Verdant times

This weekend was a lovely typical example of the quiet life on the Lands. Saturday was so hot we filled the little wading pool to capacity, and all squeezed in for a very short dip. Archimedes' principle came to life as Fred hopped in and Eleanor watched astonished as magical bucketloads of water overflowed around us. Out came the bubbles, almost blowing themselves in the hot gusts of wind. We spent a lot of the time pottering in the garden, long overdue tasks finally completed. Weeded the front yard and, with Fred's ingenuity, erecting a shade for the bulk of the long suffering vegie patch out the back.

Eleanor in front of the 'vege patch' (Aug 10)

I'm reminded of the TV series 'The Good Life', mostly because of the spirit of the couple who were trying to live off the land and get back to basics. Fred's vegie garden has started to boom, and we are beyond keeping up with production. Too many things are going to seed. The amazing fertility of the soil (when a little water is kept up to it) is the dominant theme. From its humble beginnings mid last year as a wide patch of rocky brown dirt, the vegie garden has sprouted into a well maintained hub of activity.

Initially, I thought Fred had overestimated the size of our vege garden needs. Worrying that we'd be looking at this patch of earth for the rest of the year and well into this one, I'd dropped a few hints that the whole space was somewhat unsightly. Within a few weeks, however, Fred had dragged over some leftover wire from a 'sorry camp', and an old unused gate from next door, and the space started to take shape. Next came the dripper systems, and with a steady stream of water and judicious planting, the place started to come alive.

Garden starts to take shape, and first batch of rocket
already gone to seed (Oct 10)

Before long, we had an explosion of rocket and more broccoli and spinach than we could keep up with. Strawberries, followed by broad beans, parsley, and then the emergence of cherry tomatoes with a well timed basil flourishing. At last, zucchinis popped out from their enormous leaf shades, and the heirloom tomatoes plumped up, dripping with succulent sweetness next to the fragile capsicums. Beetroot made a brief appearance, but sadly the purple carrots never emerged.

The next stage is watching rockmelon and 'moon and stars' watermelon (each patterned with tiny yellow dots, and one larger white round blemish) fatten up. Space has come at such a premium that the melon patches are scattered throughout the garden beds, nestled next to the odd cucumber. Pumpkins steadily march along, like the tortoise of the garden race, acquiring girth with a measured pace not seen in other parts of the garden.