The New Year Begins

Scarecrow's Garden Log: 2:01:2010:

The Greens in the Wicking Boxes grew well in the heat
so hopefully we will have some fresh greens soon!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 11.3C
Lowest Max 24C
Highest Max 38C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's the weather been like in the garden?

As it warmed up this week we had 3 days of over 36 degrees but the cool change on Friday night brought relief but no rain.

Extra shade was attached to the western sides of growing beds as well as over any newly planted or emerging seedlings.

The heat sparked a growth spurt in the Comfrey
which seems to enjoy life under the 75% shadecloth cover.
You can see the sun scorch on the older leaves.

Rockmelons also put on growth
and the Gourd seedlings took off,
safe with their little protectors in place.

Propagation:
Seeds:

• Cosmos 'Seashell Mix' Cosmos bipinnatus
• Beetroot Golden Detroit Beta vulgaris
• Mangelwurzel Beta vulgaris
• These went into punnets and pots in the propagation area under shadecloth.

Potting up:
Into punnets:

• Lettuce Gold Rush
• Celtuce
• Basil Lettuce Leaf
• Basil sweet Genovese
• Kale Morton's Mix
• Kale Squire

Put under 75% shadecloth until settled,
then moved to 50% shade.

Potted on:

Strawberry Guava
(seedlings from the home saved seed!)

Basil Lettuce Leaf

Malabar Spinach -
green and red stemmed

Free from the Garden:

• Dug up seedling Catmint Nepeta mussinii plants that were popping up in the Strawberry tank bed.
• Collected Tagasaste seeds from the popping pods!
• Borage is sprouting in the Dog Pen Beds, I use these seedlings as mulch around the tomato plants there.
• Borage was listed on Food'n'Stuff's Dynamic Accumulators post recently!
• The list suggests it is an accumulator of Sulphur and Potassium.

New in the Garden This week:

This years Trees For Life plantings
sprout new seedlings with each cool change!

The Old Man Saltbush
I'm growing on for the Community Garden
has taken off after the addition
of some slow release native plant food!

Rockmelons are volunteering in Bed 1
in the Main Vegetable Garden.

Cucumbers (Marketmore) nearly ready!

Weekly Harvest Tally:

Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.

• Carrot***119g
• Parsnip***120g
• Apricots***4980g all dried.

Eggs

• 10 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 0 from the Ginger Girls
• 1 from Blackie

Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum in bloom

in the Strawberry Tank Bed.

To see the various Garden areas on our half acre block check out the newest "Map of our place" HERE

The Heat is GONE!

Scarecrow's Log: 22:11:2009:
This log covers the fortnight from 9 Nov 09 to 22 Nov 09.

The only relief to the heat last week
was a small cloud over the midday sun!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 12C
Lowest Max 19C after the cool change
Highest Max 41.8C
37mm Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?

10 days of record (for November) heatwave (temps over 35C) conditions, where the main gardening activity was watering the thirsty plants in an effort to keep them alive.

Relief finally came with some rain!!!!

Last weekend we picked up the Trees For Life materials for this year.
First seeds are due in this week!

The Native Rosella Hibiscus heterophyllus
survived through the heat
and has now flowered.

The heat has made the cherries colour up so quickly
that we had to net the tree!

The Loganberries survived the heat well
in their wicking bed and are ripening nicely.

Propagation:
Seeds:

Popped in some Climbing Bean - Blue Lake and Red Lima - seeds to replace some the slaters and/or grasshoppers have stolen!

Planting out:

• Comfrey Symphytum officinale
• Lemongrass Cymbopogon citratus
• Queensland Arrowroot Canna edulis
• Into the bed in the compost area.

Eggplants - Long Purple and Casper
Capsicum - Hungarian Yellow Wax Sweet
Planted into Bed 1 in the Main Veg Garden

Cuttings:

• Pink Violets
• Loganberry (because a piece came off when I picked some )

New in the Garden This week:

Saturday morning we picked up the new chicks!

5 Faverolles

5 Barnevelders

It's good to see them get stuck into their work
at such a young age!



The Barnevelders love lucerne straight off the plant...
...this poor plant has been caged to re-grow!

They are around 10 weeks old, still chirping
and already more friendly
than those crazy Farmyard Feral chooks...
...who have now decided to go broody,
well 3 of them have!

Harvest Tally: 9/11 to 22/11:

Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.

• It was too hot to be picking much at all!
• Strawberries***125g
• Loganberries***Just for testing their ripeness Yummy!
• Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Kale, Lebanese Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Sea Parsley.

Eggs for the fortnight:

• 30 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 7 from the Ginger Girls
• 2 from Blackie