The back garden... before and during...

Well it finally happened... its time to lose a lot of the grass and put in the pavers so Rex can run around like a pork chop without making mud!  No matter how much I walk him he still has energy to burn!  So the boys and Chris helped me move the *very* heavy garden beds into the Alfresco Area... fast food? lol... they were looking a little the worse for wear this morning as it looks like the dogs went exploring but oh well!

While moving pots out of the way in readiness for the paving I took the opportunity to get pictures so humour me!  The Dwarf Pomegranate is flowering and happy. The seed area is showing lots of signs of life.  The Pepino is showing appreciation of its new pot although I am thinking of putting it out the front in the garden bed I started expanding today.... ohhh the possibilities!

In the pot is Horseradish which has come back with a vengeance.. again I am considering popping this into the garden bed out the front.  The radish you can see is going to flower (I like to leave several to do  this to get seeds) the bulb is now inedible as its wider than a cup and would need a saw or axe to get through lol.  The potatoes I planted in the Azalea mix have come up and are looking well so heres onward and upward in this little experiment.  

The Strawberries are covered in green fruit even though they have fruited all winter (at a diminished rate).  Where we moved the vege beds from is looking a little rough but the radish is in flower along with a carrot.  I cannot wait until tomorrow to see how this bed cleans up with an edge.

See the state of the lawn?  The mud is UNDER the alfresco ... yes great job of the builders / landscapers... it was never going to grow, especially with dogs and kids!  Look at the border that I dig out every 3 months.... NOT ANY MORE *insert happy dance here*.  So these were taking last night... and below is this afternoon:

 We are going to have to clean the old pavers lol... see that wonderful edging?  THAT right there is most exciting for me... I can mulch and it will stay in the bed! I can build up the soil and it will stay in the bed!  Best of all... Rexy can run around like a pork chop and be happy rather than sinking deeper and deeper into the dirt!

Now I have to *wait* until tomorrow for it to be finished... woo hoo!

Happy Gardening *hugs*

Sarah

Hydroponics Strawberries and Rhubarb!

After cutting back the self seeding rocket I was able to get some pictures of the sumptuous 

 The Rhubarb is looking healthier than my 2 year old Rhubarb in the ground and this has been in less than 6 months!  Some of the stalks are looking good enough to eat!  The oregano is so prolific you can barely see the pipe in places!

Grand Pop's Tomatoes... well lots of the leaves have browned and gone crunchy but lots more are growing.  LOTS of fruit are coming in and so far so good... NO blossom end rot! :-D

That's it from the hydroponics side of things for today as the rest of the garden is in need of attention!

Happy Gardening *hugs*

Sarah

Catching up!

We are back and my tummy bug seems to have finally disappeared (thanks to lots of fresh veges from the garden)... so here is an update of our busy week or so...

 Curly Parsley for potato salad... filled the draining board and didn't even make a dent on the supply in the hydroponics! Can't get fresher than this.  Picked today, made today, eaten today.

My poor Tangelo is starting to bounce back!  Only ONE of the original leaves left *but* we have flower buds *and* new leaves!  Woooo Hoooo so happy for the little tree... I thought for sure it was a goner!  I heard one junior gardener name it Groot ;-)  So I think it's going to make it hehe.

 "Groot" in its new home... along the fence between some lovely looking globe artichokes which will provide some lovely shade across the roots come summer.

 My IBC got an opening cut in it by T so we can access the fish and pump - this is for the aquaponics across the back fence... B cleaned the IBC with the hose with help from neighbourhood kids - its exciting!  It was then helped over the fence by DH and by a great neighbour... I can't wait to get up and running now!

 

My lemon tree is going to need some more trace elements by the look of the old leaves but there are LOTs of new purple leaves pushing their way through!
 The Mandarine has made itself at home in the front and has pushed out some lush green leaves at the top!  I love spring.

Speaking of spring... the Mulberry Bush has Sprung!  Not only leaves but baby berries!!  The boys are already claiming them... although for now they are being guarded by a praying mantis... we are finding more and more of these useful critters... more please!

 We picked the last of the dwarf pomegranates today... while the plant has buds emerging!!!

 My dwarf Cherry still has not sprung but I did scrape under the bark and it is still green so hopefully it is just having a late start after a late finish!

 The horseradish on the other hand has leapt into spring full force... I am wondering if I might need to pop it either into the ground or into a bigger pot!

 The mint has come back and looks like it never died off in winter even with copious picking - going great in my salads and I have another giant radish getting ready to give me more seeds!  The dragon fruit cutting and mango from Cyrus are starting to give me a little growth... fingers crossed they like their new homes!

My fig cutting is showing tiny glimpses of green and the cameron apple (pepino) has not only flowered but set fruit!!!

I think my seed bed might need thinning out!!   Leeks, brassicas (yes I know its too late but they went in anyway - if nothing else we will get some loose leaves for salads/stir fries out of it.)  Rocket and salad mix.

 This seed bed is my 3+ years out of date seeds packets.. pak choy,  tatsoi and mizuna are pretty tough!  These have already had some leaves picked for our salads... I am thinking I may need to start putting them into cups for the hydroponics waaaaaay sooner than I had anticipated!!!

See the big potato plants on the right of screen?  I didn't plant those lol... B did... mine are the "dwarfs" on the right... Junior gardener B certainly has inherited his green thumbs and fingers apparently from Great Granddad, Granddad and Pop x.

The base of the IBC... I think this is where my IBC is going to live with fish in it... then the fence you can see (14+ meters) will have 4 levels of pipes with NFT aquaponics growing... on the right you can see some of my other seed trays.

A quick scavenge around the front gave us a good handful of Cape Gooseberries... it's always a gamble whether there will be any... DH, T, B and neighbourhood kids all love them and are often found foraging!  I love knowing they are all enjoying the garden and its bounties! 

Vege Monster!  Grrrrrr!

 
Speaking of happy harvests... We had a "garden monster" invade the kitchen after we picked and washed the salad ingredients!  (the signs says GRRRR!") lol its great with the kids involved in the garden!  Vege monster is made of Spinach; Nasturtium leaves and flowers; Rainbow Chard and Silverbeet; Mixed lettuces; Kale; Pomegranate; Parsley; Common Mint; Basil Mint; Chocolate Mint (that is soooo not oregano hehe); Oregano (yes that one is!); Native Violet flowers; thyme; coriander; dragons tongue beans; radishes; purple king beans; and cape gooseberries!  This added with a cucumber and two capsicums (from the shops) gave us enough salad for a week with a few top ups!

Speaking of Top Ups... it's Father's Day here in Australia... so B bought these in for Dad! <3  Now the strawberry have given the boys lots of entertainment... lots of giggles and lots of "butt" jokes! (best minion impressions go here!)... life is good.

Last but not least... the boys tea tonight... more of that never ending "Monster" Salad... potatoes from the garden and pork chops... (and if you look on top of my fridge a row of salt lemon pickle!)...

Happy Gardening *hugs* Sarah