The weather has been lousy. The rain has been torrential, but in a sneaky way. It rains solidly all night and apart from the moments it is so intense it rattles the roof and windows, I’m mostly unaware as I blissfully sleep, dreaming of sunny days in my garden. Then when I wake the sun is shining and so the above ground water table just … Continue reading Things you don’t want to find in your greenhouse
The in between season. I’ve still got things in the growing in the garden. But not a lot and they are close to being labelled ‘past it.’ But they are still there needing to be eaten. There isn’t much that can be grown at this time of year. But I can technically plant some things, but even that is fraught with problems. For example I … Continue reading This is such a weird time of year
I tried to go out into the garden today, but it was just too gloomy, the ground was way too soggy after we received another dumping of rain overnight. This was most annoying as the ground had almost dried out since the last burst of rain and was almost workable again. The only up side of this is the normally difficult tap rooted weeds like … Continue reading Keeping it clean
Oh my goodness, winter has finally stood up and said loudly and proudly: I am here! Last week we had so much rain it broke records for the most rain in an hour for the month of June. The thing is – it wasn’t just that hour, but the hour before and after it…. well actually the days before and after it where it rained … Continue reading It’s cold outside
This has been the coldest winter that I can remember. I am trying really hard not to complain, because it could be worse. It could be raining and miserable. We have had about 5 frosts in a row. This is a good thing for a gardener. It is great for building great soil structure by breaking up the lumps and any pests and disease lingering … Continue reading It’s a bit chilly
Oh my gosh it was so cold! The temperature plummeted this afternoon to 8.5°C. While that may not be cold by most folks standards, it is for us! Areas barely south of us (well areas at least 160km south east of us) got some snow. We always miss out on the fun stuff. We never get snow. Well aside from the brief flurry in 2010 … Continue reading I thought it was going to snow.
Time is against me. I have to pack all of July’s gardening chores into two weeks. And there is a surprising amount to do when you aren’t ambling your way through the month, dodging raindrops. When you are up against it, you work through the raindrops. I think I work best with a deadline. There is absolutely no room for procrastination which is my biggest … Continue reading Asparagus tips and raspberry posts
After what seemed like forever, the NZ Spinach was finally big enough to go out into the big wide world. Just drop a few degrees – well halve the temperate and reduce the intensity of the sun and shorten the days and for some reason plants grow slower. Much slower. Winter gardening can be like watching paint dry. I’d never tried NZ Spinach before and … Continue reading Planting out the Gunny Sack Garden
Back in the day, in the times of the ‘Grand Tour’ – think late 1800’s when women wore heavy crinoline skirts everywhere, our little corner of the world was well and truly on the Victorian bucket list. Many folks risk life and limb just to get here, let alone the dangers of setting out into a recently discovered colony to see the marvel that was … Continue reading Life arises from the ashes of tragedy
