It’s been over two weeks since my last post so I’m thinking its time to post an update and pics. Lots of little things going on and 1 or 2 bigger projects too.
Two new deliveries of plants came in ranging from established plants down to seedlings, and most of these are now planted in new homes. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the right spaces for them. I really should stop the impulse plant buying.
I’ve also continued making progress on rescues of last years plants in various stages of neglect. In some cases I’ve had to give up on some plants as lost causes which is something I have trouble doing. I’ve also recently noted that despite the enforced neglect, some plants have gone extremely well all by themselves.
Some of the new plantings include vegie beds for summer – old ones ripped out and new beds put in including eggplants, capsicums, some more tomatoes and a vertical garden of chillis. Brassicas that were a dud again – I really don’t do well with them – have mostly been pulled out now. Still keeping the Kale in, which went OK, but I haven’t got room in my fridge/diet for it right now. So we’ll see if it lasts a bit longer so I can eat some of it before it gets composted. I have some seeds of a new type to put in to replace it.
Pond developments – I readjusted the covers again as there was barely any sun getting on the front of the pond, which is not helpful to my use of solar gizmos for aeration. Not sure if I mentioned in the last update but the frog calls stopped abruptly, which was sad. I was worried I’d caused it as it happened the same day I pulled the big tarp out of the pond a few weeks ago. But in better news, a few nights ago, the familiar sound started up again each night. Very pleased about that.
Also in the pond, I put some seedlings of water cress in a makeshift floating island which seems to be doing very well already. And in really good news, the water has started rapidly clarifying – there’s no longer even a hint of green about it, its now a definite brown, and clear enough that you can see a lot of the goings on beneath the water. Even the bottom in places. This in turn has allowed me to see baby leaves springing up from some of the water lilies that had seemed to have died. I also received some water lily seeds which I’m trying to germinate as a little side pond project.
I do need more water in the pond – I’m fairly sure it isn’t leaking, but it does have a tendency to evaporate, and you’re not supposed to put tap water in due to the chlorine/fluorine (I forget which it is). We’ve got a rainy period just starting so I’ve peeled back the shade cloth for a few days to try to capture some rain. And since I’m not using the inflatable pool yet (I really did put it up too early), I could allow it to go a little green to show its chemical free, then transfer water from it to the pond using a very large bucket. Still not sure about that plan though.
The biggest project started with a decision to restart doing my own lawns. My lawnmower guy has become less and less consistent in turning up, and I now haven’t seen him for months. So I dived into the world of battery powered garden tools. This is apparently a rapidly expanding market now, with various brands having ranges of tools where you can swap Lithium battery packs between different tools. After careful consideration I went for the cheapo Bunnings brand Ozito. I talked at length with a Bunnings guy and he mentioned they have a 5 year warranty and ‘no questions asked’ replacement policy. I’d also heard mention of this online so it sold me, given how much cheaper they also are compared to other brands and the otherwise similar specs. I’m very happy with the performance of the mower I got. The snipper could be gutsier but it does the job. And according to Ozito they have other tools in the works for the range. I’ll consider a chainsaw once they have one, for example.
Anyway, this led to the aforementioned bigger project when it dawned on me that I didn’t really have a good place to store the mower in particular. I do however have a bit of spare room in the front yard, so figured I’d take on another shed build. Much researching and umming/ahhing later I order one and promptly discovered it was a bit bigger than I really have room for. This just means I need to do some reshuffling of the front yard to fit it in. Lots of factors play into it, but eventually I got it planned and have begun. The basketball hoop has been move to make way for the greenhouse which has been moved to make way for the shed. I’ve also put up formwork and laid sand for a level base. I’m trying hard to do it properly this time (unlike some of the plastic sheds I’ve built on less than level ground in the past). I’ve ordered a wooden foundation kit, so no need for a concrete slab, and am close to being ready for it when it gets here. Hopefully the dogs don’t destroy my nice sand base before then.
Lots of pictures taken through all the above stuff and probably more I’ve forgotten, which will be in the gallery below with comments.
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