Hawthorn Garden Update - Week 13

After a few busy weeks doing all sorts of non-gardening related fun stuff, it was wonderful to have two full days to dedicate to the Hawthorn Garden this weekend just gone.  It was so action packed that I didn't have time to pop past Luscombe Street!  So it was one of the first weekends that wasn't drizzly or raining which was great - we had made stencils to put on the planter boxes about a month and half ago, so got out the black paint and stenciled away so that the paint would be dry before the rain returns early this week.  I thought it would be a great idea to have the containers numbered so that I can take note of the plants that have been in each container season by season, making managing crop rotation that much easier.  Corny I know, but we have also put C & D for Claire and Dan on the bottom of each of them - well we made them together so I thought that would be nice :)

The worm farm is going full steam ahead, so much so that it has reached the time that a new tray be put on top of the initial tray ready for the worms to be transferred and the first lot of worm castings harvested.  You can see below how much matter the worms have worked their way through since setting them up a couple of months ago.  I'll leave them there for about two weeks to move on up into the new tray before taking the old one away to use.

We relocated the containers on the weekend into what will be known as the 'Spring' configuration - all containers lined up in a row on the eastern boundary, so that they receive the most amount of north and western sun during the season.  I love how they all look stacked up in a row, and it means that we have more space to use during the warmer part of the year.

All of the veggies in the containers are doing really well.  We continue to pick from the baby spinach a couple of times each week for evening meals, and the snow peas are blooming away.  Whilst we haven't picked any peas yet, we're almost there, and hope that they will continue to provide yummy peas through Spring.

The mushrooms have also just gone crazy over the past week - we're just about to harvest a whole heap of Swiss Browns!  Honestly, you see a little shroom coming up through the ground and within 3-5 days its big enough to eat.  Just amazing!  The broccoli continues to flower and has been bothered by a few aphids here and there, but nothing too crazy.  I have just blasted them off with a hose whenever I have seen them munching away on the yummy new flower growth.

The beetroot is growing really steadily, and will be ready to harvest in the coming few weeks which is great because the next batch of seedlings have been taken out of the hot house and are hardening up ready to be planted in two or three weeks time.  The garlic is also going great guns!

We also spent some time finishing off the three herb pots, made from scraps of the timber we used for the containers, that can be moved from container to container when required as companion plants.  It was really important that they could be moved, should the plants need them, throughout the year.  So we have a pot with mint, a pot with sage and another with lemon thyme.  Useful as companion plants, and for additional herbs for cooking!  We might look at making a couple more during the year depending on the types of good and bad pests we begin to attract to the garden.

So all going very well in the Hawthorn Garden.  Its great to be at a point now where we're harvesting what we're growing, and being so proud of the work that has gone into the garden over the past couple of months.

Mushroom!

Lots of Mushrooms!

New tray placed on top of the inital worm farm

Worms eating away the last of the scraps in the lower tray

Beautiful containers all lined up in a row :)

 Looking back the other way toward the new Potato bags!

 

Beetroot are kicking on - this also shows the stencilling on each container

Beetroot!

Broccoli is flowering!  Have had to flick off the odd aphid but they are doing pretty well.

We finished off the small herb planters - companion planting boxes that hang from the containers via hooks and can be moved when necessary

 

Garlic and prostrate rosemary

 

 Baby spinach continues to thrive.  We pick and eat from this container once or twice a week.

Potatoes!  Bags were bought at Bunnings after a sad failed attempt to obtain recycled hessian bags from local fruit and veg shops.  Apparently they aren't receiving veggies in hessian bags anymore???  At least we can use these from year to year, and they have a little peek-a-boo flap on the bottom for early harvesting!

The next batch of Beetroot are on their way.  Parsley is still growing away, and the random seeldings (not sure if Fennel or Warrigal Greens!) are growing away as well.

Pumpkin seeds have been sown ready for planting mid Spring

And I almost forgot....we have potatoes growing in the backyard now too!  After heading down to our local green grocer, I realised that not many producers are using hessian bags anymore to store their vegetables...which baffled me!  I would have loved to have reused something to grow the potatoes in, but I eventually gave up and went down to Bunnings to buy a couple of specially made potato growing bags for the 6 'seed' potatoes that had sprouted in the bottom of the cupboard.  Yes, I think people recommend that you buy seed potatoes to grow at home, but these were ones that I had bought from CERES, that were grown at their market garden organically, so I thought would be fine to use for growing at home.  The bags actually have a little peek-a-boo hole at the bottom of them so that during the season, whilst you are piling up the compost in the bags as the sprouts grow, you can harvest new potatoes from the bottom of the bag.  Pretty neat!  They seem so easy to grow, so it will be interesting to see how they go :)

Oh, and the first of the Spring / Summer seed planting has begun with pumpkin seeds that I had saved earlier in the year from a CERES pumpkin going into the hothouse this weekend :)  Exciting times!  I can't wait for Spring to come along!

Hawthorn Garden Update - Week 10 & 11

Wow, oops I forgot to put an update up the week before, the fornight before, last...eek!  Oh well there's a huge amount to update you all on which is very exciting!

The snow peas are going mental, and flowering like crazy, and the broccoli has also started flowering which is great!  I have had to keep a watchful eye on the broccoli though as the grey wooly aphids have made a comeback and like munching in the new growth.  I have given them a good spray of EcoOil, and will continue to keep an eye on them to see whether they need another dose by next weekend.

The beetroots are also growing well.  The seedlings in the planter are growing and I have also taken the seedlings that have sprouted out of the hothouse to continue growing in a more natural environment.

And we have baby mushrooms!  It has taken, what, almost a month and a half, but we have the first signs of little white funghi in our shed!  So exciting :)
 

 All looking very green :)

 Almost ready to pick!

 Snow peas continue to grow and flower like mad.

 The first of the Broccoli!

 Beetroot are going well.  I have also planted the last three Kale seedlings to see how they go.  The companion planting herb containers are to be made this coming weekend - how cute are they!  Dan has made one as a test and I think it looks great!  It's just made from little offcuts that we had after making the timber containers.

 The worms are almost ready to be transported to another section of their Worm Cafe.  I'll leave them another week or two to demolish the last of the food in the bottom tray and then attempt to lure them into a new upper section.

 The baby mushrooms!  It looks like the plain button mushrooms have started growing which is very exciting :)

Hawthorn Garden Update - Week 7

Sunday was a very busy day at home as well.  Whilst I spent some time out at the plot, Dan was busily working away in the garage making the two 600x600mm containers for the citrus trees.  Don't they look fantastic!

The first citrus box!

I planted them up, adding a few handfuls of slow release organic fertiliser into the soil, watering in well with Seaweed Solution, and just with the hose, to reduce any transplant shock the plants might experience.  I am reluctant to prune the plants yet - they really do need it though.  I am mindful of the fact that we would like compact, well structured plants that we can harvest easily so will wait until they have settled into their new homes before pruning later in winter.

 The two fruit trees

Planted below the trees are companion plants that have shallow root systems that won't disturb the citrus' growth.  Allisum are great flowers to grow, requiring very little maintenance.  The flowers will attract good bugs that will help to manage any insect problems the citrus might experience.  The same applies for the garlic and rosemary planted below the lemon/lime tree.  The scent of the rosemary and garlic will help fend away any unwanted pests, whilst the flowers on the rosemary will attract beneficial bugs to the garden.

 Companion planting - Allisum in the mandarin, Prostrate Rosemary and Garlic in the Lemon/Lime container

 All four planters - one more to make!

The vegetable containers are doing really well - the Snow Peas are continuing to flower and will soon start producing their little pea pods.  There was a visitor to the plant on Saturday, a stick insect!  He enjoyed eating the few aphids that were on the plant and basking in the sun.  I was so proud!  A little ecosystem in the garden!  Very exciting :)

The two vegetable containers

The first of the blooms on the Snow Pea

Happy stick insect on the Snow Pea - a little ecosystem in our backyard!

I have also set up the mushroom kit in the back shed so will be giving an update in the next couple of weeks on how that goes.  I have also planted a heap of beetroot seeds to plant in the last of the large vegetable planters to be made in the next fortnight.  So this season we will have a Legume bed, Brassica bed and Root/Fruit bed producing at home.  There's certainly a lot happening!

Aphids Going Wild!

I went outside yesterday to have a look at the garden, and my goodness, we have been invaded by all species of aphids suckering on the Pittosporum hedge.  The new growth has been inundated by green and black aphids both with and without wings, they're all getting into it!  So, I decided to take some action, as they had started eating the sprouts on the iris bulbs in the ground as well, and doused them with EcoOil and squished as many I can.  Take a look at the photo below - its crazy! 

So many aphids!  This was taken after I had sprayed...

I'll be following up the treatment in 5 days and will see how effective it has been.  I have also planted two of the nasturtium seedlings into the first planter to attract the aphids away from the vegetables we have planted.  Apparently nasturtium is really easy to grow and aphids just love the leaves so they can be utilised as sacrificial plants in the garden to keep the aphids away from your precious veggies.

Attack of the Little Black Flies!

So, under my nose, it seems like a hoard of little black flies have decided my snow peas at home are a nice place to live!  I had left the plants alone for a couple of days during the week, knowing that they were receiving enough rain to keep them going, and came back to them yesterday morning to see that there were heaps of little black flies on the snow pea shoots!

After a bit of google investigating, it seems that these little guys are a type of aphid with wings that love to suck the nutrients out of new buds on all types of plants.  They do, however, love new shoots on soft vegetable plants and will get at them at any opportunity.  After a bit of observation, it looks like they're actually all over the hedge plants that we have in the backyard, so they have naturally migrated across to the vegetable plants located nearby.

The Little Black Flies (Aphids)

Hungry for a way to organically manage the issue, I went on the hunt for a home made spray that might do the trick.  The best way to deal with them is to actually squeeze them off yourself everyday, but the infestation was such that I thought it needed more drastic action.  I actually heard about a product called 'Eco-oil' that had been discussed in a few gardening threads on the internet.  Some people had used it before and recommended not using it on anything you intend to eat, but I thought I would head down to Bunnings to see if they had any, or anything similar that would be organic and suitable for use on vegetables.  To my delight, they sell EcoOil, and low and behold the one that they sell can very safely be used on your veggies.  Its a natural plant oil based concentrate that smells a lot like a cross between eucalyptus and tea tree oil.  You just need to dilute it and spray on your plants. 

 Organic Eco-Oil

They recommend you reapply 3-5 days after the first application, then again another 3-5 days after that.  I sprayed last night, and went out to check on the plants tonight and the vast majority of the little insects have left the plant - very nice!  I just squished the remaining couple, and will repeat the spray in a couple of days time.  I think  there is a warning that you shouldn't undertake more than 2 regimes over a 6-8 week period, but from what I have seen today hopefully I will be able to keep them under control myself by doing a bit of squishing now and then, and giving the surrounding bushes a bit of a spray as well :)