Monthly Archives: July 2011

Winter Peas

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

I planted this batch of peas on 12 April, about 15 weeks ago. Apparently you should harvest after 9-11 weeks. But I’m not complaining, they were forced to grow in a pretty shady spot through some cold days. They should … Continue reading →

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Coffee Fertiliser

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

This zebra plant really struggled outside. Then, when I brought it indoors, it thrived – probably because I added some compost to the soil and started watering it every day. It’s a big drinker. But before too long, the colours started … Continue reading →

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Organic Seed Collection

Posted on July 24, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Yesterday I went to part 2 (of 2) of my Organic Gardening class. I didn’t actually learn a whole lot, but I found it interesting and inspiring nonetheless. Towards the end of the class we talked briefly about seed propagation … Continue reading →

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Deluge

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Deluge, inundation, monsoonal fury; pick your overly-dramatic descriptive and you’ll probably be giving a perfectly accurate report of the sky’s behaviour towards my back yard. For 2 or 3 days now, we’ve been pelted pretty much non-stop by a heavy rain. … Continue reading →

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Gloomy Winter’s Day

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

This is what my back garden looks like in the dead of winter. The grass is brown, the oak and frangipani trees are leafless (as is the cherry and Japanese maple), the mulberry is full of buds (including for berries), … Continue reading →

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Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli Harvest

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Dinner tonight will be homemade pasta filled with spinach (from my garden) and ricotta. I started making fresh pasta a couple of years ago but found the rolling out just too much hassle. A month or so ago I bought … Continue reading →

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Snack Food

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Today on my garden walk I found a tasty harvest (the first orange of the season). This orange was enjoyed overnight by what I’m guessing was a local possum. When the parrots go for the citrus they tend to poke … Continue reading →

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Birdbath Upgrade

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

The birdbath is doing really well. Birds love it. I even catch them bathing on cold winter days. (At least when it’s sunny out. Update 15 July: Today I saw a currawong bathing and it’s  cold, dark and drizzly out there!) The wood … Continue reading →

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Fig Tree

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Frank and I bought this Black Genoa Fig Tree over a month ago. We wanted to replace the tree our tenants killed by excessive use of their weed whacker. We finally planted it yesterday. The delay was caused largely by … Continue reading →

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Bolas Spider

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Laura Rittenhouse

Frank showed me these weird, but very cool pods this morning. They obviously were made by a spider as they were suspended from the avocado tree by webs, but they looked more like gum nuts to me than anything a spider … Continue reading →

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