Charlie's Garden

Ginger Flowers

2012-02-13T07:16:00.001+10:00

This is a ginger bush growing on the side of the road near my place, it puts on a magnificent display every year, those who slow down to admire it are rewarded with the perfume as well.

A touch of autumn

2012-02-09T07:30:00.001+10:00

Early this morning autumn was here, that definite feeling in the cool air, it will come and go over the next couple of weeks and then stay.

The first few leaves have come off the liquid amber over the road, another autumn sign.

The moon is in Virgo, it was particularly clear this morning around 4.30am.

In the spring I planted five Polygala in the front yard, they were in 6 inch pots but haven’t they grown.

Lughnasadh

2012-02-03T09:50:00.001+10:00

This time of year is the peak of summer, from here on the number of hot days will lessen and the days become obviously shorter. After huge amounts of rain and cloud so thick that visibility was only 50 metres (daytime) the weather has been changing and there have been a couple of fine days.

The garden has become overgrown due to the weather so I will be spending much time restoring a perceivable order.

I always associate this flower with the peak of summer, it comes out when the season is about to change:

Beaut Tomatoes

2012-01-19T06:13:00.001+10:00

Here’s some of the tomatoes, there are lots on the plants and all ripening so I will have to preserve them. I have seen a couple of recipes and I am looking forward to the experience. There are a few speckles on the skin which can assure you that they are not supermarket junk. The taste is strong and flavoursome remaining in the mouth for some time after eating.

Here’s a flame tree, they are coming out around the mountain and are spectacular.

A long and slender visitor

2011-12-28T06:56:00.001+10:00

Visiting me the other day was this stick insect. It stayed motionless for hours just doing what stick insects do.

There has been some nice rain since the last post and a storm last night which delivered 30mm.

Where’s The Rain?

2011-11-23T11:11:00.001+10:00

The SOI is at 7.6 and the dams have been emptied in preparation for the expected wet season but there is no sign of it here.

The garden needs watering daily and is still looking good but some heavy downpours would work wonders. There is supposed to be some storms over the next few days so here’s hoping….

The Tree Dahlia has produced its first flower, last year it was spectacular:

Some nice flowers on the Tibochina as well, I can see them out of the corner of my eye as I write this.

The sweet corn has set some cobs, the variety (Honey & Cream) is a lot shorter than others I have seen but as long as the taste is there, that’s all that matters.

Some nice looking tomatoes on the way as well, I think I gave the bushes too much fertiliser and they produced lots of leaf but there will still be some yummy produce. I will plant a second crop soon.

Lush new growth.

2011-11-10T09:44:00.001+10:00

I fertilised this Hydrangea last year and it grew so much that it completely blocked access down the side of the house. At the start of winter I pruned it severely cutting all the old wood off back to just above ground level, I even wondered if it would survive but it is now if full growth with rich green leaves, the pruning has worked wonders but there will be no fertiliser this year.

A Floral Delight

2011-11-05T15:24:00.001+10:00

Sitting on the back veranda having a coffee and a slice of home-made fruit cake is a delightful experience. As I look to the left there is a wall of white jasmine flowers, it even takes me away from the fruit cake:

Further up the side fence the jasmine mingles with the honeysuckle. In the early morning the perfume from the honeysuckle is heavy in the air, it is the first experience of the senses when I walk out the back first thing.

The side fence is actually full of color, a mixture of honeysuckle, nasturtium, jasmine and another one whose name I constantly forget. I also have some rather pleasant conversations over this fence with my neighbour, Betty.

The tibochina in the back yard continues to produce hundreds of buds and this year it looks like there will be white as well as pink flowers. Look closely and see all the buds on the picture:

Spring Storms

2011-10-31T10:36:00.001+10:00

Another 30mm of rain last night and the growth is even more lush. The mesh barriers I put around the garden beds to keep the warm fuzziest away at night seems to have worked, no more plants have been dug up and it looks like Bill the bandicoot has moved on.

There has been a proliferation of buds on one of the tibochinas promising a huge display of flowers in the near future:

Meanwhile, things are looking good with the beans, pak choy and silver beet. I have been harvesting the pak choy which are delicious chopped up and eaten raw. The beans have some flowers appearing so there will be some nice beans to be had soon.

Hely’s Rose

2011-10-26T13:23:00.001+10:00

The new moon is in Scorpio and this climbing rose always flowers for Hely’s birthday the 26th October and once again it is in full bloom. This one comes from a cutting from Hely’s which came from Shirley.

The first harvest

2011-10-23T10:31:00.001+10:00

The Bok Choy is the first to harvest. I had some raw and some stir-fried with tofu and a couple of other ingredients. It was crisp and delicious. There is nothing eating the leaves, perhaps this is due to the soil chemistry being in balance.

Here are some gazanias growing wild at the side of the house mixed with a creeper.

Walking out the back door there is a cascade of pink, I can see it from here.

The pansy's have lasted well, they need water every day and some blood and bone now and again.

There’s lots of life in the vege patch as the warmer weather sets in, even a couple of visits from a bandicoot at night who digs up the edges of the beds.

Last year the tree dahlia as spectacular and from the new growth which is appearing it will be another great show:

Spring Rains

2011-10-10T11:13:00.001+10:00

30 mm of storm rain in two days has enlivened the garden greatly, storm rain has a quality which stimulates growth far more than watering or ordinary rain. Science says it is due to the Haber process converting free nitrogen in the air to a soluble form via the electrical discharge, then again it could be the fairies.

The tomatoes are looking great, lots of blood & bone plus seaweed emulsion and Charlie Carp.

Pak Choy and beans are growing well, the pak choy looks like the first harvesting will be within a couple of weeks.

Some good growth from the sweet corn. I saw on Gardening Australia that they recommend planting lettuce on the southern side so I will do that.

This is going to be spectacular, it is the new season’s growth of the tree dahlia, last year it was superb.

The front yard has received some attention, Helen, my neighbour gave me three shrubs whose name escapes me, they filled the space behind the three callistemon bushes.

The plant at the rear is an
Abutilon (Chinese Lantern)
I hope it grows as well as the label looks.

At the front of the house the erigeron is in full bloom and spreading across the driveway.

A Day In The Open Gardens

2011-10-04T14:39:00.001+10:00

Spring on Mt.Tamborine is the time for the Springtime On The Mountain garden festival this year there were only six gardens.

Spending the day inspecting beautiful gardens is one of life’s greatest delights.

The weather was perfect with a cool south westerly blowing

I had problems with the light when taking photos so some photos were discarded.

There were lots of tourist buses around with some big queues to get into a couple of the gardens, I seemed to time things just right and missed out on all that.

This one used to be a nursery many years ago:

Here is a shrub with a spectacular perfume, it’s common name is Yesterday Today and Tomorrow:

The inscription on this reads” In memory of all the beautiful plants that died here at the hands of my husband:

A beautiful view from this garden on the southern end of the mountain, in the distance you can see the peak of Mt.Warning. Over the edge is the land warfare centre at Canungra.

Driving around the mountain there are many spectacular hedges of May:

Here’s an assortment from various gardens:

A spring arrival

2011-09-23T15:32:00.001+10:00

Here is a new arrival, a bluetongue lizard at the front door, they are great to have around as they eat snails. I used to have another bluetongue living under the hot water system a few years ago.

It just stayed there as I walked around and opened the door and wasn’t perturbed by any of my activities.

The Vernal Equinox

2011-09-22T11:55:00.001+10:00

The Spring (Vernal) equinox is approaching and the life in all things is especially active. In the southern hemisphere it is the time of the festival of Ostara which is connected to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. I haven’t actually seen anything like what is in the drawing going on in the garden but the effects are there, the beans have a few leaves and the sweet corn is just above the mulch.

As a result of all this my garden beds are rapidly becoming full. I planted some beetroot today after soaking the seeds overnight in a solution of epsom salts, this helps the germination no end, according to those who know such things:

This is a nice creeper hanging down over a wall, when it covers all the wall it will be quite colourful when there is a full cover

These are a couple of Shirley roses taken from cuttings at Hely’s a few years ago. I was wondering where to put them and noticed a big blank spot on the back wall of the house so I will train them across the bricks.

Garden Bed #4

2011-09-12T12:25:00.001+10:00

Having planted most of the first three gardens it was obvious that another one was needed for crops like lettuce, beetroot, etc. so half an hour with the sharp spade and I have the makings of the next (and last) garden. There isn’t any more room in the full sun.

The soil was moist and easy to dig, the radial from the trap vertical HF antenna will have to be re-located along a path, you can see where it was at the bottom of the picture in the middle.

More Spring Plantings

2011-09-09T13:22:00.001+10:00

Just after I planted the first seeds in the new vege gardens there has ben very heavy rain, the timing is perfect. I planted two varieties of beans, silver beet and red pac choy in one bed and two rows of sweet corn in the other, the variety is called ‘honey cream’ I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the cobs. Sweet corn is fantastic when eaten raw within ten minutes of picking, before the sugars turn into starches.

See the name tags? Just after I placed them at the end of the rows, the two singing magpies, Pavarotti and Caruso arrived and decided that the tags shouldn’t be there and pulled them all out.

The front of the house looks bright with the petunias and erigeron in full flower:

The front driveway looks like a stony desert so I decided to add some life and color by planting some flowering shrubs. A visit to the nursery provided the necessary plants and I dug eight holes thru the hard road-base. It took a crowbar and lots of work but in the end I had an arc of five Callistemon var. Captain Cook bottle brushes planted. They will produce an abundance of bright red bottle brushes in the spring and summer. I need three shrubs to plant behind them to provide color in the autumn and winter.

It sure looks hard and dry.

On the southern side of the house the clivea are in full flower, they really like the spot along the rock wall:

Technorati Tags: gardening,organic vegetables,organics

Spring Energy

2011-08-28T13:43:00.001+10:00

After a cold snap spring has returned again, the sun is in the ninth house and the twin magpies are singing to me every day in the garden.

After removing out some old shrubs at the front I have planted five Polygala which will grow to about two meters and have pea like flowers all year round.

At the front door the Cyclamen is very happy, last year it had eighteen blooms and this year it has twenty seven.

There are some Clivea at the southern fence and they have sprung into bloom in spite of the pruning during the winter. I have used a photo as the desktop on my computer.

In the proto-vege-garden department the third bed is now ready and the tomato seeds in punnets have just sprouted this morning. All I need now is some mesh to fence out the scrub turkeys and the garden is ready and growing. I will be using the biological/organic/biodynamic systems so the produce will taste great.

I have been getting my veges from the Green Shed on Sunday mornings, it is a very vibrant place where the local growers bring their organic produce for sale. It is an ideal situation where I know who the farmer is and I can even talk to them If needed.

Betty’s bromeliads are looking good in pots, one was a bit doubtful after the move but is now more alive.

Spring

2011-08-11T11:53:00.001+10:00

Spring is early this year the nights are still cold at this altitude but the days are very nice. I started another garden bed in the back yard all I need now is some rain and I will apply the biodynamic preparation. I can almost taste the tomatoes.

The snowdrops in the pot are up and have a couple of flowers and so are the daffodils near the back door:

Some nice colour:

Good Soil Appears From Clay

2011-08-05T13:29:00.001+10:00

It is like the fairies have been working at night, I started shaking the soil out of the grass I turned over and here is this beautiful friable soil where only a couple of weeks ago was hard clay. Then again it could be the action of the gypsum doing what it does best.

The avian inspection party checks out the improved soil.

Next I need a fence around it to keep the scrub turkeys out. I have read that if the soil is in tip top condition biologically then the turkeys don’t come. I will certainly try this and see. There has been no rain since starting.

A beginning….

2011-07-25T13:49:00.001+10:00

I seem to remember that the moon was in the seventh house last entry. Well at last I stopped thinking about it and wielded a spade in the back yard, the spade is certainly mightier than the thought process.

The ground is very hard and the spade only penetrated a few inches but it is a stare, the ground will loosen up when things start growing. I gave it some blood & bone and a good helping of lime. Being subsoil there will have to be a lot of humus added but that’s a lot of fun.

Looking around the yard there is room for several more beds but this will do for starters.

There was a scrub turkey wandering around this morning so I will need to use netting. On Gardening Australia a couple of weeks ago there was a viewer’s tip which advised using the herb Five Spice which repelled the turkeys. I will try that one for sure.

Breakfast With The Stars

2011-07-19T06:15:00.001+10:00

I had breakfast with the stars this morning, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Orion and all the rest of the family. It was such a delight watching the orange glow on the horizon and there was the stillness, that silence which lives in everything was there.

After the Winter Solstice

2011-06-26T11:46:00.001+10:00

The moon is in the seventh house and the weather is pleasant, a good time for a new garden challenge.

I have long been looking at the back yard with a view to growing veges there instead on having to drive 45 minutes to the current vege garden at Springbrook. The problem being that when the house was built the land was excavated at the back to a depth of about 1 meter making the surface soil hard clay. The soil is so hard that a crow bar will only penetrate a couple of inches when driven hard.

So, why not give it a go. I have started off with an application of gypsum at the rate of 1KG per Sq.M. to break down the clay and in the near future I will also give the area a treatment with the biodynamic preparation 500:

Here it is after the gypsum….

At present I am contemplating a no-dig garden to start off with, I wonder if I will have spring veges?

Samhain

2011-05-01T12:14:00.001+10:00

The medieval Irish festival of Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half". It was celebrated over the course of several days and had some elements of a Festival of the Dead. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.

This morning there was a magnificent sight in the eastern sky about 4.30am. The crescent moon was above Venus then Mars, Mercury and Jupiter all rising heliacally. The sky was crystal clear and I stood there for a long time looking at the spectacle without any movement of thought. When there is no thought then ‘what is’ is able to delight us.

This time of year the tree dahlias are starting to bloom, there is a big one in the back yard and I am using the photo as my desktop.

There are some beautiful Tibochinas in flower around the mountain, I wait for their flowering twice a year.

I haven’t spent much time in the vege garden over the past month but I did plant some red bok choy and broad beans.

There was a pile of weeds composting so I used them to cover some potatoes. The spuds came up in a week and look very happy.

The bok choy have just germinated

… and the broad beans are looking real good

There is going to be a big crop of jap pumpkins, this is from three plants:

If you look closely you can see some pumpkins:

After weeks of rain

2011-02-12T07:35:00.001+10:00

Rain, floods and humid weather, not a good combination for a garden. I returned yesterday after a few weeks away and how the weds have grown! The carrots have not done much neither have the beetroot, they sure don’t like all that water. Here are some of the weeds:

I am pulling out everything that is not performing well as a result of the rain and will prepare the soil for autumn planting.

Dinner last night was carrots, potatoes, beans and beetroot with a drizzle of olive oil and a small sprinkle of sea salt – delicious.

The next crop of sweet corn is looking good, it has tolerated the wet wether very well. I gave it a heavy top dressing of blood and bone to help it along. In a few weeks the cobs will be ready to pick.

The days are still hot and humid but the nights are getting cooler, last night an extra blanket was almost need.

Flowers of Lughnasadh

2011-01-30T08:20:00.001+10:00

I watch for these flowers (Lilium longiflorum) to bloom every year, it means that the number of hot days will begin to diminish. In the pagan calendar Lughnasadh is the first of the three harvest festivals and is an auspicious time for handfastings.

Astronomically it is the time halfway between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox.

This is one of the earliest blooming on the mountain although there are others at lower altitudes that have bloomed earlier along the roadsides. This stem is about 2.5 metres high which is unusual for here although I did give it a couple of helpings of blood and bone and sulphate of potash as it grew, I hoped it would encourage more flowers but it seems that it encouraged stem growth.

Happy harvest time….

Christmas day with the veges

2011-01-04T06:48:00.001+10:00

After lots more rain the tomatoes are not looking too good, there are some fruit and I did enjoy some cherry tomatoes. There are some Brandy-Wine variety about 40cm high now so I might do better with them but if the rain keeps up they too may suffer the same fate.

The sweet corn is thriving in the wet conditions and the tassels are turning brown so it won’t be long before they are ready. It is delicious raw.

Here are the potatoes, not long to go now, the plants are dying off and a light dig revealed treasure underground. There are about three varieties and I am not sure what they were. The planting consisted of those which were sprouting in a few fridges.

Lebanese Cumbers will be a welcome addition to the salad plate and they are looking healthy in spite of the weather. The garden is very well drained and the soil contains some sand so water passes thru easily.

Here’s the next crop of sweet corn, it looks a bit pale so I gave it a big dressing of blood and bone. The rain must have been leaching nutrients from the soil so everything got a big feed on Christmas day.

The garden is completely enclosed with chicken wire and I have been leaving the doors at each end closed for no good reason other than they were there. This results in the birds not being able to get in and eat the grubs so I have left them open for this reason and will see if they cause any damage elsewhere.

A Permaculture blessing by Joel Salatin

2010-12-22T05:29:00.001+10:00

May all your carrots grow long and straight,
may the foxes be struck blind by your chickens,
may your customers love cooking your food in their kitchens,
may the rains be gentle on your pastures,
may your fields grow with soil,
may your earthworms dance with celebration,
may the wind be always at your back,
your children rise up and call you blessed,
and may we all leave a better world than we found…

Rain and Mist

2010-12-21T08:03:00.001+10:00

The wet season continues affecting on the tomatoes somewhat but the sweet corn is loving it, if I brush a stalk a cloud of pollen is released.

I had one day of sunshine and then the rain and mist returned. This is expected to continue until Autumn.

del.icio.us Tags: organic gardening,garden blog

Rain, Colour and Song

2010-12-07T07:22:00.001+10:00

There has been weeks of rain and I am having doubts about some of the veges, the tomatoes and others may succumb to mould if it keeps up. The Met Bureau says that it will continue until Autumn (March).

I may have to stop planting anything that doesn’t like wet feet and just control the weeds until the wet season is over

In the meantime here are a few splashes of colour from a rare sunny day.

Here are some potted pansies on my front veranda. I love looking at them when I walk up to the front door.

Some bright nasturtiums from the back yard, they are nice in a salad.

A few Snap Dragons in a pot on the front veranda.

Here is a beautiful Ivy Geranium from Hely’s. It sits on a table on the back veranda where I have a coffee.

The honeysuckle and jasmine are in full blossom and the perfume fills the air on still mornings.

As I write this I have been serenaded by a butcher bird sheltering from the rain on the back veranda, the song has been going on for over an hour. I am blessed. Butch looks a bit wet but a Pavarotti nevertheless.

del.icio.us Tags: garden blog,organic gardening

Two weeks away = Lots of growth

2010-11-29T12:28:00.001+10:00

it”s been two weeks since I was in the garden and the weeds have a whale of a time. I spent three hours puling weeds out of the paths. Luckily the paths have had weed-mat covering the soil for a number of years, even so there was three of these heaps. Good compost.

The good news is that the veges have grown dramatically, I will be eating pak choi (?) and spinach tonight plus a small beetroot I pulled up with a large weed.

The dwarf beans are anything but dwarf, I wasn’t expecting anything as big. There are some small flowers forming so there will be beans very soon.

The tomatoes have shot up much further and some have marble sized fruit. This being the correct time for some sulphate of potash, I applied some to all the plants. This will strengthen the stems, increase flowering and add to the flavour. The three varieties I planted are al doing well with the exception of one plant. The Brandy Wine variety that Kay gave me has grown from about four cm to 15cm in the two weeks, I was a bit doubtful about their progress in the punnet but all they needed was to get loose.

The potato crop has grown so rapidly in just two weeks:

I think this is a good ladybird. Good/bad seems to depend on the number of dots.

Here’ the sweet corn, it loved the dressing of composted manure plus some organic sugar cane mulch between the rows. I will plant some more soon.

Here are the zucchini’s I expect there to be edible ones within a week. I already sampled a finger sized one with a flower attached – delicious.

I had made three beds from the decomposed horse poo and a few other things and planted three Jap pumpkin seeds into each one. Most of the seeds have germinated and are now about 7cm high.

When I first started in the garden I had doubts about the soil fertility but the biological farming system sure works well. I have put on hold the aerobic compost tea for a while as things are going so well, perhaps midsummer will be the time. I still have to use the biodynamic preparation one day.soon.

With all the systems up and running the growth rate is going to be fantastic.

del.icio.us Tags: organic gardening,tree change

Warmth + Rain = Much Growth

2010-11-14T11:00:00.001+10:00

The cicadas are singing very loudly - more like a din than a song, the weather is warmer and the humidity is high after the rain during the week, summer is in the air and the soil.

The tomatoes have grown so much I had to tie them to the stakes again after only a week since the last tie-up. Kay’s Brandy-wine tomatoes have been planted even though they are rather small but they will get going fast in this weather.

The sweet corn is looking so good. I spread some BFA certified organic sugar cane mulch between the rows and pulled out a few weeds, it likes lots of organic material to feed on and it will soon be time to plant some cucumbers between the rows, the two grow well together.

Donald has found a treasure, several barrow loads of horse manure which has been hiding under black plastic for many years. The hay-burner poo is well composted and weed-free so he spread it on the fallow bed, I will spread some on the sweet corn as well. There was a grey snake hiding in the plastic – it was most upset when disturbed!

The tomato crop is growing beautifully, I am pinching out the lateral shoots and pulling out the few weeds that grow around them:

The zucchini have doubled in size in a week:

In the early morning on Mt.Tamborine the air is thick with perfume from honeysuckle. The jasmine is in full bloom. This is a great time of year:

Here’s a nice flowering ground-cover I got from Hely growing outside my bedroom window, I have taken some cuttings for pot plants. Its growth habit would be ideal for a hanging basket. It looks a bit tatty as I have just removed the weeds. Some begonias at the back.

The carrots are winning the battle with the weeds, with some help from me. I will work this end over thoroughly when the carrots and beetroot have finished. This part was not covered by the black plastic and has several years of weed seeds ready to go.

Here are the beans, they look so healthy. I wonder which will be the first crop to be ready to eat, the beans look like they will start producing pods very soon:

Some honeysuckle and jasmine:

del.icio.us Tags: tree change,organic gardening,tree-change

Growth

2010-10-29T12:50:00.000+10:00

Arriving back at the vege garden this morning the day began with visits to a number of nearby friends, coffee, chat and a generally enjoyable time. What a great way to start work. Some hours later I wandered into the garden to see what had happened over the last week and was pleased to se the new growth. There had been some warmer days plus a storm. The area which wasn’t covered by the black plastic over the dormant years has considerably more weeds than the rest. The plastic doesn’t seem to have degraded the soil at all, it is more like hibernation.

The beans have grown 10cm from just sprouting a week ago with very few weeds:

The tomatoes are looking particularly healthy and will soon need to be tied to the stakes. The only plant that was a bit small is catching up nicely. The basil which was a bit doubtful last week in now looking much better most likely thanks to the warmer weather:

Sunshine, well, an hour or so

2010-10-22T12:57:00.002+10:00

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening

The morning started off clear and sunny, there was a soft ground-hugging mist among the trees, one of natures finest moments, to this human at least.
Once again the morning started off with all the intentions of work but wound up having coffee & chat with friends a couple of idle hours which included a look thru an artist’s studio. This is what a tree change is like – random serendipity.
When work resumed I planted two rows of potatoes just using sprouting ones from the pantry. Every time I work this soil I am amazed at it’s excellent texture. The mineral content should be close to optimal by now so the organic material is the next component for attention.
Here are the potato trenches, look at the soil texture:

A pleasant morning of serendipity.

2010-10-22T12:55:00.001+10:00

Technorati Tags: organic gardening,tree change

There is a noticeable silence among the trees, it comes after a long period of rain. nature is waiting. There as about one hour of sun this morning, enough to really get me moving and into the garden.

Arriving at the garden shed I was ready to spread a bale of organic sugar cane mulch when a neighbour, Kay called out and said that there was circle dancing on. That was the end of the work as I spent about an hour relearning the dances I had not done for ten years or more.

The thought process tried to remember the steps but when I stopped doing that, the memory re-emerged and the dance in me flowed.

On the way back I ran into Barry, another neighbour and we had an interesting conversation about some of the teachings of the Buddha. What a pleasant morning, this is what a real tree change is all about – a big dose of serendipity (Serendipity: The faculty of making happy discoveries by accident).

After that busy morning I had lunch and then ventured into the vege garden. The tomatoes had doubled in size since I as last here but the carrots, spring onions and beetroot are still small. The English spinach didn’t germinate well so I will replace it with silver beet.

The daytime temperatures have been around 15 degrees and down to ten degrees at night time so until the average soil temperature gets to twenty degrees, there will not be much movement from the plants.

The tomatoes with some powdered rock:

The sweet corn is coming along although the cool, wet weather has slowed it down somewhat. I spread some organic sugar cane mulch around it with a dressing of dynamic lifter. I can’t wait to stat eating the cobs.

Here is a picture of the garden shed, it is a good size although it needs a bench inside:

So ends another day in Charlie’s garden.

Waiting for the rain to stop

2010-10-19T11:32:00.002+10:00

I am not sure how much rain there has been, it must be around 200mm and the daytime temperature here has been around 13 degrees. The garden is at 600 meters elevation so the cooler months last longer.

I continue to be amazed at the change in the soil, it is so soft and friable now after the gypsum plus rain. It had been covered with black plastic for several years.

Looking around the garden shed I continue to find goodies left by the previous gardeners, blood & bone, tools, etc. I noticed that there were no mouse droppings and the old blood and bone bags hadn’t been nibbled so the shed is completely mouse proof.

Having been away from the garden for a couple of weeks due to the rain I was pleasantly surprised to see that the weeds had not grown much but unfortunately, neither had the seeds although the sweet corn is making a move.

The tomatoes are looking good, it liked all that rain but the basil is booking a bit off. It may recover now that the sun is shining every day:

A quick dig with the three pronged hoe and the fledgling weds are all gone

I have noticed that the weeds on the pathways require little attention to keep them under control, just walking on them seems to do the trick although If they do become a problem i will try some herbicide I saw on Gardening Australia

Also planted some dwarf beans and also some turnip seed I had in an old packet. That’s blood & bone on the rows.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening

Front entrance colour

2010-10-02T11:03:00.001+10:00

Here is a colourful display next to my front door. There are 48 flowers on this single pansy:

Technorati Tags: tree change,flowers

Half the garden planted

2010-10-02T06:51:00.001+10:00

There has been some more rain in fact it has been a very good season, I have not needed to water the seeds much at all. The moisture has helped to break down the ‘road-base’ texture of the middle garden and it is now looking very good.

This is what it looked like a couple of weeks ago:

Here is the official inspection. All is ok.

About half the garden is now planted. There is going to be lots of sweet corn, plenty for me and lots to share around.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening

More plantings

2010-09-30T14:45:00.002+10:00

The weather has been rainy with a couple of storms as well. Good weather for establishing a vege garden.
There have been some weeds poking thru and are about 1 Cm high so a quick work-over with a hoe and they are mulch. Weeds can be a handy source of organic material especially for soil like this which has been under black plastic for several years (still they germinate!)
The tomatoes are looking good and this morning I planted some Sweet Basil next to them, it is a good companion and keep some bugs off. I am looking forward to making some basil pesto in the near future. That’s the bail on the left.

Also in this bed I planted a punnet of capsicum and one of eggplant, both these and the tomatoes being of the solanine family.

At the end of the bed I planted three rows of sweet corn, Terrific F1 variety, each row about three meters long:

That’s blood and bone on the soil with some Nutritech Gold.
All of the plantings were watered in with Maxicrop seaweed solution, an old container I found in the garden shed. The tomatoes are still going after a week so it must be ok.
The beetroot I panted last wee are just shooting. Soaking the seeds in an Epsom Salts solution the night before planting seems to be quite effective. No sign of the carrots yet.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening

Another day at the office

2010-09-24T13:48:00.001+10:00

This is a real tree change, I walk past this beautiful tree on the way to the vege garden:

And this is part of the view from the vege garden

After several years of intense, constant stress 24/7 giving rise to a life-threatening health challenge I am now living an idyllic lifestyle, I am indeed blessed. This is the real tree change.

Early in the morning the birdsong is so loud, they are such a happy lot and yesterday there was the sound of a flute coming from the forest, maybe Krishna was paying a visit! Last night I could hear Tibetan bells coming from the Theosophical Centre which adjoins this property. I am indeed blessed.

Today I have planted carrots and beetroot. The beetroot have soaked overnight in water with some Epsom salts added. The magnesium stimulates the germination.

Digging deep into one of the beds exposed some roots, probably from a nearby liquid amber tree. I will have to keep watch for any more as they will be attracted to the rich (soon to be) soil.

The old weed-mat at the bottom may inhibit drainage somewhat although it is breaking down in places. The last thing I want is long term wet soil which i anaerobic. This leads to fungi, moulds and other horribles.

This return to the natural world is very healing.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic garening

Three days of rain

2010-09-23T15:51:00.001+10:00

I had just spread the gypsum on the middle bed in time before the rain. The soil having been covered with black plastic for years has soaked it up very well. The soil in the bed where I planted the tomatoes is so soft I can push my hand in 20cm..

I planted three types of tomato, Black Russian, Beefsteak and Sweet Cherry. Twelve plants in all:

There having been no organic material in the soil for so long I purchased a bag of composted mulch from Bunnings and put some in the bottom of the hole plus a couple of hands full around the plant. Some ancient blood & bone I found in the shed and some Sulphate of Potash will give the tomatoes a good start.

I found some old seaweed solution in the shed which I applied to the plants to diminish the transplant shock. The stuff is old and black, it will be either very good or very bad.

The gates at either end of the garden are now shut to keep the birds away. The satin bower birds love cherry tomatoes.

Next to go in are radishes,beetroot and carrots. I was pleasantly surprised to see organic seeds for sale in Bunnings however I will be buying from Eden Seeds whenever possible in future. Things are just a bit disorganised at present but life is pretty good.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening,biodynamic

Soil Improvement

2010-09-19T04:44:00.002+10:00

The difference between the soil in the two garden beds is quite large. I applied gypsum to the middle one to break down the clay clods. A couple of green manure crops in it will help.

This is what it all looked like a few months ago:

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening,biodynamic gardening

More Progress – It is starting to look good.

2010-09-17T13:17:00.001+10:00

Some more work has yielded god results, there is now some good soil evident after all the weeding. It was very hard like this:

Much work later it is looking like this:

There is a definite lack of organic matter in the soil but that can be fixed with some green manure crops or perhaps some bags of organic compost and manure from the hardware shop. I see the occasional worm when I am digging but their numbers are nowhere near my target density of 25 worms per cubic foot which is the ideal suggested by the biological farming guys.

The middle bed has quite different soil, it has much more clay than the others and breaks up into big clods. It is going to require an application of gypsum to change the soil structure:

Some of the sleepers on this bed are showing advanced signs of deterioration. The three beds in the garden are so big that I will be able to close down some sections if necessary and use the their sleepers.

The sleepers are untreated. The treated ones leach toxins into the soil which are then absorbed by the plant.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening,stress relief

One bed ready – two to go

2010-09-16T11:36:00.001+10:00

After being covered with black plastic for a long time the soil is very hard so I have been breaking it up with a fork. I only saw two or three worms in the full length of the garden. I am hoping for some of the rain that is forecast this weekend.

The paths have been overgrown with weeds as well bit the foot traffic should help keep them clear.

Two more beds to go and I will be planting tomatoes within a week.

Technorati Tags: tree change,organic gardening

In The Beginning…..

2010-09-11T10:37:00.001+10:00

Well, after a long time work has begun in the garden. as you can see there is infinite potential for creation (that’s a nice way of saying that there is lots of work to do):

I measured the pH and was surprised to see that it was 6.5 which is pretty much where it needs to be, according to Gary Zimmer “The Biological Gardner”.

Peeling back the black plastic which had been covering the beds for a couple of years revealed soil that looked like it came from a desert, all the structure and minerals but no organic material. Lots of centipedes but only three worms in two metres, they must have got lost.

Two day’s work showed up some muscles which haven’t been used for some time but I sure feel good.

Solitude

2010-07-07T06:53:00.001+10:00

AN ODE by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)

How happy he, who free from care
The rage of courts, and noise of towns;
Contented breathes his native air,
In his own grounds.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me dye;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lye.

Highest weeds gone

2010-06-14T05:24:00.001+10:00

Many thanks to Donald who knocked down the huge weeds along the walking tracks between the beds. It will save me a lot of work when I am able to get started .

September 2010 is the time when I will be able to start work in the garden. It is going to be a great springtime for me. The chemo will be finished and a new life begins in many ways.

There is still heaps of work left to do as you can see from the photos. The beds need massive amounts of work starting with the weeds. The soil has been covered with black plastic which should have some of them down (i hope)

The main work will be re-establishing the soil system in terms of pH, humus, trace elements and soil chemistry in general. It will take many months to reach a condition of organic harmony.

Technorati Tags: organic gardening,biological gardening,organic veges

The garden in March 2010

2010-03-19T11:21:00.000+10:00

Lots of work to do here, what a great challenge. This will be a flourishing organic garden in the near future. I am going to use the biological gardening method.

Technorati Tags: biological gardening,organic gardening

The Beginning

2010-03-19T11:09:00.000+10:00

Well, this is where it all begins, a bit of order is needed here. The garden has been overgrown for a long time. Most of the weeds are in the aisles between the beds as the beds were covered with black plastic when the gardening ceased some time ago. There is a shed at the other end which will be useful.

In Charlie's Garden - The New Life

2009-12-21T06:38:00.001+10:00

Exciting things are coming, starting in the spring time 2010, probably when the moon is in Leo in September.