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Life on two acres of arid dirt, on the edge of the Australian outback.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

this and that

Hello.

It was a lovely spring day in Whyalla when we went over on Wednesday. We had lunch at the Beach Cafe then went to my appointment. They have really nice beaches over there, a nice spot to sit and enjoy.



I came home with some plants from the garden centre. A black cherry tomato plant, punnets of strawberries and apple cucumbers. I also stopped in at Cheap as Chips to pick up a couple of things. 


What is it with these birds? They build their nests in the strangest of places. I know this one has babies because I hear them when I walk past, they are common house sparrows.


I didn't get much done on Thursday like I had hoped, most of the day was filled with visitors. It was lovely though as all the visitors were family, my three kids and the grandies.











Friday however was productive, although I had a big pile of washing to do. I find that I keep putting off household chores and instead spending the day outside in the nice sunshine. The thing with housework is, it will wait for you, and I will get to it eventually. It is not top of my priority list lol! I ended up doing the washing, vacuuming and mopping as I have a busy week coming up.

First thing in the morning I set to and re-potted a mint plant. I need to repot a few plants as I don't want them to become pot bound.


The salad lettuce is coming along nicely.


I have planted out the black cherry tomato.


Strawberries 


And Cucumbers


I buried a rotten tomato in the soil a week or so ago, hoping that the seeds would grow.  I was very pleased to see tiny life appearing.


These volunteer tomatoes are starting to look like Roma's...I think.



Hubby is not a sign maker! He grabbed an old piece of mdf board, a spray can and quickly made this sign.  He has been putting it out the front of our house for visitors to see when we are out back working in the garden. It looked rough and messy so I tried to spruce it up with some pretty touches. Its still grotty but looks a lot better than it did (I should have taken a before photo). 


Today we spent time putting up shade cloth out in the patch. 



We laid the shade cloth out in the driveway to measure and cut.



Stretched and pulled over the top. Almost finished now.


This old fridge has been placed under a shady tree to be used as a worm farm, I am hoping that the insulation will protect them from our very hot weather. The fridge still needs to be leveled and some things done to it to prepare for the worms.



 I have started to put mulch around the veggies.



I really need to find room somewhere in a bed or two for some of these rhubarb, they will grow so much better. 



I freed this bed up by removing one of the celery plants and topped it up with some horse poo, soil and slow release fertiliser.  Maybe I will put rhubarb in this one.



I wont get outside in the yard much next week. Monday and Tuesday are cleaning days, then I have another appointment on Wednesday in Whyalla (getting my teeth fixed). So looks as though it will be Thursday before I get back to it. The weather will be warm again, so that is good news.

See you soon,

xTania

10 comments:

  1. I like the sign. 😊

    I also have a volunteer tomato plant. Actually I had two, but one died.

    Hope you are having a great weekend, Tania.

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  2. Housework will wait, for sure! Give me some tips on rhubarb...I have one plant and it is sulking a bit. In a pot with great soil, in the sun....

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    Replies
    1. For the rhubarb, I use sandy soil mixed with old horse manure. They they don't like wet feet, so don't over water. I don't do anything special with them, they must just like our climate and soil xxx

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  3. Your plants look amazing, Tania. I hope it goes well for you at the dentist.

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  4. I will take outside over housework any day too, Tania! Isn't it lovely when family come to visit? We have grandparents and cousins coming this afternoon so there's a pear cake cooling on the kitchen bench; we can always find good reason for cake around here! I want to make a mosaic sign for our little front gate after I saw an article in the latest Grass Roots ... I am sure there are tiles waiting somewhere under the house for such a project, I just have to dig them out. The beach looks great in the photos. We've not been to the beach yet but hopefully soon. Your garden is so productive, all that food! Meg:)

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes I love having family pop in, always have plenty of time for them.

      Mosaics is something I want to have a go at doing. I must make a bucket list for the things I would like to try and start crossing them off. A friend of mine does beautiful mosaic work and displays it all around her garden, it looks really beautiful dotted around her yard.

      It is lovely to hear from you again Meg xxx

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  5. Oh, that looks like my kind of fun! Working/playing in the yard, messing about with plants and building structures. I hope your plants do well, this growing season with all the extra shade. Love the idea of the fridge for worms too. Vermiculture has been on my list for a while, but it's finding the right location/bin, to withstand our heat. Well done, for making the move on yours when the fridge presented itself. I hope your medical appointments are smooth sailing, like the views! Blue skies, and water.

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