Saturday, March 6, 2010

Will get there eventually...waiting for Autumn!

Am still not planting in the garden atm. Way too hot to try and pull it off. It's enough work trying to keep everything alive through this summer!
Have just been flicking through the photos from "the beginning" of my project and am pleased at how much it has grown. Seeing it all the time, I barely notice the difference most days.
We had a massive crop of passionfruit this year, and it is now on it second round of fruiting ... hopefully they ripen up before cool weather hits.
All my tomatoes and cucumbers are done for the year, but the capsicums and paprika are still going great guns. I'm out of parsley currently, but still have french tarragon and basil. I'm giving up on oregano. It just doesn't like me, and to be honest, I never really use it in anything anyway. So rssppttt to you oregano!

I have a whole 8 apples to harvest this year! 4 pinkabelle, 2 red delicious and 2 golden delicious. My peacharine and apricots lost all their fruit this year, so a spray with bordeaux is in store for this winter.

I think it is getting time to convert some of the nappy insides into soil wetter again. Perth soil is so sandy it totally blows!
The nappy trick is - have a bucket of water in your laundry. Every time a wet huggies comes your way, dump it in (not a poo nappy!). When it is at maximum expansion (I usually wait till 4-5 in there), I split them open and squish all the insides into the bucket. I then take it outside, dig a hole and mix it into the soil. Repeat until you have done some good square footage/or a bed. From there, prep as usual - organic matter/compost, manure mix, blood and bone, dynamic lifter, water top down ... sit for a week, plant, water, mulch, water.

I find I am missing flowers a fair bit, so I am going to be putting in more jonquil bulbs for this spring display. Just going to line edges of the driveway with them :)

My challenge this year is to grow a green zucchini! Yellow, no worries, but you think I can get a green variety to grow?

What else ....?
I made a tonne of fig jam the other week. MY Aunty had a bumper crop and (try as hard as I might) I just couldn't eat any more ... so made jam with the remaining 2 kilos.

Orange and lemon season will be upon us soon (4 orange trees and 2 lemon trees to harvest), so I will be making a huge amount of marmalades, Lemon butter and cordials. Anyone have any other ideas on what to do with citrus (that is long lasting) ?

2 comments:

The Crone at Wits End said...

Get a TMX and make lemon sorbets. Great with vodka/Gin or Champers poured over

Cathode said...

Hahahaahahahaha, you know how much we spend on champagne?
Vodka, however... :)

And TMX is all up to the Mr. I always try and get out of cooking if I can - but he is showing a keen interest and I really really want to support him in it - so I don't have to do it anymore :)
We'll see what he is like at the demo.