It is amazing what some bubble wrap, gaffa tape and a determined wife can do!
Here is a better view of the top of the tent. The tomato seedlings are visible on the top shelf, as is the mandarin tree in the back left where they self seeded.
Today, I planted some Capsicums (bell peppers), Tigerella and Purple Russian tomatoes in seedling trays and put them on the middle shelf. I noticed that the temperature was a nice cosy 22 degrees C inside, which is just right for germination of these types of seeds. I will plant some eggplant seeds that I saved from last summer in the next few days.
This weekend we have been eating lots of lettuce and snow peas from the garden, and the very last two capsicums off of the remaining bush. There are still a few birds eye chillies on the bush which are drying naturally, and I will make another chilli necklace out of them during the week.
I still haven’t received my order that I placed with the Diggers Club, but it should be here in the next few days. I will plan to plant some of them in the week they arrive, and then some again on the equinox, so that we get an extended season.
Speaking of seasons, yesterday we had a huge downpour of hail and rain. You could have sworn that it was cold enough to snow! Here is the remains of the hail next to the broad bean bed.
And here are the broad beans, all nice and healthy. I was a bit concerned that the hail might knock off some of the newly formed bean pods, but after a quick inspection this morning, they were OK. All of the bean stalks are getting nice and tall. A much bigger and better crop than last year, mainly because I planted many more, and planted them nearly two months earlier than last year. I also made sure they were well mulched, as last year they were not. I didn’t realise how thirsty they really are and the sugar cane mulch has kept the soil very moist.
Everything got a great soaking, and the vegetables lapped it all up. Here is one of Kim’s artistic shots of the garden in the rain. It truly is beautiful here when it rains!
I have also noticed that the plum tree is beginning to flower, which is another thing of beauty. Once it is in full bloom, I will post a photo of it, hopefully next to a completed chook house. There was no work on it this weekend, as the movie making and the freezing rain took precedence. I know that with a couple of days hard work, it will be complete and ready for some girls in about mid September. Well that is the plan anyway. Until then, the little chook house remains dry inside, which is a fantastic sign that I have managed to waterproof it sufficiently, especially after all of the rain we have had this weekend. Not a drought breaker, but enough to keep us going!
That’s it! That’s just like the one I had that got wrecked. My clearest memory of it is standing in front of it with the front flaps covering me as much as possible during a very heavy rain storm, windows blowing like nobodies business, trying to rescue as many of the seedlings as possible. I knew the ‘tent’ wouldn’t stand a chance in the storm, but the seedlings might if I could just get them into a sheltered corner. And some did 🙂
I am so jealous of how your winter veggies are looking Gavin. I got back from Europe and all we had was a stack of parsley really. It’s our first winter in our house so we weren’t sure how much sunlight we’d get for the patch, but not enough apparently because our broadbeans are much more stunted than yours! Oh well, at least our native garden is thriving in the rain!
It’s such a handsome looking plot too. Can I ask what you have used for the paths around your sleeper veggie box?
@ Sharon. They are very flimsy things, and Kim had to tie it down top and bottom so that it would not blow away this time.
@Moo. I reckon that if you give your broadbeans some liquid Powerfeed then they might just spring back to life. Thanks about the plot, that is Kim’s artistic talent shining through. It had to be asthetically pleasing if it was the first thing visitors see when they come through our gate.
The path is made from recycled cement pavers layed on weedmatting and then sidefilled with a tuscan pebble mix. The tuscan mix really keeps all of the weeds away. I think it was $40 for a square metre, but that was about 2 years ago now. Just got it from our local gardening supplier here in Melton. The path infront of all the beds are 40×40 cm cement pavers spaced far enough apart so that you can walk at an easy pace on them. Just like Butch did in the movie!
Gav