Diggers Order Arrives

The diggers club seed order has arrived! I am very excited at the prospect of our expanding vegie patch.  We are relatively new to the growing veggies game so decided to start with seeds that can be sown directly into the ground.  Raising seedlings myself will be something to tackle in Spring.

On Saturday a trip to the hardware for compost also meant that we came out with a soil pH testing kit, some Rhubarb seedlings, a native violet and some heirloom romanesco broccoli.  Store bought compost was unfortunately a necessity as our compost is currently in need of some serious attention.  It represents more of a fruit fly breeding ground that compost, but I am sure that it can be saved.

Sunny weather again on Sunday drew us outside and up to the veggie patch.  In winter, it is pretty much the only place that gets sun for more than two hours as our land faces south on a steep slope. It is a hefty walk to get to the sunny paradise at the top of our block especially when trying to carry a 14 kg toddler, baby bag and camera.  Yes, I have to pack a bag to go up there.  It just isn't worth the effort to have to come down for a drink or food!

We planted our Rhubarb, broccoli and native violet and then set about to plant the seeds.  Unfortunately the Monkey was extremely overtired and spent the majority of the morning whinging or crying over just about anything.  It is a delicate time in the garden to have a toddler stomping on everything so there was a lot of  'watch where you're treading' coming her way.  After finally giving up on trying to ride in her trolley, the watering can provided much needed entertainment. Finally, to get the seeds in the ground! In went some carrots, shallots, sugar snap peas and snow peas.  I think if the Monkey had her way, the whole garden would have been full of snow peas.

All in all, something was certainly achieved:

• four hours outside in the sunshine!

And so the Vege patch begins

After many months of remaining idle on our block of land trying to get plans through and the building started, we have started a new project!

A grand vege patch at the very top of our block. My hubby commenced this project with the ambition of keeping our young daughter outside in the garden as well as being to start enjoying the land and space which we are growing to love. In amongst all the trials of building a house (or not building at this point) the new Vege patch provides us with something that we have created ourselves to put our stamp on block.

The soil for the Vege patch came from a contact who was looking to get rid of some fill. Although there is some rubbish in the soil and a number clayey patches, all 30 tonnes of it was brought in and loaded in the Vege patch for next to nothing. Considering the driveway access to this part of our block is barely negotiable in the wet and we didn't have to lift a finger, it was a bargain! There will probably be considerable effort involved to get the soil into tip top shape, but soil from a landscape yard would have cost ten times as much. Although I don't think I'll be enthusiastic enough to improve the soil if we get some good yields from the plants.

On the weekend, we finished off the mulching and built the first trellis pyramids for future peas, beans and tomatoes.

We have kicked of the plants with some seedlings from a nursery at Ourimbah - $10 for 10!

Our first plants are:
capsicum, dill, rocket, thyme, coriander, cauliflower, sage, oregano, and chives.

The capsicum was the Monkey's choice as mummy is not a fan!

We have also created somewhat of an orchard along the back fence. The winter sun in this position is limited so it will be interesting to see how the plants manage. The previous owners left us with a lemon and orange tree, and we now also have an olive, mandarin and Tahitian lime.

With many hours of procrastination of the weekend, I have also finalised an order through my sisters Diggers club membership. Over the next few weeks and months our vege patch will expand to include potatoes, beans, snow peas, sugar snap peas, corn, zuchinni, shallots, carrots, rhubarb, spinach, tommy tomatoes, peanuts, beetroot, pumpkins, watermelon, rockmelon and a bay tree.

Although I have had vege patch in the past, it was about a tenth the size and I am excited about the prospect of having a plentiful supply of our own veges and fruit.

Nothing to something mantra:

Nothing:

• bare garden heartily growing onion weed
• many hours spent indoors on the weekend due to lack of space around the outside of the house and lack of motivation
• all our fruit and veges coming from the fruit shop every week

Something:

• a fun outdoor space to enjoy as a family
• a project which creates a sense of ownership and belonging at our new block
• lots of learning experiences for the Monkey
• reducing our ecological footprint
• scrumptious supply of fruit and veges!