Practical Prepping... Saving Seeds, Preparing for next Season.

“The consequences of today are determined by the actions of the past.

To change your future, alter your decisions today.”

 ~ Anonymous



Tansy



Some Practical Prepping
Given we are almost over Summer, the Garden needs some long-term prep for Winter and the new growing season at the end of it. Everywhere is getting some compost & horse manure, the shrubs and trees are getting a light trim, and Im ripping out things that are long gone and dead.

There are a few of my plants in the garden that have been seeding their little hearts out. Ive kept them aside instead of ripping them out by the roots, and theyre now setting seed. This year Ive collected quite a number of varieties, which helps hugely to keep the costs down for gardening next season.
Sunflowers are starting to die down, the seeds are still hard, but will come out in the next week or so. Three large heads are going to collect around 300 seed if all goes well :)

Sunflower seeding

Seeds of Mizuna, Mibuna, Rocket, Mustard greens etc, all from a Mesculun mix, are all set and collected easily once the heads are dry. They seed in their 1000s which is awesome if you like to resow your own mesculun. Yum! We collect the seeds and I store them in handmade paper envelopes with the name, date and amount if known, on the front. Cool and dry storage, in something like a shoe box works for us. Some people freeze seed, but at this stage, I have very limited freezer space.





Front Garden in Full Colour

 

Pyrethrum Flowers repel Flies

Happy Blue Borage flowers attract Bees



Anise Hyssop edge the drive with Balm of Gilead (pink)

 Tansy, Pyrethrum, Figwort, Balm of Gilead and Anise Hyssop are all giving of their seed at the moment. Pyrethrum is valuable for so many things, especially alleviating flies and other pests, a spray can be made from its leaves. Tansy is a great companion plant for Raspberry, and Anise Hyssop attracts bees.
Balm of Gilead is an unusual herb, very pleasant scent, and smells lovely when brushed against. These herbs once planted are a little like Borage, they are hardy and often spread easily (meaning root cuttings by divison are easy), they are often difficult to get rid of once theyre established, but theyre well worth it for their medicinal and herbal properties. Borage is such an attractive bee plant...
Then we have other attractants like Poppy or Hollyhock, Marigold and Calendula that seed like crazy. Have one poppy one year, the next year you have 1000s!

Hollyhock - Bumblebee haven, seeds easily

Tomato - If you have 1 tomato, you have seeds for many!

Not so easy to get seed from - Carrots

Easy Seeds - Giant Lemon Marigold

Fenugreek - Great for many medicinal uses

So thats what we are up to at the moment.
On the Emergency Kit prepping, we have just added some more bits and pieces - some solar powered garden lights, some rope, tarps, an emergency wind up radio, and torches. It doesnt have to be much at a time, just a little bit each time you see something you can afford. The rule with groceries here, is when you buy something, ie 4 rolls of toiletpaper, 1 goes into the kit. If I buy Shampoo or Cat Food, I decant a small amount off the top so I can keep it aside, JUST IN CASE :-) Collecting up small bottles and containers all the time... So there we go.

Off to check the Tomato bushes like a big over-bearing blackbird, in the chance that with this sun today, some of them have the will to colour up and need picking!

Will catch you up later,
Take care and Enjoy Life

E BUTTERFLY
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Rain following the wind... January Snow...How does your Garden Grow?

Sunflowers over 6ft before wind

Rain Following the Wind...

Long time not a lot of  blogging going on, but news has been scarce around here. Its not that we havent done things, its been a lack of camera, and theres only so many stories you can write about without pics...

News to hand is... its raining.

Not just a little bit, but hard rain. Weve had a lot of rain in a short time. Yesterday was mucky and drizzly with some pelting thunder/lightening storms. Today its not mucking around, its serious rain, hard and heavy. The gardens needed rain, but the people who are in Red Zone houses with holes did not.

Nature at its best out there though, providing for its own (plants)

Echinacea

Last week was horrendously windy.

The garden suffered, and everything got trussed up, Ive had to cut back my echinaceas to my sorrow, both plants ended up losing hunks to the wind. Ive tried to salvage the bits that fell off, they both had roots. We shall see! Fingers xed! The blooms have been gorgeous, scented and my favourite - PINK!

So its the middle of the night. Its cold outside, and nice and cosy in here.

Mid Summer... believe it or not :)

I cant sleep, and after pulling muscles in my arms doing some major weeding jobs, (yes... that shows how tough the ground is here!!) sleep has been precious in the past two weeks.
We have a new piece of garden, and some new plants. In fact, they just keep coming.

We have a new Clementine tangelo/mandarin who is potted, two new blueberries - Tif Blue and Centurion.

They went into the new plot, and I was surprised when I picked them up to see that they had fruit on them. Good Lookin!! Cant wait to see how many last the distance.

Clementine

Our Satsuma *Miho* is looking good.

It had small tiny buttons for fruit on it when it arrived pre-Xmas. The tiny buttons are now $1 coin size.

The horsey poo water is fertilizing things nicely, Ive added supa-gro to some of the pots to help things grow on. Im hoping to mulch some hay or straw in in the next few weeks, should finances allow.

Our own compost pile is looking good, it will sit over winter, and I ll put black plastic over it... just like a real farmer and silage :)

January Snow? - Who'd have thought we would get snow in January. Not here, but nearby in Porters Pass area. Its crazy! It leaves us believing that the seasons are changing into a myriad of different things. Perhaps we are amidst this Climate Change thing we hear so much about, and afraid of. I think the whole *Intuitive* gardening helps get through this. Mulching to keep our plants happy, and turning over the soil regularly making sure it doesnt clog with water... Here we are near enough to the water table that it could mean raised beds are neccessary to alleviate any flooding. I think our problem will be if we dont get enough sunny days, nothing will ripen fast enough and you get fruit rotting before it ripens.
Ive thought about these issues, and by far I dont have answers, just want to trial different things to see if they work. One thing is using thermal mass around the garden. Walls of brick to keep things warm for instance. I have built up, bricked-in trenches or edges that Ive got tomatoes in, around the edge of my pathways which are cement. The sun reflects off the cement and the heat of the bricks keeps the soil warmer than the bigger beds. These tomatoes are always the first to fruit, first to ripen... ONLY ones to ripen so far this year. We are at least a month behind where we were last year, and two months behind the North Island from what I read on popular gardening forums. Id hate us to get even less growing season, but if that happens, I have to invest in some glass for a glass house or similar. I simply cant NOT grow things :-)

Because I rent, I cant bear the thought of putting things into the ground and not being able to take them with me. So I pot.

I have some rather large pots now, and I am really waiting for Superman to call in when I need to shift. Cos Im thinkin he will be the only one who can lift the pots!!
Ahh well, maybe Earth Changes will happen and I ll swap my trailer for a Chinese Junk and we can sail to Gardening Heaven?

Home grown Potatoes!

Thats possibly enough of my Mid-Night Ravings, and I should possibly go back to bed and sleep.

Ahh, if only.

Seeding Sunflower

Akane Apple - just the one this year!

Tif Blue Blueberry!

Potatoes with a purple flower, pretty!

Stunning Carrot flower (Nutri-Red)

Bloody Butcher Tomato Babies, Yum!

Black Zebra. Can see the stripes, no black yet.

Jaune du coeur de pigeon - Yellow pigeon egg sized tomatoes

So thats us.

How about this for a Happy Earthquake Song? Love it! SEE YOUTUBE HERE

Take care out there.
I hope youre all well, and happy.

The shaking (aftershocks) - dare I mention? They are easing. For now.

There are other parts of the country that have had shaking too, so life in NZ where ever you move is going to be tenuous.

School goes back soon, and Im not looking forward to being without my Littles.

So Im not thinking about that, and trying to make the best of the time we have left together.

Love to All

Happy Gardening :)

E BUTTERFLYXXXXXXXXX

PS - AFTERSHOCK. See, it never ever pays to mention Mother Nature :)
That gave me a good fright, it was centred around the road, about 3k away and sent the ball of fluff on my knee flying.

Washington, Old Girl

All Day Rain... Working Indoors

Rose Front Lawn. Not its name, its location ;-)

A brilliant wet Wednesday.
The Chance of All Day Rain is what Miss 5 told me she had heard on the news. Funnily enough, she was still snoozing when the weather forecast was on, but she is right so far... All Day Rain.
Which is a good thing, and a bad thing. The good thing is the garden gets a decent wash of rain. The bad of course, is that Im stuck inside having to attend to Housework and Other Inside Work.

Doesnt matter that Im procrastinating. This is the second coffee, Ive sat here and dawdled through the listings of plants & pots on Trademe. Ive checked in to Ooooby to see whose around. Ive read about when & how to harvest Garlic. Sigh. The dishes are half done.

Garlic On the Rise

Ive fed the cats, and the worms...

Odd isnt it, the cats do bugger all, nothing... and get fed twice a day and they whine about their food quality, quantity... the wind chill factor, anything at all.

The Worms... are far and away more productive, dont ask for a thing, and eat anything theyre given... and never say Boo... Which do I prefer? :-)
This is what I laid my eyes on first thing this morning. Im captivated.
Thank Nature! A truly beautiful thing!


Now to see if I can get a poppy head with viable seeds... I hope so. Theyre gorgeous :)

I snuck down this morning to check out the pumpkins.

Murphys Law, and I find myself putting compost around the base of the pumpkins, chocka block full of wormies. Nek minnit... Next minute, I see a big fat Lady Thrush pecking out the worms... Epic FAIL on the composting...

And WHERE on Gods Green Earth are my Furry Purries? Not doing their job, saving my worms from birds... Theyre all blobbing around the Catmint or lazing under my window  waiting for it to open so they can be fed... Theyre being fed too well!
Well enough of my chatter.

Today is the middle of the last week of school for my Mister 11 and Im so looking forward to having them all home... and picking our own tomatoes to eat, lettuce, onions, and all the rest...

Love,

E BUTTERFLY



Busy Times... Holidays & Garden Plots

Between the Christmas Shopping and the Weeding, its been a busy month already.
Have just put in another little bed which Ive planted in carrots, two sorts, Nutri Red and Paris Ball, Some celery, and some Leeks.

The Back Run - Bath, Corn Bed and Pumpkins (Winter Deluxe Pie)

Zucchini & Stevia, Small Basil plants

Bath 2 - Eggplant & Stevia, Chicory and Basil

Corn Bed 2

New Gardens - Raspberry & Tansy in Front, Carrot, Leek & Celery behind

Higgledy Piggledy Garden Stuff
Tomatoes Red Russian

Basil in Front, Big Boy Tomato in behind, then Red Russians & Missouri Love Apple...
A Work In Progress

All sorts, still sorting out this corner. Mizuna & Lettuce, Basil, Poppies & Tomatoes

I dont know, I dont plan like I should, so Im going with the Flow. It felt right, and lets face it, Miss 5 ate her way through the last bed of Nutri Red carrots pretty quick, so Im going to make sure there are plenty. Its awesome to know she loves fresh veggies!

My echinacea looks gorgeous - second year, and a new position in the garden, and it has five flower heads promising to colour up. I had no success with raising seed from last years, so maybe this year I will do root division and have better success!!

Sunflowers, Companion to Corn



Self-sown Scarlet Runner Beans
Happy to see them, love those flowers!!



Chamomile - love that daisy head!



Calendula



Boysenberry!

The calendula have taken off, I love their golden faces poking up everywhere, they really are like Garden Sunshine! Im collecting seed, and have dried some heads to make Calendula Balm in the Winter.

The Grosso Lavender has been cut and dried this week. The plants have been much more successful this year, I think getting rid of all the clutter around them and improving the soil quality has helped. I love the scent of lavender, and it was nice to have the house lavender-scented whilst it dried.



Echinacea - My Favourite!


The dehydrator has had good use this week - We also dried some catnip. Im thinking of some little felt mice to amuse the cats... Another good Winter project with our newly dried catnip.

Hmm,  What else? ...I have companion planted the Raspberry canes with Tansy.

We are watching out for the large poppies to colour up - they all have buds that are emerging slowly!

Have put a light dose of Epsom Salts in with my citrus. I noted today too that the wind has relieved our Akane apple of most of its blossoms, so I guess that will mean no fruit. How sad, but until I get it settled into a grow bag, it wont really matter.

Have dug out a very misshapen deformed Missouri Love Apple (tomato). Still have three of these beauties, love the name! ... They are better shaped and will hopefully grow strong and healthy from here on in!
One purple calabash plant, a very tiny one. I hope it will grow up big too, I so cant wait to see its fruit...

The others all seem to be going well. The Albenga Oxhearts and the Red Russians are my main tomato crops this year. Im really loving seeing fruit setting on my Bloody Butchers too!

Our Red onions from last season were yummy! I dug them, set them out to dry, and really couldnt resist. They were so sweet... I think I have four out of two dozen left. Next time I will be planting more... Its amazing how you notice how many you use when you plant and grow them yourself!

Hollyhock

Have planted a bed of lavender, all Grosso, so hopefully they will take and be my welcome patch for the bees in the coming years!

And now, some photos! :)

Love,

E BUTTERFLY

XXXXXXXXX

Long Time... No Blog... Garden In Progress!

Pretty Peony!

Well its been One Of Those Months.

Lots of Garden progress though.

The good weather has been interspersed with lots of lovely rain, that means we have plump growth and already we have had several salads!

I love Homegrown!

So, without further ramblings... Some photos.

Tomato *Chocolate*

Lemon Balm

Mizuna - Lots of it!

Things have grown quickly, this was last month

Garlic, raspberry cane and seedlings

Berries, Lettuce, Tomato and Comfrey

We have growing - Tomatoes in the following varieties, Albenga Oxheart, Bloody Butcher, Jaune De Coeur Pigeon, Chocolate, Red Russian, Siberian Speckled, Baxters Early Bush, Sub Arctic Plenty, Missouri Love Apple, Large White, Yellow & Black Cherry... Black Krim and Purple Calabash.

Also growing Herbs like Chamomile, Basil, Chervil, Coriander, Parsley, Mint, Comfrey, Chives, Thyme, Lemon balm, Rosemary, Sweet Cicely...

And Calendula, Sunflower, Aquilegia in two diff colours, Marigold, Geranium, Poppy, forgetmenot,... still to add more seeds into the mix to attract bees!

And then theres veggies - Lettuce, about seven different varieties, Iceberg, a red cos, frilled green cos, buttercrunch, freckles, and a couple of others. Onions, red, white and brown. We eat a lot of onion!
Carrots - solar yellow and nutri red. Mizuna, rocket, corn salad, cabbage, broccoli, garlic, celery, corn though not as successful as I like! Radishes... hmm thinking...

And Berries/Fruit - Lemon, Boysenberry, Raspberry, Red currant, Black Currant, Alpine strawberry, Strawberry, Rhubarb - Victoria & Perpetual. Oh and Olive trees, the newest edition, but already one of my favourites...

miners lettuce

Raspberry

Thats us for now.
Hope all is going well in your neck of the woods.

EB