Today I thought I'd show you what's been keeping me so busy. We've added 4 new vegetable beds - in addition to the 10 we already have. In making my plot, I've had to work with what's there, in terms of the landscape. We live in the hills, and getting any sort of earthmoving done is a chore. I decided to work with the slopes and retaining walls, instead of moving them. Then, too, if I had waited for a perfect plot, well - I'd still be waiting.
We decided a few years back we wanted to work towards self-sufficiency - which is a whole other discussion. I haven't done a proper post on that, but I am working on one, so look out for it. For me this has meant a HUGE learning curve. I couldn't keep a fern alive before, I certainly didn't know the first thing about growing vegetables. I bought the books, and did the internet research...but there comes a point when you actually have to just do it. Try, and fail a few times - but it's all valuable experience.
These are the new beds - 4 raised and 4 barrels where the berries are going. The irrigation tube on the ground will be buried, and the whole area will be fenced. I hadn't planned to put a fence there, as we're having the yard fenced - but Buffy thinks digging in the beds is just the greatest game ever. Also, it'll keep out the roos and assorted other wildlife.
These beds are about waist level, so I don't have to bend at all. Good thing I'm short! The frames you see are for their sunbonnets. I have to shade them in the summer, or everything would just fry. Literally. I haven't sorted out shade for the new beds yet, but I'm working on it.
First was filling all the beds. The original ones I did myself, but for these new ones I hired someone to do it. I told you, I'm learning! Then designing and installing the drip irrigation. And while I was at it, I re-worked the drip lines for the older beds, and topped them up with compost. They'll all get a layer of straw as mulch, and I'm almost ready to start planting out. Just a few last parts of the irrigation to hook up.
My seeds are started, and I've had lots of fun ordering seeds. I stick to heirloom seeds as much as possible, no hybrids. I even got some seeds from overseas, which can be tricky. Quarantine in Western Australia is very restrictive, more so than any other state besides Tasmania. This year I'll try saving seeds for the first time.
I'll go into much more detail in a later post, but for now that should give you some idea of what I've been working on.
