I don’t know about you, but I always love getting home after being away. Of course even a few days away, can often mean that the garden becomes unruly in my absence.
Nasturtium and rosemary
On my return peering around the hedge I wasn’t disappointed. The fennel had doubled in size (we ate one last night – delish), the chilli bushes which are sporting loads of red habaneros were sprawling everywhere (it won’t be long and they will be hoisted out so the garlic can go in), and the nasturtium! Hmmm – these wonderful plants can be invasive at the best of times, but taking full advantage of the ‘absent gardener’ they were crawling over everything in their way, choking several smaller plants and generally being a garden nightmare.
Nasturtium and fennel
So I spent much of Saturday hauling out the nasturtium. I did feel rather guilty doing this, especially when in my eagerness, I hoisted out a zinnia by mistake. The good news is the peas can now breathe, I can walk between all the beds, and most of my garden can now see the light of day! LOL .. Don’t worry this stuff will grow back, it always does.
Unknown fungi
I also removed my last spud bed. This space is earmarked for my brassica seedlings which are literally busting to get out of their punnets.
I would love to say that I dug out bags of spuds from here – but the truth is, I only hauled out about 5kg of very interesting looking potatoes in various shapes and sizes (mostly small LOL) and as I had no idea of the varieties when I planted them, their heritage is still unknown. But they taste particularly good steamed and served with lashings of butter or served with kale and spinach pesto. A lesson learnt – I shan’t plant my potatoes in January.
I do love getting beds ready for the next planting. So into this bed, I dug in food scraps from the Bokasi bin, and added lots of homemade compost. I still need to include other amendments here, think rok solid and lime – all before poking kale, broccoli and cabbage seedlings into their new home. They are currently outdoors ‘hardening up’.
Do you remember those very pretty Light Sussex hens that we adopted, that loved posing for the camera and were the very best of friends? As there is a ‘pecking order’ in the chook world, I envisaged that the new girls would arrive and feature at the bottom of this, which often means ‘hen pecking’. Little did I know that the pecking order at Frog Pond Farm was going to be changed.
Just prior to heading OS I had prepared a feast for my girls – nothing like a good spoil given my absence for a few days. Putting this tasty tucker into their feeder (think recycled guttering) the girls would normally be squawking and clambering over each other for the best bits, giving the odd head peck while doing this. To my surprise they all remained huddled in a corner while the new chickens casually sauntered into the feed area and started eating. Oh dear, it was fairly obvious that the new girls had done some serious muscle flexing and had elevated themselves to the top of the chook ladder. I was devastated, they were particularly happy!
The good news is that the two feathered friends have been adopted yet again. We can now view them enjoying themselves in their new abode at our neighbour’s place. Perched on the hillside happily ensconced in a new chicken coup. Lucky girls …
And just because I can some pics of the beach!
Orange at Muriwai beach
And yes that is a plaster on his paw!
Happy gardening