PLANTS FINDING NEW HOMES

At last our temperatures have dropped to the low thirties and hopefully in a couple of weeks will be in the twenties.  I am longing to get out into the raised garden beds and pull them apart and replant for winter and spring, but it has just been too hot to date.

When I first planted the raised gardens this time last year I put a couple of lavender bushes in because they add such colour and aroma.  However they have thrived too well and I am preparing to take them out and plant them on the western side of the shed.  We also have a little pendolino olive tree which has just refused to die.  We left it in the olive grove for 2 years and it struggled so hard, but could not grow.  Then we pulled it out and put an avocado in its place, but I couldn't throw it away, so I placed it in a pot.  Pruned dramatically it refused to die, but also refused to grow.  So when I pulled the corn out of one of the raised garden beds before Christmas I put it in there.  Now the little tree is happy and is finally shooting after 3 years.  The trouble is, I don't want it to take over the raised garden bed, so it will find a home with the lavendars.

Three holes had been dug on the western side of the shed some months back and I didn't really know what would eventually go there.  I had been playing with the idea of a fine oak tree friends had given us, but I think the oak tree needs some friends of similar ilk around when finally planted.  Once I decided this morning to fill these holes with the lavendars and olive tree, I filled each hole with 10-20ltrs of water, some blood and bone, some alpaca poo and I am finally trying alpaca fleece in the bottom of the hole.  An alpaca breeder told me that putting scrap fleece at the bottom of the hole retains the moisture under the roots and goodness knows we need every bit of moisture we can get our hands on.  I have soaked the three plants to be moved and trimmed back the lavendar and now I will wait till sunset to move them. 

On the western side of the house I planted 8 Tagasaste shrubs on the slope running down from the tank.  They are supposed to be excellent fodder plants, fast growing, and good for water erosion control.  They have finally taken off, but our kangaroos have found them.  The tagasaste were supposed to be fodder for the camelids!  Spraying water with crushed chillies has helped a little and I had hoped spreading fresh alpaca poo may also act as a deterrent.  However the nibbling continues each night.  So today all the lavendar offcuts have been poked in the ground around each plant and maybe, just maybe, my little friends won't like the aroma or flavour.

Finally this morning some more summer produce has reached the table.  What wonderful summer colours - orange and red capsicum, orange and purple eggplant and red tomatoes and chillies.

Just to make life a little more interesting, tomorrow I return to working on a project to teach English as a Second Language at a local Institute.  So the creative side of my brain has to turn from wonderful felting to creating courses.  Give me brain food.....  my walnut tree will have to get a move on.....