Spuds Away!
I’ve been impatiently waiting for the chitting to work on the spuds and decide today it would have to do (to plant the first batch – I plan to stagger planting in three parts and hopefully spread the harvest time accordingly). Guided by Helen Razer’s excellent article/tutorial (http://bit.ly/helen_spuds), I’ve used certified seed spuds, six to a planter bag, and my own mixture of light and fluffy growing media...
The Fruit Bowl
The word orchard evokes, for me, images of rows and rows of fruit trees. But there’s really no reason it can’t be something more modest. That’s what I’m assuming for, with a growing collection of fruits trees, one of each type is ample. And as I live alone, there’s no reason it won’t serve me well while also being mainly comprised of relatively small trees. I do have one (very) big specimen –...
Getting Very Berry
One of the most enjoyable minor projects in the past couple of years has been the raspberries. I picked up a couple of canes on Free cycle from someone whose raspberries were taking over. They’ve been a great success, providing a handful of fruit that first year, and a lot more than that last year. I expect them to be even more prolific this year. I haven’t really got the hang of pruning them – you’re supposed...
Plant Hospital
I’ve always been a sucker for an unwell (and hence marked down priced) plant, and recently is no exception. I currently have several rescues in progress. There’s a couple that have been in pots here at the house since before I moved in, and are finally getting some attention. Also a tree fern I found down the dead side of the house that was close to death. That got broken in the process of getting out out of the ground,...
‘Not So Lucky’ Bamboo
I have a few Lucky Bamboo plants (I believe its actually some form of Dracaena) that have been very neglected for the past few years. I had some fun with propagating them for a while (it’s ridiculously easy – put simply, cut it off and stick it in a jar of water to get a new plant). But they didn’t get watered for too long and although they are very hard to kill, I almost achieved it. So with the greenhouse on hand,...
Bulb Adventures
Something else I haven’t really played with (much) before until now is bulbs. But with the new garden I’m trying all kinds of bulby things, both edible and ornamental. I’m a big fan of anything that can be propagated by division (it just seems like such a labour-saving approach somehow). So the reputation I have read about for Calla lilies makes them irresistible to try, and there are so many varieties. I have bought...