With sunny days this week the bees have been outamong the Almond Blossom!
Temperatures rose to 24C+ this week. With this the wind picked up and by Wednesday it was trying hard to rain. Thursday night saw 8mm of rain fall.
Propagation:
Seeds:
This week saw Greens planting dates from the Thomas Zimmer Moon Planting Chart...I noted that at the bottom of the chart it says that some seeds can be sown on either Green or Fruit days these include Cucumber, Melons, Leeks, Shallots and annual Flowers.
The following went into the heated propagation frame, replacing the recently vacated tomatoes, eggplants and capsicums that have germinated well enough that some have ventured out into their first "pot on pots" in the hot house!
Arnica Arnica chamissonis subsp. foliosa - Phoenix Seeds
Basil Large Italian Sweet Ocimum basilicum - The Lost Seed
Basil Mrs Burns Lemon Ocimum basilicum/americanum - The Lost Seed
Basil Purple Ocimum basilicum cv purpurascens - Phoenix Seeds
Basil Sweet Genovase Ocimum basilicum - DT Brown
Basil Thai Ocimum basilicum - Home saved seed
Cucumber Bushy Cucumis sativus - The Lost Seed
Cucumber Green Gem Cucumis sativus - Eden Seeds
Cucumber Suyo Long Cucumis sativus - The Lost Seed
Herb Robert Geranium robertianum - Eden Seeds
Honeydew Melon Early Hanover Cucumis melo - The Lost Seed
Honeydew Melon Tigger Cucumis melo - The Lost Seed
Korean Mint Agastache rugosa - Eden Seeds
Marigold Crackerjack Tagetes erecta - DT Brown
Mexican Hyssop Agastache mexicana 'Sangria' - Southern Harvest Seeds
Purslane Portulaca oleracea - Home Saved Seed
Rockmelon Hearts Of Gold Cucumis melo - Eden Seeds
Watermelon Golden Midget Citrullus lanatus - Diggers
Watermelon Sweet Siberian Citrullus lanatus - The Lost Seed
The following were sown into punnets, put into a styrofoam fruit box and wrapped in plastic outside as they are not as frost sensitive (well mostly)
Black Cumin Nigella sativa - The Lost Seed
Chives Allium schoenoprasum - DT Brown
Coriander Coriandrum sativum - Mr Fothergill's Organic Seeds
Leek Allium ampeloprasum King Richard - Diggers Seeds
Marigold Tagetes patula Oranges and Lemons - Grower's Pride
Parcel Apium graveolens var. Secalinum - Home Saved Seeds
Queen Anne's Lace Ammi majus - Cornucopia Seeds
Salad Burnet Sanguisorba minor - Home Saved Seeds
Silverbeet Beta vulgaris Rainbow Mixed - 4 Seasons Seeds
Valerian Valerian officinalis - Eden Seeds
Into a cell/seed tray went Cosmos Cosmos bipinnatus
A mixture of colours and forms from the seed box!
Pink/Candy Stripe from some home saved and from Mr Fothergill's seeds, Seashell Mix from 4 Seasons Seeds, Sensations Mixed from DT Brown, Yellow home saved seeds and a Mixture of home saved seeds.
Also into a cell tray went some of Green Harvest's Clucker Tucker™ seed mix that came with the Kit I bought. This mix contains some unusual seeds to plant for chicken forage!! It will be interesting to see how some of these seeds grow here, maybe they will outgrow some of my weeds!! I am starting these in a seed tray so I will know what the seedlings will look like.
Potting on/up:
Tomatoes: Big Rainbow, Pineapple, Grosse Lisse
Root cuttings and rhizomes from Green Harvest these will be grown in wicking tubs/boxes or large pots around the garden this year. There is some Ginger Zingiber officinale too but that can stay inside for a while until things warm up a bit.
Chinese Artichokes Stachys affinis syn S. leboldii, S. tubiferaChinese Keys or Krachai Boesenbergia rotunda syn B. pandurata
Comfrey Symphytum officinaleQueensland Arrowroot
Canna edulis syn C.esculenta C. achiras C. rubricaulis
These last two from their Clucker Tucker™ Kit.
Free from the garden:
Greek Oregano Origanum vulgare hirtum (by division)
Lemon Catnip Nepeta cataria spp. citriodora (by division)
Planting out:
Peas Dwarf OnwardLemon Catnip Nepeta cataria spp. citriodora
Parcel Apium graveolens var. Secalinum
Into the Kitchen Garden Pathside Edge Bed which had become choked with Greek Oregano and Mint. These have now been removed and I hope this will once again become a useful picking bed.
With almost spring weather the garden has come alive......it won't last though the temperature
is set to drop for the weekend!!
Weekly Harvest Tally:
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making. The highlight this week continues to be the Celery which is providing a handful of leafy stalks for our morning juice!!
Celery American Stringless 470g
Celery Pink 150g
Radish French Breakfast 50g
Silverbeet 180g
Eggs:
12 From the 5 Farmyard Ferals
3 From the 3 Barnevelders
8 From the 5 Faverolles
To see how the various Garden areas fit on our half acre block check out the newest Map of our place HERE
