i do like this garden
it's really growin' on me
but i'm not too sure about the roosters
who start at half past three
(that's dawn time, folks)
i don't want to put anyone off
but there's no winter hours when you're a rooster
there's no rest for the wicked
and, apparently, no memory of having only just crowed one's head off seven seconds ago.......
god bless them and love them
we all have our place in the world
and then please oh please give them ritalin
and give me a vitamin
and the world will be a better brighter place
i'm sure
i love roosters, don't get me wrong. i've lived next to roosters for the last seven years. and i've moved house six times in those seven years, and they're still next door to me! must be something in my karma that i have to work out i guess, hi hoooo..
however, holy moly they do go on!
however however, on the bright side, the rains have come, and boy oh boy is it raining. today it was hailing and raining all at the same time, then hailing, then sideways rain, then sunshine and rainbows, and then some more sideways rain with a few clouds thrown in. it's been blowing a gale, the dog's been bashing down the door at night and running in to hide under the bed, poor boy, he really hates the wind, the whole house shakes and rattles, windows slam shut and doors open and bang closed again. it's not for the nervy or the hatless.
spring is on its way, there are daffodils in the paddocks (and a personal delivery of daffodils to my door :) thank you very much); blossoms on the manuka trees; little gambolling lambs everywhere; and definitely longer daylight hours.
the garden has improved greatly - first wwoofers will be happy to know that their compost has been used to layer the vege bed, and has broken down just lovely. all of the digging and layering horse poo and pine needles has had a great effect - the soil is browner, not that bright orange clay colour, there are heaps of big fat worms wriggling around, much of the mulch has broken down, and it is generally looking healthier. i have added coffee grounds (thanks fire and ice cafe, waimauku), kelp and black sand (thanks muriwai moana, arohanui), another layer of horse poo (thanks bud and chester and fudge and flannel and longface and snowy and horsey), some cardboard, random food scraps, and dug it over a bit more, dug out a keyhole channel to allow access to all parts of the garden (for us shorter in the arm department), and used that earth to pile on top of the bed, so it is a good half a metre higher, and just about ready for its layer of topsoil or potting mix. good work guys!
another trailer load of wood chip has been collected from a great big pile left on the side of the road from when a load of logging was done. this bark has now been used to make a path down the side of the vege bed, drying out a boggy slippy area and making the bed more easily accessible, as well as looking a whole lot better!
new plants include:
rose geranium cutting - thanks ecomatters eco centre, new lynn, auckland - the cutting is doing well, showing new growth and has made some new friends on the deck
3x lemon verbena and 3x sage cuttings - fingers crossed hope they take
mizuna lettuce seeds from rangihau - thanks mum woofer - have been planted in bio-degradable cardboard egg cartons (also makes it easier to plant them out into the bigger bed and provides fibre) and are popping their little heads up
i planted some hot cayenne chilli seeds, californian poppy seeds, sugarsnap peas, and sunflowers - thanks brother ben - and am seeing if they grow in a glass box on the deck. there are some little shoots popping up and about already, very cute
peas planted when the first woofers were here, are growing heaps. pumpkins are still growing leafy, probably won't come to anything much at this time of year, but good to have something as ground cover at least, and the bed will be ready for planting again in spring. the garden is giving salads, made up of nasturtiums, spinach, silverbeet, nz spinach, wild rocket, endive, some kind of mustardy thing which is spicy man, woo hoo!, parsley, mint, celery, garlic chives, and lettuces. they taste so great, fresh out of the ground, yum.
there has been enough mint for tea, and some lavender to put inside pillowcases. i made a rosemary rub for the dog from the rosemary in the garden, to help keep the fleas away.14 avocadoes have sprouted, i think maybe 3 were lost to frost - i finally figured out why they weren't doing so well when the man down the road told me, thank you! the gooseberry is frost sensitive also, and doing better now it's warmed up a bit.
i'm dreaming of workshops for spring, and making miniature plastic houses for indoors propagators. some more tyres are scheduled for collection either this weekend or early next week, and probably another trailer load of bark from down the road, to finish off some of the paths and edges. on on! crack that whip hehehe ;)
hi again to kat, one of the first wwoofers - thanks for your comment and text, sorry unfortunately i can't text outside of nz, but glad to hear all is going well and according to plan, good luck with all of that and hope you're enjoying summertime too
carry on gardening peoples, feel free to leave a comment and share your gardening stories and tips and handy tales. and gardening jokes.....
ka kite ano
louisa
ps wot no photos? watch this space.....
