July in the Garden

 

It is that time of month again, when gardeners across the country, and across the world, report on their activities, as part of the Garden Share Collective. This is kindly hosted by Liz at Strayed from the Table.

There is a new link-thingy at the bottom of THIS POST where you can browse the lot.


You can see my last month's report HERE. There is now a Facebook page as well. Wow - more links than Sir Galahad's chain mail. :)
  
This month has been fairly quiet - we have concentrated on getting ready for our extension, but not a lot has happened. It has been so wet that the concrete removalist cannot get onto the site to take out the old slab.


The whole site is a bit messy - so I have put off using a "Donna Technique" to take photos. Cannot wait to get up on a ladder - not doing the whole roof bit.

Bed 1, at the back, is going along okay, although the Pak Choi has bolted and the Broad Beans are shading everything else. Beds two and three are where the action is.

 

Bed 2 was first. It is going to be tomatoes next season, so I have put the lightweight arch at one end, and will be getting another for the other. Then bird netting (not shade cloth) will go over the lot - and hopefully it will work. I have dug in a bag of horse manure and a bag of sheep manure, and covered it with about four layers of shade cloth that needed storing somewhere. This will allow water to penetrate (and there has been plenty of that), but suppress weeds. The worms are now doing their job, and it will cook for a month or two. The nasturtian (sp?) is still in there going strong, so there have been no serious frosts as yet. It makes a good frost barometer.

This was Bed 3 before I started. Out came the parsnips (which were too twisted to be much use - germinating on kitchen paper does not work, as they do not straighten themselves up). Plus a barrow-load of parsley. Two bags of sheep manure, some lawn clippings for good luck, and this one is cooking too. It has a cover of shadecloth, and is storing a lot of wood on top we had to find a home for. Go Worms!!!!

Which leaves me with the monthly stats:

Planted: Nil. Moved some parsley to make up for Bed 3.

Harvesting: Parsnips, Carrots, Broad Beans (not worth the effort, may come out), Onions, Asian Greens, Lettuce, Capsicums/ Peppers, Perennial Spinach.

Plans: Bunker down and wait for spring and the extension. Finish filling Bin 3, along the fence, for pumpkins. All seem a fair way off. I shall console myself by reading about the adventures of the others in the Collective. Did I mention there is a new link thingy at the bottom of THIS POST?