| The Orchard and Bed 1 are making progress. I spent time yesterday sifting both for rocks and roots, and breaking down the soil into a finer loam. Loam might be going too far, but I am working on the soil quality of each bed. They are raked, sifted, and leveled at two rungs below the top, to make way for compost, and manure. A layer of home-prepared compost has been raked into the surface of each, and Dynamic Lifter applied at the rate of a handful per square metre. All was watered in. Compost is going to be in short supply, and a second, and perhaps third, bin may be required. |
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| Will also need a pitch-fork for working over the garden bed, and ensuring that the quality of the soil is more than skin deep. I have also raked over the pathways between the beds. Will wait until Darren has progressed upon constructing the bed for the trellis garden before laying a ground-cover on the walkways. More inclined toward a pine-bark mulchh than a small stone cover. Should be cheaper, too. The trellis garden will look similar to the bed out the back wherein grows a Chinese Star Jasmine, which is cut-sandstone blocks set in concrete. No more than 500mm wide and deep, and probably close to 4 metres in length. |
The citrus trees I will buy from Daley's, but they are not all in stock at the moment, and are cheaper to buy altogether. Patience is the name of this game:
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I am also tempted to purchase a
Kumquat to keep in a pot but need to assess the space left in the walkways after I place the two olive trees, and the fig, I already have. Patience, yikes!
According to the booklet on growing citrus, recommended by Letty, there is a recipe for soil that citrus thrive in. I am still missing a wetting agent, some gypsum, and some poo. The first two I will buy at Bunnings, and the poo I will cadge from Hamish across the road.
3 comments:
Isn't that a cute little book?
She looks so happy.
I was looking at citrus trees in the nursery yesterday.
There are double grafted lime/navel orange, meyer lemon/kaffir lime, etc.
In Ararat I had a double grafted orange - navel and valencia.
They are kinda nifty coz they take up less space.
But lemons seem to be all about Meyers and I'm afraid I can't support their popularity. They aren't lemony enough.
I'd really like to grow a dwarf lemon tree in a pot but so far I've only found a dwarf Meyer.
Loved my Lisbon lemon in Ararat - it was bonkers.
What about a covering of straw on top of the pine bark mulch, it stomps down kinda flat when you walk on it, helps suppress weeds and would be much gentler on feet.
Wait til I show you a picture of the soil around this joint - volcanic, RED, RED soil.
Ooo I just saw a Dwarf Lisbon at Daleys!
Yes, the Dwarf Lisbon is on Daley's list ... but I want mine to all come in the same delivery ... so am waiting for the Mandarin and the lime. I am on their email reminder list.
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