Finished off the basic outline of the bed today and filled it with compost. It looks good even if I do say so myself. Solved the unbending sleeper problem by not using them on the inside curve, and picking and choosing for length on the outside curve. I have also allocated a spot for a seat, though how that will be formed remains to be seen. My ideal solution would be to use a sandstone paving slab that has a worn hollow in it (I have several), but that does not seem viable given the way the compost will settled over time. So I am still thinking about it - perhaps a slatted timber seat, but then it would have spiders lurking in it ... eek!






The blunt end is a work in progress. Basically I ran out of spare stones of suitable shape and size that I could confidently use without poaching stones that I will need for the formation of the back terrace retaining wall. So I stopped there, and blocked it off temporarily with a bit of treated pine that was lurking on my heap of wood-that-may-come-in-handy.

From my back door it fairly effectively blocks views into my house from next door (or will do once it is planted up, and only during summer when things have leaves on them

The high end will have a fruit tree of some description - probably an apple, though a pear or a plum are equally appealing (will see what is not thriving down the back). My two surviving hazel nuts will be rescued (fortuately they are compatible pollinators) and the two currant bushes also. At the blunt end will be a rhubarb that I will pinch from the school garden (we split two crowns and there are more rhubarb plants than you can poke a stick at) as theirs is a vivid red-stemmed variety, as opposed to my current lot which are pale green and pink. Understorey will be oregano, strawberries, and other creeping things that I can eat and which like a bit of extra attention. I may even bung in some cabbages and such to fill the gaps till things spread out. Lavender between the rhubarb and the rest of the plantings to provide a safe landing for any washing that flaps that way (and yes I have most of this around the place apart from multiple lavenders).

The strange arrangement of cement bricks at the highest point of the wall is the beginnings of the seat.
 And obviously I will need to move the wood heap to a more suitable location so I can establish something resembling a lawn in this small space between the house and the garden bed. But that will not be happening till I get next winter's wood delivered as I would prefer to stack this year's left overs on top for more immediate use.

The rest of the cardboard bale has been wrapped in a bit of plastic (left over from bales of insulation) as I would rather it not disassemble itself if the wind picks up. Better to keep it in one piece until I have another load of this yummy compost.

This morning started in a fairly relaxed manner, filling in time till the Tip opened at 11. So I drove a star picket into the hole I have made for the post of the clothesline (there is a metal loop on the post that the picket will sit inside and provide further stability). Then I looked at my rectangular bed layout in the context of my two lessons (out of a vast number to come) on permaculture and concluded it was all wrong. The bed was across the land, but failed to take into consideration the contours of the land (obviously - sleepers are straight for a start). It was also landing alarmingly close to the area that will be over-shadowed  by the clothesline and was generally wrong.

So I shifted sleepers, bits of the remaining firewood, sheets of cardboard and so forth till I got it to the point where two higher bits of land were joined together and there was a fall of slope toward the outer curve of the bed. Eventually it ended up looking like a dumbell that has been curved in the middle (at least in my head - on the ground it looks like six sleepers in search of a pattern).

The tip opens at 11, so I headed off there, arranged for a load of cardboard to be delivered and dumped a bootload of weeds, then off to the compost farm once more. Two buckets of compost (very wet compost) is possibly more than the ute was designed to carry, so it was a fairly slow trip home to avoid bottoming out.

I got home from the tip to discover a large piece of earthmoving equipment at the bottom of the lane that forms my side boundary. It seems that they were finally sorting out the drain down the bottom which backs up and floods my bottom yard every winter (though not last winter as it was too dry). Not because I asked, but because there is apparently a fair on at the Hall and Bob (my arch nemesis, former VP to my P on the Hall committee) has decided that they will use the toilets in the Recreation grounds and that rather than directing people down the back of the hall which backs onto the Rec Grounds, he will direct them down the lane. Fair enough that is what the lane is for, but a bit of prior notice would have been nice.

So I have mowed the lane so that there is a strip of longer grass between it and my place, in lieu of a fence.


  The market is on Sunday which coincides with the Oatlands Market (great planning on his part) which means I would not normally be at home as I help on a stall in there. The absence of the ute in the yard will basically give licence to any tom dick or harry (and they are a nosy lot around here) to peer in my windows, check out my tools, poke around and pick fault in whatever I am doing and so forth. Not happy Jan. 

The aforesaid digger  was, as I said, in the back yard. They finally worked out that coming down the lane was not the best angle of approach so relocated it to the recreation ground side of things and you can see it in this photo of my gardener's delight.



The bulge of the bed nearest the tank/s will be built up into a mound that will accommodate a fruit tree in the long run (i.e. come winter when I can transplant on of the ones down in the orchard), but will probably have an artichoke on it in the mean time. The bulge at the other end will have a planting of various low-growing lavenders as it will still be under the full extent of the clothesline and be in danger of tangling the sheets if they flap out in that direction. If they get tangled in lavender, at least they will smell nice.

The mound is being built up using various bits of rock lying around in the yard as a result of my various excavations over time.


Looking at it from the other side, you can see its relationship to the existing garden down the back:



That area of compost between the tanks and the stonework is going to be a path, by the way. I will coat it, and the return between the two tanks with straw from my faithful roll bale down the back.

Anyway, that little lot took me an hour what with standing and leaning on the spade and thinking about angles and such (and how to make sleepers curve) by which time I was due at the School for a continuation of the work on their front garden. An hour and a half of chaos and I was home once more (meanwhile wondering if I should have eaten lunch at some point, it now being four o'clock) and mowed the lane (as per the first photo).

Bit weary right now, but feeling very happy as the accidental result of all this contoured landscaping is that I have created a private, green space between the house and the main yard, which will allow me to entertain my friends outdoors without being subjected to hostile scrutiny from her next door (who will be the first person to trespass to peer into my windows if I am out on Sunday).

What is more, once the fruit tree grows, it will be a private green shady spot near the back door - what more could a girl want! And the result of the curve, and the plantings, will be that any visitors to the house will also be private from peering hostile eyes! How nice is that?!

Woke to the sound of rain on the roof, but it soon cleared and I got out there and dug up a few more weeds then loaded all of them into the back of the ute in anticipation of tip day tomorrow. The tray is full to overflowing and there are bits of grass and stuff hanging down the side of the ute so it looks like a real hillbilly vehicle right now.

Pootled into town in search of potatoes but apparently they have been unable to get out into the fields so there were none available. Brought home a sweet potato instead. Then did a bit more weeding and ute-loading, established a base for the mini-greenhouse (using some of those hebel blocks I found at the tip to level it (and keep it weed-free) and came in for a cuppa.

Noticed the light level dimishing rapidly like a big cloud had passed over the sun, but when I went out I spotted the source of the problem:

Still, I had done most of the outdoors activities anyway (apart from mowing) so I stayed indoors for the rest of the day.

Watched lessons two and three of the online permaculture design course I am doing which managed to kill the balance of my download limit, but has inspired me to think about water harvesting.

I had thought about this before when I was getting the tank installed (cos I am supposed to dispose of my stormwater onsite), but it had slipped to the back of my mind. Some time ago I did make a to-scale plan for the back yard so I could work out size and placement of a new shed (come the day), so I have dug that out and will play with it, to see how best to distribute the water across the landscape. Since the soil is so soft at present with all the rain digging trenches for ag pipe and such like should be relatively easy which will mean the area closest to the house gains the greatest benefit from all this excess water, and then it can be directed to more constructive uses further down the yard. Makes a lot of sense really, especially now the soil is building up a higher organic content and will retain it for longer.

Got some mowing done this morning - at least all the bits that have been mowed down are now looking neat and orderly. Then got the garden fork out and attacked weeds. The yard is now full of divots where horehound has been removed wholesale and likewise the cranes bill that does such an excellent job of suppressing all other forms of life as it spreads out its tentacles. Almost made it through to the compost heaps - maybe next time. All that pushing, shoving, digging and heaving has left me feeling distinctly muscle-sore, so I popped into the School Garden for a more relaxing time, pouring water on my various solinacea in the polytunnel (and opening the window so some bees can come in an pollinate things and to let out the heat as the sun came out this afternoon). We are going to have to have a working bee in the next week or so as the uncultivated beds have been engulfed in nettles and they are threatening to head into seed already! Astonishing how quickly they have grown given all beds were clear for our open day on the 3rd!

The promised showers were passing through so did not disrupt activities too badly. I hope they hold off till after Friday so I can get some more compost but this seems unlikely given the forecast.

The long thin bed that is under construction may need to be relocated a couple of metres further from the house as I realised that any tall plants at the northern end will get caught on the sheets if the clothesline ever gets erected. I have also offered my place as a venue for a permaculture workshop (hopefully they will accept) which could speed things up a bit for me!

I swear those sunflowers I planted yesterday have each put out 4 new leaves overnight - they are all standing up looking very happy to be (finally) out of their starter pots and into a good growing medium.

After all this culinary extravagance you will doubtless be disappointed to hear that tonight's dinner is ovenbaked fish and chips. the down side to rural living is that the local greasy take-away closes at 5 so if you want to eat food that is bad for you, you have to either do it at lunchtime, or cook your own. Fortunately, I compensated for this vile descent into gluttony by eating a lovely home-grown salad with a small tin of salmon for lunch.

In between the two meals, and earlier in the day as well, I wrestled the six sleepers out of the heap of wood-that-may-come-in-handy and arranged them to prevent sheets of cardboard from blowing away, creating the beginnings of a long garden bed which will define the 'house' space in the back yard temporarily until I get a fence.

Then I went to the compost place for a load of compost but discovered that rain had stopped play there, and what had been produced had disappeared on a semitrailer yesterday. There was what appeared to be a tiny heap near the conveyor belt that he said I could have to nothing if I loaded it myself. It filled the back of the ute!! So that came home and was unloaded into the second small tank round that I acquired from the school, not quite filling it, but close enough when I threw in some horse poo to the mix. That is now planted up with the sunflowers that I was given and have failed to give away yet (I have given dozens away, these are the last dozen).

The intention is to use the sunflowers in lieu of corn stalks, so each plant has three pea or bean seeds beside it, and a row of pumpkin seeds has been planted across the front, to be trained either into the sunflower forest or over a trellis over the path if they persist in growing in that direction. Fortunately I have a length of reo of just the right size to make a garden arch - just need to drive in some star pickets to hold it against the wind.

That would sit between the newly created bed and the long bed that I am making out of sleepers.

The strange little thing in the pot is the two artichoke plants I aquired yesterday. They are in the middle of the foreground bed so I don't get them confused with the ornamental one. They will be a feature of the long bed which you see in the background above which, as you can see remains a work in progress due to lack of compost. The background bed is the one I filled up today. The cardboarded area will also be composted so I have a level path into the tank pump should I need to access it.

The other beds are doing OK though probably need to be weeded now before they get carried away with themselves. They are down around the septic tank if you recall, providing a retaining wall for it to keep it covered in soil. The covering has sunk over time so will also be built up with a bit more compost. What you are presently looking at is the two rectangular beds that I put in position to take advantage of the north-facing slope created when the fill was levelled. On the right is a crop of broccolini, kale, leeks, tomatoes (with some basil interplanted) and celery in the milk cartons. The strange structures are various attempts to discourage Esther and Smidgen from using the as toilets.

On the left is lettuce, more lettuce, a row of should-be-carrots that have not quite emerged yet, beans and some runner peas.

Then there is a little gap filled with a terraced bed of chives and parsley, with some tyres to create steps down, and then the tank with the brambleberry (on the right where the reo is) and more leeks (or they could be red onions, I kind of lost track at this point). Beyond that is the rhubarb and then the asparagus bed.

The asparagus bed has (oddly enough) asparagus in it which is pickable this year, but needs lots more mulching with compost to get really going. In the foreground are some broad beans. On the left two broccolini, the leeks and the rest of the apparently bare area is planted to beetroot which is hidden in the folds of black birdnetting (more esther-proofing).

Next comes the bed with the red currant in it which was engulfed in twitch and will no doubt need to have a close eye kept on it to keep it twitch-free. It contains some garlic and some red onions at present, and will house some of the red cabbages if the seeds come up. It is also enmeshed in bird netting for cat proofing purposes.

As you can see, I am not exaggerating when I say the grass in the lower part of the yard is out of control. That clump visible in this photo is taller than the tank round and the tank round is a good two feet high (if not higher). Time for desperate measures while it is still green I think. Will wait for a still day then attack with something lethal if I have not managed to get it under control by more sedate measures.

My trip to the tip today was fruitful. The man arrived with the rubbish from the local supermarket. My chief interest was the bale of cardboard boxes in the trailer (which proved to be too heavy to lift, so he will drop on off on Friday for me), but while poking around I found three cartons of free-range eggs sitting there in all their glory!! OK, the Use-by date is 26 October (which rather begs the question as to whether they were still on the shelves yesterday), but since I grew up checking eggs by breaking them into glasses before adding them to whatever it is I am doing, that is what I will do with these (if not doing a float test for the first few I use). But three dozen free-range eggs are not to be sneezed at,particularly when the rain  next weekend will probably drive me back to the oven.

Hope you enjoyed this little visit to my garden. Will keep you updated as crops progress.

It was a bit grey and miserable this morning, but this afternoon has cleared somewhat and is now downright sunny. The snails are sulking as they are unable to wander at will at present. No doubt they will be back in a few more days when the weather goes to pot once more. It will be hard to get firewood this year as it will be difficult for them to get into the forests to cut. Fortunately a few of the woodsmen are now buying in larger logs that they can cut up at home which seems to work fairly well.

The trip to Hobart was brief and relatively painless, and i was home again by lunchtime so had a big banana and yoghurt smoothie. Then out to visit a friend who had made rude remarks about my nettle soup. His punishment is that he has to eat some and comment on it!! While there, he and his wife gave me a tour of their garden which is amazingly orderly and productive given their location (a bit higher than me and prone to frost all year around). They have the entire vege garden area netted for protection from birds and possums, their fruit trees are espaliered against the house (which may cause difficulties next time they want to paint though) and their front garden is a delight to the eye. I hope they don't come visit me soon....

Left there with a box load of plants - so have now planted the aquilegia in the front garden and the jumping onion in the tank round that is planted up to leeks (or are they red onions, can't remember). A jumping onion sets new onions part way up the leaf and then the leaf bends down and it takes root, so moves around the garden that way. Apparently they are also quite nice to eat, so worth a try.

They also gave me two dill plants two artichokes, and ornamental artichoke (big purple flowers) and several other bits and pieces for the garden. All of which now have to have a home and since I have planted up all the beds I have I guess a trip to the Compost place is in order so I can finish the two beds I have planned and add a few more.

Got home and messed around with them for a bit, to make sure they survive until I have somewhere to plant them, and then got stuck into the horehound with my new gardening fork (yes new. A replacement handle for the old one was almost as much as a new one, so I went for the new one instead). All the large horehound plants that were enmeshed in the hawthorn hedge are now in a heap  in the lane awaiting the next convenient tip day, and there are still quite a few little ones to go. Not to mention the ones infesting all other parts of the grounds. Still, baby steps will get me there I hope.

Tonight's dinner is reheated lamb biriyani as I did not have the energy of inclination to cook anything else. I froze them with a dab of yoghurt per container so that they remain moist when they heat. I have found rice can be quite crunchy when re-heated....

Have to think of another lamb recipe though as there is a kilo of lamb sitting in the fridge waiting to be cooked.

Today was wet and windy to make up for yesterday, but it seems to be clearing up a bit now, so hopefully the next couple of days will make up for this horror spell. I've had the fire chugging pretty well all day as it has also be quite cold.

Condemned to indoor activities once more, I have the two mini-hothouses that I bought at the Sorell Market all planted up now. Some peat pots with aquilegias, parsnips and rainbow carrots in the more egg-cartony shapes, red cabbages, zucchini, jap pumpkins, and kohl rabi. The pumpkins and zucchini will be planted under the sunflower seedlings I have already. The idea will be the same as the corn/beans/squash planting, but with sunflowers substituted for corn which will never survive in these parts. And yes there will be beans and peas growing up the sunflowers (I hope).

Did you know red cabbage has more vitamins and stuff in it than green cabbage - and coloured cauliflower ditto - I didn't, I just thought they were for prettiness. But apparently it is the green cabbage and the white cauliflower curd that is the more over-bred variety - learn something every day.

All I have to do now is establish the bed which is the one intended to be a raised bed but which has been deferred due to inclement weather. Since I am going to Hobart again tomorrow (I know, it's really irritating) for an appointment, this will not be happening tomorrow. Tuesday, perhaps. I have more cardboard from the tip to help along with the job and since it is scheduled to resume raining toward the end of the week it should be excellent timing to get it done in the next couple of days.

There will be another pumpkin patch also - using the sleepers that are lurking in the wood headp, some cardboard and compost to fill the square they create. Should hopefully get it done in time for the next lot of rain.

Did two more loads of washing to use up excess water and trialled the pot-scrubber cycle on the dishwasher. Never tried it before. Won't bother again. It does do a good job on the pots, but takes forever and lord knows how much power it must consume with all that hot water!

Nettle soup (a different recipe) today; to be consumed with a couple of slices of last night's bread, toasted and with piles of butter I think.
It's a pretty colour isn't it!?

All nettles - positively bursting with vitamins and minerals (or so they say) and tastes good too, but I suspect that is the chicken stock, not the nettles. That and the four extra garlic cloves I threw in for good luck.

A train seems to have derailed at the station (or I assume that is what all the clunking and bumping was all about). still upright, but I suspect they have managed to damage a stretch of track. Not sure how they managed it as it is a relatively long curve into the station. But there you go. Still idling loudly across the road it seems.