket/quilt?)
2. Add a flat stone or two (cinderblock) for heat absorption during the day so it's not quite so brutally cold at night. Place stone on the sunwards side of the greenhouse?

what do we eat?

Planted out the rose du var garlic in the black box where there were previously potatoes.

Need to dig out the chook yard and put it in the

How much cabbage do we eat? Wombok? 1 every fornight, maybe?

How much broccoli do we eat> Maybe 1 a week if B1 can get it.

Leafy greens? Maybe 1 a week? Pick-and-come-again is more my style.

TBH, we don't eat that much vegies - in part because B1 doesn't have the energy to prep them.