This little fella is a cotton tailed rabbit, just like the ones who ate all my veggies.It's alright, how could I deny someone so cute some salad greens :)
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Culprit
This little fella is a cotton tailed rabbit, just like the ones who ate all my veggies.It's alright, how could I deny someone so cute some salad greens :)
Sunday, February 8, 2009
An Absolute Beginner
When I opened this blog I had fully intended to get the vegetable garden established straight after we moved in, and my partner had volunteered to get the raised beds built in the back yard so we could start growing some crops. However, life being hectic and obstacles arising as they do this has not happened yet. It is now heading towards the end of Summer and most of the seeds I have bought require sowing in either Autumn, Spring or early Summer so I will have to wait a while longer.
I tried to grow some food crops in the ornamental flower beds in late November early December '08 but being that we are on 5 acres of bushland I ended up only feeding the rabbits! :) They even attacked my jalepino chilli plant, which I was able to nurse back to life. The only thing left is a couple of corn plants that I am growing next to the sunflowers (mainly for ornamental purposes), green globe artichoke and tomato and chilli plants I am growing in pots right up against the house...oh and some siberian watermelons. They are mostly heirloom varieties: black krim tomatoes, tommy toe tomatoes, green globe artichoke and the siberian watermelons are all heirlooms.
Why heirloom plants rather then the normal kind you buy in the local gardening store? Well basically because they have not been fiddled with by Monsanto, or any other large corporation, these varieties have been lovingly preserved and improved by plant breeders using the old methods practiced for centuries. You can save the seeds and they are fully fertile, allowing you to grow more plants from the seeds of those you ate the previous year, and also faciliating the plants completing their natural cycle with our assistence. Most plants eaten by humans are annuals who would set seed and whither naturally anyway so by eating them but also saving seed you allow them to achieve their Will on this Earth. For me, as a weirdo who talks to plants, this is important.
Also, by growing my own food organically, especially by using permaculture principles, I intend to ensure the least possible damage to local ecosystems. Furthermore, growing your own food (or atleast most of it) limits the amount of accidental deaths to animals and insects which would be otherwise unavoidable. Sooooo.....I don't have much to show but I thought I would post some pictures of what I have done with the garden so far, at least so I can keep a log of my progress in the garden.
This was what was there before the house was placed on its foundations, just grass and bushland.
After the house arrived, I planted some lillies, you can see a chickenwire guard around one of them in the far, far right of the picture.
It isn't much but you can see some garden structure emerging. I have used stone found on the property for landscaping as it is a great-looking and sustainable material to work with. You can see some agapanthas and in there as well (although you cannot see it) is some rainbow chard and I also tried to grow some lettace, rocket, basil and chervil. The rabbits ate everything but the rainbow chard, but in the end they grew very strangely so didn't get a chance to eat them before they went to seed!
Finally some reward, the cottage garden mix we scattered into the side garden bed (pictured above) comes into bloom. It is amazing what a few flowers can do to lift your spirits :)
Another flowerbed is created in the front yard. Since my partners favourite flowers are daisy types I have sown some roman chamomile, asters, feverfew, and blue swan river daisies, also mixed with some nigella in various shades (I have good memories of nigella as it grew wild in the suburbs where I grew up). I am using herbs as decorative plants which I can also use in my herbalist practices, so far the chamomile I have growing in the side flowerbed hasn't been eaten so all should go well in this regard. By the base of the tree I have planted a blue morning glory (also a good memory flower from my childhood) and a white moonflower, which should grow up the tree in time. The moonflower is very special because its flowers are large, round and white like the full moon and they open at dusk. I am assuming they are pollinated by some insect which is only active at night. I cannot wait to see them in bloom, but I did plant these plants a little late in the season as summer took a loooong time to kick in this year.
I have also put in an arch which several exotic species of morning glory will be growing over. I have sown a variety of flowering plants in the base of this arch, which I have made as a small raised bed around each side where the arch is embedded in the ground. I will be talking more about this feature of the garden in my next post where I talk about creating ritual space in your garden.
So, you should be able to tell after reading this I am pretty much an absolute beginner and learning by experience. What I lack in experience however I make up in love; my garden gives me peace and an excuse to do some heavy exercise, and as time goes on it will be a sacred space for ritual too. What more could you want! :)
P.S. Sorry the pictures are all over the place, Bloggers WYSIWYG system is terrible and I cannot be bothered with HTML right now :(
I tried to grow some food crops in the ornamental flower beds in late November early December '08 but being that we are on 5 acres of bushland I ended up only feeding the rabbits! :) They even attacked my jalepino chilli plant, which I was able to nurse back to life. The only thing left is a couple of corn plants that I am growing next to the sunflowers (mainly for ornamental purposes), green globe artichoke and tomato and chilli plants I am growing in pots right up against the house...oh and some siberian watermelons. They are mostly heirloom varieties: black krim tomatoes, tommy toe tomatoes, green globe artichoke and the siberian watermelons are all heirlooms.
Why heirloom plants rather then the normal kind you buy in the local gardening store? Well basically because they have not been fiddled with by Monsanto, or any other large corporation, these varieties have been lovingly preserved and improved by plant breeders using the old methods practiced for centuries. You can save the seeds and they are fully fertile, allowing you to grow more plants from the seeds of those you ate the previous year, and also faciliating the plants completing their natural cycle with our assistence. Most plants eaten by humans are annuals who would set seed and whither naturally anyway so by eating them but also saving seed you allow them to achieve their Will on this Earth. For me, as a weirdo who talks to plants, this is important.
Also, by growing my own food organically, especially by using permaculture principles, I intend to ensure the least possible damage to local ecosystems. Furthermore, growing your own food (or atleast most of it) limits the amount of accidental deaths to animals and insects which would be otherwise unavoidable. Sooooo.....I don't have much to show but I thought I would post some pictures of what I have done with the garden so far, at least so I can keep a log of my progress in the garden.
This was what was there before the house was placed on its foundations, just grass and bushland.
After the house arrived, I planted some lillies, you can see a chickenwire guard around one of them in the far, far right of the picture.
It isn't much but you can see some garden structure emerging. I have used stone found on the property for landscaping as it is a great-looking and sustainable material to work with. You can see some agapanthas and in there as well (although you cannot see it) is some rainbow chard and I also tried to grow some lettace, rocket, basil and chervil. The rabbits ate everything but the rainbow chard, but in the end they grew very strangely so didn't get a chance to eat them before they went to seed!
Finally some reward, the cottage garden mix we scattered into the side garden bed (pictured above) comes into bloom. It is amazing what a few flowers can do to lift your spirits :)
Another flowerbed is created in the front yard. Since my partners favourite flowers are daisy types I have sown some roman chamomile, asters, feverfew, and blue swan river daisies, also mixed with some nigella in various shades (I have good memories of nigella as it grew wild in the suburbs where I grew up). I am using herbs as decorative plants which I can also use in my herbalist practices, so far the chamomile I have growing in the side flowerbed hasn't been eaten so all should go well in this regard. By the base of the tree I have planted a blue morning glory (also a good memory flower from my childhood) and a white moonflower, which should grow up the tree in time. The moonflower is very special because its flowers are large, round and white like the full moon and they open at dusk. I am assuming they are pollinated by some insect which is only active at night. I cannot wait to see them in bloom, but I did plant these plants a little late in the season as summer took a loooong time to kick in this year.
I have also put in an arch which several exotic species of morning glory will be growing over. I have sown a variety of flowering plants in the base of this arch, which I have made as a small raised bed around each side where the arch is embedded in the ground. I will be talking more about this feature of the garden in my next post where I talk about creating ritual space in your garden.So, you should be able to tell after reading this I am pretty much an absolute beginner and learning by experience. What I lack in experience however I make up in love; my garden gives me peace and an excuse to do some heavy exercise, and as time goes on it will be a sacred space for ritual too. What more could you want! :)
P.S. Sorry the pictures are all over the place, Bloggers WYSIWYG system is terrible and I cannot be bothered with HTML right now :(
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