What Is In Our Dirt

Someone asked me yesterday what was in the soil I was putting into my gardens, and I honestly couldn't say. It is garden soil I buy and put the plants and seeds in it with worm castings and they grow, the only thing I know for sure is there is peanut shells in it.

I went and got some more dirt this morning so I could make a sweet potato patch, so thought I would ask while I was there. I was told that it is a secret formula and if they told me they would have to kill me. So I figure that I can live without knowing, especially as it is working and everything is growing :D


I already have a small sweet potato patch but it is not very big and we eat lots of them so need a big patch. The small patch is going very well and there are now some flowers on it, not sure what that means, probably nothing as I can't find anything about it. The plants I put in there came from our old place so I am glad that they taken off, though at one point I nearly killed them, but then I them saved them :)


The new patch will be grown (hopefully) from some organic sweet potato I bought, and I have cut them into pieces and have been drying them for a week. They are now ready to put into the ground, and they had better grow.

The sweet potato is part of my larger plan (and I know sometimes I don't look like I have a plan) for a garden that grows year round. The things that grow well in the dry season are the sort term things like tomatoes, capsicum, lettuce, though I will be giving some of these a go over the wet as I have heard some varieties will grow at that time.


I really want to have a year round vegetable garden and things like ceylon spinach is one of those things. I planted seeds when we first got here and I really don't think they are doing well as they are still small, they may still grow but I think I will go and get a plant to put in. They grow all year round and they can get quite big so you have to be careful they don't take over, but during the wet when not much else is growing it won't matter.

The other edible plants for all year round are pumpkin, Rosella (for jam), abika(New Guinea spinach, which I think I am going to buy another plant as my current one is lonely) and of course my banana circle. There are others (which I can't think of right now) but if I can have some basic vegetables and leafy things to eat over the wet I will be happy.

Another part of my (long-term) plan is to put in bush tucker plants. There is a nursery not too far from here that sells all the natives and apparently has a huge variety everything. A friend went there last week and has picked me up a catalogue so I am going to check that out,do some research, and go plant shopping (plant shopping soon is another plan).

My current plan for today is to make my sweet potato mounds and get them planted, so I had better finish my cup of tea and get working :D