Still Incognito

Day 223   August22nd
Not to self-- Always label seeds and seedlings.  Thes seedlings wew thriving in the little seed pots. I couldn't remember what they were but felt sure that as soon as they started to grow I would recognise the plant. Not so. They may be basil or even flowers.  They are not tomatoes.

Yellow

Day 222   August 21st
The green pepper has turned yellow. I'm hanging on to see how much it will change.  It's in the patio, so reasonably save from rival foragers.  I would not be leaving it so long outside.

SiameseYams

Day 221   August 20th
I didn't think any yams would be mature enough to harvest so I didn't bother to check. When I did, they had clearly had plenty of time to grow.  This might be two that have fused together, but they are still huge.

Free Range Parsley

Day 220  August 19th
The parsley appeared to be smothered by the encroaching tomatoes so I tied them back to give it air and light. This is the result later in the day.  It doesn't seem to like its freedom.

Safety Hazard

Day 218   August 19th
The hole is now deep enough to be a safety hazard for anyone pushing a lawn mower or parking on the grass!

Dead Tree

Day 218    August 17th
Another tree seems to be dying.  Is there a disease out there or is it blocking someone's view.

Hole

Day  217     August 16th  
In anticipation of planting a fruit tree,  Mike has been slowly but methodically digging a hole in the front yard in the spot most likely to receive enough sunlight. He is taken with the idea of a fruit salad tree.  It will have to be citrus fruit as neither plums nor apples will grow here.

Day 216   August 15th
The hole has been covered and Sugarcane mulch put on top.

Sheep's manure

Day 215    August 14th
I don't have access to fresh sheep's manure (or cows') so I buy it already composted. It's probably also less smelly. I could add seaweed at this point but I haven't been out to collect any.  Maybe I'll add some later.

New Bed

Day 214 august 13th
Time to prepare the soil in the new bed;first the bokashi bucket of kitchen scraps is dropped into ashallow hole.

Beanstalk

Day 213    August 12th
Probably not the same type of beans as Jack's beanstalk.  They don't seem inclined to grow upwards at all.  They are called Bushbeans, so perhaps a little bush is what they are supposed to resemble and the name has nothing today with growing in the bush. At least they are producing beans.

Shrubbery

Day 212    August 11th
The bushes in the shrubbery are all mature now. The neighbours cannot see our pool from their deck unless they really want to,and more importantly,I cannot see them eating their breakfast as I swim. Actually they do not eat their breakfast out there, but when they go away and rent out their unit for short terms (2 weeks), the visitors, on holiday, do.   I think they are often tourists from England so they pretend not to see me and look most affronted if I say hello. So. now  I can swim unseen, except it's way too cold.

Tomatoes

Day 211    August11th
Tomartoes or tomaydoes they still keep coming.

Washday

Day 210     August 9th
It's time for all the pots to be cleaned ready for more seedlings.  Apparently napisan can rid them of any plant diseases they may be harbouring.  I would have thought that the seedlings are in them for such a short time that no diseases could have taken hold.

Gone to Seed

Day 209    August 8th It's very difficult to get the amount of lettuce right. For a while there was a shortage, almost to the point of buying some, but now there is a glut.  This plant has gone to seed.  It is too bitter to eat and will soon be compost along with the infertile aqualuce beans.

Beans

Day 208    August 7th
The packet said beans and the flowers looked like bean flowers but there has been on sign of any beans. Meanwhile the other beans Bluelake beans are flourishing.

Over ripe

Day 207   August 6th
I missed these tomatoes.  A few days without vigilance and they are already rotting.

Table decoration

Day 206  August 5th
Except for the lavender we don't have any conventional flowers growing in the garden, but the grevillia blossoms make good table decorations.

Grevillia

Day 204 August 3rd
Morning tea for the noisy minors.

What is it?

Day 203    August 2nd
This emerged right next to a garden bed and looks similar to The aubergine plants, so I thought I would wait ti see how it develops.  I am coming to the conclusion that it is a weed disguised as an aubergine..

Another casualty

Day 202   August 1st
It was not only the outdoor plants that suffered during our time away.  I thought geraniums were supposed to be really hardy.

More drought

Day 201   July 31st
It wasn't just the few days away in Warwick that caused this.  The strawberries have not been thriving at all, even using this guaranteed method. I'm not going to give in but I'll have to think again where to put them.

Harvest time

Day  200   July 30th
Harvest time. I'm very impressed.

The Fall of Roma

Day 199   July 29th
The mini roma tomatoes detatch when they get slightly heavy even if they are not terribly ripe. I have to keep checking under the foilage to see what has fallen,

Drought

Day 198   July 28th
A few days away and look what happens. So much rain has made me blase about plant watering. This mint is definately not perky,

More sunlight

Day 197   July 27th
The poinsiana tree has been chopped back to allow more sunlight onto the newly cleared garden, but I don't think it is enough for the fruit trees I had planned. I'll have to start thinking about plants that prefer daappled light.