Two weeks away = Lots of growth

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

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

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

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.

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.