Week 6.
Howdy Pilates peeps!
This week the garden is just getting bigger and bigger.
Why have I started a vegie garden and what does it have to do with Pilates? Read about that by clicking HERE.
I do wonder if my popcorn have developed a solid taproot and other supporting roots, as they look a little flimsier than what I’ve seen other corn grow before. Not sure if this is merely the heirloom variety, or if I’ve done something wrong in the earlier stages of planting. More likely the latter, (ha!) but I’ve propped the corn up this season just to make sure they don’t topple over. Definitely tasseled too early, and now I notice that the female silks have started.
The carrots haven’t grown much, but I am expecting them to take a little while to establish a strong hold after transplant.
Strawberries are still flowering, and I’m keeping my eye out for any fruit. I’m thinking I may need to cover these with insect mesh to keep any birds or dogs away from them. Hopefully this will stop any wandering mouths or beaks from taste testing the fruit before I get to them!
Check out the tomatoes! My black Russian’s are what I am most keen to see fruit on, as it is a bit of a novelty to ha
ve a purple black tomato! The pruning seems to be working well, and fruit seems to be developing everywhere. I wonder how long they will take to ripen? It’s been two weeks so far.
I can tell that we are going to get a lot of cucumbers. The flowers are really impressive and are also everywhere you look. Modifications to the trellis have been to allow the cucumber leaves to climb and grab on.
Oh, and forgetting to harvest the radishes last week has led to a few of them getting rather large!
No bugs have attacked the silverbeet, and they seem to be growing well. The spinach has gone to seed already, and we will need to get some more if we’re to have them in salads this year. They seem to be producing new shoots down the bottom, so again I’m not too fussed at this stage, but I will be researching why this has happened, and how we can slow this process.
Realising just now, that I’m enjoying having a salad with my lunch most days, and will need to look at increasing the spinach and lettuce plants to keep up with the demand. Trial, and error 🙂
Seedlings are almost ready for planting, with the zucchini shooting up and getting massive it looks like they’ll be planted out first. They had a perfect 100% germination rate. I’m really impressed at their will to live =)
Whilst planting away I realised that I was yet again in my four point position, and that by the end of my marathon planting day my back felt fabulous. After all of the pushing and pulling, lifting, and carrying – with a few simple postural techniques and mindful movements I could do it all again tomorrow – if I needed to….!
Rockmelon BEFORE:
Rockmelon AFTER:
Until my recently planted seedlings grow, I think I have about a week or two off planting again 😉
Grow you good things!
Mel out
Lessons:
- Peat pots are a thing, and they are awesome.
- Mini greenhouses are equally as awesome, and using them together staggering planting seems much easier.
- Staggering my planting will allow me to enjoy fresh vegies for longer
- I need to look into getting a second rainwater tank. 5000L is no way big enough!
- Direct sow my pumpkins and rockmelons next year…
- Pumpkins are really hardy, and will not die after being transplanted four times!!!
Want to learn how to create a garden without hurting yourself? CLICK HERE to read my lessons about keeping your body safe and pain free.