After not updating last week because there was little to report aside from the steady growth of small vegetable plants, this week has been much more productive.

We are now the proud, if slightly nervous owners of two espaliered apple trees, one cooking (Granny Smith) and one eating apple (Royal Gala).  We have never espaliered a fruit tree before, and will be relying heavily on the wonderful Garden Fairies who are assisting us with setting our garden up. Not much to look at at the moment but I have very high hopes.

To finish off that section we have also planted a black table grape. Hopefully this time we won’t move before we get a chance to sample the fruit!

In preparation for Christmas this week I planted Jersey Benne potatoes. One of the advantages of a summer Christmas is definitely the availability of baby potatoes. Not sure if this delicious potato is only available in the Southern hemisphere, but small, new Jersey Bennes are a staple of many NZ Christmas menus.

The weather is improving and steadily warming up, to the point that I couldn’t workout why my baby vegetables plants were looking so sad – turns out they were thirsty! That’s how long it’s been since we have seen dry soil! A quick hose did the trick. Hopefully our irrigation system will be up and running soon as I think we are going to need it.

Weekly round-up
Planted
Potatoes, capsicum, zucchini, apple trees, grape

Waste
Full Bokashi bin buried into the garden – this really is the weirdest way to compost! I don’t understand how it turns into soil soooo quickly.

Next week
I am away for the next couple of weeks, treating myself to a photo workshop of our beautiful South Island (hopefully photos to follow), so will have to leave the garden in my husband’s care – fingers crossed  he will remember to water when necessary. He is very good with the compost and Bokashi (better than me) so the plants should be fine 🙂

Speaking of Bokashi, as mentioned above, we (Wayne) buried a batch this week. The thought of this delicious decomposing treasure just under the ground has always driven our dogs crazy, and this one was no exception. We have had to thwart Bosco several times since it went into the ground. The culmination of his obsession and plotting may have been at 3am this morning. He woke me up and I though he wanted to go to the toilet so I let him out. When he didn’t come back in, Wayne muttered ‘bokashi’ and went back to sleep.  I got up and went outside into the cold (in my dressing gown and slippers) to see him again trying to get his little nose through the protective mesh we had thrown over the top – moonlit scavenging at its finest. Needless to say he wasn’t the most popular member of our household this morning!