A giant atlantic pumpkin grown by my neighbour. Circumference 123cms. Weight approx 120kgs. Hollow and not at all good for eating but the pigs enjoyed it! Very few seeds. There were a couple of smaller pumpkins on the vine but most of the energy of growing a big pumpkin went into this one.

We'll try to grow an even bigger one next season :)

Until next time
~x~

B2 recieved a gardening book for her birthday a few months ago titled How Does My Garden Grow. It's a basic childs gardening book with bright photos and simple instructions with the odd bit of educational information that came in handy for a school project she did.

B2 has decided to work her way through the book to try and grow everything pictured. Right now she has corn and potatoes planted (at the end of August she did her planting). The soil is pretty poor here. We do give a liquid fertilizer each fortnight but the soil really needs to have loads of compost and manure dug through it. So, the corn is suffering but the spuds are blooming.

I'll let the photos tell the story :)

Until next time
Happy Gardening
~x~

Finally I have a vegie garden :D Made from recycled materials of course, garage door panels. Eventually we are going to build a timber deck in the middle between the house and garden boxes. Hoping by summer but if not we can still use the area for entertaining :)

I’ve planted lettuces, capsicums, red onions, garlic (i know i'm late) and marigolds for decoration. There’s a little more room for a bunch of beetroot. I also have a couple of other beds along the front fence made from the old weather boards that came off the front wall of the church which have lettuces, tomatoes and peas.

There's also a patch in the back yard where i've got 3 butternut pumpkin seedlings. It's fair in the middle of the yard where it gets the water run off from the washing machine.

I've still got plenty more vegies seeds and seedlings i want to plant. They'll be randomly planted anywhere i can find a spot this year :)

Until next time
Happy gardening
~x~

My neighbours have a fantastic vegetable garden. One i wouldn't mind playing in lol

The last 2 nights as they've been going about their nightly chores in the garden they've passed over the fence some wholesome homegrown vegies. Silverbeet, pumpkin and carrots. I've had to be quick in getting them off the kids as they like to sample fresh produce straight from the garden! In return for the harvest, i've given some vegie seeds to replenish their already overflowing beds.

I can't wait to get my fruit and veg garden built and producing. The soil here is crap to say the least lol so no planting direct into the ground until we start working to get it up to scratch. Hubby will have to get creative and build some more planter boxes and a trip to the local rubbish tip to find an old rainwater tank or something similar will do the trick too.

We're going to ask the local duck farmer if we can have a trailer load of duck castings and i'll scout around at other farms for old hay for mulch and other types of manure. I'm all for recycling and bartering :)

Until next time
How does your garden grow?
~x~

My mum's vegie garden is flourishing. I enjoy going out there with the harvest basket. There's just something peaceful about wandering around the vegie patch seeking out all sorts of goodies.

Today's harvest consisted of potatoes and corn. Not just any corn though, Pop Corn! It's the 1st time we've tried our hand at growing popcorn and i think i can safely say we've had a successful run with it this year, although, we will have to wait and see how well it pops and tastes, hopefully in 3 or so weeks.

The potatoes had been in the ground for quite awhile, near on 3 years, so were needing to be dug up. They're from the Diggers Catalogue, Gourmet Variety. We planted 4 different varieties but i can only see 2. We haven't cooked with them yet.

Along with zuchinis, cherry tomatoes and green beans, this weeks menu is looking yum :)

Until next time

~x~

Mmmmm, i love homegrown produce. Nothing tastes better then goods picked straight from the garden. I don't get to the local markets every week so i have to bite the bullet and purchase from the supermarket. You certainly notice the difference in taste!
I also enjoy pottering out in the garden, chatting aimlessly away to the plants and animals, sometimes even having a grand conversation with the wind lol

Hubby has been busy the past couple of weeks creating portable garden beds. All the materials used were recycled. Some being sourced from local scrap bins and some from the farm. The only part that cost us was the seedlings and potting mix (we got composted cow/sheep manure from the local saleyards). We also found a concrete trough laying around the backyard too.

We've had a couple of frosty nights so i had to, as my 5 year old tells everyone, "put the plants to bed" . I only covered them with a garbage bag but will get hubby to make something that doesn't squish the plants.

So, i have planted potatoes, lettuce, peas, beans, strawberries, brocoli, cabbage, beetroot.







The hard part now is waiting for it all to grow!

Until next time
Happy Gardening
-x-