Moon Gardening

I saw this blog on planting to coincide with different phases of the moon. I look foreword to seeing the results

http://themoongardeningexperiment.blogspot.com/2009/02/seeding-stage.html#comments

I'm loving my veggie Patch - Just spent money

KEY LEARNINGS

To buy seeds economically I would have been off buying online will try http://www.cornucopiaseeds.com.au/ next time I buy seeds

With the use of canes I was able to train my grapes to offer some shade to veggie patch C (This needs more shade)

Plants get discounted alot in kmart I bought two rather sickly plants for $1:18

NEW THINGS I HAVE TRIED

I have bought stuff (I spent $66 AU which brings my total to $96.83 (AU) (see my spreadsheet with all costs to date)

I have bought some flower seeds (they should bring nice bugs into my garden)

I have bought some petunias (they were 59 cents AU)

I have change my potting mix to 30% cane mulch 30%compost and the rest dirt and leaves (from the lemon tree)

I have now planted for the first time in the front garden (I planted rocket - I like rocket)

I have bought a plant to shade patch c

DIARY COMMENT
I decided I needed to buy a few things to make my garden a bit better

1. Plastic label sticks (my paper ones were curiling and getting in the light of my seedlings
2. 5 black plastic buckets (they will form part of my self watering containers

From Gardening 14/02/09 7:01 PM

The next picture shows how I am using it. Buy simpley putting a pot in the bucket and the adding water to the bucket I am making sure it gets lots of water. I may drill holes in the sides of the containers in future but I will see how these go.

From Gardening 14/02/09 7:01 PM

I have done a bit of work on bed c below is a picture you can see that I have planted a shrub ($10) that hopefully will give a little more shade. I have also put in poles to guide the grape vine to give some shade too.

From Gardening 14/02/09 7:01 PM

Lunar Planting

I have been talking to a freind about lunar planting see lunar planting guide enclosed.

I may give it a go sometime - I will put it in the links

More Planting and very hot weather

KEY LEARNINGS

Compost makes very good mulch - I am now just putting the compost on top of the soil (rather than digging it in). The compost is pretty course so it is working pretty well as mulch

NEW THINGS I HAVE TRIED

I read a book on composting. It reccomend screwing up newspapaer and adding it to the compost heap to keep it well aerated. I have done this this week.

I read a book on self watering container gardening. It suggests that some vegetables can actually come out better in self watering containers as it gives a constant feed of water. Vegetables that are good to grow are those that usually use alot of water. Tomatos, cucumber, capsicum etc.

I have added carrots and chives to my beans as they are supposed to grow wel together.

I have planted some greens in a self watering container

DIARY COMMENT
Not good weather for gardening

We had the states hottest day on record - getting to 47 degrees centigrade on Saturday. This has caused some of the worst forest fires in that Victoria that are still raging - it's pretty bad.

The garden took another hammering my beans I was lamenting over last time got burnt and a few died.

ADDING BEDS OF CHIVES, CARROTS & BEANS
They are all plants that like to be together (see the "2009 planting guide" "spreadsheet for companion planting guide)
I have composted all the beds and added a mix of beans , carrots and chives to the beds B & C and also added chives and carrots to bed D.

I have also planted some new seedlings (tomotos and corriander).
I ahave also planted some cornflower in a large pot

I have also planted greens in a self watering container I found in the garden. I read a book on self watering containers and it looks like they can be very effective when being used with vegetables - so we shall see how they go. They have a resivior in the bottom for thewater. I filled the pot with a mix of compost soil and mulch. (below see the hole in the middle of the container this is where the water goes )

From Gardening 8/02/09 7:08 PM

below are pics of all the beds as of today

My First Garlic

I was cleaning the kitchen this afternoon and found some sprouting garlic and thought I should plant it.

From Gardening 1/02/09 9:42 AM

below is the pot (with lots of much on top mixed with a bit of soil so it doesn't blow away)

From Gardening 1/02/09 9:42 AM

I think I'm getting better at preparing pots. I put a brick in the bottom and then a mix of soil and cane sugar stem mulch and compost in the pot. The top 1 inches had more mulch in it (to try to prevent evaporation and improve surface water retention).

Feb 2 In my garden HOT HOT HOT!

KEY LEARNINGS

Keep young plants out of the sun in Melbourne

Put piles of mulch on your plants when it is hot (it keeps the roots cool and prevents evaporation)

All new plants will be grown in the shade

NEW THINGS I HAVE TRIED

Grow tomatoes from seeds in a tomato

Put labels on my seedlings


DIARY COMMENT
Its been a hot month

It reached a top of 46 degrees centigrade 115 degrees Fahrenheit! this week - not good for my plants!
"
Melbourne, host city for the Australian Open tennis tournament, posted three straight days of temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time in recorded history. The South Australian capital of Adelaide is experiencing its hottest streak since 1908.

“They could be people who are elderly who have succumbed to heat stroke or some exhaustion as a result of the heat,” Hill said. “The ones I am most concerned about who are isolated and live by themselves.”

Today’s forecast high for Melbourne is 37 degrees while Adelaide is expected to reach 40 degrees according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Web site.

More than 500 firefighters are battling bushfires covering 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) in eastern Victoria, according to the Country Fire Authority.

In the town of Booolara, 15 homes have been lost, while there haven’t been any reports of fatalities, the News.com Web Site reported.
"
Full article here

GARDEN DIARY COMMENT
Its been pretty hot for a few weeks and all of my seedlings that I potted orignally have died. It was partly due to the fact they wern't shady and partly the soil wasn't draining well enough. All my plants have now got big layers of muclch on top and been moved into the shade where I can.

The basil I planted is bed C is doing pretty badly but not dead yet (the tomatoes seedlings I put into that bed died last month).
The basin in the pots under the tree is fairing much better. My plants don't like as much sun as they are getting!
below are my plants