More Sunflowers Soon!

Scarecrow's Log: 20:12:2009:

Baby Sunflowers about to bloom!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 4.4C
Lowest Max 23.6C
Highest Max 38.5C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?

Yet more shade covers...
this one over the Bushfood Bed

and this over the Grosse Lisse
Tomato Tower in the Kitchen Garden

Since their tree blew over in the front garden
the Apostlebirds have taken to perching
on the main electricity wire to the house.

Propagation:
Seeds:

• Amaranth - Leaf Amaranthus gangeticus
• Amaranth - Grain Amaranthus hypochondriacus
• Basil - Lettuce Leaf Ocimum basilicum
• Basil Sweet - Genovese Ocimum basilicum 'Genovese'
• Celtuce - Lactuca sativa
• Chicory - Coffee Stetorium intybus magdeburg
• Cosmos - Sunny Yellow and mixed Cosmos bipinnatus
• Evening Primrose Oenothera biennis
• Kale - 'Squire' Brassica oleracea Acephala Group
• Kale - Moretons Mix Brassica oleracea Acephala Group
• Lettuce - Goldrush Lactuca sativa
• Mitsuba - Japanese wild parsley- Cryptotaenia japonica
• Nasturtiums Tropaeolum majus
• Parcel Apium graveolens var. Secalinum
• Silverbeet - 'Rainbow Chard' - Beta vulgaris
• Sunflower - Sun King Helianthus annuus

Potting up:
Plants were tidied and potted on for the market stall.

Planting out:
Tomatoes Yellow Baby Pear in the Dog Pen Garden

5 X Ginger plants in the first wicking bed I ever made (that was back in 2007 but it's has been re-vamped along the way) in the Dog Pen Garden. It's nice and shady there so they should appreciate that.

New in the Garden This week:
First flowers on the Eggplants (Casper) and Capsicums (Hungarian Yellow Wax Sweet )

First fruit set on the Roma Tomatoes

and Baby Blue Pumpkins.

That Jalapeno Chilli in the Dog Pen Garden
has re-sprouted for it's third year.

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.

• Beetroot Heirloom Mix***234g
• Carrot Chantenay Red-cored***122g
• Onion Red***90g
• Apricots***150g To test for ripeness!

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Chives, Lebanese Watercress, Onions Red Stemmed Welsh Bunching, Parsley, Shallots, Sea Parsley, Warrigal Greens (blanched).

Eggs

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

To see how the various Garden areas fit on our half acre block check out the newest Map of our place. Here.

Time to Tidy Up!

Scarecrow's Log: 6:12:2009:

The Goldfish!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 6.5C
Lowest Max 23C
Highest Max 30C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?
I'm making the most of the cooler weather this week and taking the chance to tidy beds,

trim back overgrowth - like the lavender under the clothesline,

top up wicking beds - these two are in the Dog Pen

and move potted plants out into sunnier positions
for hardening off.

I'm training these Grosse Lisse tomatoes to grow up the fence.

I have added a hose with drippers to the compost bed.

Propagation:
Seeds:

• Gourd - Dancing/Spinning
• Gourd - Speckled Swan

Potting up:

• Tomatoes Baby Yellow Pear
• Other plants tidied and potted on for the market stall.

Planting out:

• Rockmelons
• Gourds
• Zinnias

These went into a new Wicking bed built against the fence in the Main Veg Garden. I just happened to find a piece of wood the right size in Doc's secret stash! Some re-used plastic for the base, a rock and a couple of bricks for the ends. No pipe in the bottom of this narrow bed, just a couple of watering tubes (old dishwashing liquid containers) down to the gravelly sand layer in the base. They have drippers attached to fill the base. Easy!

Cuttings/Division:

I took a few pieces off a Grosse Lisse tomato as I was re-potting it for the markets, this is a quick way to increase the number of plants you have without waiting for seeds to grow.

New in the Garden This week:

We have attached a wire mesh frame over Bed 3 in the Main Vegetable Garden to allow the Blue Lake beans to climb and add some protection to the carrots and parsnips growing below. We are eating the thinnings of those carrots and parsnips, they are so sweet!

Summer means warmer days (they will come!)
so we found some shadecloth
and put it up in the new chicks' run.

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.

• Carrots Chantenay Red-cored***103g
• Garlic***50g
• Parsnips Hollow Crown***50g
• Red Onions***701g
• Tomato Ida Gold***21g
• Strawberries***30g
• Loganberries***40g

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Lebanese Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Sea Parsley, Silverbeet.

Eggs:

• 9 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 4 from the Ginger Girls
• 0 from Blackie

Sandblasting...then Rain!

Scarecrow's Log: 27:09:2009:

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 2.5C
Lowest Max 10.3C
Highest Max 23.1C
55mm Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?
Horrible dust storms on Monday...

The view of the sun further north of here,
taken at 2pm by our son...

Our front garden taken at 3pm...
then we lost power until later that night.

That dust went East from here through Broken Hill see this link for a video clip...and on to the eastern seaboard see here

On Friday the wind started again, this time we missed the dust and had lots of lovely rain instead!

Propagation:
Seeds:

• Amaranth Leaf Amaranthus gangeticus
• Amaranth Grain Amaranthus hypochondriacus
• Arugula Nonies Giant Eruca sativa
• Basil Ocimum basilicum - Lettuce Leaf and Purple
• Clover Red Trifolium pratense var. sativum
• Fennel Florence Foeniculum dulce
• Fenugreek Trigonella foenum-graecum
• Kale Red Russian Brassica napus pabularia
• Lettuce Lactuca sativa

- Rouge D'Hiver
- Marvel of 4 seasons
- Red Velvet

• Phacelia tanacetifolia
• Malabar Spinach Red Basella rubra a re-planting as the others aren't up yet.
• Mesclun Mix
• Purslane Portulaca oleracea
• Willow Herb Epilobium parviflorum
• A few seeds of each, planted into punnets.

New in the Garden This week:

We have started to pick some of the Red Onions
from the Wicking Bed
...only small yet but full of flavour.

The Celery is ready for picking...stem by stem,
also growing well in the Wicking Bed.
I've never had enough water
to grow celery like this before!

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.

• Broad Beans Peruvian Emerald***150g
• Broccoli Green Goliath***78g
• Carrots Atomic Red***351g
• Celery***552g
• Onion Brown***44g
• Onion Red***606g
• Silverbeet***97g

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Kale, Lettuce, Lebanese cress, Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Sea Parsley, Beetroot Greens.

Plus 6 eggs from the Ginger Girls and 23 eggs from the Farmyard Ferals.