Some vegies in the garden and the aquaponic set-up.

Oakleaf lettuce about to start flowering.

Flower buds on dwarf apple.

New aquaponic bed.

These beds have been going since April.

A peek beyond the bed. Won't be able to see past here for much longer.

Silverbeet always makes a garden look like it's going well.

Urban agriculture.

Really, everyone should be planting useful and edible plants in their gardens. There are so many beautiful fruit trees and decorative but delicious vegetables to choose from. Theres nothing wrong with a few exotics for show or to attract beneficials and, of course, there needs to be (preferably local) native plants too to support local biodiversity of insects, birds and small reptiles.

Fruit trees have pretty blossoms and if more folk were growing fruit tress and caring for the ones in their garden organically then I suspect that less fruit fly problems would exist, because correct hygiene for fruit fly is quite simple but needs to be done regularly.

With less chemicals for gardens available now and more food gardeners aware of the health benefits of organics there are increasing populations of predatory insects. This year there was a huge aphid population followed within weeks by hundreds of ladybirds and tiny parasitoid wasps. Frogs and small lizards play their part in pest control too, consuming slaters and other bugs.

Planting makes me happy.

I've been rescuing a few seedlings from work lately. This morning I popped in some kangaroo paws in the little native garden outside the front window. Finally planted the native hibiscus that's been knocking about in a pot for ages by the front door; hopefully it ill do more than just flower and die, but even that would be okay.
Two little broccoli seedlings went in that Lynn shared with me. The other day I found some kale and cauliflower seedlings that the rats had nibbled some of, so they got 'rescued' and are now in biochar, organic garden heaven.

Cooler season vegetable gardening.

Perth's gardener's holiday is over and autumn is trying to cool us down. It is a good time to get some vegetables in for the rainy season, meaning we don't need to rely on daily water to get them through to maturity.
We made the mistake last time round of planting cabbages. They take up a fair bit of room and we don't really eat much of them so I am making sure we only plant what it going to be of most use to us. It's only a small patch, too, so it needs best use of the area.
Little seedlings.
I put in some lettuce seedlings (various, as I rescued some from work, too) and broccoli and popped some peas in near the best climbing spots.
The soil is looking really good, too, despite being the end of summer, it is still quite brown and rich. Is it because of the biochar we used when the bed was set up? It's sure to be helping. We also regularly apply minerals, bentonite, various organic manures and composts and it shows.
Soil profile in our veg bed.
You can see the good soil above the line of original sand.

Ooh. They're growing.

The potatoes had a slow start but now they are powering along. I've topped up under the leaves a couple of times in the last week or so and they need a bit more soon. Hopefully they are doing as well below soil level too.
The vege garden is looking great. We have had a fair few greens from it already and today I planted some bean seedlings I rescued from work.


Ringneck parrot near our birdbath.

This parrot has visited us a couple of times lately and he bought a friend with him this time. They have been eating the seeds of the Acacia cyclops in the garden. They blend in well in the tree. A local parrot species in a local tree species.

Growing potatoes in a bag.

Permaculture is largely about growing food and using resources wisely. I don't grow as much food as I should but we have recently got the little vege patch going again and the season allows parsley and other herbs to grow unaided. I don't really like to have to water the garden; it is meant to be winter after all, despite the lack of rain so far.
They've grown since last week.

This year I am trying spuds in a tree bag as a method to grow in a small yet sunny space in the garden. Last year the potatoes were in too much shade and died a slow drawn out death. I am also using it as an experiment in reusing/composting some old cocopeat mulch and leaves. The tree bag was rescued from work. I went thirds in a bag of White Star seed potatoes. I've never heard of them or seen them for sale but they sound like a good versatile variety, having checked out their credentials on the Potato Marketing Corporation site.
Not very interesting so far.

This morning I put a layer of coco mulch and some cow and sheep poo in the bottom of the 45 litre tree bag, then some leaves from the honey locust and placed the spuds on top of that, about 15 cm apart. I then had to get a big pot out and do that one with layers too as there were too many spuds for one container.
Then I layered a bit more mulch and poo on top of that and now we wait. It's important to not let them dry out and also not to drown them. It is cool during the day at the moment so they won't dry out too fast.

So now the trick is to gradually keep putting more layers of dry materials around the stems of the potatoes as they grow. In this way the stems will produce tubers from the sides all the way along and you get a good crop of spuds. Every now and again add some more manure or feed with some fish emulsion. You must ensure that the potatoes are kept buried as they form, so keep on adding mulch or straw around the stems.
After a couple of months the leaves at the top will die back and you can harvest your potatoes. Store them in a dark dry cool place.
We shall see how mine go...

Another go at some vegetable growing.

Happy little seedlings.
The time of year is encouraging. It is meant to be early winter but it has only rained once so far, really. Still it is a little cooler (though plenty of people are still in shorts during the day) and so seedlings don't seem like they will get burnt or dry out so easily.
I planted a bunch of little things into the super-duper improved charcoal soil patch. So far the rats have ignored them. That is good.

In a few days it will be uni break again. My one exam is this week coming. I'm half confident, half not. I really hope I pull through the unit.

There will be time for blogging, gardening and eating properly again when the exam is done.

I just really hope we get some autumn soon before spring sneaks up on winter.

Interesting news at work today. Two crop failures have affected stock availability. Hot weather in Victoria stopped some trees we were expecting and a batch of seed spuds were destroyed in another case. Oh, but there's no climate change...

Vegetable planting guide for Fremantle and Perth.

Herbs and flower planting guide for Fremantle and Perth.

How to grow celery.

Another round of seedlings - celery, lettuce, spring onions.
In the background, between the other leaves is the celery "patch". They are only about 10 cm tall at the moment. We will have to be extra nice to that bit of the garden now. Celery likes to be grown with regular feeding and water.
It has shallow roots, so it can dry out easily, when it becomes stringy and salty and bitter.
I planted them near together, so they can hold each other up. The soil was recently improved, so it should grow pretty well. A few feeds along the way will make it grow. This is where I love seaweed and fish emulsion as an easy way to feed.

We had both recently pulled out some excess parsley, so there was room to put some more upright veg in their place.
It seems so springlike for the time of year. It's midwinter, but it's beautiful and sunny. Great planting weather.

The small strawberry guava went into a slightly bigger pot. It's been having a stretch lately, and will hopefully make some delicious fruit for me next year.

One more birdbath.
A simple birdbath outside the window is a beautiful thing. They love to have a splash. Only the small birds come as the baths are only shallow. I use a big round plastic plant tray, so it's really easy to give it a good scrub when it gets green or dirty.

Permaculture weeds are edible.

Permaculture is about growing food in the city and reducing our reliance on using fossil fuels. It's also about setting up systems that don't need much work.

Over the few years we have been at this house, we have tried to develop a few useful weeds as a living mulch and ground cover for areas we are not ready to plant into.
In the rich, more watered areas, this is flat-leaf, or Italian, parsley. More recently rocket has joined in. An odd lettuce or mizuna comes up too from time to time. Many of our greens come from our "pet" weeds in the garden.

After a variety of leafy annuals have gone to seed in your food growing areas there will be a succession of tasty seedlings coming up when they think the soil and temperature are just right.

If there are too many seedlings they can be removed and replanted elsewhere or given to friends as tasty treats for their gardens.

Some useful "weeds" - parsley, lettuces, dill (not fennel), spinach, rocket, coriander, basil, nasturtium, chives, cress, NZ spinach.

Time well spent in the garden.

I'm pretty impressed by the fact that I can spend a couple of minutes planting some seedlings and they give me so much back with how long they last and the joy of eating your own garden or seeing flowers you've grown and the birds or insects they have attracted.

I guess that's a pretty obvious statement in regards to gardening, but I was thinking about food plants and how simple it is to grow a few little things that can help your vitamin and mineral intake immensely.
If you can get your hands on some seeds or seedlings, soil, fish emulsion and kelp solution, you can grow some lettuce or parsley, chards, and with enough sun all kinds of veg are easy to grow as long as you can water and feed them. This isn't so easy with water restrictions, but a watering can will suffice, especially when it has fish and seaweed in it every couple of weeks.

Reusing Kitchen Water.
The double sink in our kitchen has basins in it to collect our washing up and rinsing water. One side has the clean water, which can go onto plants out the front, near the door.
The rest of the water goes into a large bucket that also has our kitchen scraps.

Any edible-ish scraps are collected for our dogs, who get blended leftovers and veg as their meal a couple of times a week. They especially like it if there's a bit of cheese or meat scraps or a tin of sardines in it.

Autumn rain, make my seeds germinate.

In the last week or so it has seemed like a good time to get some veges started. The heat has backed off and the soil is good to grow a few tasty things.
I am trying out some Brussels sprouts and broccoli, while the silver beet is coming along nicely already.
It also seems like a good idea to grow leeks and spring onions. Both these onions are expensive in shops and so I don't eat as many as I'd like to; they are easy to grow, and delicious.
I reckon that I'm gonna grow some of the leeks hydroponically too. It will probably make them go a bit faster and they won't have a lot of crud inside them.
There is also a stainless steel sink full of potting mix that has some carrot seeds waiting to germinate. I've only grown tiny carrots before, so it will be interesting to see how big ones go. Our soil isn't that flash, so thought potting mix may be okay.
I always reuse the mix anyone, beefing it up a bit with some manure or something for potting plants up into.


The other day we had a tree out the front cut down by our arborist friend and have replaced it with two young Grevillea plants - G. "Honey Gem" and G. "Pink Surprise". I'm really looking forward to them growing and flowering. They will be quite beautiful and will attract more birds to the garden.