Planting Marigolds

Planted another seed tray of marigolds.

Composting, sowing

Shredded the banksia and tree prunings from yesterday. Some of this is mixed with lawn clippings and added to the compost bins, but most has gone into the mulching heap.
Mowed the middle lawn.
Sowed two seedtrays of french marigolds.

Pruning, potting on and sowing

Gave the remainder of the Carex buchananii ornamental grasses a trim. The clippings have gone on the compost heap.
Weeded out a lot of yellow oxalis from the beds around the middle lawn and vege beds.
Pruned the tree at the front back by taking out crossing branches in the centre, cutting back new growth to about 3 buds and taking out two branches leaning on the fence.
Pruned the banksia behind the fence by about one third, taking heavy growth off the top.
Sowed a seedtray of Californian early red onion seed and 2 six-modules of cos lettuce.
Potted on 12 snowpeas from six-modules into 10 cm square pots. The snowpeas in the garage have grown good roots and are about 30mm above soil level. The seedtray outside has the snowpeas just showing.
The garlic planted at the start of June is showing good shoots. These cloves were taken from last years crop. The garlic planted at the end of June from shop bought garlic has not shown yet.

A very mild day, max temp 17 degrees, but warmer in the sun.

Mowing, chopping

Mowed the top lawn and raked some of the moss out. There is a lot of moss developing on all the lawns at the moment, after the wet weather of the past two or three weeks.
Cut some wood for next years supply. It also needs stacking as the large old trunks are getting very wet. Must remember to sharpen the chain on the chain saw.

Compost, cleaning and cutting back

Turned compost, took some semi-matured out to mulch the easternmost vege patch, which contains two blueberry bushes.
Raked up wisteria leaves.
Cut back two ornamental grasses.
Took old flower stalks off the sedum close to the garage. They are multiplying well after thefirst year.

Took old leaves of the budding hellebores to display the flowers to full effect. They look quite bare now.

Constructed another seed tray.
Sowed 36 sweet pea seeds in modules, placed in cold frame.

Pruning ornamental grasses

The grasses Carex buchananii, Carex Solandri and Festuca banks peninsula blue along the drive are looking straggly and have lost their symmetry. There are a lot of dead stalks. There are weeds growing among the clumps and now its winter, its time to do some tidying up.

The clumps of Carex buchananii are given a rough cut with shears first, then tidied using secateurs.

August planting

Plant broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, silverbeet seedlings, french marigold, sage as companion plants. French marigolds repel nematodes, whitefly, cabbage whites and can be dug in when dead. Sage encourages bees and repels carrot fly and cabbage moth.
Sow tomatoes, capsicum, melon and cucumber mid-month.

Frosty morning

Frosty morning today, after two previous mornings with mist in the valley.

Jobs for the Weekend

Cut more logs.
Repair steps by the side of the pool.
Weed out wild cherry seedlings.
Weed the bed at the side of the pool.
Rake up wisteria leaves and mow top lawn.
Turn compost.
If its raining, weed and feed the middle lawn.
Sow delphinium, salvia, sweet pea, lettuce seed indoors.

Mulch

Collected 180l wood chippings for mulching paths.

Sowing snow peas

Sowed snow peas.
12x 10cm pots filled with garden compost each with one snow pea seed placed outside.
5x 6 cell modules filled with garden compostbwith one snow pea seed in each cell placed in the garage bench.

Pruning, mulching, repotting, weeding.

Its been a pleasant day with plenty of sun and a max of 15 degrees, and no wind.

Broke up a pallet board for kindling, but some planks were suitable for a new seed tray 30cm x 40cm, so cut them to size ready to put together.
Repotted the hellebores into 2l pots, and the helleborus foetidis from a 2l pot into a trough by the rumpus room.
Sprinkled some growmore on the garlic, which are beginning to sprout.
Mowed the lower lawn and mulched the salt bush and hydrangea clippings from last week and week before last with the mower. Clippings put on the composting waste by the woodpile at the end of the lower lawn.
The pool pump is still leaking and so switched off to give me time to look at the problem.
Pruned hydrangea by alstroemeria.
Brought up some more branches that fell from the pine last spring ready to cut into logs.
Cut down some tobacco weed and treated the stalks with woody weedkiller.

Grey leafed plants

Lavender: Appreciates neutral pH. Regular trimming to encourage fresh growth. Grow readily from cuttings.
Catmint: Grow from seed. Grows in soft mounds.
Agave attenuata: Propogate from stem cuttings. Grow in raised bed or pot.
Bearded iris: Upright sword shaped leaves. Bloom in spring. Split up clumps after flowering. Make sure the top of the swollen roots are exposed to sunlight.
Globe artichokes: Spiky leaved plants., purple blooms. Eat blooms at bud stage.
Echium candicans: Purple blue flower spikes, attract bees. Blossom in spring. Remove spent flowers to prevent seeding.

Plans for the Weekend

Mow the lower lawn and mulch the salt bush clippings and hydrangea clippings still on the lawn.
Weed and feed the grass. Mitre 10 has a GST free weekend this weekend so this is a good time to buy some weed and feed.
Repot small hellebores into larger pots.
Sow some peas if I have any seed. I'm not sure if its worth buying seed.
Chop some wood.
Weed the bed to the north of the pool and mark the position of the hostas.
Clean the pool and replace the pool pump.
Repair steps to the North of the pool.

Preparing Seed Trays

Repaired one seed tray that had come apart at one side - a simple job of screwing it back.
Constructed two more trays from old pallet boards, glued and nailed, one sized to suit the boards, the other 30x40 cm to fit 12 10x10 cm flower pots.

Pruning by the lower lawn

Cut a large branch away that overhung the lower lawn on the north side, took out a kawakawa that was growing in a flower bed and cut back the saltbush by the lower lawn camelias to about half size. Shredded the branch, kawakawa and some of the saltbush for mulch heap. Left the rest of the saltbush to be shredded by the mower when I mow there again.

Sowing Marigolds

The Marigolds sown last week are beginning to show, so I sowed another seed box of marigolds today.
The onions are not showing any signs of germination yet.