Loving this time of year! The blossoms have opened up on the plum tree, which is the first sign of spring. The last month was all about dodging the rain and getting ready for spring - in an alternating fashion. The bright side of 'dodging the rain' involved our lovely WWOOFer Stephanie creating some amazing artwork with the kids in the school holidays, and sewing some amazing floor cushion covers (I LOVE floor cushions!!) and all of us in a spontaneous kerfuffle redecorating the lounge... And then - when it stopped raining - we did get out into the garden on a big weeding mission (the winter weeds we've been eating most of the winter - lambs lettuce, nasturtium and parsley - were allowed to stay just a bit longer :), applying compost and a thin layer of mulch. Most of our compost is home-made, but for a top-up, we called in the awesome guys at CompostingNZ to supply us with a certified organic bulk order. Due to our very rabbithole-like lay of the land 'round here, we're always having to split our precious compostables between the upper and the lower garden - with most of it going down the hill into the chicken compost. Upstairs, with drive-on access, we can take advantage of some external capacity. Advantageously, this is also guaranteed weed-free - which has been my secret weapon to carrot-success last year. There you go. I cheat. This last weekend, my seed order went in and before long, an early under-cover sowing of zucchini, peas, beans and greens is going to get under way. Below is my order for this year. Between $200 for a compost top-up (which is a bit of a luxurious bonus), $100 for seeds (plus a variety of self-saved ones) I would expect this to take us through to about this time next year, vege-wise. Not too bad for a year's supply of food. Organic Bean Blue Lake Dwarf Organic Bean Golden Wax Dwarf Organic Bean Gold Marie Vining Organic Cucumber Lemon Organic Cucumber Tendergreen Organic Lettuce Merveille des Quatre Saisons Organic Lettuce Parris Island Cos Organic Pumpkin Autumn Harvest Organic Radish Easter Egg Organic Squash Honeynut Organic Zucchini Black Beauty Organic Zucchini Cocozelle Bean Lazy Housewife Runner Bean Top Crop Dwarf Komatsuna Mustard Spinach Cucumber Homemade Pickles Zucchini Rampicante Gourds Large Bottle Beetroot Chioggia Red/White Carrot Pusa Asita Oyster Leaf Tomato Black from Tula Tomato Matt's Wild Cherry Cape Gooseberry Corn Florida Supersweet F1 Corn Florida Supersweet F1, Tomatillo Grande Verde Phacelia Lacy Organic Okra Clemson Spineless Organic Rocket Daikon Radish Basil Genovese Giant Lettuce Buttercrunch
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AuthorNatalie - gardener, guardian, mother, lover, friend, crusader for a better world Archives
December 2017
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