Month: September 2010
Splitting the hive
At the beginning of the year we obtained some native stingless bees for the garden. These little guys have been great, flying around the garden pollinating, without requiring an ounce of attention.
At the beginning of the week, Michael Mobbs kindly invited people to observe the splitting of his hive. This is where one established hive becomes two.
I took the video shown above, and it demonstrates how easy the process is. Gives me confidence when the time comes to split our hive!
French breakfast radishes
The french breakfast radishes have been a hit in the garden this year. Miss P really likes them, and they grow from seed to harvest in a month.
It did produce bit of a glut, however, so some pickling was in order…
These are simple vinegar and sugar based pickles, with some mustard and celery seeds for flavouring. They’re bright, vivid red, and I hope they taste good in salads!
Sustainable House Day is today!
There are over 250 houses open today for Sustainable House Day, throughout Australia. Including ours 🙂
This is the fact sheet for our house, to give details on what we’ll be talking about. Drop by and say hi!
Chinese cabbage gone to seed
We planted about eight chinese cabbages, grown from seed. Most of them we ate, even if we had to fight it out with the slugs for the meals.
With the warming weather, however, a number of the cabbages bolted straight to seed. No matter, a good opportunity to seed save for next year.
Like broccolini, the plants grow to an immense size, with a profusion of yellow flowers much loved by bees. I let a pair got to seed together, to make sure they pollinated successfully, and the seed pods are already growing.
We’ve got a small jar of broccolini seeds. I suspect we’ll have the same for chinese cabbages. Drop by and we’ll share some when they’re ready…
This year’s approach to potatoes
Last year, I constructed a huge enclosure for our potatoes, built from salvaged fence palings. It didn’t really work, and I suspect it’s because it didn’t drain properly. The potatoes therefore rotted rather than grew.
So, another year, another approach (or two).
The main potato bed has been constructed out of chicken wire, bent around some wooden stakes hammered into the ground. Quite a lot smaller, much simpler to construct, and hopefully better draining!
Two lots of potatoes have been planted:
- 8 x dutch cream
- 8 x nicola
I also purchased two potato bags, just to see how they go. These are a potentially brilliant solution for those living in flats or units, but let’s see how productive they end up being…
I’ll report back at harvest time.
Lewisham House and Farm 