30 December 2012 photos from garden

Went out at 7am and took some photos. Comfrey plant flowering. Coriander that bolted also smothered in little white flowers. My potato patch. A little Moringa tree growing in garden after being planted as a seed 5 or 6 weeks ago. A pot plant flowering my Dad had bought for me. Beautiful start for the day.

Healthy juice for lunch

Today I picked a few sprigs of parsley, about 10 leaves of plantain and 5 mint leaves and blended with fresh banana, pineapple and some rice milk for a delicious light healthy shake for lunch. If you are on blood thinners you are not meant to eat plantain otherwise it is a common garden weed that loaded with iron and minerals. Here are some pictures.

Moringa - 10 days old

2 trees planted out 2 days ago. About 4 inches tall already. Surrounded by horse poo and barricaded against dogs who run around with force of bulldozers. Some chilli, and couple views of garden in different spots.

First eggplant November 2012

First eggplant growing. Have four plants.

Moringa seed

4 days after sprouting!! 75% success rate in germination.

Photos

Small red guava emerging. Crawling everlasting spinach spreading along ground. Yellow butter beans nearly ready to pick. Eggplant's purple flowers with coriander seeding behind it. Such a sunny beautiful spring morning!

Moringa

First Moringa seed emerging (2days old).

Photos from garden 13.11.12

Zucchini and zucchini flower - so beautiful!

Potatoes - hulled

Potatoes

Well my potatoes I sowed very late in the season are well above ground ( nearly a foot tall) so will hull up around them tomorrow and mulch well. Will post photos tomorrow. Have asked my Dad to bring as many bags of horse poo as he can each time he drives from Cordalba to Bundaberg. Also will order more mushroom compost to be delivered next time they have it. Mulch mulch and more mulch over summer. I cannot under plant until trees are bigger. On the bright side, my Moringa seeds are sprouting!!! So excited to watch these trees grow. My Dad ordered seeds online and gave me about 8 to plant. About half started to pop up yesterday. Am going to call into coffee shop we all use from work and see what they do with used coffee grounds. Thought might be useful addition to compost. Will let you know.

Baby Norfolk Pine Cones

I think these baby pine cones forming are just beautiful. Am reading up on all you can do/make/eat to do with pine cones!

Symbiotic relationships

Here is a photo of our miniature lemon tree (new fruit forming back right). Comfrey planted in front to fix nitrogen near roots of fruit tree. This tree grows full size lemons and only size of small bush. It has been brilliant.

Coffee tree

Went to Shalom market Sunday morning and found a lovely man from Gin Gin selling multiple fruit and non fruiting trees. Purchased half a dozen and planted as food forest. Planted couple of metres apart and although some naturally grow 5-10 metres high will keep pruned to 2 metres. Will get less fruit but enough for backyard garden. That is plan based on what we have read.

Chicken Coop and Garden

Shed with door and back totally removed. Waiting for us to tie down chicken wire to enclose back - which forms part of perimeter. Back view with cot springs laid against half ready to tie in place. Cat cage and lawn mower catcher ready to be used as laying boxes after being filled with cane mulch.

Backyard Chicken Coop

Started our new project last weekend. We have been attempting to use all materials we have on hand. We had a small garden shed we are attempting to convert. We realized in the heat it would be unbearably hot in summer, so we removed the rivets and took the back off and both the windows. Are going to replace all with chicken wire so can have air flow.
Went to the tip shop and spent $10 in total for a cot wire spring bottom, small roll chicken wire, and 2 lawn mower catchers and cat cage without a door ( for egg laying boxes).
Went to Bunnings Hardware and got 50 metres of chicken wire for $56 dollars. Already have 6 star pickets. Plan is to put 3 star pickets in row with pair opposite (6 in total). Then place poly pipe ( not bought yet) in loop over a pair of stakes and fix with cable ties (already got). Then drape over chicken wire and fix with cable ties. Build frame from wood that left over and in garage to make a door to enter coop ( doors already taken off shed). Will put pictures up on weekend! It will either work well or be a disaster. If money unlimited no issue, but this avoiding point of recycling and low cost we trying to strive for. Does anyone know where can get ex factory chickens from either free or cheap near Bundaberg?

New plantings and spring 2012

Everlasting spinach looking luscious! Mild chilli - beautiful lime green colour - doing well on neglect. What is this caterpillar on my lemon tree? I won't kill him in case he turns into beneficial butterfly? Pawpaw trees looking great so far! Pineapple sage produced some beautiful iced tea - the flowers add gorgeous addition to salads. Cardamom just planted in shady spot under a tree. Nutmeg bush just planted and yes it smells divinely of nutmeg! Bush tucker tree producing beginnings of small fruit but lost its label and can't remember what it called! Got to investigate. Planted out 3 new guavas - all different. Kei apple planted. The Norfolk pine is loaded with baby pine cone seeds!!!! Hoping my moringa seeds sprout so can plant some shade hedge over summer for garden to protect from intense heat.