This time of year used to send us running for our airconditioners, or at least some shade and a cold drink! This month's #hivegarden #gardenjournal finds us taking advantage of the weather and getting ready for the Summer that seems to have forgotten us.
Weather patterns surrounding Australia are funneling moisture laden air from the north and piling it up against a cold front from the south, making it rain and rain and rain. In South Oz, it's been a boon but on the east coast, its caused disaster.
You can't garden without adressing climate change or at least if you do, you're a fool. Thinking along that line, we've been rejigging our garden to reduce our water use even more while increasing productivity (in a non-capitalist way, of course!).
A big step has been to clean out the verge gqrden. Removing a lot of the huge Lomandra along the fenceline allows more sunlight to reach the Chili, Strawberry Guava, Midyim Berry, Jujube and Berry plant (either raspberry or Youngberry, I've forgotten). Keeping the Elder tree under control also helps this little group.
It's time to take out the Nasturtiums that cover the soil and half way up some trees. We mostly benefit from the Nasturtioms because they are lures for some pest bugs, making it easy to pick them up in bulk and feed them to the chooks.
Removing the Nasturtioms makes the ground look bare but closer inspection reveals it to be thriving with life. Underneath one pile of Nasturtiums, I found that the Strawberry Guave was valiantly flowering like mad!
With the heat maybe, one day, coming, I moved the Quail house to where the fodder growing greenhouse was and moved that out into the backyard to be disassembled and its parts repurposed into a larger, permanent greenhouse structute.
The Quail love the move. They're more protect and are loving being directly on the ground. They've discovered that they get fed before the chooks now, so are extra chuffed with their rise in status.
The area where the Quail house was is now (as it was originally designed to be) a Sun trap right in the heart of the garden. With so much cover, sometimes plants have struggled to get vitamin L but now thats resolved.
We have some large pots to move there. It is the perfect spot for growing Ginger and Moringa and the Oca that I bought on the weekend.
That whole end of the garden has hade a make over too. I moved a lot of stuff and transferred a big steel garden bed to where my junk pile was and took down the old trellis that was there, transferring a garden arch into its place. The arch will be the support for Cucumbers and the bed, remaining empty is housing our bag planted Tomatoes (a post on how to do that is in the works).
Grape vines have had a huge prune - I know, it's a bit late but there's only so mcuh time. They are already providing shade for the raintanks and the shed door. They'll grow soon and intercept the rapidly spreading Hops and, together' they will shade the front odf the house, supported in that job by the Melons that are streaking skyward along their wires.
That's a lot of change but only part 1. Part 2 is about the backya4rd and the bioponics.
