Sunday 30 June 2013

The Garden Share Collective - July 2013

I'm so excited - my first group bloggy thing and it's about gardens!

Truth is, it's about motivating me to get off my butt and share a little love with my garden. I am totally guilty of neglect. Hopefully this group can get me focussed on my garden to get it through winter and prepared ready for spring.

I rushed around today (having only committed to participating to this morning) and took stock of my dire position...

I live on acreage just north of Brisbane with MOTH (man of the house) who is a wonderful cook, musical genius and always looks forward to the fruits of my labour to create culinary delights in the kitchen. We share our lives with two dogues, two cats (one Manx who thinks he is a dog), 11 chooker moles (not laying - let's just not talk about that right now), two donkeys and 5 keets (baby guinea fowl).

Let's start with the positives. Lemons, lemons, lemons - holy cow have we had a crop of lemons this year and still they come...


Our oranges are still to ripen, due to position and shade. Our neighbours fruits have long gone.


I went for a walk down the paddock to see what native delights I might find but kept getting that feeling that I was being followed...



At one stage Guinness (the little black Irish donkey) actually bumped into me when I stopped, he was so close. I got the fright of my life, had no idea he was there!


I need some ideas on what to do with our giant bamboo. We have two other bamboos but this one is 15m tall and those trunks (does bamboo have trunks?) are about 15cm in diameter.


Up in the main vege garden things are dire. The fence keeps the chooker moles out and the palms provide shade BUT their root systems also steel all of the goodness from the garden beds. The contents of these four garden beds never ceases to amaze me. I am successfully growing the following, sometimes conflicting, herbs and veges:

Strawberries
Ginger
Tomatoes
Thyme
Basil
Lemongrass
Bay tree
Lemon tree
Kaffir lime
Comfrey
Rhubarb
Asparagus
Orchids
Turmeric
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Rosemary
Rosella
Dill
Fennel
Tarragon
Chives
Statice
Nasturtiums
Marigolds
Native Violets
Beans
Coriander
Saw Coriander
Chillies (several varieties)
and several more types of plants I can't recall right now.

Ginger, turmeric and orchids in winter
My comfrey has been smashed by some nasty bugs
Rose garden was pruned last weekend, along with the surrounding rosemary hedge.

Star pickets stop cars hitting the hedge, chain wire keeps the chooker moles out
In other garden beds I am growing vanilla (trying), pineapples, bananas, paw paws, mint, galangal, pumpkin, garlic, avocado and olives.

My shamingly poor herbs in pots

The centre of my gardening success (I know, you can't see it at the moment) is my kitchen deck. MOTH made me a seedling table and the bird bath looking thing is where we through seeds and bits left over from cooking. Yes, that is a 5' tall avocardo tree in it (on my list to get transplanted before next months blog, along with the ginger and whatever else is in there). I need to plant up some more heirloom seedlings in the trays in coming weeks and prune that geranium!

Everything needs mulching and my soil needs some love - suggestions welcomed.

Looks like I have my work cut out for me before next months posting ;o)

Oh, and here's the dirty face of a happy gardner (even if I did spend the day in the rain).




No comments:

Post a Comment