It's been so dry this year that even the centre of the garden is shrivelling. I'm sure I saw a dust devil moving toward the gate...Even so, Ligaya Garden is still looking green!
At least the path stayed well mulched, thanks to Mamma Blackbird and family moving it from the garden beds where I had mistaking put it. Every year she spends a lot of time correcting my mistakes - I've written about it before but I always find it humorous!
South Oz goes through cycles of a couple of wet years followed by a decade or so of dry and as the climate disaster is ramping up we're going to get more dry weather for sure. Maybe even the mushrooming trips are finished - last year, there were only a handful in the forest near us. So I used this year as a baseline for future Summers. We didn't mulch an only watered in a 'survival mode' of 3 times a week an by hand so we could tailor the water to the plants as needed.
The garden survived and a few plants shrivelled and died, but overall things survived and we got a halfway decent yield from most plants.
So, what's the plan for our little block?
Firstly, redoing the dripper system. It's been pretty effective over the years but as the garden has grown and we and Nature have changed our minds, new lines have been put in here and there, drippers added and drippers removed so the overall effect is a mess! As plants went in away from the drippers, I used 4mm line with drippers on the end to reach them. That worked but everytime the chooks were allowed to run amok, they always dislodged a few. This meant that before we used the dripper system, I needed to go around on my hands and knees an reattach them or we would get a series of small fountains!
I've also taken out the low pressure sprinkler system that I knocked up using risers and the heads of wobble-head sprinklers. As the garden's been cleared out a bit at ground level, a normal; low pressure sprinkler on a hose can do the job if shifted occasionally. Getting rid of those sprinklers makes the garden a bit more visually appealing.
Each of the largs squares of poly pipe has been divide into 4 an a shrubber put in the middle. These are little sprays that reach about a foot around them. They can act as drippers if we run the pressure low, such as under tank pressure but if we connect the mains, they can cover a lot of ground, making the area suitable for annuals and short lived perennials and plants with a spreading root system such as English Daisies.
I'm in the process of running misters through parts of the garden, especially along the path. Cooling the air an adding humidity might help get the garden through 45 degree days. Even though they put out a lot of mist, their water usage is very low.
Most of the work has been done over the hottest weather. I'm not 'digging a well after I became thirsty'as the old Chinese saying goes. Because of my health conditions I need to get jobs done when my energy and focus are at their highest. Waiting a little could result in very long delays as my health crashes. I don't mind a bit of work in the heat and Marlon manages me quite well now, reminding me to rest, cool down and hydrate.
We're also widening the path. Recently, a friend came to visit who was on a walker. Sadly, the path was too narrow for her to fit through. Luckily, her partner is a giant of a man and managed to lift her over the tightest bits. Many of our friends are getting on a bit now, so may be need in walker soon er or later. Not me though - I'm indestructible!
New, drought resistant plant sare going in to replace some of those that suffered or died.. I'll post about them when the selection is finished.
Some of you may have seen that I've been writing a series of posts about herbs and making herbal remedies at home. I want to share what I know of this topic so that, as the world gets crazier, folks will have other avenues of medical care, namely those of themselves and their community. If you look back over this blog, you can see heaps of info on the topic, plus loads and loads of posts on herbs and using Australian bushfoods from a white perspective. If you haven't been around on in the 
