Self care by growing a garden

[Appleblossom]

Ahhh ... a file ... now why didnt I think of that.  Goes off to sharpen secateurs. Thanks @Former-Member  Mostly there were no gardens when I grew up or .. it was a huge and managed by a gardener ... I can be pretty slow in some ways .. lol

[Former-Member]

@Appleblossom
Had a lesson on tool care at a garden club meeting some time ago.
A rub down with damp fine wet and dry sandpaper cleans metal bits, a dry rub down followed by linseed oil for wooden handles.
Keeps tools in top shape.
D

[Shaz51]

Hello @Former-Member, @Appleblossom, @Smc, @Determined, @CherryBomb

I will have to get back into gardening ,

My mum and mother in law both have green thumbs

My hubby is whipper snipping all my gardens

I love seeing the different colours in my garden but the weeds are getting higher and now the soil is growing into grass

[Shaz51]

Hello @Former-Member, I love my tree, it flowers all year long

[Smc]

@Former-Member, I am horribly neglectful of my tools. I shouldn't be, after spending out on good ones. 

Have watered the pots. It's always a good chance to check out how things are going. Between me being really down and also being away from home frequently, a few things got too dry over summer. Some are dead, some may re-shoot, some are regrowing. I was really pleased a few weeks ago when I noticed that my potted Curry Tree had sent out a shoot from its base after one of our beloved wallabies nipped out all the top growth in early springtime. I had a closer look today, and realised it had a little forest of shoots coming up from the root nodes, so I've separated off a few of them and put them into propagating sand. I'll leave the rest to grow on a bit more, maybe until next springtime. Oooh I love it when waiting pays off!

[Former-Member]

Beautiful flowers @Shaz51

'Onya @Appleblossom for sharpening the secateurs.

Even after a lesson in tool care mine too are also neglected @Smc (dare I say, a bit like some lessons in self care that I have also been given).

I managed to spray a few weeds today @Determined, don't like using too many chemicals but things are very much out of hand.

Bonus about the curry tree @Smc , is that the 'real' curry tree that you use the leaves in Indian cooking? I have a recipe for a chicken biryani; curry leaves make the dish a1.

I found a 'little gem' magnolia shooting from the base and am hoping this means it is going to be crisis proof. There is hope that another magnolia that was in the whipper snipping carnage might do the same.

D

[Smc]

Yes, it is the real Curry Tree. The fresh leaves are lovely, and not only in Indian dishes. We get winter frosts, frequently down to -3, sometimes down to -5 or 6, so it's been a little touch and go whether it would grow.

In a pot means I can move it somewhere sheltered for winter, but if I'm now going to have extra trees to play with, I'll have the option of trying a few in sheltered parts of the garden to see if they'll grow. 😄

[Determined]

@Former-Member @Smc @Shaz51 @Appleblossom @CherryBomb

You are all getting me inspierd with the gardening.

My darling would like some potted roses and one of our boys mr 12 would like a vegie garden. Will have to try get motivated and sort somthing out for them.

I need to do a bit of spraying myself @Former-Member, fence line particularly is out of control. Biggest job here is extracting the spray tank from the depths of the shed where it has been buried lol. 

[Former-Member]

Love the idea of 'square foot' gardening for veg @Determined there's a lot you can grow in s square metre which might be a good size bed for Mr 12. (potato bins that you see at fruit & veg shop make great raised beds)

[Smc]

Re. weed control- I've got a "second" garden under my care at my parent's house, which is about 400ks from our place. I'm up there roughly once every 4-6 weeks, and have been slowily winning my Dad's veggie patch back from thick, out of control couch grass with the help of some sheets of steel cladding. I clear out any obstacles and roughly pull off some of the greenery so that the sheets can go down flat on the soil. Then I weight down the edges. By my next visit, all the tops have died and the runners can be dug out. Still a big-ish job, but achievable.

I've been putting in some vegs there to see how they go under almost complete neglect...so far, not too badly. I soak the soil thoroughly two or three times in the course of planting out a section so that it's evenly moist all through and for a bit down into the soil. Plants or seeds (preferably soaked overnight) go in and are topped off with as much mulch as I can put on without smothering them. (The mulch being assorted garden prunings.) I put a punnet of tomatoes in during an October or November visit. By my early January visit they were quite big with lots of green tomatoes, and I added a row of mixed cucurbit seeds (bush pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber/rockmelon... forgotten which) and a row of bush beans. Also tossed in some other random out of date seeds. Late February, the tomatoes were ripe, and the beans and cucrbits were flowering. (The out of date stuff didn't grow.) Put in a row of sugar snap peas... will see how they're going next time I visit, and maybe add some green vegs like silverbeet and kale. Last visit I also put in a few sweet pea and stocks seeds. Not many, but it's something.

I find my trips to their house very wearing (I'm packing up for them since they've gone into aged care), and having a bit of gardening at that end helps keep my spirits up a bit. It's only a few hours work each visit, early in the morning before it gets hot. (That routine might change a bit as the weather cools down.)