Wicking Box Tomatoes

I’ve proved this year how great Wicking Boxes are for me, I don’t need to go out in stifling heat and water the plants every day. We have so many tomatoes I’m giving them away but now I’m thinking of getting rid of the boxes I’ve made. It’s very disappointing after all the effort and the fact they work so well but during our recent heat wave I realized that if a fire did come here the polystyrene boxes would create an inferno of their own. I’ve thought about alternatives and decided after this season I’ll make our half wine barrels into wicking beds, they should be well insulated like the polystyrene without being so flammable. It’s a daunting prospect, having to remove the soil that’s in them and line the casks etc but I’ll see how I go. One at a time.

One day’s harvest.

Nice big fruit on the bush.

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Mosaic Pole

In my ignorance I decided to make a mosaic for the garden using some PVC pipe, I learnt a lot along the way!

Both Liquid Nails and the powdered tile adhesive you mix with water seemed to stick the tiles but the ones which fell off  later were those stuck with the mixed adhesive.

I’ll never use PVC pipe again because even now I can’t be sure the pieces won’t fall off. Someone did tell me attaching fly-wire to the pipe would have given the adhesive more holding power but they told me that after I’d finished.

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The rocks are around the base to deter my dog from scratching her back on the pole, I’m sure it wouldn’t be long before she’d dislodge tiles.

Tooo Hot

The weather was tooo hot for me again today, 39 deg,C this afternoon and I’m not the only one who’s had more than enough. I noticed this possum when I was out watering the garden this evening and it was so heat stressed it even allowed me to wet it with the hose. I started by misting it but then progressed to a gentle shower, at first it licked the water trickling down the stems but then licked it off its fingers and fur.

Tomorrow is forecast to be another 39 deg. day!

Strawberry Tower

Last year my Strawberries did very well in a Wicking Box even though it leaked where I had the water level tubing but I was disappointed when Portuguese Millipedes kept getting to them before I did. I decided to make a tower using PVC pipe figuring they wouldn’t manage to climb up it. I had more than enough Strawberries for 2 towers but made one then decided to see if it worked before making the second one.

Now that there is fruit on the plants in Tower 1, I’ve made Tower 2. Even if the millipedes manage to climb up I’ll be able to see them easily and I can put a few snail bait pellets in the saucer where the dogs won’t be able to get them.

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Trialing a Living Edge

I enjoy watching Gardening Australia each week and have finally managed to try out an idea I saw a while ago.You can see it here if you’re interested.

For years I’ve been struggling to get a particular garden bed looking good. It slopes and our “soil” is not at all encouraging being mostly clay and shale, this bed also has gravel from when the pavers were laid. I’ve now followed Tino’s technique and hope the plants will thrive.

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Spring 2015

This year we were away seeking warmth for all of August but since it’s now officially Spring I thought I’d post photos of the flowers in the garden at the moment but the weather isn’t nice at all. It’s cold and wet so lots of the flowers are looking sad and some, like the Gazanias,  are refusing to face the world at all today. They were stunning 2 days ago so I’ll come back to them.

Hyacinth

Crocus

Grevillea -Coconut Ice

Grevillea

Unknown

Wallflower

Or

Polyanthus

Zygocactus

Robin Redbreast shrub

Plum

Mutant Periwinkle

Dianthus

Annual Daisy

Polyanthus

New Guinea Impatiens

Cyclamen

Lobelia

Lantana

Correa

Apricot

Viola

Salvia

Dianthus

Star Flower – Triteleia

Periwinkle

Geranium

Lavender

Iris

Yellow Tacoma

Climber – something Lutea

Salvia

Lilly Pilly

Peach

Dianthus

Dianthus

Freesia

Correa

Rosemary

Fuchsia

Anenome or Ranunculi?

Poppy

Pansy

Chameleon Rose

Nandina

Hardenbergia

Westringia

Snowflakes

Polyanthus

Grevillea

Polygala

It seems to me the plants are enjoying this weather about as much as I am!

Maggie’s Mistake

For too many years we had neighbours from hell so when I started finding bits of wire on our driveway on an almost daily basis I secretly cursed them. Their old fence had been patched with all kinds of bits and pieces and I assumed the wire bits were from there. Eventually though I came to realize I only noticed the bits of wire in the winter when the Magpies and Wattlebirds were nesting. I decided they must pick up the bits thinking they’d be good to use in their nest only to realize they are too hard and unwieldy.

Wire pieces have been appearing on the driveway again over the last week or so but this morning I found the best bit ever. It was in our backyard, a complete, shiny, wire coathanger. I wish I could have seen the whole event.