Planting time

The ground’s starting to warm up a little (or did it ever get cold this year?) and its wet as far down as I can shove my hand. That means it’s time to start planting.

We’ve been itching for this because this year, the garden will be in full swing. Nearly everything is where we want it and growing well (mostly) so it’s time to put the last of the perennials and self seeders in.

Lots of plants are popping up from the seeds in the ground that the chooks left. There’s Nettles, Wheat, Lettuces, Shungiku, and lots of little things that we cant identify yet.

Personally, I’ve been waiting a couple of years to put dome Yacon or ‘Earth Apple’ (Smallanthus sonchifolius) in. Really, it’s only one year because I clean forgot last year!

There were no tubers in the mini-wicking bed that I had them in, but lots of shoots and leaves sprouting from the rhizomes.

Because the weather is out of control nowadays, I decided to hedge our bets and spread them around the garden where they will be out of the direct Summer Sun and away from the tender mercies of the chooks. I did put one lot in next to the Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana) that, I believe likes similar conditions.

They are part of what I, jokingly, call our ‘under understorey’. That’s a layer of perennial root and tuber vegetables that will continually grow below ground. Remember in early posts how I mentioned that one of the keys to success in a small garden is to extend the concepts of layers and stacking beyond how they are traditionally applied?

Jelina had fun, out in the Sun, away from her computer screen for a while. She found some Shungiku (Glebionis coronaria) seedlings out along the road side of the fence that must have self seeded.

We decided to move them in to a safer, relatively chook free area closer to the house. We love to cook with the greens and flowers and they are such prolific and beautiful plants.

A little later, when they’ve grown more, I’ll write a little piece on how to grow them for maximum yield.

Now…it’s off to replant some greens in the aquaponics…