A year in my garden #7.....

 

The weather has not been kind to anyone anywhere in New Zealand ... We've had the wettest winter on record and Wellington where I live has been the wettest main centre in the country (especially at my house) ...

We've had 2 months running where every weekend has had rain..Often downpours... 

My poor veggie garden .... 

On coming back from holiday we found the two planted raiseed borders were little more than muddy ponds .. Full to bursting with rain water and a puddle at a corner ... My fault of course We built the frames on top of clay and me wanting perfection in everything had built the frame onto the clay base with no gap for the water to escape ... Even the corner joins held firm ... You can be a little too perfect in these things apparently ... I had built the borders with a slight slant to let gravity take the water down hill, but then the water couldn't escape ...

I grabbed a pick-axe and drove it into the line between wood and clay and they emptied slowly over 24hrs ...Fortunately we've had some fine days with a dry wind and the soil has returned to how it should be ... The vegetables were surviving ... but we lost a cabbage or two where the water had rottet the stems...    

Bugger

So while building the 3rd border we've been less caring in our construction...  I've not dug into the clay so much and before starting to fill the frame I've roughed uop the clay (more crumbly where the 3rd border is ) .... 

So it will look rather higgledy piggledy  by we've done them all ... But so what - I'd rather have the veggies to eat thank you than a showcase set of raised borders ... In any case by we get the pots up there and the silly ornaments (I think a gnome or two might make their home up there :O)  AND A SCARE CROW McD !!! - YOU PROMISED !!!! 

Ahem...  -So by we have all that up there plus our monster sized vegetables filling raised boders to the limit ... Should look quite good I hope ...... :O) 

 

And then on getting back from holiday I fould the seed potato I'd bought and stored in the garage under the house ....It had sprouted big time .... The Jersey bennie were sporting some pretty impressive shoots and roots on them ... Even the two lots of purple Maori potatoes had taken off .... 

So 3 large buckets and a dustbin later (the borders aren't built yet cause of the weather) I at least have some planted ....The bucket/dustbin trial last year was reasonable successful in producing a good crop.. And tasted fantastic straight from soil to pot within minutes .... Moari potatoes should do very well in buckets needing the warmth .. I hope so ....

And of course what happens having had a fairly warm (albeit wet) winter!!  I plant the spuds and two dats later the weatherman is warning of frosts !!!!   AND - He Was Right !!!!

So there's me and McD tucking in the potatoes and the few Broad Beans just started to show in at night with newpaper Blankets ...!!!! ... But at least the frost was kept away from them ..... A heavy frost too as the neighbours roof and the back of the car protruding out from the carport were covered in frost ....... 

I've a pile of seeds to start planting ... But will have to wait another week or two for that me thinks ....... 

 

And then McD came down with a horrible sore through and Cold/Flu last week.... I got it by Friday... Today (Saturday) it turns out to be a beautiful dry Saturday Ideal for building more raised borders and filling them with compost/soil .... AND WE"RE ILL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I still got out and did a bit ..McD telling me off and calling me a fool for trying ... And typically my second trip up the steps to deliver a bucket full of soil to the 3rd border and I pull a calf muscle ..... And that put an end to that ...... 

Aprt from the lecture and rolling of eyes from McD as I limped back in of course ..............

yes I know Sweets ... I'm not 25 any more .... .

BUT in my head I still am !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :O)