Africanaussie

This month is all about seeds.  Connect with others at the Garden Share Collective. I must admit I am not always very good at saving seeds.  Last collective I showed a lovely photo of my bok choy flowering.  I have been keeping an eye on the seeds as they began to form, last weekend I looked for my little paper seed collecting bags, and then got distracted.  Ooops - now they seem to have scattered with the wind.  A lot of my seed saving is like that, and next year I will have bok choy coming up in that same spot. A while back there was a competition to grow oats and my grand kids got quite excited about it.  They are now ready to harvest (I think!)  I pulled out the plants and lay them over the compost, then cut most of the seed heads off.  the remainder of the plants went straight into the compost tumbler - lots of lovely greens (and probably a few seeds I missed!) The seeds are now in a paper bag pegged on the washing ling line under ...

I think my theory this year has become to fill every inch of space.  Luckily MrFothergills gifted me with lots of seeds, and since I have a small garden I am planting seeds in any empty spot I see. The bok choy is doing very well this year, and I have not been shy with lettuce seeds, scattering them quite thickly.  I tend to like picking the small leaves, so there is no sense in spacing the leafy veggies out to give them room to grow to full size. With the lettuces I cut the outside leaves away, but with the bok choy I cut the middle out and it grows a whole new bunch.  We are having a bit cooler weather than last year, and so the snow peas look as though we might get a good crop this year.  I planted out two trellises. We have had a lull with pawpaws, I think they like more sunshine, not these overcast days we have been having.  I like to start my day with pawpaw and passionfruit.   One of these days I will have to lop the top off my tall tree so that ...

Ever since I put the little moon badge on my blog I have been noticing how fast time flies.  I have had all sorts of blog posts forming in my mind, but not got around to posting them... One is about how I cut back and weeded the area alongside the swimming pool.  The lemon grass makes lovely mulch, now hopefully I can keep it looking neat and tidy.  Along with the lemongrass, there are other herbs for use by any of the local residents.  There are a couple of cherry tomato plants, sawtooth coriander, a couple of basil plants, and this plant, mother of herbs, which is a little like oregano, a little like thyme, in fact very much like a bouquet garni, in a  tropical package.  I am hoping it will spread all over as a ground cover, keeping the weeds out of the garden. Then I also thought about writing about the colour in the garden.  this little section always brings a smile to my face. ...

My bok choy, radish and lettuce are coming up nicely, but seem to have long curved stems before the plant starts.  What could be causing this?  We have had a lot of rain lately and consequently very little sunshine.  Here you can see the detail on the radish stems.  They also dont seem to be developing a bulb. I went though all the bok choy and mounded up the soil around the bases, so they were no longer falling over drunkenly, and removed some and planted them elsewhere so that they have room to grow.  I just left the radish alone, should I do the same thing to the radish?  Did I plant the seeds too close to the surface? I also have a cucumber already - wow they are quick! The garlic chive flowers are so pretty and attract bees and butterflies.