Monday walk through...
A bit of a walk through looking at a few bits around the yard that we did on the weekend in the yard & Veggie Patch...
Harvesting the Spice barrels...
We decided to harvest the Galangal, Turmeric & Ginger (GTG) early this year so we could renovate that part of the patch for the Aquaponic system...
We got far more than we thought we would as the soil they were planted in was of very poor quality...The Worm cast & Compost teas gave the leaves a boost in the last few months so the rhizomes must of benefited as well I think...
I think we got twice the Turmeric (left) than the last crop, about the same from the Galangal (middle)... The Ginger (left) produced a lot more than last years crop that was grown from rhizomes purchased from the supermarket... This crop was grown from rhizomes purchased from Green Harvest & produced about double the amount of better looking ginger... Glad we paid the extra now... The pieces with stalk still on them will be given to others & some will be planted into Bed #9 with the Lemon Grass...
New Barrels & other Bits...
2 new Wicking Barrels were made up for some seedlings in need of new homes... 2 purple & 1 Thai basil (left) were put in a barrel down in the patch & the Bell Chilli & 2 x of our Banana x Chillies (right) were put in a barrel beside the new Spice barrel by the back stairs...
All the remaining potted veggies were put on a frame around the side of the house with only a few pots & the Bromeliads, including the Pineapple, were left under the stairs with some Aloe & herbs.. The Strawberry wall (left) has had a minor renovation with some more wire cut out to allow for the plants settling down further in the wall & restricting the crown from sprouting more growth...
Have been harvesting a few Broccoli flowers (left) for salads & nibbles while walking around the patch.. Will be saving some seeds once they set..
There is only 1 white Kohlrabi left (right) & B? wants to leave it to see how large it will grow...Will be a week or 2 before the Purple ones will be ready.. Planted out 10 others around the patch & plan to sow some more seed when we can find some space...
The Passion fruit barrel has been overrun by feral Tomatoes & Eggplants that have sprouted from the worm cast that was placed under each of the seedlings... Shall have to thin them out soon but am thinking of leaving the Eggplant in just to see what type it turns out to be...
Some of the produce we have been picking...
Long early Eggplant, Beans, Kohlrabi, Beans, Beetroot, Lemons, Beans,Mangle Leaves, Snowpeas, Dragon Carrots, Beans, Cape Gooseberries, Raspberries, Beans, Honey snap Peas, Oh & did I mention Beans ???
Have also been trying to get a Celery base to shoot & will try to plant it once the roots come in... We do the same with store bought Shallots/Spring onions (depending on what country you live in).. Have bought a few bunches of them marked down to clear for 50cents & didnt loose any after planting them...
Read More..
A bit of a walk through looking at a few bits around the yard that we did on the weekend in the yard & Veggie Patch...
Harvesting the Spice barrels...
We decided to harvest the Galangal, Turmeric & Ginger (GTG) early this year so we could renovate that part of the patch for the Aquaponic system...
We got far more than we thought we would as the soil they were planted in was of very poor quality...The Worm cast & Compost teas gave the leaves a boost in the last few months so the rhizomes must of benefited as well I think...
I think we got twice the Turmeric (left) than the last crop, about the same from the Galangal (middle)... The Ginger (left) produced a lot more than last years crop that was grown from rhizomes purchased from the supermarket... This crop was grown from rhizomes purchased from Green Harvest & produced about double the amount of better looking ginger... Glad we paid the extra now... The pieces with stalk still on them will be given to others & some will be planted into Bed #9 with the Lemon Grass...
New Barrels & other Bits...
2 new Wicking Barrels were made up for some seedlings in need of new homes... 2 purple & 1 Thai basil (left) were put in a barrel down in the patch & the Bell Chilli & 2 x of our Banana x Chillies (right) were put in a barrel beside the new Spice barrel by the back stairs...All the remaining potted veggies were put on a frame around the side of the house with only a few pots & the Bromeliads, including the Pineapple, were left under the stairs with some Aloe & herbs.. The Strawberry wall (left) has had a minor renovation with some more wire cut out to allow for the plants settling down further in the wall & restricting the crown from sprouting more growth...
Have been harvesting a few Broccoli flowers (left) for salads & nibbles while walking around the patch.. Will be saving some seeds once they set.. There is only 1 white Kohlrabi left (right) & B? wants to leave it to see how large it will grow...Will be a week or 2 before the Purple ones will be ready.. Planted out 10 others around the patch & plan to sow some more seed when we can find some space...
The Passion fruit barrel has been overrun by feral Tomatoes & Eggplants that have sprouted from the worm cast that was placed under each of the seedlings... Shall have to thin them out soon but am thinking of leaving the Eggplant in just to see what type it turns out to be... Have also moved bits around the yard & have packed up all the composting barrels until after the reception... I might be able to take out Bed #5 , put in the bedding pebbles, cut down then place the IBCs before the reception is held but it might be a push.. Was hoping to have a little Barrel system up by then but the 2 new Wicking Barrels have taken up the spot next to the stairs where I was going to put them... Such is...
Random Pics...
Long early Eggplant, Beans, Kohlrabi, Beans, Beetroot, Lemons, Beans,Mangle Leaves, Snowpeas, Dragon Carrots, Beans, Cape Gooseberries, Raspberries, Beans, Honey snap Peas, Oh & did I mention Beans ???
Have also been trying to get a Celery base to shoot & will try to plant it once the roots come in... We do the same with store bought Shallots/Spring onions (depending on what country you live in).. Have bought a few bunches of them marked down to clear for 50cents & didnt loose any after planting them...
Thats about all until the weekend..
Have a great one...
: )»
Because of the Barrels position next to the Chooks day pen, the drain got filled with dirt being scratched up.. There are now Scratch Guards in place to stop this from happening but the damage was done... I just couldnt clean the dirt out from beyond the elbow...
The other problem I overlooked was the quality of the soil going into the barrels.. The decision was made just to use the "premium" soil mix from a local landscape suppler with some mulch added in as it had next to no organic matter & looks to be based, from my limited knowledge, on clay & sand.. Would probably make excellent mud bricks though...
The mix it was replaced with today is a blend of "Premium" soil mix, bulk purchased "Nursery grade" Potting mix & a litre or so of "5 in1" blended through the top layer.. As you can see it isnt anywhere near as clay like as the original... I have learned not to believe in what people call their products, pity it was the hard way... We have also noticed that the "Premium" mix has formed a hard "crust" where we have used it to top dress some of the other beds.. I keep raking the soil between the rows just to allow rain & air to penetrate into the beds... 
I did go down to to plant out some Cabbages & Kohlrabi but got side tracked by the Barrel... I did manage to transplant what we think is a capsicum & a Banana Chilli... They went from Bed # 1 into Bed # 2 to live with the new Tomato & Basil plants.. Will be getting some Celery seedlings to go in between in the next day or so... 
Started to see a few more of these guys around again lately... Always love to see the larger Parrots around...
