Today was a big garden maintenance day around our house. From 9-4 we were in the garden working like maniacs and didn’t plant a thing. Frank spent most of the day rebuilding the compost bin. The bottom slats of wood had rotted away after being in the ground for about 8 years and since he had sifted the compost and emptied the bin yesterday, there was no time like the present.
Of course the bin is half-full already because he put back the large chunks that didn’t fit through his sifter, moved the compost from the black bin into the wooden bin and put in the banana plant that has already given us its spear of fruit. But it’s half-full of compost well on its way so hopefully we’ll have more good soil soon.
I spent the day busy with smaller tasks like weeding around the banana, adding a layer of fresh compost and covering that with mulch. There are 3 small pups at the base of the banana and I want them to have the best chance of surviving. Two spears this year is great. Fingers crossed we get a lot more next year.
I also weeded around the agave plants and around the rose bushes and a few other plants, some of which got a coating of mulch.
I spent a fair bit of time hacking away at the may bush which we’ve decided is definitely going to go. Each week I’ll probably cut back a bin full of branches and set them out on the street for the council pick-up until we really make the effort to remove it. Then Frank will build 3 new garden beds. One focus of this hacking was to clear a path behind my veggie beds so I can walk back there to more easily weed, harvest and tend my plants. Mission accomplished.
Finally I spread a lot of the compost in my ginger bed. There’s heaps left over and we have a few projects in mind for it already.
All-in-all it was a very productive day with the garden benefiting and looking a lot nicer. And since the lunar calendar says no planting today, it was the perfect day for chores.
Laura Rittenhouse's Gardening Journal 