XMAS News

So, the brocolli has some decent sized heads. The Carrots are good for eating ... probably we'll have some on Christmas day. The peas have some pods, the corgette is also getting there ... time to start eating!!!!!!!

Grass Race: We have a winner!!

So, I think the grass race is officially over. As you can see we have a clear winner: the Tui mix!!

Now all i need to do is sow some in the lawn :)

Carrots, parsnips and cabbage planted

So, I put in some more carrots, parsnips and also a few cabbages today.

Carrots almost there!!

So, Chris came over to pick up his camera today, and I asked him how he can tell when the carrots are ready. He said, just pull one up and have a look ... so we did! And, it was definitely a carrot, although still a little on the small side. I put it back in, so hopefully it'll keep going. I think those were sown in mid-august, so they've done about 10 weeks now ...

Grass Race Update

So, the grass race is really hotting up now!! As you can see, the Tui seed is going strong (above). But, the Yates has got off the ground now, and is coming up as well ...

Update on the seed race

Well, it's been sloowww going so far!!! But, finally, today I notice a single green shoot coming out of the Tui corner ... so it's looking good for them ...

Courgette Planted!

So, didn't get much done over the weekend. But, I did finally plant out the courgette plant that I grew from seed ... so fingers crossed!!!

The Great Lawn Seed Race

So, I haven't managed to do a whole lot of gardening this weekend, save for a bit of weeding of the vege box. But, I'm still trying to get some grass seed to grow in my back yard --- but all my attempts so far have failed.

Right, so it's some to apply some science here. I'm going to do a controlled experiment to compare two kinds of grass seed: Yates "Lush" lawn seed versus Tui SuperStrike "Sun n Shady" seed. I've had no luck with the yates seed at all really. The Tui see cost almost twice as much as the yates, so fingers crossed.

So, the experiment is simple: i've put some compost into two lids, and sprinkled the seed on top. Then, I water and keep moist until the seed germinates. I've put the lids into the "shed", which gets less sun than the garden --- so should help to keep it moist. The Tui seed is supposed to germinate in 7 days, so it won't take long to find out the answer!

Weekend update

So, it's wednesday already, and i've only just got around to writing up about the weekend. We had a pretty busy weekend in the end. Lots of planting!! I decided it was time to put out the tomatoes, so we planted some into pots, and some straight into the ground. We've got 8 tomato plants, so that could be a little excessive! I'm also going to put a couple into a hanging basket.

We also headed down to the garden center and picked up some other things. A Chilli plant, a cucumber and a capsicum plant, as well as a passionfruit vine. So, it took a while to get everything beded in ... but it's look good now!!

Lawn Update

Hmmm, this stuff is spreading through our lawn from the back. I'm going to spray the stuff today. I'm not sure what it is exactly ... it's definitely not Oxalis though. Something similar I guess ...

Goosebury Upate!

So, my recently goosebury bush has flowers already ... yay! Now, where are those bees ... I haven't seen many yet :(

Strawberry Update

So, I made an executive decision to relocate my strawberries today. I had them in the lower garden, but they just weren't getting enough sun. In fact, they hardly look bigger than when we bought them, which was probably 6 weeks ago at least. So, i've put them into a pot in a sunny spot ...

Borage here we come

So, I finally got my hands on some borage seeds ... yay!! I'm hoping to get the bees in to do their pollination thing with a little help from some borage. I also got some hormone stuff for doing cuttings, and took two cuttings from the Lavendar plant out front. Again, i'm going to be putting these (if they actually make it) near the veges to get some more bee action.

Anyway, i've been watering the little patches of grass i'm reseeding, but so far no obvious change. Growing grass seems to be a little more tricky than I realised.

Oh, and I got me a shiny new fork after breaking the last one last week. I haven't finished off the aeration though ... maybe next weekend :)

Labour day !

So, it's labour day again1 Apparently, that means its time to put the tomatoes out ... but I think i'll hold off on that for a few more weeks. This spring has been so wet and col, i'm sure there's more to come !

Anyway, I repotted my larger tomatoes, washed the car, mowed the lawn and aerated it as well ... except that my fork broke half way through :( It was cheap, and I had it a while, so probably about time I got a decent one. Aerating is supposed to be good for the lawn, and given that ours is in such a mess, hopefully it will help. We've got lots of moss and quite a range of different weeds. I have done a fair amount of deweeding, but the task is just enormous. I've also put some lawn feeder down, which is supposed to help supress weeds ... somehow, I'll belive it when I see it!!!

So, I tried reseading some bits of the lawn a while ago, but mostly the grass just didn't grow. I'm not sure why, but it may be because it was still too cold, or perhaps I covered the seed too much. Anyhow, I'm trying again and reseed a few bare patches in an experiment to see what happens. Fingers crossed that the seed gets stuck in and helps the lawn! Coz, if it works, then I've got a big job raking as much moss out as I can, followed by a more serious reseading effort ...

Rhubarb Woes!

So, my Rhubarb is looking a bit dodgy. It's rained so much over the last few weeks, that it's really taken a battering...

Tomatoes and More!

So, it's supposed to be spring here, but it still feels like winter. The cold and rain seem to go on forever :( Anyway, to get things going, i have Tomatoes, Basil and some lettuce growing on various window sills that get sun.

Lemon, Feijoa, Goosebury and Olive!

So, here we have the Olive Tree (nice engagement gift), lemon tree, Feijoa (just planted over the weekend) and the Goosebury bush (planted a month or so ago). There's also a lime tree I planted near the lemon tree.

Veges!

So, here's some of the veges growing in the vege box. You can Garlic and Brocolli mostly, also some pea shoots. I've also got carrots, parsnips and onions.

The Vege Box

Here's the vege box I built! Surprisingly easy. Although, I slightly screwed up and used treated timber. Apparently, this can be a problem as toxins can leak from the timber. So, to compensate, I lined it with plastic sheeting.

The "Upper" Garden

So, here's a photo the "Upper" Garden. The lawn is need of some serious TLC. There are some herbs over in the left corner, and in the right corner behind the bench are the lemon and lime trees.

So, this is my first post. The idea behind this blog is to help me keep track of what going on in my garden, and the things I'm planning to do!