Another gardening year

It's all happening

 

Well hello there 2021. Didn't you come out of nowhere. I made no new-year's resolutions, because I was just happy to have a blank slate! Let me be deluded a little longer. Of no pressing responsibilities. School holidays are in full swing, and the weather has been gloriously perfect. Instead of baking in the summer heat, I've been pottering outside, in what feels like autumn weather. One thing I do know about this year is, I will be gardening. In fact, I couldn't imagine a more perfect way to spend the first day of the year, than in the garden.

The accidental pumpkin patch (above) spawned from sheet mulching with compost, has taken over.  The only thing stopping it seems to be the concrete verandah. Although we had to persuade it a little, with some pruning. After all, we need room to walk as well. The native bees are swarming the two Emu-bushes in the background, and copious blossoms are falling to the ground.

On the vine

Checking the pumpkin vines, there are plenty of fruit. Initially, I thought there wouldn't be many pumpkins, because they were prematurely aborting. It was too hot prior to Christmas, before the weather turned for the better. So the bees weren't out pollinating. I hand pollinated a few that took, but others started to grow - then unexpectedly turned yellow and died. So thought our accidental pumpkin patch, was just going to serve as ground cover.

With the cooler temps and overcast days though, the copious vines that volunteered, are now covered in so many pumpkins.

Curing

This is a Kent variety, also knows as a JAP pumpkin. When I saw one of the pumpkins had been munched on by a critter, I picked the largest ones I could see. Four have already cured, and two were picked recently (the greenest ones). I leave them in the sun, upside-down, for their skins to harden. I had them on an outside table, to keep them elevated from hungry critters. But I needed that table for something else, so put them in a plastic tote with holes in it - raised on a milk crate.

Gotta love those make-do solutions. I haven't successfully grown pumpkins for years, so I'm very protective of these. Although, honestly, the fruit still on the vines, and still being pollinated, I think I'm going to need the neighbours help to get through them all.

Plant babies

So this is what I needed the table for - various plant propagations. Some of these were purchased new, some gifted as cuttings, and others were either cuttings taken from my existing plants, or made from compost - like pineapple tops. This is how I afford all the plant material I need. Through Propagation. The elevated table allows me to provide sunshine for a few hours, before placing them under the verandah again. 

I don't have the perfect space for my plants to grow, so I have to alternate them between sun exposure and verandah time. Most mornings, I do this little dance - carrying out my plants, only to bring them back in again. But it's one of those make-do things, that has to happen too. You work with what you have.

Grass jungle

What doesn't need help growing right now, is the grass! Turn your back, and it's upon you. Though I don't mind, because it's all free mulch. Something I need lots of right now, as I engage some larger projects of disturbance. Setting my hands to those projects today, I stopped for a moment and looked up at the grass on the slope, above me. Naturally, I started calculating all the places I could use it, as chop and drop material. I don't always have this kind of abundance, so when I do, I exploit it.

Re-shooting

Another thing that caught my eye in the area I was working, was the Leucana Tree I recently pruned. It never ceases to amaze me, how quickly it re-shoots from a hard prune. I needed the former branches for some projects, and in under a week, it set to business, growing more. I hope to be able to get at least one more harvest from this tree, before winter. 

As David's brush-cutter, whirred in the background, I knew there was my own work to return to, if I wanted to get it finished. 

Moving dirt

If the pattern holds true for the wet season, there's normally a big downpour in the first week of January. Knowing we had some minor erosion from the last downpour, I wanted to improve some of the upper swales. The best time to work this clay is a few days after serious rain. It was like carving through butter. So I spent the afternoon shifting dirt. Some might consider it an arduous task, but it's something I always enjoy. 

After recovering from Christmas, we were straight back into the yard work, trying to use what the temporary abundance provides. Which is why I've been so preoccupied lately. Just throwing ourselves into what we can, without killing ourselves!

So did you get to spend your new year, doing something you enjoy - just as we did? I will return to the second part of my recent post, soon. I just wanted to pop-in quickly, for the new year, first. Thanks to those who commented on my last post. I'm a little late in replying, which I apologise for. Because I like to reply in a more timely manner. Anyway, hope you're all safe, are well, and this year is filled with abundance for you too.