Recently we’ve been getting some rain, and the compost bin was getting a
little waterlogged, which is not a good thing.

It’s fine to have damp compost, as it helps decomposition, but too wet is not
good, as it just rots.    Besides this, the worms could drown, and they are a
great help in getting good compost for your garden.

My compost bin has two half lids, so I can control the amount of water
getting in.  Currently, half of the bin is covered, to prevent the contents
from getting too wet.

Digging down yesterday, I discovered a large amount of worms, so this
system is obviously to their liking.    It’s fine in summer too, as you can
throw in a bucket of gray or rain water to keep decomposition going, and
put the covers on to keep the moisture in.

If you take care of your compost, not to mention the worms, you’ll get a
much better result for your garden.

I guess I’m a plant addict, because I don’t seem to be able to stop adding
new plants to my garden.    At least there’s still a little space left for them.

The latest two are cyclamen, purchased from the Sunday Market, for no
reason at all, except that I liked them.    But that’s enough, isn’t it? 

In case you hadn’t realised it, I really love cyclamen, and the colours
appealed to me when I saw them.    Wonder if there’s such a thing as a
black cyclamen……

It seems I just can’t help myself when we go to Sunday Market – if I see
a plant which really appeals, then I’ve just got to have it.   It’s only later
I have to work out just where the poor plant is going to find space in
my garden!

This week’s find was a varigated pittosporum, similar to the one
pictured below.

The friend with whom I visited the market wanted a pittosporum to replace
a plant which had died, and was lucky enough to find exactly the variety he
wanted.   Naturally, it was one I’d also wanted for ages, but hadn’t found
before, so I had to have one too.

It’s not really a spectacular plant, but pittosporums are really great hedging
plants, and are excellent for planting along the fence line – they grow
quickly and hide fences and the neighbours.

The pittosporum count in my garden is now six, and I’m sure if I find
another which can add to the hedging effect along the fence, then it will be
brought home.    Can’t help myself;  I’m addicted to plants.

Since I love raspberries, last year, instead of just leaving the canes
in the open, we built a covered area for them to keep out the birds.
The birds usually got most of the crop when they were in the open.

This year, it’s been very different.    There has been a great crop,
considering there are only about five raspbery canes in the
tiny area we were able to give them.    The taste of the fresh
raspberries is superb!

Raspberries

Next year, when we have the old chicken pen converted to a
soft fruit and nursery area, totally protected from birds, we’re
expecting to crop to be even better.    The soil in there will be
absolutely beautiful, as it hasn’t been used since the chickens
met an untimely end.

Perhaps I’ll put some strawberries in there too, and see if we
can get better tasting fruit than the supermarket supplies.

Winter is almost here, so it will be the ideal time to do all
those maintenance jobs which have been building up.

Since I no longer have any chickens, there is an unused chicken pen
in the back of the garden.   The soil is extremely good in there, with
all the fertiliser and straw rotted in to the ground, so something
has to be done with it.

As I only have a very small area for raspberries and strawberries,
it seems a good idea to utilise the posts and wire around the pen
to build a new soft fruit area.

Bird netting will be added to the chicken wire, and the pen is already
tall enough to walk in.    In summer, we will be able to have shade
cloth above the netting, so hopefully, it will be a successful venture,
and plenty of fruit will be forthcoming.

The area will be big enough to have a couple of rows of raspberries,
which will be tied to stakes, instead of growing wild as they have
been allowed to in the past.   The strawberries will have a bigger
patch to spread in also.

Of course, before all this can be done, the old shelter, and the
chicken coop will have to be removed, as well as a couple of
geranium plants and a tree wormwood which we grew in there
to give some shade to the hens.

Now to find the time to get all of this done………

It’s Autumn here in Australia, and time to get the garden tidied
up for Winter.

This week, we’ve been doing some pruning, weeding, and general
tidying up.  Of course, there’s plenty more to do – there always is
in a garden!

Today I planted some broad beans, always a productive vegetable,
and very easy to grow.    This summer, my crop wasn’t very good,
because of the drought, but now the heat is gone, perhaps I’ll get
enough this Autumn to be able to freeze some for Winter.

The zucchini are just about over, but a few small ones are
just coming along, so maybe I’ll do some pickled zucchini.

There’s not much else growing at the moment, although there are a
few raspberries on the canes, and the sultana grapes are almost ready
for harvesting.

It’s really good to have some of your own food on the table!

Broad Beans In Flower

Last weekend, we finally had some real rain here in Melbourne.   Some
parts of the city had tennis ball sized hailstones, and many cars were
damaged beyond repair.   Luckily, my suburb just had very heavy
rain, with thunder and lightening.

Afterwards you could almost see the plants smiling happily as
they soaked up the water.   That should keep them going for a
while, unless we go back to seriously hot weather, which shouldn’t
happen, as it’s Autumn now.

Surprisingly, since we had about 60 mls of rain over the weekend,
the ground was dry when you dug down a couple of inches.   Guess
that’s the way it goes when you’re in the grip of a serious drought.
I’m just glad we had some decent rain to give the garden a go,
and fill the water tanks again.

Finally, I’ve managed to get at least one of my zucchini plants to fruit!   Still waiting on the pumpkin, and for some reason, they don’t do well in my garden.  Perhaps I don’t water enough; I don’t know, but I’ll keep trying, because I’m determined to succeed with them one day.

Out of twelve zucchini seeds planted earlier in the year, I have six healthy plants – the rest either failed to germinate, or succumbed to the drought.   Not to worry, as I’ve at least got a few zucchini to eat for once!

Zucchini flower and fruit

This summer, as every year, the bromeliad which spends
winter in the bathroom was put outside for the warmer weather.

It isn’t particularly fond of direct sunlight, however, so where it is
placed is important.   Bromeliads also like to have their centres filled
with water, but aren’t too happy to have wet roots, because they are
epiphytes;  that is, they often live in trees.

This year, I’ve placed it in a shady spot under a tree, and it seems
to be happy, so long as the water in the centre is kept topped up.

So far, this particular plant hasn’t flowered, but that’s not important,
because if it does flower, the section which flowers will die. Currently,
it is producing a third plant, so maybe it will flower one day.

Although I keep saying that I won’t add any more plants to my
garden until Autumn, when they’ll at least have a chance of some
rain, I still add them!   Guess I just love new plants.

This time, I just added a few
small annuals, snapdragons,
pansies, and lobelia.   The
poor lobelia certainly doesn’t
seem to like the heat though,
and I don’t think it will survive.

Yesterday I walked around the garden, and decided that a large
part of it needs a makeover.  Nothing too drastic, just a lot of pruning
and trimming back of some of the more agressive plants to give the
others a chance of some light and space.