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 :)

Relocatable Timber Planter

We had the best day today making the first timber planter on wheels for the courtyard - gone are the black plastic pots for us!  I'm so proud that we designed and constructed this all ourselves with fence pailings, treated pine 7x3.5cm sections, a few wheels, nails and screws all from the local hardware store!  It only took us 4 hours or so to cut and build the one today so we'll be building another two for the yard, along with a 60x60cm version for a double grafted lemon / lime tree from CERES!

The photos below show the process we undertook to make our fantastic timber planter!

All the pieces cut - fence pailings for sides and base, and treated pine section cut for the base and uprights in the corners

Dan screwing the uprights to the base sections ...

Side pailings nailed in place - starting to look good!

Dan screwing in another base section...

Nailing in the bottom pailings...

 Measuring up for predrilling holes for the castor wheels

 

Wheels screwed in!

 

Last minute trimming...

Nailing in the black plastic liner...

Plastic liner in!

Soil in!

Planter in elevation - look at the wheels!  They also have brakes on them to stop the planter from rolling about...

And the finished product!  We planted the Broccoli and Spring Onions into this one.  And of course some Catnip for kitty just near her cat door!

So proud!  Looking forward to making the next three!

It's going to be so great being able to move the planters around the garden, not only for the plants following the path of the sun during the year but for when we're entertaining.  We can just move them out of the way if need be!  A great solution for a courtyard garden :)  I'm so proud we made such a beautiful thing!