Sunday 22 July 2012

It's been a bit damp.

It has actually been quite damp indeed.

This is a puddle:
Not even all of the puddle.  To get the whole puddle, I would have had to stand on the road.
This is also a puddle:
I had to walk on the Someone's Front Yard side of the footpath.  This is why I need an entourage, and one guy in my entourage would carry a wide plank, for just such a situation.  Anyway, I digress.

Because it's been so wet, my fledgling herb garden has become overwhelmed.  This is basically all that remained:
Which of course meant I needed to buy some established plants, seing as my garden has been set back so.  I bought
ALL THE MINT EVER! (I don't have a cat here, the cat mint is for me)
Some herbs which are not mint
A gazania named Rupert (he just looks like a Rupert to me)
And a Black Russian Tomato plant.  I prepared a plastic tub for the tomato by stabbing some holes in it, both in the bottom and in the sides.  If you are putting holes in a plastic tub, put the side you are cutting into against the ground, soft ground is best, and push the blade into the soil through the plastic.

I wanted to plant some basil seeds around the tomato plant, as they will keep each other safe and happy.  Some of the basil I had was too old, and probably wouldn't grow, so I tipped those seeds into my compost pot.  Every bit really does help!
I had another packet of basil seeds.  They are happily settled here, with the tomato:
When planting the tomato, I had some older potting mix to use up, which I put at the bottom of the tub, where it would be away from the roots of the plant, as I'm not sure how it would carry nutrients.  The texture is like wet clay mud:
(don't you love my fancy gardening gloves?  Food grade disposable vinyl, for those playing along at home)
And topped it up with new potting mix:
For the herb garden, I took out all the little sprouts that I thought may survive, taking as much dirt with them as possible.  I put them aside and filled the tub to the top with fresh potting mix.
I carefully planted the sprouts back in amongst the other herbs, here:
And as for Rupert, I put him in a nice little pot under a tree:
This is the rest of the tree:
There was also more sprinkling of seeds.  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes! :-)

Love you all!

Cassandra Louise.

Monday 16 July 2012

Growing on and on!

Since things in my garden have started sprouting, I've taken so many pictures of them that it will be hard to make this post anything but heavily picture-laden and annoying, but I shall try! :-)

Remember the peas I planted here?
They've started sticking their heads up!  Here's just a few of the best pictures I took of them:





My sunflower has also sprouted.
I took this photo yesterday:
And then I took this one today! :-D
She's doing so well!  Hooray!  (Yes, my sunflower is a girl).

The snozberries look like real snozberries, and the coriander looks like real coriander!
Some sort of creature has been nibbling the coriander already, so I gently rubbed the remaining leaves with dishwashing liquid.  That'll learn 'em!

Meanwhile, in Maryborough, here's a picture of the peas I planted for Mum back in early June.  Going so well.  I'm pleased with them. :-)
Well.  I think I'm done, and it wasn't nearly as shutterbuggy as I expected (what?  I can make words!  Dickens!).

Love you all,
Cassandra Louise.

Friday 6 July 2012

Ok, I'm back. What'd I miss? (OR: welcome to my garden!)

I've recently began a new garden, at my new home.  It's a baby garden, just been born.  It all started here, in a plastic wine tub with some holes in it.


In this one tub I planted seeds for chives, coriander, thyme, calendulas, sweet basil and all-year lettuce.  I don't know if the basil will sprout, because the seeds are a bit old, but if they don't, I have another packet of basil seeds that I know are still good.  As you can see, a few little plants have already popped up.

I've worked out this is coriander, because since this picture was taken, the curly leaves have started to appear.
I have no idea what this is.  Honestly, all plant sprouts look the same.
Guess what this is:
It's a pot of dirt, right?  Right!  But guess what's planted in it.  A sunflower!  It gets a few hours of sun each day where it is, which is plenty.  Sunflowers are native to South America where they grow on the sides of mountains; they don't need full sun, it's more important to keep them wet.

I even chucked some stuff in here:
There's more calendulas, some evening primrose and along the front, near the wall, peas.  I'm hoping I'll be able to train the peas down over the front wall rather than up.  We'll see how it goes.  :-)

One last thing.  LOOK WHAT I MADE! :-D




That's right.  It's a compost heap in a flower pot, because I am just that good.

Love to you all,

Cassandra Louise.