How The Garden Is Growing

The garden is coming along but more work needs to be done, grass and weeds freely take over in five minutes.  If I didn't have to water the garden the weeds wouldn't grow there, catch 22 really.

We currently have growing rocket, coriander, spinach, lettuce, corn, bok choy, cauliflower, broccoli, capsicum, zucchini, beetroot and tonne of self seeded cherry tomatoes which are very triffid like.  There are also some self seeded marigolds too which is very good for the garden and add some colour when they flower. I need to clean up the first garden and put in beans, just need to get over my sore muscles from returning to my fitness class after a five week break.

The reason I am so late with a lot of this was firstly we had no water for the garden and then we had no manure to refresh the soil, both of these things have been rectified and everything is growing nicely now.

We have been eating our bananas which are lovely and sweet, we just can’t eat them fast enough, they ripen so quickly.  The plan to cut just one hand at a time went out the window when the plant broke, however I still think it is a good plan, will make it work next time.

We did have three oranges on the tree in the orchard, they weren’t quite ready, they still weren’t quite ready and then birds ate them, all three of them, we were so disappointed.  We will get nets to put over the next lot.

Something is also eating the strawberries, we have heaps on the plants and they are really healthy but something is munching into them, I don’t mind sharing as long as I get some.   They never make it inside, I just eat them in the garden, so, so sweet.

My partner in crime and life has great difficulty telling the difference between a plant and a weed (and some weeds are useful too), and so ripped out the chives I liberated from underneath the old winged beans.  This is why I prefer to be there when he is weeding.  Anyway, I have now bought some new garlic chives and need to put them in a safe place, I am thinking under the paw paw near the strawberries which is protected by wire, not sure yet, still thinking on it.

I am going to plant some winged beans down at the creek under the pigeon peas, and also going to put some old wire over the guinea grass and lantana and plant more beans there in the hope they will smother some of those weeds.

I planted two chokos there to do the same thing and they are going along very well but it will still be a while before they are big enough to smother anything.

The creek garden is the garden that has to look after itself, and everything is doing well, I think because the soil is pretty good, it is moist and it is protected.  So we have some great producing paw paws, healthy pigeon peas and a large pumpkin patch (though as far as I can see there is only one pumpkin on it, but a very healthy one).

I am thinking I will also put some sweet potato down there too, though the bandicoots always dig them up so I am still deciding on that one.  I am definitely going to put bananas there but unsure of the location, must be the right spot.

I want to start doing some macramé and have cord for it and some patterns , so today I am going to have a practice, just something else to fiddle around with.

Camping

We are now home from our camping trip.  Being away from everything is such great time out.  There was no mobile phone reception, no electricity, no computers, no running water apart from the river, but there was quiet, the wind, the river, large interesting trees and a crackling fire.  Really, what more could you want, I could hear myself and it was lovely to just be.

I actually did very little, and it took two days of watching before I started to see shapes and could start to do a bit of sketching.

The boys did try fishing but the fish either weren't there or were just poking their tongues out at us but it was just as well we took extra food.

There was also a lot of precarious perching on thin looking branches trying to retrieve lures.

Lots of sleeping was also done by our number one and only son.  Aren't swags just great.

Sunset on the river

Loads of big trees were along the river and all just begged to be climbed.

We had our solar shower set up behind the tent so we could shower every day, just had to get rid of the dust.  Our camp was in a great spot and we nearly remembered everything, must throw in a mixing bowl and chopping board next time.

The wildlife was a bit noisy but non threatening, this goanna was very unconcerned.

Of course the cows were gorgeous, we even saw one calf that had just been born.

We loved our time away, the homesteads are isolated and the cows are everywhere.  We had dirt through everything, we brought half the outback home in the back of the truck.

One thing about camping is that it makes you realise that you can do without technology if you have to and everything we use for camping can be used in case we have a cyclone so it is dual purpose.  Of course, I prefer the fun of doing without for a few days while camping. 

So back to school this week, more work on the garden needs to be done and my partner in crime and life is planning the next camping trip.