Monday 8 October 2012

What a difference a day makes!


I managed to neglect my seeds over the last few days of rain and WOW! What a surprise when I went in there this morning! 

There is growth everywhere! Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, artichokes, pumpkins - all had major growth spurts! The beans have all popped up after planting them a few weeks ago... even the ones I planted on Friday last week have been super keen & have little sprouts! 

Just shows what the right conditions can do! :) I think it could be the heat from not opening the door for a few days? Well that's my best guess since there hasn't been much sun around the place - just more rain!


So far I've haven't had much trouble with the seeds, which has surprised me - I thought I would fail at most of them & have to sneak down to the shop for some seedlings! A couple of the tomatoes didn't germinate & mesculin lettuce wasn't a great success. I haven't had much luck on the watermelon & capsicum front either. After the initial sprout of the capsicums they have reached a major plateau with no further growth! I still have hope for the melons - there is no sign of anything there! Will give it a little while longer before I re-sow them.

As for the main garden - the onions seem to have taken alright - but my poor carrots...... I can see a couple here & there.. but I think the others have shriveled back into nothingness. DOH! I'll have to re-sow some I think - straight into the ground this time! No transplanting! Maybe I transplanted them while they were too small.......?

I also managed to convince hubby to empty the compost bin too last weekend.... needless to say this smelly job was not the most dignified! But we got the layers going! My friend has the same issue with it not breaking down & is trying compost accelerator - so I thought I'd give it a go too! I think its mostly manure/blood & bone which can increase decomposition - so its probably more on the expensive side then buying a bag of manure but it probably has some bacteria & lime or something in there to help it along as well. You only use a small amount - so I'm expecting it to last a very long time! We did the layering the 'perfect compost recipe  way - 10cm each of brown sticks etc, then food scraps, a handful of compost enhancer on the scraps & then a grass layer to add heat. We had so much brown matter in there that I've filled a smaller bin up with it to have on tap when we empty the food scraps bin. That way I can keep the layers going rather than just putting in huge amounts of scraps! :) The bin is nearly full though!

Looking forward to just a bit more growth before I can plant them out! :)

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