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Garden update - April 2014

Like I said in my April Farm Update post, March was mostly hot and dry, with a 100 mm rain in the final week.  I continued condensing the garden into a smaller area to make the most of the grey water and planned for continued dry times.  Before the rain we didn't have much to harvest, a few large tromboncinos, lots more chillies (even though I've not been watering the chilli bushes), kale and a few herbs.  And some carrot seeds.  Now of course everything is green and growing again!  I took all these photos before it rained, so I'll show you the green next month :)

the March harvest basket

I had access to lots of mulch in the form of hay that our house cows wasted, so there is now a nice thick covering on the garden in all the areas that are not actively growing anything.  I have found that the water is absorbed more effectively if I dig small holes around the the plants I want to keep and water straight into the holes.  Kind of like mini garden swales.
mulch on the bare areas
the green end - the herbs

I have been thinking that I need to make better use of the small area that we are watering, and I should really plant some root vege seeds there.  Usually in winter we don't get heaps of rain, but we don't get the hot days and evaporation rates that we've had over summer either, and sometimes the grey water is even too much and the soil gets too soggy, so I'm HOPING that we will be able to use more of the garden gradually as the weather changes, but in the meantime, I think I need to use the small area that we have more effectively.

The few things that ARE growing, are the tromboncinos, the high-priority hebs, and the rosellas (very slowly).

rosellas forming

basil flowers

So in April I am planning to plant a few root vege seeds - carrot, radish, beet, swede, maybe some peas and broad beans.  I'll continue mulching and building up the soil.  I will harvest what I can and keep the herbs going.



How was your garden in March?  What are your plans for April?

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Comments

  1. UnknownApril 7, 2014 at 8:14 AM

    The hay is great isn't it? The rosellas are gorgeous. What are they? I have not seem them before. I hope that you have a great month.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sunnybrook FarmApril 7, 2014 at 10:05 AM

    You have adapted to the dry conditions, do you get more rain later in the year? I have lots of old hay and I put it around my tomatoes and let them spread out on the ground as I think that they don't lose as much moisture as they do when staked up in the heat. I have not seen any tests of this but it reasons that there is less air flow closer to the ground. So far I have just planted potatoes and beets, it is too wet here of all things.

    ReplyDelete
  3. OckduspockApril 7, 2014 at 12:01 PM

    Yah for the rain Liz! It'll be interesting to see the difference it makes :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. EmmaApril 7, 2014 at 3:25 PM

    I love your idea of pouring the water into little holes around the plants. Must try that! It's been really dry here and my little lemon and lime trees are getting dried out. But I'm going to replant them into big pots anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brenda @ 13 AcresApril 7, 2014 at 6:43 PM

    Oh i love the look of your garden and that herb garden is amazing…I'm quite envious as I've only got parsley and basil…must get onto some other herbs I think. And I've never seen a Rosella plant before…it looks beautiful x

    ReplyDelete
  6. MerrynApril 8, 2014 at 11:23 AM

    It is wonderful to see a Rosella bush producing. I can't grow them here and they are so pretty. Your herbs are gorgeous and it is all so well tended. Hay is brilliant and do you cook with the tromboncinos much? :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. lizzie {Strayed Table}April 8, 2014 at 12:17 PM

    Oh, I am so glad you got some rain too. Will love to see how green you place is next blog post. I find that thick mulch is a savor in my garden to keep as much moisture in as possible - the Queensland sun can be rather harsh. We also had some sneaky northerly winds come through in March which dried out a few things too. Good luck with the competition.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownApril 9, 2014 at 7:30 PM

    Thanks for all the comments, I'll answer your questions about rosellas and tromboncinos next month....

    ReplyDelete

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Thanks, I appreciate all your comments, suggestions and questions, but I don't always get time to reply right away. If you need me to reply personally to a question, please leave your email address in the comment or in your profile, or email me directly on eight.acres.liz at gmail.com

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