December Delights

Not sure if you can see it clearly but this little plaque says "Peace Grows Here".  It doesn't matter how bad my day is going, if i go out to the veggie garden then i will automatically feel better.  Who wouldn't feel good looking at healthy plants that are growing daily.  My garden has started offering up its summer crop of tomatoes and they taste fantastic.

These are Cherry Falls - an ideal hanging basket variety which is so prolific.

I think I'm going to have lots of Zucchni this year.   Time to start pickling but these are earmarked for a Zucchini Slice

I sent my friend Jess (guru of rabidlittlehippy fame) a photo and a text asking if my corn was OK.  She said she was jealous but i still wasn't sure what was going on.  I thought that the flower thingy on top was perhaps the plant going to seed due to the irratic weather.  DOH!  Lucky, the Jan/Feb issue or Organic Garden has a feature article by Peter Gundall on corn.  Did you know that the flower thingy on top is the male and that it is loaded with pollen which falls on the female ears which have formed half way down.  They carry the cobs.  These females grow lovely locks of "silks"  and each strand leads to an immature kernel within.  How bloody amazing is that!  So here is a picture of what i thought was my deformed corn which in truth is absolutely text book perfect.  They even have baby beans growing on them, or will when they move on up.

My sister came around yesterday and together we tackled the main tomato bed.  It was so overgrown with foliage that there was not a chance of any bees getting to the flowers or any sunlight.  Not only did i plant more (in a different bed) this year but i had lots of freebies come up.  Speaking of bees, i also realised (a bit late) that i lack flowers to bring them into my garden. So i moved some of my existing lavenders and also bought a couple of really tall ones to bring the bees closer to the tomato flowers.

Pre clean up - Note these gigantic flowers in my garden.  No they are not on steroids, they are $3 tin ones from Bunnings and they just look nice.  

Hard to see but we took off all the lower leaves and mulched and then removed about half of the shade leaves above.  

Now the air can flow through and the sunlight and get to the inner plants.  It also allows me to direct the water directly to each plant rather than spraying the lot and thereby wetting the leaves.  I haven't set up the dripper system yet.

OK, the potatoes are a lost cause.  A certain cheeky potato harvester has decided that they belong to her.  I have found them everywhere from throughout the garden to under the coffee table in the house.

As you can see they were all nibbled on.  Dogs and raw potato don't mix and so she gave herself a good dose of the runs.  

3.5kg of trouble - but absolutely so cute and loving.  We cant work out weather she is a  cat , a monkey or a dog.  She has so many funny ways including having entire conversations with you - just like Scooby Doo.  Its hilarious.

My very clever sister came up with a solution for my lettuce bed.  The rim of the beds that we made uses door seal to cover the sharp iron.  We lifted it all and put the netting under it and then just put it back.  I can water it and do whatever without disturbing it.

Ive been using the coffee wash in the lower beds because of Tilly but i think I'm going to have to bring in the snail pellets in the waist height beds. They are rampant at the moment.   I drink a lot of black coffee and so i keep a little watering can in the kitchen and all my dregs go into this.  When it is about a 1/3 full i add water and pour it on my leafy veggies.  The coffee bags get dried out and the grounds later spread on the soil or into the worm farm.

$9 not $250

While I'm here its amazing isn't it how everyone jumps on the "organic" bandwagon and tries to make some dough out of it.  Most people interest in organic are also interested in reuse, reduce & recycle.  Who the hell would pay "From $250" for  a 3-6L watering can?  This ad was in the Organic Australia magazine.

Anyway, im going to leave you with a photo of my friends child.  Daniel is one of the engineers at work and he has two children.  He was recently away in WA for a while and so he was having a lovely time in the garden with his young son Austin.  Isnt he cute?

Those beds look familiar, dont they.  Daniel was the one who designed and programmed the turret punch and brake press to make the steel corner supports for our beds.  He's like a walking brain, and a very nice bloke.  He is also father to a special needs child and his patience and love is neverending.  Kym is a lucky woman.

Thanks for Visiting Living In The Land Of Oz