My Planter box

I got lucky and found some timber in a lane way about two weeks ago. It was just the remains of an Ikea bed, so the timber is very light and not that well suited. If I paint it and line the inside with builders plastic it should last. Although I wanted a planter for the courtyard, the frame was too big, so decided to replace my pots on the patio with a huge planter, also puts a bit of a barrier to passersby as well as we don't have a front fence. I also want to brighten up this area with some intesting perennials and herbs.

I realised I've made a bit of a mistake as well. I should have used vertical boards rather than horizontal, it would have saved on timber.

The planter is also very deep, I'll get some polystyrene boxes from the local green grocer to fill the fist 20 cm and fill with some good potting mix.

Renting and gardening

Renting imposes lots of challenges for keen gardeners and like most people we can only have what we can afford. Our current house is a lot of fun, a bit rough. We have a huge Loquat tree in our courtyard which throws heavy shade to 80 percent of my garden leaving just a small pocket of light at one end. I like to sit in the outside at night to watch the stars or light a fire in the brazier, cook dinner and burn marshmallows.

The house is orientated to the west with a courtyard running down the side and without our huge tree it would be unbearably hot! We also love the birds and bats that visit the tree who chirp and squawk and spit and throw the seeds at me every time I put the washing on the line.

But the question constantly at the back of my mind is that I don't own the space so why spend the money on a garden. It's simple, you cannot put your life on hold its just a matter of adapting and doing as much as you can with the space.
 

I've carried my six large Buxus sempervirens bushes with me to three different houses with very different growing environments. As I add to my garden am haunted by the vision of having to lift them onto the back of my ute to move house and I constantly ask is it worth it. Yes, I survived every move so far and there's more to come.

At first I wanted to grow lots of vegetables and had of be happy with just beans and tomatoes. I'm growing a lot of new plants as well as rediscovering gardenias and camellias. It's definitely making me a better gardener and have my successes. I have more flowers then in previous years,new petunia cultivars flower for a long period of time and are tough. If they get a bit of wind damage recover in a few days.

Lack of space is always going to be an issue but being able to rearrange everything to suit the season and maximise light becomes a priority as the season changes. Large terracotta pots are out of the question, I have a mix, terracotta small pots and anything over 30cm is plastic. Keep things light, I know that I'll have to pack these up some day as well.

What flowered this month

July was great month for flowers, violas are a bit old fashioned but do really well.


An early tulip, we had a very mild winter in Sydney. I have pots growing on my front patio although a little scared someone might pinch them.

Geraniums remind me of Spain and they are so bright and colourful.

Cineraria look great and I've always loved these bright colours which lighten up in my shady garden.

My Acacia longifolia flowered for the first time, I'm very pleased to see it do well as I've grown it from a tube stock.


Abutilon or Chinese Lantern is very pretty and the leaves are so soft to touch.

Cycling Newtown to Port Botany

Yesterday in Sydney the weather was perfect for cycling. I left a bit late about 11 am which meant that there were more pedestrians on the cycleway. I stopped along the way to watch planes land at Sydney Airport from Kyeemagh.

I was surprised to see so many fisherman out, I would be afraid to eat anything out of these waters. It looks clean but there are many factories up stream and the airport.

Some parts of the cycle path are very narrow especially past Brighton towards Dolls Point but I accept at this time of day to go slow. And I wasn't particularly worried about speed, I never am, just want to do the distance and enjoy it. Probably about 34km. I'll take photos next time.

Bread making

This is something that I've harboured fantasies about for a long time, the smell of fresh bread in the morning etc.

I got inspired last Friday, I just had ordinary plain flour and yeast and it worked quite well. I followed another Jamie Oliver recipe which I halved as Iwas a bit sceptical and didn't want to waste 1kg of flour. The texture was perfect, colour a bit pale. I was so happy to see in the last proofing that the dough puffed up really well.

Taste, Brett didn't notice anything odd when I toasted some to go with his poached eggs the following morning.

All I need is a cow or goat, big vegetable garden and solor panels to generate my own electricity then I'll be happy.

Tomatoes

I think that I’ve learnt a bit more about growing tomatoes over the last year which was one of my toughest.

• Water to field capacity, fill all pore spaces, water should run out the bottom of the pot and be consistent.

• Limit pruning, I over pruned and they developed a bit of sun scald, also as they need to produce a lot of energy, there was simply not enough leaves to photosynthesis properly. I also got a fungal/bacterial spot which destroyed a large number of leaves.

• Good soil preparation, add some blood and bone, worm castings, well rooted compost to fresh potting mix/soil, don't fertilise too much, this can cause fruit drop and not necessary if soil preparation was good. Although regular weak applications of a liquid manure is needed for potted tomatoes.
  
  Follow Peter Cundell's advice, see Garden Australia's website. Keep nitrogen levels low compared to phosphorous and potassium.

• Add extra calcium either Dolomite/gypsum, so sprinkle a handful around seedlings.

Common problems:

• Tomato seedlings when first planted can develop Early blight, a fungal disease. I use a baking soda spray every two weeks and continue until they stop being productive.

• Whitefly, I have no control for these, sticky traps don't reduce numbers, it is more of a monitoring tool.

• Loopers/caterpillars, I use Dipel as these guys can cause a lot of damage in a single day and they are good at hiding. Spray alternate weeks to baking soda spray, otherwise each week.

• Potted tomatoes need regular weak applications of an organic fertiliser, I use Charlie Carp/worm wee as nutrients are lost when plants are watered.

• Fruit slow to ripen. I've added some extra potash to help (weak 10g to 9 litre can). I was a bit sceptical but it seemed to work but be careful too much can cause blossom end rot (disgusting black bottoms) and Potash (Potassium) competes with calcium uptake.
• Don't let smokers touch your plants, I've read that the tobacco virus may spread this way. Although no real evidence but I do live with a smoker and my plants did have spots. Thrips also carry a lot of different types of virus which affect tomotoes, consider using Natrasoap.

My red Russian and beef steak where not productive last year, a soil fungus may have been the culprit.

Projects: Wooden planter box

I thinking of trying to simplify my backyard and replace the many pots I have with a single large planter box. It would reduce water wastage, raise the plants off the ground for better drainage and light and reduce the clutter.

My poor lemon tree desperately needs some help, it is growing very slowly and leaf colour is good for now and not producing a lot of fruit. A planter box might also give me a chance to grow some more vegetables as well.

Hopefully if my poor partner can stand me making another 'mess' I start working next weekend.

Riding Lady Carrington Drive

This is an easy ride, about 21km return, through the Royal National Park. I felt a bit guilty by driving there. I usually catch the train and run in from Loftus train station but cannot do that anymore as my ankle cannot take it.

The day was perfect, there was a slight winter chill but the sun was out.

Newtown to Olympic Park

What a fabulous ride, 34 km from Newtown along the cycleway. A perfect day.

I coudn't make up my mind what I wanted to do last Sunday, I miss the Royal National Park and Lady Carrington Drive. I used to run along this track when I was training for the Gold Coast marathon about six years ago. So hopefully next Sunday.

This weekend I hope to get to Clovelly Saturday morning, its great place to swim especially in the middle to winter, lots of fish with a water temperature of around 19C.

Things to do over the next three weeks:

• Kayaking at Spit Bridge
  
• Bush walking in the Blue Mountains
• Trail riding in the Blue Montains/Royal National Park
  

Lawns: environmental necessity

I am an environmentalist but love my garden and our natural bushland however what I do for my garden does have an effect on the environment. I am reacting to another blog and some misguided opinions on the value of lawns and whether there is a negative impact on the environment. A grassed area can play an important role in reducing/slowing run off, absorbing pet wee and poo and reducing general pollution.

Faster moving water flowing over paved and hard surfaces picks up larger amounts of silt, dissolved nutrients, pesticides and other pollutants including pet wastes which enter storm water drains and waterways. The movement of water is also faster and more destructive. A small patch of grass will also cool a hot area especially a small courtyard.

In terms of maintenance, cracks between pavers tend to open up over time, pots spill their potting mix and encourage weeds. One of my clients has an enormous paved area which extends from the driveway to the entire backyard. Every three weeks I use my petrol two stroke brush cutter to knock down the weeds then follow up with a herbicide (another source of run-off).  Her lawn is a lot easier to look after.

Old mowers are terrible polluters but I use a push mower when possible (no emissions) and there are many new rechargeable electric mowers on the market. Some homeowners have been using these mowers for the last five years! Victa mowers produced an electric mower about 10 years ago but stopped production for some reason. Now they produce a machine for around $500-600 which is well out of range of the average lawn mower budget of $400.  If I had a small patch of lawn, I’d use a little rotary push mower with the brush cutter if needed.

Couch lawns are terrible, needing constant care and are still brown in December in  Sydney. Buffalo lawns grow faster but can be kept longer, are green all year round and need nothing special to keep them green.

Lawns and pastures could have a big impact on carbon reduction in the future. There is some research that indicates that lawns and grasses can take on more carbon dioxide then trees. That might have some impact on land management programs and global warming in the future as the research becomes more established.

Basically to avoid the known issues associated with lawns which have lead to the bad name:

• Avoid fertilisers with high phosphorus content and super phosphate 
• Clean up spilled potting mix/soil
• Install silt traps between your property and storm water drains
• Keep lawn aerated, increase water absorption rate.
• Don't use fertilisers on lawns, use a mulcher mower instead which drops clippings back onto the lawn
• Avoid fertilising or using chemicals if rain is expected
• Use natural remedies to control pests and diseases, biologicals, Natrasoap. If you need a help, go to a nursery, find an expert who can recommend safe products. Only use chemicals as a last resort. Dipel (biological control) is safer than Confidor (chemical control) but if you ask at Bunnings or Mitre 10 for something to control caterpillars they are most likely to recommend Confidor.
• Grasses have a dormancy period, either late summer (cool season grasses) or winter (warm season grasses) and are not meant to look good all year
• Know which grass you are growing, its cut height changes with the seasons
• Don't dump grass clippings/garden prunings in bushland, its too valuable in your own garden. Start a compost bin
• Be wary of 'green washing' do your own research, top versus side loading washing machines is a great example along with 'green' laundry detergents.
• Plan your house/garden from the beginning to have a minimal impact on the environment.

My shed

I've now finished my shed, just a small zincalum 'lean-to' from Bunnings which will hold my gardening tools. I did think it would look awful in my small yard but it fills a void and all my tools are out of sight. It sits on a timber base, not ideal, but I couldn't put down a concrete base as we rent.

I took some photos when I was building the base but there was a bit too much swearing going on in the in between stages and I was occupied with getting it all straight and stable. But here is a picture!

Building the base:Finally complete: