DECEMBER 2007 GARDEN CALENDAR

December 2008 Garden Calendar

MY GARDEN CALENDAR

December 3rd 2008

December 2008 photos

My Garden Photos

The nights are really starting to warm now and many veggies are starting to take off, one of them is the Zucchini before this the plant just sat and stagnated.

GARDEN ALMANAC

compost making

liquid fertilizers

What is permaculture exactly - and why is it important?

A-Z LIST OF VEGETABLES AND HERBS, WHEN AND HOW TO GROW THEM.

Cucumber is now taking off, a couple weeks and it will be climbing up the wire trellis, this is another veggie planted some weeks ago but just sat and refused to grow, zucchini and cucumber are good plants to judge if summer is really here.

soil improvement

contact Lila

This is my lettuce pyramid made out of an old plastic grape container, 1. it keeps the cats and birds out while the seeds germinate, 2. its high enough to let the little lettuce grow comfortably in the first 3 weeks or so, apart from mid winter I germinate my lettuce straight into the soil then transplant, the bamboo is protecting 3 baby parsley plants from birds and cats.

I have just finished mounding up my potatoes for the last time, I use a method of digging down about 60cm taking out soil, mixing it with compost then putting back about 10 cm, laying spuds on top and then putting another 10cm of soil on top of that, then keep adding the rest of the soil as potatoes get taller, once the level of the soil is back to flush with the ground then I leave the plants to grow,...I will show you results at a later date.

Tomato's are on the way, my acid free tomato plants were put in the ground in October..

This corn was planted 2 weeks ago, this is a narrow trench by the side of my carport and gets the full on summer heat, perfect for corn, I added compost, blood and bone and sheep manure 2 months before planting.

With the onset of summer heat parsley bolts to seed, this always happens so be prepared and have your new little seedlings for the next year ready to plant, leave one parsley plant to go to seed so you have plenty of new fresh seed, plus you will be surprised how plants will self seed in the garden. (:.

The peas are really looking good, and my seeds 2nd crop I put in a few weeks ago have germinated in the ground and are 4cm high, always plant more than one lot of peas, put a few in every month over spring and summer so you have continuous supply.

Right: The wonderful bush pumpkin, it is not a spreader, instead a clumping bush type, and has a smaller, quicker producing fruit, a delight in the garden.

Left: A tomato that has rotted and gone to seed last summer has produced a clump of tomato plants which need now to be potted on and given away.

I have nearly run out of compost, bay 4... so its time to shift all areas by one bay over, as I go I add lime, blood and bone and sheep manure, what ends up in bay 4 is the most wonderful compost, rich in nutrients, I use this for growing seedlings and potting on as well as a thick layer over the garden every year, its thick with worms, and starts out as organic rubbish.

Masses of flowers and buds are forming on my capsicums, which I have had in the same spot for years, never treat capsicums as annuals they are in fact perennials.

Excess vegetables that I gave away last Sunday, the amount of food that is grown in the garden is far more than I can use, I enjoy the growing and am lucky to have grateful recipients of the food.

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