we were lucky the hail just hit and then took of. We have lost a lot of fruit and the Apricot tree has a lot of small twigs and some branches down. The lettuces are a write of that I had not long planted but the rest of the garden looks ok. The peas have fallen over but look to be still flowering. One or two look totally wilted. I feel so lucky that we only had minimal damage. Some peoples gardens will be a lot worse than ours. Mum and I spent alot of the day weeding, cleaning up under the trees and veggie garden. I put curtains over the tomatoes and celery to save them from the hail. The hail was huge and boy did it sting when it hit you. The roses dont look as if they had any extra damage but there isa lot of petals lost from the first storm that went through. There is a beautiful parchment coloured rose that has just bloomed so I held my breath that it has come through the storms.
jules.,
Jan 4, 3:19am
lol, i have just siphoned the kids pool (3.5x1.5x0.5m) thru an old piece of hose onto the veges and when i got tired of that i let it run onto the plum tree. i figured 'waste not want not', better than just tipping it off the deck and it running down the section to no good use. the kids got a new pool given to them by thier grandparents as the old one has met its match with a bl**dy mouse over winter (unfortuneatly, duct tape cant fix everything). so when that too needs emptying then it will go on the garden too :)
goodbooks,
Jan 5, 2:36am
Bumping so I get time to read this! What a great thread.
jules.,
Jan 6, 12:53am
off to water the garden now its cooled down, we keep getting the promise of a few showers, but they never come. suppose thats good for the plums and peaches, they dont want too much water on the fruit or they will rot in this heat.
misskittydragon,
Jan 6, 1:18am
I love being in the garden was in there this afternoon trying to get rid of the couch (sp) and docks that have come through. It was so peaceful down there. I love seeing the changes the plants go through as they mature. I was wondering what garden tools you use in the veggie garden and how effective you find them. I have a small spade, fork and hoe. I am slowly building my collection and find it a bit daunting standing in the shop looking at all the implements and wondering what do you buy. The sales assistants look at me and go yep a blonde. lol. I hope to get my Yates guide next week to help me with the gardens.
jules.,
Jan 6, 3:21am
im no expert, but i find a good old garden fork and spade do just the trick for most things. i was given a nifty set for christmas that has a small/hand fork, rake/hoe and spade, but also can attatch to a longer handle, they are great when trying to get those weeds under the tomatos that are too far to reach otherwise. apparently they came from bunnings. i also find when planting out seedlings, that an old kitchen fork is just the right size to make a wee hole :)
jules.,
Jan 7, 9:29pm
my sons chook passed away this morning :( she got out of the house at breakfast time and fell over then couldnt get back up, i picked her up and she was very weak, i called the vet and took her in, he said he thought it was due to worms. he gave her some antibiotics and wormed her, we had or fingers crossed, but she died around lunch time. my son was so upset, we had a 'funeral' for her and his aunty placed flowers on her grave and dad made a cross too. he sat there for ages and has hardly stopped crying. i feel so bad that i didnt notice she was sick, but the vet said its really hard to tell with chooks till they are like that.
misskittydragon,
Jan 8, 1:17pm
big hugs to your family jules R.I.P little chook. It is so hard sometimes when they dont tell you they are sick and it can be so hard to tell. She sounds so well loved.
jules.,
Jan 8, 9:48pm
thanks for that misskitty, yeah the kids adore them, they eat from their hands aswell. son was out at the grave this morning having another wee sob, but i think hes slowly getting over it if we keep him occupied. i have managed to get a hen thats sitting of 5 eggs and has a 'husband' too, we are picking them all up on sunday. its a surprise for son. and a new venture for all of us as we have not raised chicks before. it will really keep his mind on other things. the hen has been sitting for around 10 days the owners think so the kids wont have too longer wait for them to hatch.
jules.,
Jan 8, 9:51pm
on a gardening note :) i picked anothe kg of various beans today. the cucumbers have gone NUTS, there are literally hundreds of cucs on about 4 plants.we have some small gherkins starting too. the toms are starting to plump up, but still green. the plums are growing by the day and getting redder too, cant wait for some fresh plum jam!
juliewn,
Jan 10, 5:44am
Ohhh Tumble!. hope he's buying you replacements - they can be purchased through the NZ Gardener website - right back to the first one.
After reading in another thread, I've planted carrot seeds today - the suggestion was to use strips of double thickness WC paper, open them out, place a carrot seed about 2-3cm apart done the length of the strip. Place the top piece over the seeds, and spray a film of water over the lot.
Place in the garden, stretching the length of paper out, sprinkle soil over and water. the seeds won't need thinning at all. I've planted around 90 seeds today this way, and would think they'll be my best carrots yet.
Thanks to the person who posted the idea originally.
stevee6,
Jan 10, 4:33pm
Bumping up for a new enthusiast! Horrible winds last night - my tomatoes are all over the place(yes, even though staked and tied) and the courgette plants each needed a chunk of concrete to anchor the roots *sigh*
musikcrazee,
Jan 10, 6:30pm
kapiti coast! yeah our bean stalks have snapped :-(
misskittydragon,
Jan 11, 12:19am
looks as if our capsicums are a disaster. They are not showing any signs of fruiting up. But on a better note the rest of the garden seems to be going well. Picked some pineapple sage and basil for our salad. There are another 2 lettuces that looked to be almost ready. The apricots are almost ready to pick as well. I found a new vegetable in the garden on Thursday. I wondered why I didnt have many cabbage butterflies. The new vegetable was brown and stripy. lol She matches the soil so it gave me a start when Missy the neighbours cat got up to meet me. She loves the warmth of the veggie garden. So we have compromised, I allow her in the veggie patch and she takes care of the white butterflies for me. It works well for both of us.
jules.,
Jan 11, 2:43am
oh poop, i just planted a couple of rows today, the 'old' way and with help from miss 7 :)
but its a great idea, will try and remember for next time.
it was great day here, a good lot of rain in the early hours this morning then a few showers thru the day. so nice and cool for a few hours spent weeding and re planting.
i gave everything a good liquid fertilizer aswell.
stevee6,
Jan 11, 3:33pm
Another bump for another new enthusiast.
simplesean,
Jan 11, 4:41pm
oooh. 975 nearly at 1000!
juliewn,
Jan 11, 7:26pm
How are everyone's veges growing. Mine are mostly flourishing, though my Supertom Money Maker is not growing that quickly - self sown tomatoes from last season are way ahead in size and growth - and are flowering well plus have many tomatoes on them. I have a Supertom sweet100 growing also - and that's doing much better than the money maker plant. I've given them sheep pellets and water them daily. any suggestions to get my supertom moneymaker doing better! Thanks for help.
quantum_leap,
Jan 11, 7:48pm
I'm running out of room but I can't stop planting! Today I bought two apple cucumbers that were on special. My four year old son is the chief cucumber grower in the family,some purple beans, some broccolli seedlings and two more fruit trees( a nectarine and a peach) also some little daisies. It's too hot to plant anything but I'll venture out soon to weed and prepare the soil.Seeya!
juliewn,
Jan 12, 2:46am
Hi Trustee. I finally found copies of Homegrown at the Papamoa post shop. after looking everywhere for them, and emailing NZ Gardener, who advised their stocks had run out. Isn't it a lovely book. the perfect book to browse through too. I'm enjoying Linda's newsletters too. it's nice that she's writing from a sharing point of view - I think she has a lovely way of writing - and it's great to see her enthusiasm - "let's get together and enjoy growing vegtables and fruits." I grow veges and herbs - and fruit trees and vines, among my flowers and shrubs too. I have tomatoes, cucumber and lemon thyme along one garden, garlic chives, passionfruit, tamarillo's, raspberries, and apples in another garden - so far! 2 kinds of grapes, plus cherries, pumpkins, sweetcorn, and watermelon in another. I like mixing them up together - they're all lovely to see and enjoy. I'm hoping for suggestions about tomatoes too. hopefully someone will post some ideas for us. Enjoy your gardens. :-)
kbateman,
Jan 12, 5:47pm
Hi. I have just pulled my beetroot. What can I put in now in it place. Hope sameone can help. Thank you.
juliewn,
Jan 12, 7:56pm
Hi Everyone. I hope all is going well in your gardens and your year has begun well. hope that not to much damage was done to your plants Stevee.
mim5,
Jan 13, 3:09am
I'm a bit frustrated as I have signed up three times now and still haven't had the newsletter! Think I will contact NZ Gardener tomorrow to find out why not! Got their monthly newsletter again ok just not Linda's weekly one.
My rocket is coming along very nicely! Yum salad soon! What is the best spinach to buy for baby spinach! thanks
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.