I made a new raised bed on the no-dig method in January. Here it was, newly made:
Since then, the zucchini plant to the left in the photo has grown and given us many meals until two days ago it mysteriously died on the spot. One day healthy, next dead. The other zucchini plant is still producing well and provided the marrow for tonight's marrow pizza (yes really, but anchovies, olives, garlic and capers made sure of decent punchy flavour). The spindly tomato plant is still spindly and produces some but not many yellow oval tomatoes. You can just see the strawberry plant in it's tyre and bird netting to the right. I've let the runners grow and two have bedded down in the older raised bed and will be new plants for me next summer.
In the January photo, I've used newspaper and chicken manure mixed with bark - the by product of my friend Rayleen's night shelter for her chooks. Since then I've added some grass clippings, wood chip, horse brew fertiliser and seaweed fertiliser. And today I could wait no longer to put some plants in. I poured the remains of my 'garden mix' bag of soil over the bed and then planted St Brigid's anemones bulbs around the edges and then my own seedlings in two rows in the centre. I planted swiss chard and purple sprouting broccoli and feverfew and thyme. That's what I had left in my seedling growing station so why not. I opted not to plant the two pots of pak choi cos they are just an irritating slug magnet.
No car today which was good for preventing me from further purchases at the garden nursery. But tomorrow I do need to investigsate this thing called frost cloth which prevents white cabbage butterflies from laying eggs on brassicas.
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