Tag: organic garden

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Annuals Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels Trees

Backgarden joy

I am so enjoying my back garden and the velocity of growth I see every day! It is amazing how everything is springing to action and the veggies are actually looking like something you can eat!! A huge growth from 5 days ago! The herbs are creeping over the patchwork patio and everyday I can pick mint for my lemon tea and thyme for my midday meal. The peaches are  causing havoc on the small peach tree and the quince tree is happy to show off her new fruit! My grass patch is amazingly green and soft like a velvet carpet and my hubby and I fall onto it after a hard days work!

[one_half]Look at my lovely peaches – still small![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Quinces growing too[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Blueberries are budding![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Bees still abound in the borage flowers[/one_half_last]

 

The raised beds are growing nicely – potatoes, beetroot, cabbage, parsley and spinach are looking good. The tomatoes are sadly taking their time and the broccolli will be a while still.

[one_half]The potatoes are monstrous and looking healthy[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The beet root is growing nicely and the greens are delicious[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Assorted lettuces for summer salads[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lush and bountiful – soon a plate full of home growns[/one_half_last]

 

Loving my garden right now and will post some more photos tomorrow.

 

Happy gardening xxxx

 

 


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Barbie's garden Design Do it yourself Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Before and after continued ..

Thank you all for the interest shown in the Before and After! of my front garden. As promised, I have taken the latest photos of the back garden today, so now I can show you the big changes!

The Back Garden

BEFORE:

It was a ruined area, the chickens had taken over the back garden and as any chicken owner knows – I’ve learnt – they scratch and peck until it is pretty much all gone! So now, they have their own area behind the shade cloth and I have taken back my garden! Hooray! Let’s see the process.

[one_half]The place is bleak and bare….shame![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Just a pool of mud in May[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Only an idea at this stage[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Still a long way to go![/one_half_last]

[one_half]The great gardening project starts![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Cleaning and digging and composting![/one_half_last]

Now that I look back at what I have accomplished, I am amazed where all that energy came from! But man oh man – It was so worth it! I enjoy my garden so much now and I love sharing it with you, my garden friends! It will be wonderful to enjoy it this summer! My hubby takes care of the pool, so we are all ready for the summer sunshine!

AFTER:

[one_half]The back garden as it is now![/one_half]

[one_half_last]This patch is looking so lush and full![/one_half_last]

[one_half]The patchwork patio works so well in the garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]All my herbs I planted in the patchwork  patio[/one_half_last]

[one_half]The raised beds with vegetables[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Potatoes and beetroot growing well[/one_half_last]

 

The Chickens had the whole run of the garden to play, and now they have to be contained. Not happy campers, but still a large area for them to play! They have plenty of space and a new house – the three little pigs could not have built a better one ….with a huff and a puff …and …well at least it’s brick! It’s only temporary until we can build them a real nice place and fix the area up for them to play! Ok….I know ….. another BIG project. But something to blog about.

 

[one_half]The girls play area[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The rest area in some shade[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Lots of room for 3 chickens[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Love their new lapa[/one_half_last]

Thanks for sharing and Happy Gardening xxx

 

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Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Going Green

I had taken a number of photographs towards the end of September because my garden is bursting with green. I don’t know if you remember, but I used Blade Runner on my lawn at the end of July. Julie, from Neutrog, kindly sponsored some samples and all I can say is WOW! I am very impressed!

I am so impressed with the look of my lawn – it has never been so lush. I have struggled with a patchy, brown lawn in my front garden for years. No help with the chickens scratching it all up. So, I decided to lock them out and really look after the lawn. But still, no real results. Until I used Blade Runner. It has made the world of difference! I have also noticed that the fruit trees are also healthy and green and dense with leaves!

[one_half]Front lawn – looking lush![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lawn near the grass feature[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Going green![/one_half]

[one_half_last]I love all this green![/one_half_last]

[one_half]My new Camomile plant![/one_half]

[one_half_last]New peaches! Still green[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Blueberry blush![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Loquat tree[/one_half_last]

[one_half]My new Hanepoot grape vine[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lush clover – green gold![/one_half_last]

I’m loving my garden at the moment. So much promise to come

 

Happy gardening xxx

 

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Annuals Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Sowing the seeds of love

As you know, I am growing a full vegetable garden this season. I have my 3 huge raised beds to fill and the large veggie patch area I have on the side of my house. I prefer to cultivate my veggies by sowing seeds and through experience, I tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to sowing seeds. I over-sow and end up with a cramped environment where the plants compete for sunlight. This season I am planting in seedling trays. I have usedfour methods -sowing seeds in toilet rolls, in re-used seedling trays (washed of course), open trays and straight into the ground (in the 3 raised beds).

[one_half]Sowing seeds in toilet rolls, cut in half[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Seeds and open seedling trays[/one_half_last]

I started sowing these seeds on the 15th of August and again on the 20th of August – here are the results so far…

[one_half]Each seed tray is named and dated[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tomato and Basil in the toilet rolls[/one_half_last]

I have planted tomato, potato, basil, spring onions, carrots, swiss chard, cucumber, gem squash, marrow, sunflowers, spinach, assorted lettuces, beetroot, sweet corn and brocolli. The only seeds that have not sprouted is the green pepper and the butternut squash, but will be patient.

[one_half]Sunflower coming through[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sweet corn shoot[/one_half_last]

I have created a special patch called the “Pumpkin Patch” which I have fenced in. This was the original sheet mulch patch I started at the beginning of winter.  Here I am going to plant a “Three Sisters Guild”.  Here you plant corn well spaced. When the corn sprouts, build the soil around each into a mound. About two weeks later, plant pole beans – 2 or 3 bean seeds near the edge of the mound. At the same time you plant the beans you plant squash or pumpkin that will sprawl over the soil. The beans climb up the corn stalk and will feed the soil nitrogen and the pumpkin will keep the soil moist and cool. I have added sunflowers to this trio – so I will keep you posted on this patch. I have used seeds only in this experimental patch.

Just watching the seeds come to life is a great delight for me. I wish you a happy gardening week!

xxx

Categories
Barbie's garden Gardening Home page features Perenniels

Welcome to my garden

I am seeing the results of all the hard work and love that I have put into my garden these last few months. With spring on its way, it is looking like a loving space where I can wander and stay awhile. The grass is green and lush – thanks to Neutrog Blade Runner and all my newly planted shrubs are already showing signs of flowers. I am now reaping the rewards and all the big landscaping projects are completed – for now! I will now sit back and watch my garden grow.  But first … I will still need to sow my vegetable seeds in September!

[one_half]Feels very welcoming[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The lawn is so green![/one_half_last]

[one_half][/one_half]

[one_half_last][/one_half_last]

 

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Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

A Veggie Harvest

Vegetable Harvest

Vegetable HarvestWe’ve had a shocking week with all sorts of things going wrong at work and its been extremely stressful. I’ve had barely a moment to look at my garden and even less time to go and do any shopping. I felt a bit like “Old Mother Hubbard” last night when I went to the cupboard and all we had was a single tin of tuna!

Nothing to eat, what to do? We thought about ordering in a pizza when I had a brain wave – what about a Tuna Salad? We have a veggie planter full of all sorts of greens growing and begging to be harvested. So dinner was all freshly picked from our garden and added to a tin of tuna! And it was YUMMY!! A mixture of cos and butter lettuce, a tomato, basil, some chopped chives, a pepper and a bit of parsley sprinkled on top! Very rewarding and cheap too.

[one_half]The Vegetable HarvestVegetable Harvest[/one_half]

[one_half_last]More from the Veggie PlanterVegetable Harvest[/one_half_last]

I’m inspired now to start planting more edibles! What a pleasure to take a basket and go and “pick your dinner”, fresh from the garden.

Happy Gardening!
xxx

 

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Barbie's garden Gardening

From the Veggie Patch

Veg Patch 2008

I have not had great success with my veggie patch in 2010. Check out the first harvest from 2008 – I think it was beginners luck. First of all, I started way too late in sowing my seeds last year. What held me up was, I had to keep the ‘feathered gardeners’ out of the veggie patch because they scratch and peck and destroy the whole area in a matter of hours. Hannes built me a fence to keep them out, but I needed a better locking system, so I did a slap-dash job of propping the wheel barrow up against it and used a piece of cardboard….don’t ask, I know – it sounds like a hobo-special. Anyway, I started sowing seeds in November and meticulously watered and tended the first shoots. Then came the howling wind. For days it blew and it was drying everything out. It also blew my makeshift fence open and……yes, you guessed it! The Girls were in there – lead by the ringleader, Buffy! All my new seedlings were gone, eaten!! I did not speak to The Girls for two days!! They knew I was upset. Four weeks of labour turned into chicken food!
So that was when you and I went to Ferndale Nursery and bought the seedlings. I had a few tomato plants surviving, so I took photo’s of the salvaged few. Along side these I planted my seedlings – and guess what? The hottest days came! It was too much. Some of the cabbage plants just fizzled up and died. It is just too hot to start planting in December. I have learnt my lesson. I will start planting in Spring!! I also prefer to plant seeds direct into the ground – firstly, it is cheaper and easier. Secondly, it is less work and thirdly, if they don’t grow, no love lost there. The strong ones will flourish and the weak ones will pack their bags and go!

The first photo:- Here is the start of the patch in 2008. A great deal of time and energy went into the preparing of the soil. This is very important. Here you can see no fence up yet for marauding chickens.  As you can tell, this is back-breaking work.

The second photo:-  The first harvest – fruits of my labour (of love!). It takes anything from 6 to 10 weeks to harvest from seed. We had veggies galore!

[one_half]Veg Patch 2008[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Veg Patcg 2008[/one_half_last]

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Barbie's garden

Barbie’s Garden

The first pic of the house when we bought it
The first pic of the house when we bought it

When we decided to move to the country in 2005, it was quite an adventure. From a flat in a real urban environment where your next-door neighbour was within arms reach, to a house with a garden, surrounded by wheat fields and your neighbours are cows, sheep and horses. You can’t believe what a change that was. From traffic noises at night to complete stillness! We could not sleep those first few weeks.

Country living is the best! Being a true spirit of the earth, my garden is all about vegetables and fruit trees and herbs and chickens roaming free. I was keen to really start gardening when we moved to Philadelphia in 2005, but not your typical suburban-type garden – sterile and bug-free! I wanted an edible garden.

But first I had to start removing what was there. My pet hate plants are geraniums and my hubby’s are wild garlic. Needless to say, this garden was full of them AND snails!! The oom and tannie who lived in the house before us had a chicken coop and an overgrown veggie garden in the back – I was so excited!! “Babes! Look – chickens!” But the more we looked at the state it was in, the more I wanted to rip it all down. Start fresh!

The house itself was incomplete, so we had to use our handyman skills to fix the place up – Hannes is so good at this! The kitchen, the bathrooms, the front and back stoeps, the driveway…… let’s just say we are still not finished with it!! I can also show you how we renovated the place. But this might be a blog all of its own!

Ok, so my first obstacle was if I wanted a garden, I had to do it all by myself. Hubby made it quite clear up front that he is not into gardening. I totally understood and all the heavy-duty work I will have to get used to! He bought me a stunning electric lawnmower that was easy to use and did not need arm socket ripping actions to get it started – just press the button and it started to hummm. That was for the small lawn I was going to have in the front and the back. Ok, so that’s sorted. But first we needed privacy, so we built a picket fence around the front of the house. Check out the pics of our first major DIY.

 

Here is the front of the house with the poles in the ground.
The start of the fence
The fence is complete - privacy!