Mowed the lawn today, using the tractor again. It took just over an hour, so am getting much better at it. Raked up some of the grass clippings to use as a mulch and weed supressant on part of the garden. Would have been a lot easier with a mower with catcher so I could just dump it on the garden instead of having to rake it up.
Finished pruning the rose bushes back. Some already seem to have new growth on them.
A possum made its way either onto or into the roof the other night, keeping P and I awake with all its banging and crashing. No sign of it since though. Hopefully it found its way out and is gone for good.
Speaking of noises in the night, lately there has been a lot of chirping sounds in the evening. Not sure if it is crickets or frogs or what, but I would have thought it was too cold for crickets at least.
Lost power again last night. Apparently some idiot drove into a power pole again. At least it wasn't till 9.30 so we just got an early night instead.
-M
28 July 2009
21 July 2009
Week 32
Was planning on mowing the lawn today but it rained lightly all day. Instead I started pruning roses and trimming bushes and trimming back the passionfruit vine which has overtaken the back staircase and surrounding garden.
The weather has been a lot warmer this week. Warm enough to go to the playground and even to eat ice creams, and the good thing was that the ice cream didn't melt!!!
Found a possum hiding under the house, in the workshop. P went looking for something and got a huge surprise to see a pair of eyes staring back at him.
-M
The weather has been a lot warmer this week. Warm enough to go to the playground and even to eat ice creams, and the good thing was that the ice cream didn't melt!!!
Found a possum hiding under the house, in the workshop. P went looking for something and got a huge surprise to see a pair of eyes staring back at him.
-M
14 July 2009
Week 31
Still cold and miserable here.
Got my lavender oil chemically tested recently to see its quality. I don't fully understand the results, but the samples are higher than they should be in linalool and low in linalyl acetate. But overall the scientist comments that they are of average quality. So I shouldn't be too discouraged, at least it wasn't low quality.
I spent a couple of hours today spraying organic seaweed fertiliser on the plants to help improve the quality for next year. I've been advised to also apply a compost tea in the next month or so.
While I was out I also thought about getting stuck in to the weeds and debris under the lavender plants. But it was only 8 degrees (Celsius) outside and my fingers were frozen, so I decided to leave it till another day.
-M
Got my lavender oil chemically tested recently to see its quality. I don't fully understand the results, but the samples are higher than they should be in linalool and low in linalyl acetate. But overall the scientist comments that they are of average quality. So I shouldn't be too discouraged, at least it wasn't low quality.
I spent a couple of hours today spraying organic seaweed fertiliser on the plants to help improve the quality for next year. I've been advised to also apply a compost tea in the next month or so.
While I was out I also thought about getting stuck in to the weeds and debris under the lavender plants. But it was only 8 degrees (Celsius) outside and my fingers were frozen, so I decided to leave it till another day.
-M
07 July 2009
Week 30
Haven't done much this week. Everyone's still sick and it's still very, very cold. The weather was clear today and I had hopes of getting out and giving the lavender a good winter cleanup and weeding. But I also had lots of paperwork and bits & pieces and a tax return to do today, and that all ended up taking all day. So it was an inside day.
Have recently started making bread again, after taking a break for a couple of months. But I haven't actually been making bread, I've been making small, windowless buildings. Every loaf is a failure and I don't know why. The yeast is fresh. The flour is fresh. The milk powder is near the end of the bag but expiry date isn't for another month. The oil isn't its usual viscosity due to the cold weather but I can't see that affecting the bread as it quickly returns to normal once heated. I also can't imagine the cold weather being the culprit. It just doesn't seem to be mixing the flour in very well. Anyone got any ideas?
Apart from that it's just business as usual here. Looking forward to the warmer weather!
-M
Have recently started making bread again, after taking a break for a couple of months. But I haven't actually been making bread, I've been making small, windowless buildings. Every loaf is a failure and I don't know why. The yeast is fresh. The flour is fresh. The milk powder is near the end of the bag but expiry date isn't for another month. The oil isn't its usual viscosity due to the cold weather but I can't see that affecting the bread as it quickly returns to normal once heated. I also can't imagine the cold weather being the culprit. It just doesn't seem to be mixing the flour in very well. Anyone got any ideas?
Apart from that it's just business as usual here. Looking forward to the warmer weather!
-M
30 June 2009
Week 29
The weather has been a bit overcast and therefore warmer this week. Warmer, in this case, meaning "not freezing but still cold". The children have been back at preschool and I've been back out in the garden.
I had an encounter with an unknown assailant on Friday. I put on my gumboots and went to take the compost out. Got about 15 metres before I felt a sharp pain on the top of my right foot. Shook my boot out but found nothing. Hobbled back to the house and found a small red mark on my foot and something very, very small sticking out of it. My whole foot ached for the rest of the day but luckily it didn't spread so wasn't poisonous, whatever it was. I believe it was definitely an insect sting as opposed to being prickled by something sharp. Prickles don't hurt for days.
That'll teach me to keep my gumboots outside. Now I'm too scared to put them back on again. They were only cheap Warehouse boots which I bought last year and are already falling apart anyway. So I think I'll just buy myself some new ones instead.
Have been very busy in the vege garden. Finally got it dug over for winter. Never mind that winter has already begun. I used the tractor, put the plow attachment on it and drove up and down the vege patch. It was actually a lot easier than I expected. Found heaps more potatoes but left most of them in the ground for next year (is that the way it works?).
Then I divided the garden into four sections, approx 3m x 4m each. I laid weedmat down inbetween each section to provide a visual break and a walkway to allow access all around the plot. There is also a fifth plot along the back of the garden for tall things like tomatoes.
Once I had it all laid out I had to stop for the day. That night we had a bit of a storm with high winds, and it nearly undid everything I'd done that day. Except that I'd noticed the weedmat was starting to come loose so I put various spades, forks, rakes, etc down on top of the weedmat to stop it blowing away overnight.
The next thing I did was to lay compost down on top of my plots. I'd forgotten to do this earlier, I think I was supposed to do it before I turned over the soil.
Then I spread leftover lavender clippings all over my four plots. The point being to provide a bit of a mulch but also just to protect the ground over winter, to stop the weeds growing so much, until I'm ready to start planting things in spring.
I'll upload some photos shortly, but I have to say I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. Laying down the weedmat to separate the plots was (to me) a stroke of genius (even if I do say so myself). It provides a visual break between the plots and provides something to walk on (and stops you from getting so dirty). But the best thing about it is that it has gone from being one huge, intimidating plot, into five smaller, manageable plots. Psychologically I feel a lot more comfortable about dealing with five small gardens than one huge garden. The other beauty of using weedmat is that it can easily be pulled up again when it is time to dig over the garden again.
I don't know if the lavender clippings were the right thing to use or not. Someone suggested they might be too woody. My main intent is not to have them to encourage growth, but to inhibit it, so I think it will work well. And if not, well I'll still have the best smelling vege garden anyway!
-M
I had an encounter with an unknown assailant on Friday. I put on my gumboots and went to take the compost out. Got about 15 metres before I felt a sharp pain on the top of my right foot. Shook my boot out but found nothing. Hobbled back to the house and found a small red mark on my foot and something very, very small sticking out of it. My whole foot ached for the rest of the day but luckily it didn't spread so wasn't poisonous, whatever it was. I believe it was definitely an insect sting as opposed to being prickled by something sharp. Prickles don't hurt for days.
That'll teach me to keep my gumboots outside. Now I'm too scared to put them back on again. They were only cheap Warehouse boots which I bought last year and are already falling apart anyway. So I think I'll just buy myself some new ones instead.
Have been very busy in the vege garden. Finally got it dug over for winter. Never mind that winter has already begun. I used the tractor, put the plow attachment on it and drove up and down the vege patch. It was actually a lot easier than I expected. Found heaps more potatoes but left most of them in the ground for next year (is that the way it works?).
Then I divided the garden into four sections, approx 3m x 4m each. I laid weedmat down inbetween each section to provide a visual break and a walkway to allow access all around the plot. There is also a fifth plot along the back of the garden for tall things like tomatoes.
| - - - Plot 1 - - - | P A T H | - - - Plot 2 - - - | P A T H | - - - Plot 3 - - - | P A T H | - - - Plot 4 - - - |
Once I had it all laid out I had to stop for the day. That night we had a bit of a storm with high winds, and it nearly undid everything I'd done that day. Except that I'd noticed the weedmat was starting to come loose so I put various spades, forks, rakes, etc down on top of the weedmat to stop it blowing away overnight.
The next thing I did was to lay compost down on top of my plots. I'd forgotten to do this earlier, I think I was supposed to do it before I turned over the soil.
Then I spread leftover lavender clippings all over my four plots. The point being to provide a bit of a mulch but also just to protect the ground over winter, to stop the weeds growing so much, until I'm ready to start planting things in spring.
I'll upload some photos shortly, but I have to say I'm really pleased with how it's turned out. Laying down the weedmat to separate the plots was (to me) a stroke of genius (even if I do say so myself). It provides a visual break between the plots and provides something to walk on (and stops you from getting so dirty). But the best thing about it is that it has gone from being one huge, intimidating plot, into five smaller, manageable plots. Psychologically I feel a lot more comfortable about dealing with five small gardens than one huge garden. The other beauty of using weedmat is that it can easily be pulled up again when it is time to dig over the garden again.
I don't know if the lavender clippings were the right thing to use or not. Someone suggested they might be too woody. My main intent is not to have them to encourage growth, but to inhibit it, so I think it will work well. And if not, well I'll still have the best smelling vege garden anyway!
-M
23 June 2009
Week 28
Cold, cold, cold. Haven't done anything this week. The weather was fine today, could have gotten out into the garden but had sick children at home instead.
Have had several more frosts.
It's so cold in the kitchen nowdays that the olive oil has started to solidify.
The mandarin and orange trees are in full fruit. The grapefruit tree is getting there. However something is eating the grapefruit directly off the tree. There was one grapefruit in particular that I noticed. The first time I saw it, it looked like it had some teeth marks in it. Now each day when I go out and look at it I see more and more has been nibbled away. I suspect it is possums.
-M
Have had several more frosts.
It's so cold in the kitchen nowdays that the olive oil has started to solidify.
The mandarin and orange trees are in full fruit. The grapefruit tree is getting there. However something is eating the grapefruit directly off the tree. There was one grapefruit in particular that I noticed. The first time I saw it, it looked like it had some teeth marks in it. Now each day when I go out and look at it I see more and more has been nibbled away. I suspect it is possums.
-M
16 June 2009
Week 27
Not much has been going on this week. I am in hibernation mode.
Today the weather forecast was for a very cold southerly change. I got home from dropping the girls at daycare and the weather was quite nice. I considered getting out in the garden to do some work. Then I figured the southerly snap would probably hit in about an hour and I'd have only just gotten started and would have to stop again. So I spent the day inside catching up on other stuff. The cold weather didn't hit till 2.30 this afternoon. And, boy, is it cold.
Earlier in the week I attempted to make some feijoa sorbet using this recipe. I didn't follow the recipe exactly due to the time of day and not having the proper equipment. It doesn't look exactly like I would expect it to. But, it still tastes pretty good.
We also made some pretty good feijoa and orange muffins. So now all our feijoa's are used up for another year.
-M
Today the weather forecast was for a very cold southerly change. I got home from dropping the girls at daycare and the weather was quite nice. I considered getting out in the garden to do some work. Then I figured the southerly snap would probably hit in about an hour and I'd have only just gotten started and would have to stop again. So I spent the day inside catching up on other stuff. The cold weather didn't hit till 2.30 this afternoon. And, boy, is it cold.
Earlier in the week I attempted to make some feijoa sorbet using this recipe. I didn't follow the recipe exactly due to the time of day and not having the proper equipment. It doesn't look exactly like I would expect it to. But, it still tastes pretty good.
We also made some pretty good feijoa and orange muffins. So now all our feijoa's are used up for another year.
-M
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