elegant days in the garden

Don't forget to take time to smell the flowers!

Mrs. Benjamin F. Russell

Acid soils? Your best vegetables choice.

Potatoes will help to break up the soil, while pumpkins, as we know will grow anywhere! Cucumbers are another good choice for clay soils. Both pumpkins and cucumbers have separate male and female flowers, but only the female flowers will develop fruit.

Beans are another good choice for clay soil as they make use of the nitrogen from the atmosphere and will greatly enrich the soil. And number five on our plant list for clay soils is sweet corn.

At the same time use a clay breaker such as Gyp-Life™ , Nutri-Gyp™ Natural Gypsum or Life-Force Base Blend™ , a living fertiliser to restore productive life to unproductive soils.

T he introduction of the “clay buster” in a liquid form such as Gyp-Life™ allows

 ease of application and more precision in placement. A high-analysis source of 

micronised natural gypsum combined in a free-flowing suspension with fulvic acid. 

The soil conditioning capacity of gypsum is dramatically magnified with the huge

 increase in surface area associated with a tiny 5 micron particle size.

bringing in the harvest!

We have started to harvest the first vegetables from our raised garden bed! It was with more than a little pride and a lot of bragging that I cut a bok choy and a lettuce late this afternoon. I had to hurry a little as a storm was coming in, with the full lightning and thunder chorus, but it was been weeks since we have had any rain, so it was a welcome sign. It did rain, but not as much as we would have liked. Maybe more tomorrow.

We had the bok choy for dinner tonight, and the lettuce will be part of my lunch tomorrow. Fresh, organic loveliness!

Managing microbes in your soil.

Conventional gardening is an input driven system. The accepted wisdom is to apply an unbalanced fertiliser to an unbalanced soil to help sustain a state of imbalance, which will then require constant chemical intervention. This serves no one except the chemical companies.

Success in gardening is more knowledge driven than input driven. Once we accept that there is a direct relationship between nutrition and pest and disease pressure, then we can look to the causes rather than just treating symptoms.

Pride, satisfaction, purpose and passion is what makes gardening a pleasure. Gardening with nature is exciting, and rewarding.  It is simply fascinating!

The most basic requirement for a healthy garden is to have healthy soil.  Healthy HUMUS! If organic carbon (humus) is declining then your garden and its plants will struggle as well.

So what is organic matter, this humus? Soil tests measure organic matter, and a rough organic carbon equivalent is derived by dividing the organic matter figure by 1.7.  In actual fact, the organic matter, as measured on most soil tests, is actually a combination of three different materials – raw organic matter, effective humus and stable humus.

Raw organic matter consists of plant or crop residues, manures and a variety of decomposing  organisms. It has a valuable function and it provides food for microorganisms  but it can create nitrogen lock-ups, as the nitrogen is tied up as protein in the bodies of the microbes doing the work.

Effective humus is the next stage in the decomposition process. This material contains a large percentage of fulvic acid. It is a dark brown, colloidal material which increases cation exchange capacity and reduces the loss of leachable anions. Effective humus provides nutrients to microbes  as it decomposes and it is a storehouse of beneficial microbial metabolites including hormones, vitamins and antibiotic substances. At this point though, it is not a stable habitat for microorganisms.

Stable humus is the completed product. It consists mostly of long-chained humic acids or humans bonded to clay particles. It is now a homogenous material which is resistant to chemical action. The dark brown colour improves heat retention by the seed and it acts like a carbon filter, protecting plants and microbes (and eventually humans) from toxic substances. Stable humus provides long-term nutrient storage and it is the principal of microbial habitat. 

Link : Life Force Home Range 

canary in the coal mine

Once you start loving nature not in the abstract but as particular thing, you can't help wanting to do something. And because birds are everywhere, on every continent, they are such a good measure of whether an ecosystem is healthy. So if you try to do something for them, you end up doing something for the whole ecosystem.

Jonathan Franzen, author  and birdwatcher,  Weekend Australian Review, August 6-7, 2011, p6.

Franzen's words are incredibly true. I know that since I have grown older and my connection to the earth and nature has deepened that I view my world differently . I care more, and I appreciate my environment more. I nurture it more.

We have a garden that is a happy haven for birds, and without a domestic cat in residence, the birds are safe in the tree branches. In recent years, I have really experienced some wonderful moments, watching the birds in our garden. Even as I lie in my bed, I can watch birds in the tree branches outside the window. Better than any stress medication!

Graham Pizzey  suggested the following trees for Australian gardens:

Eucalypts: These trees often have hollows in their trunk or in branch forks which provide shelter and nesting sites for many birds. Some eucalypts especially attractive to birds include:   E. planchoniana - medium-sized tree to 25m which attracts birds with its cream-coloured flowers. E. pyriformis - small tree with large and heavy red or yellow flowers. Grows to 5m.

Banksias: Most banksias are found to be attractive to birdlife especially to honeyeaters. There are banksias that will grow in most parts of Australia. Some examples are: B. 'Giant Candles' - a cultivar with large orange flower spikes which can grow to 40cm in length. B. spinulosa - a smallish shrub to 1.5m with orange-yellow flowers. It is often laden with flowers in winter.

Grevilleas: Many species of grevilleas are highly attractive to birds because of the nectar produced by the flowers. Some of these include:  Grevillea alpina - shrub to 2m which has flowers present for most of the year except autumn. Best in cooler zones, particularly southern Australia. G. asparagoides - prickly shrub to 1m which also makes a good screening plant. G. beardiana - a small shrub (to 60cm) with clusters of red flowers. G. 'Boongala Spinebill' - honeyeaters are very attracted to the red toothbrush-like flowers on this sprawling shrub.

G. 'Honey Gem'

G. 'Honey Gem' - a tall shrub with apricot flowers. Grows to 6m tall. Excellent plant to attract native, nectar feeding birds. G. 'Ivanhoe' - a dense shrub good for screening. Has attractive foliage and red flowers which feature for most of the year. G. robusta - the silky oak, a tall growing tree which flowers in spring with golden nectar-laden flowers. This tree is too large for a small to medium garden. G. shiressii (Mullet Creek grevillea) - shrub to 3m with blue-green flowers during winter and spring. 

link

a smorgasbord

creator unknown

John William Waterhouse

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -- Lao Tzu

Land Girls by Dunbar circa 1941

August: vegetable planting guide – Australian zones

August planting – Australian zones

Subtropical and warm temperate climates planning guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowroot

Artichoke (Globe)

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beetroot

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Celery

Celery-stem taro

Chicory

Chilli

Chrysanthemum greens

Coffee

Cucumber

Eggplant

Egyptian Spinach

Garden Sorrel

Hibiscus Spinach

Horseradish

Jicama

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangel wurzel

Nasturtium

Okra

Perilla

Peruvian parsnip

Pineapple

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Radish

Rocket

Silver beet

Surinam spinach

Sweet potato

Taro

Tea

Tomatoes

Vietnamese mint

Warrigal greens

Water spinach

Watercress

Yacon

Zucchini

Tropical climate planting guide

Amaranth spinach

Arrowhead

Arrowroot

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Beetroot

Capsicum

Carrots

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery

Celery-stem taro

Chicory

Chilli

Chrysanthemum greens

Coffee

cucumber

Eggplant

English spinach

Garden Sorrel

Hibiscus spinach

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangel wurzel

Nasturtium

Okra

Pineapple

Potatoes

Pumpkin

Radish

Rocket

Rockmelon

Silver beet

Strawberry

Surinam spinach

Sweet corn

Sweet leaf

Sweet potato

Taro

Tea

Tomatoes

Vietnamese mint

Warrigl greens

Water spinach

Yams

Temperate and cool climates planting guide

Artichoke (Globe and Jerusalem)

Asian cabbages

Asparagus

Broad beans

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Celeriac

Celery

Chicory

Endive

French sorrel

Garden sorrel

Garlic

Kale

Kohlrabi

Onions

Parsnip

Peas

Radish

Rhubarb

Spinach

Swede

Tomatoes

Dry Temperate (Mediterranean) climate planting guide

Arrowroot

Artichoke (globe)

Artichoke (Jerusalem)

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Celeriac

Celery

Endive

Garlic

Kale

Kohlrabi

Mangel wurzel

Moringa

Onions

Peas

Perilla

Radish

Rhubarb

Silverbeet

Spinach

Swede

Turnip

Watercress

Semi-arid and arid climates planting guide

Arrowroot

Artichoke (globe)

Artichoke (Jerusalem)

Asian cabbages

Asian salad greens

Asparagus

Beans

Beetroot

Broccoli

Cabbage

Capsicum

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery

Chicory

Eggplant

Garden Sorrel

Garlic

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangel Wurzel

Nasturtium

Onions

Peas

Perilla

Peruvian parsnip

Radish

Rocket

Silver beet

Squash

Strawberry

Swede

Tomatoes

Turnip

Watercress

Zucchini