Self care by growing a garden

[Shaz51]

@Smc, @Appleblossom , @Adge , @Former-Member , @Former-Member , @myheartache , @MySunrise , @Scoo , @Former-Member , @Former-Member 

[Former-Member]

Love that one @Shaz51 💙

[SJT63]

Winter planting is in full swing at Farm SJT

Mr S managed to get about 20 minutes of digging out of his lazy a boys for 3 days in a row. First week of the hols with me, now they've gone back to mums so I can slow down in the kitchen..... phew...

Where I live we can't grow really proper winter veg but it's a great time of year for tomotoes because the fruit fly go on holidays. 20 plants planted... I puree and bottle and freeze and dry... need enough to keep us going for a year's worth of Italian food.

Also planted onions, carrots, beetroot, parsnip (hope springs eternal), peas of the shelling variety by the truckload plus a few sugar snaps, broccolini (did quite well last year) and a few assorted leafies. Radishes in between that will be done and dusted before the main plants need the space. Garlic due for action over the weekend, although it is getting late for garlic here.

We have native sugarbag bees in a brick wall. I can't get to them but they won't do any damage and continue to polinate. Getting a proper hive is on my bucket list for when I retire.

Did I mention the perpetual pumpkin. 18 months on and I cannot give the sodding things away quick enough to keep up. His boys have pumpkin in almost everything I make, sweet or savoury; thank goodness they don't know!

xoxo

[Former-Member]

@Zoe7  💙

[Zoe7]

Oh @Former-Member Thank you. It has been the hardest couple of days for us all here. I have been going in severaltimes a day to sit with him and none of us (family or staff at the vet's) can believe the change in him from yesterday - we honestly thought we were going to lose him. He is such a fighter - he tried to follow me out of his cage today but couldn't walk. It was so distressing leaving him there too but the wonderful staff have been giving me updates and photos along the way and I have him home for the night. He is sound asleep and looks comfortable - it will be a long night keeping my eye on him but I would rather him home where the vet feels he will be less stressed than having him overnight with strangers. He is my world and all signs this afternoon look much better for recovery 🤞💖

[Faith-and-Hope]

💞🦋🌷 @Zoe7 

[Smc]

Light frost predicted for tonight, so I've been spending the past few days getting things ready for it.

I'd started working on relocating my semi-portable greenhouse. I'd put besser blocks under where the re-purposed bed base A-frames would sit and made sure they were level with each other. Dug out lots of kikiyu. Bought straw bales to go around the perimeter of the greenhouse. Spent a couple of days attaching the polycarb sheets, and more or less covering the two open ends. I'll need to redo those properly. Once tonight's chill is over, the overnight temperatures for the next week are a bit "safer", so I'll have time then.

I've moved it so that it's over the beds where I have Spaghetti Squash and Cape Gooseberries growing well, but not yet ripe. Am hoping the bit of extra warmth extends their season long enough to harvest them. I've planed a small Tamarillo tree that I had in a large pot down the far end of the greenhouse, and moved six large pots that have tomatoes in them in there too. And my frost tender perennials. Last year's experience suggests that I won't be able to overwinter the tomatoes, but I may be able to stretch them out just a little longer.

My big climbing zucchini would be tricky to cover, and it's probably getting to the end of its production anyway, so I've picked all the remaining zuchs on it, including the massive one that I left to get seeds for next year. Really massive. About 3 feet long.Tomatoes growing in the garden have an odd assortment of polycarb bits, shadecloth and plastic sheet over them, and I picked off any that were starting to change colour and brought them inside. If they survive tonight, I'll give them until the next frost threatens to see what they can do, but I don't think it'll be worth trying to stretch them out beyond that.

[Shaz51]

@Krishna 

come and meet some wonderful members and gardeners @Former-Member , @Zoe7 , @Faith-and-Hope , @Former-Member , @Smc 

[Smc]

Hi Peoples.

The tomates survived last night's frost, yay! Our thermometer tells us it got to -2, not +2 last night. Brrrr..... The zucchini is looking a bit frost struck, but not quite dead yet.

[Shaz51]

The tomates survived last night's frost,-- very good @Smc 

have a lady come in once a week to do mums plants, but very slow going 

I will need to get into the gardens outside , with all this rain it looks really bad now 

have to try and get mr shaz on to it