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Tuesday, October 01, 2024

There are (were!) thirty days in September. Our rainfall for the past month was 27 mm. That is, on average, less than one millimetre per day.

So it was with a sad heart I inspected a rain-water pail from my revamped rainwater trough. Why is the water so brown?

Answer: Because on a couple of days I got busy sieving soil dug from one of my daffodil trenches. The flying dust coats everything in the vicinity, including the rainwater pails.

This is one piece of Aspen tree root that the rotary-hoe has ripped out and managed to wrap around both sides of the transmission unit.

You’re thinking “not a big deal”, but I had just ripped out a three-inch woven cylinder of root and grass. Sometimes I get pieces of lawn-mower starter cable.

This time I did just enough hoeing to snag a chunk of root, then took the photo-opportunity.

The two wheels/blades are usually on the outside of the axle, and the inner pair (not shown here) are bolted on with those stupid rubber-lock-nuts.

I decided that since I needed to strip all four wheels off, I would use just two wheels, the pair that use a spring-clip rather than needing two serious spanners/wrenches to remove.

“What’s his problem?” I hear you ask. Well, visualize this shaft with a 3” cylinder of root, rope, and stalk woven around it. Those two spring-clips are buried under a solid mat of tightly-wound (it’s a hunk of a motor) vegetation. I can’t see the spring clips until half the mess is removed, and then I have to find the loop-end so I can spring it off the pin, try to pull out the pin (use a multi-grip), then wrestle the blade wheels off the shaft.

Then finish (sharp carving knife) the mat and clay and mud from the shaft, …

I shall ask David when he gets home if he knows of an alternative pin, one that I can locate easily and just yank straight out. In theory I can then wiggle off the blade wheel and get directly to the matted vegetation.

At the end of the day (well, by 3pm) the trench was opened up and ready to receive the grass crusts from this years compost piles. After which I shall dump sieved soil over that crust and mix in a bit of compost; then I can plant daffodil and tulip bulbs.

I am thinking of placing apple-tree pots exactly twelve inches apart and using those to space the bulbs. Two daffodils and two tulips every twelve inches? Or spaced six inches apart?

Sunday, October 06, 2024

I began by carting two loads of rocks to David’s lot, returning each trip with some strapping to be de-nailed.

The dross was backing up on the mat; I reasoned that if I lifted the rack by about a foot, I would get a better fall-off, which would allow me to sieve more material before I have to stop and remove scree.

This operation flattened the rack even more, so I returned the prop to its earlier position a couple of weeks ago. This looks like a better arrangement.

Now, with the arresting sheet removed, scree drops off the end and scoots across my pathway; I can correct this.

The eastern bed is almost filled (not really). Most of the length has a layer of thatch or compost (as above) and a thin layer of sieved soil on top.

I fancy this year letting the soil settled all winter and planting bulbs as soon as the snow melts. I can leave the new bulbs in the shed to freeze and then see if they sprout.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

I have about a half-dozen containers of capsicum seeds, dating back to 2021, and separated Green, Red, Yellow, Orange and so on. Next spring I would like to plant out a half-dozen of each envelope of seeds and see which germinate and which do not. As well my belief is that Green peppers are less mature than yellow, orange, or red. That said, I should be able to pickle peppers that do not ripen (into colure) by the end of the season.

Monday, October 14, 2024

Indoor gardening began yesterday.

Today a second plant; this time three segments from one stalk of a plant I know as “wandering jew”

Each segment has a leaf node immediately before the lower end.

And the threes stalks are set in a cleaned, scrubbed and rinsed lamp bulb and hung on one of three chains that will create a curtain of greenery over the next few months.

I plan to make one plant each day, either in a lamp bulb, or in a pot using a cutting that has rooted in water.

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

I used the potato rake to dig out two of my home-made potato chits; about one quarter of these came from one plant; three quarters from the other.

There are other plants along this line, but I have to search for them.

This trial was successful: I started with two or three potatoes from a clear plastic sack at Foodland, and spent no time in hilling the chits or anything like that; just dropped them in the ground and walked away.

About four large potatoes were tossed onto the compost, having been invaded by earth-worms.

I can make potato crisps until I head off to St John’s.

Then on to a single artichoke plant. I know from last year that I can leave Jerusalem artichokes in the ground over winter, so these tubers will go into a tomato-paste and carrot soup.

I made myself a second-level apple harvester by a cut-out 2-litre pop bottle stabbed with a tapered broom handle.

Thursday, October 17, 2024

The indoor plant gardening continues apace. Yesterday I planted out my single begonia cutting; this morning I started three new stalks, still of the bright red begonia.

Friday, October 18, 2024

Three new bright-red begonia stalks started yesterday.

The scrubbed artichokes from one clump dug out two days ago.

Both the potatoes and the artichokes can sit in the vegetable drawers until I return from St John’s.