Went to a school gala today and picked up some seedlings – mint, rosemary, four sweet corn, lemon thyme, and a sunflower, all for $4. Pretty good value! Also went by Bunnings to buy potting mix, and somehow managed to walk away with only potting mix and a couple of carpet plants – can’t recall their name at the moment, but I plan to plant them in the raised bed next to the deck steps. After I’ve weeded that area, of course, and put down newspaper and compost.
Edit: ok, did that clearing this morning. And the carpet plants are called Schizocentron Spanish Shawl. That’s a Lady Hillingdon rose with them, which I mulched with some especially-for-roses compost and a kaffir lime to the side. There’s still a lot of work to be done in that area – and really, apart from the olive tree that’s behind all that, I wouldn’t mind getting rid of some of those bushes & freeing up a whole pile more space for productive or pretty plants, but that’ll have to wait til next year I think. More than enough to get on with this summer!
This weekend I’d like to finish laying cardboard & zoodoo against the fence area, and that area near the steps. I also have a number of pots to prepare for some seedlings.
Edit: still working on that, but did put in that bronze sunflower I got from the fair – and noticed that it wasn’t just the seedpacket label that was affixed to the flower, but a whole bunch more seed! So that’s a fun bonus, I scattered a few around the seedling, and then will try to grow a few inside. Sen decided to come guard it after I’d done.
A couple of days ago I gave all the citrus trees some citrus food – I think the package said every six weeks, so I should mark it down to make sure I keep on top of it. The poor trees are quite sad specimens at the moment, and I really would like to get some fruit off them at some point!
Today I’m going to pull off any broadbeans, and then dig in the roots. I’ll clear the plants in the 1st raised bed, and put the corn I bought from the gala in. They’re slightly larger than the ones I’ve got so will be helpful (hopefully) to stagger corn readiness. I’ve also got some beans to plant, and nasturtium. One of the butternut plants looks big enough too, so I’ll pop it in between the corn I plant.
Edit: right, so Sunday today, and that was yesterday – I’ve dug up the beans, had some for lunch – they’re nice, but not my favourite – I’m not sure I’ll plant broad beans again, they took about 4 months to grow from seed & just take up so much room. Anyway, I’ve pulled them out of the first bed, and planted the 4 corn from the gala, plus the first of my honeynut squash (the largest seedling) near them. Put down pea straw around them all so they’re a bit hard to see. I’m not quite sure how the three sisters is meant to go – beans are meant to be planted on the outside of the corn to climb up them, but they grow faster – so maybe I’ll have to put some seed around and see how it goes. I planted the existing beans which are getting too large for their pot into the 3rd bed, which is home to the pumpkin, against the trellis.
Also planted a couple of the nasturtium in the brick holes of the asparagus bed, so they can trawl all in there and bring in some colour. I hope they work okay with strawberries & don’t attract the wrong bugs to the area.
Fortunately it’s supposed to be nice all weekend, so hopefully I’ll get through it!
Still to do today before I run out of sunny weekend: add another tire to each of the potato stacks & add some soil, pot up the herbs I bought at the fair, and also repot one of the lemon trees. Also prepare some pots for some eggplant & other seedlings. And sow some more seeds now that I have a few more seedling pots available! Hopefully I can find some window space! I should also try and add more cardboard & soil to that big against the fence so I can get the berries in already. It’s already almost 3pm, so we’ll see how I go!
between my teeth 