Oh the shame!

This blog started as record of the transformation of a suburban backyard. Well, that was the theory anyway. Then work got busier, I got distracted, and winter fell upon us with a thud. In case you hadn't noticed, there's been a distinct lack of backyard in this blog lately.

But today I was given a not-so-gentle prod by The Crone, and ventured out the back door for the first time in weeks. Blame illness, the demands of running a business from home, winter, the call of the internet in a nice heated house ... With trepidation in heart and camera in hand, I went to see if anything survived. Just. Maybe.

I did find some beetroot ...



... lots of potential in the form of small fuzzy buds on the fruit trees ...


... and a bright spot of gold in the flowers on one of the bolted greens.


There are a few things still holding on - artichokes and herbs mostly - and everything in pots could do with a good soaking. I pulled a few handfuls of grass out of the vege plots; they came out easily enough, and the soil beneath is looking dark and ready for planting again. A few solid hours should see it looking half reasonable, so not as dire as I predicted.

Just don't ask about the strawbales. I think they'll make very nice mulch.

Things are growing in my strawbales

Ok, so they might be random mushrooms and sprouting straw, but at least it's an indication that things are on the right track. We had some lovely and very much needed rain earlier this week, which prompted the growth ...





The little mushrooms were very delicate, and didn't even last the day out.

Sodden straw

I'm into Day 3 of soaking the strawbales.

You can see the walkway between them from this angle - would be nice for it to be a little wider, but there's limited room in this part of the yard. This photo was taken about 11am - the area gets more sun earlier in the day, and then in the later part of the afternoon. The shadow is from the verandah roofing, so it just cuts down the direct heat and light, rather than being solid shade. With a bit of luck this will mean that seedlings will survive the hot days we're still getting.

This fellow was sitting on the wires out the back. He and his friends have had a great time feasting on the fruit trees for the past few weeks - perhaps he's checking what's for dinner next time they drop in!

Strawbale gardening

If you don't already know about strawbale gardening, have a look at these sites:
http://www.beginner-gardening.com/straw-bale-gardening.html
http://www.lensgarden.com.au/straw_bale_garden.htm
http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2007/05/straw_bale_gardening.html

And this is what I have so far:

12 bales of straw, in two 3x2 formations, with a walkway in between (which is a bit wider than it looks in this photo), sitting on flattened corrugated cardboard boxes to suppress the grass. Not particularly pretty, but it's a start.

I set the bales out yesterday when rain was threatening, but not much eventuated, so I soaked them with greywater today. A lot of the water runs straight through, but it's being held a bit by the cardboard, so we'll see how it goes.

I need to do that again tomorrow & Monday, and then I'm going to start adding some Charlie Carp to it. I also need to start some seeds off in newspaper pots while the bales are heating up and ageing, and in a few weeks I should be able to pop the newspaper potted seedings straight into the straw.

I figure even if it's an abysmal failure, I will have some nicely aged mulch for the dirt garden ...