Jun 2007
The good compost
17 June 2007 21:14 Filed in: Construction
There's not been much progress this week; between B
being sick and some sequencing issues nothing much
has actually got finished.
The compost bins did get their interior paint job, so they're finished and I moved the compost from the old bin to the new.
Now that the old compost bin has been removed the slope can be graded, the chicken mesh can go up and then the trellis. That will allow me to plant the raspberry and boysenberry beds as well as hopefully the chicken run.
Another small step was the finishing of the pergolas (and the repositioning of the Chinese gooseberries) and the framing for the bridge and board walk.
Now that the framing is done the liner can go in, then the bog garden, pump and waterfall, then the planks on the bridge and boardwalk.
So hopefully this week will see lots of completion!
The compost bins did get their interior paint job, so they're finished and I moved the compost from the old bin to the new.
Now that the old compost bin has been removed the slope can be graded, the chicken mesh can go up and then the trellis. That will allow me to plant the raspberry and boysenberry beds as well as hopefully the chicken run.
Another small step was the finishing of the pergolas (and the repositioning of the Chinese gooseberries) and the framing for the bridge and board walk.
Now that the framing is done the liner can go in, then the bog garden, pump and waterfall, then the planks on the bridge and boardwalk.
So hopefully this week will see lots of completion!
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I ache
10 June 2007 20:21 Filed in: Construction
As well as the vege garden I also planted the
blueberry and kitchen herb beds this week. More
excitingly I put the chook house together!
I have to admit it was kitset, so lots of screwing things together and a certain amount of swearing, but nothing truly clever. The only problem has been that all of my screwdriver muscles hurt.
I'm pretty sure there's enough room in the back corner for a straw bale and there's definitely enough room for chooks!
I have to admit it was kitset, so lots of screwing things together and a certain amount of swearing, but nothing truly clever. The only problem has been that all of my screwdriver muscles hurt.
I'm pretty sure there's enough room in the back corner for a straw bale and there's definitely enough room for chooks!
The veges are in
09 June 2007 21:57 Filed in: Planting
Today I planted the vege gardens; the soil is in,
they're pretty safe from harm, so K's agreed I can
plant them this weekend.
As you can see the stepping stones haven't arrived, so there's spare macrocarpa standing in. The seat and handrails are also still to come, but the seeds and seedlings are in! I enjoyed all the measuring and counting and lining things up – I'm sure they'll get messy over time but right now they're very precise.
I planted:
As you can see the stepping stones haven't arrived, so there's spare macrocarpa standing in. The seat and handrails are also still to come, but the seeds and seedlings are in! I enjoyed all the measuring and counting and lining things up – I'm sure they'll get messy over time but right now they're very precise.
I planted:
- Silverbeet – Rainbow Chard
- Peas – Petit Provençal
- Mesclun – Italian
- Broad Beans – Dwarf Early Green
- Lettuces
- Carrots – Mini Sweet
- Onion – Stuttgart Longkeeper
- Shallots – French Red
- Leeks
- Garlic
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Corn Salad – Verte de Cambrai
- Cress – Broadleaf
We have dirt
07 June 2007 21:50 Filed in: Construction
Mud puddle
03 June 2007 17:32 Filed in: Planting
Today has definitely been pond readiness day, sadly
pond day looks a fortnight away, but it's been good
fun.
For a start I trekked across town to buy planting baskets so I could pot all the bare-rooted pond plants today, and get everything else potted eventually. So starting with 17 pieces of sweet flag I separated them into five huge planting baskets
Potted them with garden mix and then put a layer of black gravel over the top. Then (and this is where I get to the cunning/odd bit) I put them in sets into the bath, then gradually filled the bath with water so they were completely submerged, left them for an hour, let them drain slowly and put them out on the deck.
My theory is that this has both proven that there's enough gravel to stop everything escaping once they go on the pond and given everything a proper soaking after potting.
For a start I trekked across town to buy planting baskets so I could pot all the bare-rooted pond plants today, and get everything else potted eventually. So starting with 17 pieces of sweet flag I separated them into five huge planting baskets
Potted them with garden mix and then put a layer of black gravel over the top. Then (and this is where I get to the cunning/odd bit) I put them in sets into the bath, then gradually filled the bath with water so they were completely submerged, left them for an hour, let them drain slowly and put them out on the deck.
My theory is that this has both proven that there's enough gravel to stop everything escaping once they go on the pond and given everything a proper soaking after potting.
Marginal plants
02 June 2007 18:13 Filed in: Planting
On a more cheerful note, once I made it to the house
I found several boxes of plants had arrived, so I've
spent the day sorting and checking.
There were a smallish group of herbs from Dellawood destined for the kitchen herb and gold and purple beds. The bulk were from Nikau Hill and mean that the plants for the pond are all here.
The sorting took a little effort as some of the plants weren't labelled, but all but three plants were easily sorted. They, however, are a bit of puzzle; three identical plants, one labelled Baumea articulata, one labelled Restio tetraphyllus, and one unlabelled. I'm pretty sure they are B. articulata, which I ordered, but as they're a little yellower than I expected I've emailed off for confirmation.
As well as the B. articulata, a native sedge, there as some other marginals waiting patiently for the pond:
There were a smallish group of herbs from Dellawood destined for the kitchen herb and gold and purple beds. The bulk were from Nikau Hill and mean that the plants for the pond are all here.
The sorting took a little effort as some of the plants weren't labelled, but all but three plants were easily sorted. They, however, are a bit of puzzle; three identical plants, one labelled Baumea articulata, one labelled Restio tetraphyllus, and one unlabelled. I'm pretty sure they are B. articulata, which I ordered, but as they're a little yellower than I expected I've emailed off for confirmation.
As well as the B. articulata, a native sedge, there as some other marginals waiting patiently for the pond:
- Oioi – Leptocarpus similis – a native reed
- Papyrus – Cyperus papyrus – which will screen between the bridge and the waterfall,
- Sweet flag – Acorus calamus – a whole pile of root cuttings for me to pot up, intended to keep the nitrogen levels down.
Another Friday, another obstacle course
02 June 2007 17:23 Filed in: Construction
For the third Friday in a row I arrived home in the
dark carrying stuff and the access to the house was a
problem. Worse this time was that it was unexpected –
the steps by the letter box were blocked with lumber
with no warning or explanation.
I think the explanation is probably to stop us walking on the framing for the steps that was installed on Tuesday for a concrete pour on Wednesday, to be washed back on Thursday. The limit to this explanation is that the steps weren't poured on Wednesday so, with a public holiday and all, the steps will be impassable until at least next Wednesday – nine days total. To add to my general sense of frustration no-one's actually thought to tell me what's going on, and I can't ring K to check until next Tuesday. Hmpf!
Not withstanding my (somewhat reasonable) grumpiness, there has been plenty of pleasing progress. The rest of the path has been laid, the deck is finally cut back (although the side is still missing), and the front lawn has been mostly cleared and levelling to path height has started.
I think the explanation is probably to stop us walking on the framing for the steps that was installed on Tuesday for a concrete pour on Wednesday, to be washed back on Thursday. The limit to this explanation is that the steps weren't poured on Wednesday so, with a public holiday and all, the steps will be impassable until at least next Wednesday – nine days total. To add to my general sense of frustration no-one's actually thought to tell me what's going on, and I can't ring K to check until next Tuesday. Hmpf!
Not withstanding my (somewhat reasonable) grumpiness, there has been plenty of pleasing progress. The rest of the path has been laid, the deck is finally cut back (although the side is still missing), and the front lawn has been mostly cleared and levelling to path height has started.