This winter has been a long cold one garden wise and I am more than ready for spring to come. June kicked my arse a little bit and by the time I’d recovered, July was here, the month of frosts and dry icy days – not much good for growing things.
So I paid for June’s laziness by not getting any greenery from my garden over winter – which was a total nightmare. The dogs (before they died) dug out the onion and lettuce seeds I did remember to plant and just ugh.
I’ve been making up for it though, with a full day of planting. Winter isn’t over yet, but I’m crossing my fingers that these little guys will survive until Spring – without the chooks or ducks molesting them. Of course, my ducks can fly, so this might all be in vain.
So I planted Kale,
Iceberg Lettuce and Mignonette Lettuce,
Celery,
Rainbow Chard,
As well as spring onions and leeks.
Also growing I have severely eaten cauliflower. Look what the chooks have done to it!
And rocket in my hanging basket:
I still have a patch full of broad beans growing – Amy dumped an entire bag of broad bean seeds into a patch that had been planted with beetroot, lettuce, onion and carrots, unfortunately 100+ broad bean plants choked out my other seeds. Strangely enough, the broad beans have survived, despite -7C temps and cats/dogs/chooks/ducks running over them. Tough little plants.
I did some modifications to the gate, to stop the chooks and ducks being able to squeeze underneath. Pretty? Definitely not, but so far, it’s been effective.
I also left the soaker hose on a little too long.
Although, some of the inhabitants were rather pleased about the rapidly growing mud puddle.
You are keeping busy! 🙂 x
Love, love, love chard! Never been able to grow it, but I love it.
I love love love broad beans in the garden. I plant them everywhere as a soil conditioner. That ground does look a little soggy. Be careful not to spray that river water directly onto the foliage of your plants. It had a high level of atrazine contamination the last time dpiwe published test results.
I’m really impressed with how much you manage to accomplish. You amaze me.
Water droplets on your kale–so beautiful! Our summer drought and sandy soil here make vegetable gardens a challenge. My #1 favorite is sugar snap peas, and it’s time to plant our second crop, for fall. They almost never get cooked, we munch them straight from the vines. Even the dogs beg for them!
Amazing how tough some plants are, also how persistent the wildlife! Hope all your hard work comes to fruition. Yeah, ok, that was a crappy pun 😉
It seems like it was the weekend for gardening! We transplanted a mango tree, pruned and fed the roses and prepared our last veg patch for planting. Now I just need to decide what we want to plant/eat vs. what success we have had in the past and get planting! I adore your ducks!
Yay, love the vegie seedlings 🙂
Broad beans are great for the soil, get Amy to dump a bag of them in each spot you want prepared for nitrogen-nomming vegies as the beans will fix the nitrogen in the soil and leave it ready for other crops.
Look! You made a billabong!
Your kale looks very pretty with the water on it.
I hope everything else survives for you.
It seems odd to hear you describe July as the month of frosts and dry ice. I forget you’re on the other side of the world sometimes.
Good luck with the veg. I’m sorry to hear about your cauliflower. I love cauliflower. I might try and grow it next year.
I’ve finally had a ripe tomato. Hopefully the rest will turn soon and it’ll be tomato sauce for breakfast, lunch and tea.
I think I would have cried over the cauliflower. I love raw cauliflower.
That rocket looks divine. I haven’t seen rocket that wasn’t soggy and wilting inside a Coles bag for years.
Amazing. I wish I had a knack for gardening.
Barbara— I feel exactly the same way. July is a summer month— sunburns and BBQs and lazy days on the beach. Frost? Snow? Wrapping pipes to keep them freezing? In JULY?
She seems so normal till she starts saying things like “chooks” or “fornight” or “July, the month of frost and dry icy days.”
😉
Here in Missouri it was 100 degrees today. I get up early and water my container gardens. Finally have lots of tomatoes. I am growing them upside down in “topsy turvey” containers. discovered today that one has a nest in it with 2 eggs so will likely lose those tomatoes as I wouldn’t want to drown any babies! Last winter was one of our worst winters.
Barbara and Lindie, I agree on the opposite weather, middle of summer here in BC, although a bit rainy the last few days I have a hard time thinking of frost and cold. I have burned and peeled twice in the last month, lol. Love the garden pics! No matter what the season, I am lucky to grow weeds, hahhaa
Comments on this entry are closed.