On a Tuesday… again. Same same but different. Stay home, stay safe. Shop local, shop sensible. This is a still a weird old time. The Monday Message is on a Tuesday because we had a public holiday on Monday and I try… in normal times to not work on weekends and holidays so I get to enjoy my family. So even though they Mondayised an … Continue reading Monday Message:
As the days grow cooler, the love of a good chilli can add some heat! I have plenty to choose from in my garden – cayenne, jalapeno, padron (gone too far to be a playful game of spicy roulette – they are all very hot now), habanero, birds eye and a few others. And they are all ready and waiting for me to do something … Continue reading Monday Message
This lockdown has been a bit of a strange creature for me as far as productivity and getting stuff done goes. I have to confess a lot of time has been spent in a bewildered state. While my life hasn’t changed all that much, I work from home, Hubby the Un-Gardener works from home and it felt like the school term hadn’t been going that … Continue reading Lockdown Funk
… On a Tuesday. The weather outside might be terrible, but all storms pass eventually. Today is really stormy – it was yesterday too. You really feel it out here exposed on the coast. The garden seems to be holding up ok, but there are no tender seedlings trying to establish themselves so there isn’t much to worry about. But storms here always sound so … Continue reading Monday Message:
I had the pleasure of chatting to the lovely Sam and Julia on Newstalk ZB this morning and one of the things we talked about was things that can be growing things from the kitchen when you don’t have ‘proper’ gardening supplies. For example: Take an avocado stone and suspend it over a jar of water with toothpicks to get it to sprout Try growing … Continue reading What to grow when you don’t have ‘proper’ supplies
Not wanting to go on about it, but the Pith Necrosis in my tomatoes (you can read about that >HERE<) has been on my mind. One of the things that made the conditions ideal for the disease was the soil was too nitrogen rich. I’ve been pondering this a lot. The general instruction to gardener is to add organic material like compost and well-rotted manure … Continue reading Checking the soil.
Find a new rhythm and look for a new normal. It is strange times indeed. Daylight savings finished the other day and it made no difference – I didn’t need to be anywhere so time is almost irrelevant. Even the garden doesn’t need me as much these days, especially after the massive harvest I did the other day. There is still the tidy up to … Continue reading Monday Message:
I have been rather busy lately. I am fortunate in that my workloads and deadlines haven’t changed and writing about gardening is just as popular as it ever was. So, I have been tucked away in my office or creating the supporting imagery to go with the writing. I don’t feel like I have had a spare moment. Even the poor garden is feeling a … Continue reading The harvest waits for no one
Staying busy is a great way to keep your mind from the worries of the world for a while. While in lock down it is so tempting to be glued to each and every update that comes in, seemingly by the minute. But being an active relaxer with a tendency to worry about things, I decided it was in my best interests to just check … Continue reading Monday Message:
Do what you can to stay safe. 💚 It is indeed strange times. I’m doing well. It hasn’t reached into my area yet, but everyone is cautious. My community is being sensible and there is food in the supermarket and seedlings in the garden centre. We are in a good place to hunker down and the garden will give me more than enough to do. I … Continue reading Monday Message:
