Good morning and happy Thursday!
On a cold, slightly overcast day like today, it is almost difficult to believe that in only a few weeks time, spring will be here. This season, unlike the last, I aim to be more prepared!
Now, getting the garden to the level I want is going to be a bit of a challenge, not just due to the time, money and skills needed, but also because there is a chance that I will not be staying here for the entire season. The plan was always to renovate and then rent this house. Some serious planning and thought is needed before I start something that'll end up just making a mess. AGAIN...
First things first, the plants in the large pot in the far corner at the back of the garden don't get a lot of sun...which has led to them looking pretty awful. Nothing like what I had planned on when mindlessly shoving them in there.
Lesson 1 - Always do research on where to place the plants!
With that in mind, I am planning on planting something else in this pot and moving it to the little entrance garden at the front of my home...but we will get to that...
The plants in containers also need something to happen to them, though I am not quite sure what, where or when at this stage.
I am planning on having some sort of sprinkler system installed soon, preferably something with a timer, because I can be very forgetful! Also need to upgrade the awful cheap garden hose, which has held up surprisingly well up till now.
My little collection of strawberries desperately in need of bigger, better containers. I am considering tiered hanging pots for these. Should be a fun project. I am not quite certain what kind of plants the big ones are, but I know they have pretty flowers and need A LOT of water. I am planning on planting the Mc Kana giants between the two sometime soon.
These are all that's left of my attempt at creating a mini mixed succulent garden in the front yard...there used to be more, but we will get to that. I am still uncertain about how to approach the veggie garden. I might take down the entire setup and just plant a few herbs in pots.
On the topic of the veggie garden...this is pretty much all I have to show for last year's attempt. My harvest consisted of two tiny but very yummy green peppers and about four chili peppers. Basically I grew enough to top two pizzas. They were delicious, so it wasn't a complete waste of time!
I cannot remember the real name for these... I did some research on them a while ago and found out that they are basically a type of mini palm/papyrus thing. Pretty cool either way! The cats squashed the hell out of these too, and I am hoping to figure out some way of keeping them off in the future.
Another attempt at keeping the cats off of my plants, hopefully, before the end of the year, I will have figured out a decent solution.
Sorry about the washing in the photo, but this is the full view of the backyard, clearly it needs a lot of work! I have been trying to grow some grass, but for some reason, no matter how much I beg, plead or straight up threaten, the garden service people insist on murdering my grass with a rake.
Moving on to the front...the cats were using this area at the front of the house as a toilet! Absolutely horrible for both me and the plants. After adding the mesh wire, it isn't an issue anymore! The elephant bush is already recovering too. This spot tends to not get a lot of sun, but I do want to add a few flowers too. If anyone has any suggestions, please do let me know in the comments!
A few months ago, I attempted to get tile an old baby bath with leftover stone tiles and grout (From when I had the shower rebuilt) I soon found out that I absolutely suck at it, and, due to bad weather and life stuff, I was forced to give up (I totally rage quit...)
In the meantime, the cats got to work on killing and digging up my plants. The plan is to replace this mess with that pot from the corner of the back yard. I also need to decide what to actually put in there...
As I said, a lot of work and planning to do, in very little time! I am feeling positive and ready for the challenge though, so let's see what happens!
Credit - All photos are my own
Banner created using Adobe Express
Fernzzzzz
Lolz yeah I have been trying to grow chillies for a while now.
😁They are relatively easy to grow.... just need enough sun. That's where I messed up 😅
😂😂😅 You should see the plant not in the photos lol, the only thing I can successfully grow 😂
I think @melibee makes some good comments below - organic matter would help. I think the yukka or the cabbage tree or whatever it is also sucks up a lot of water from it's roots, so if you're not renting I'd either remove those or maybe put in a wicking bed where water is available to the plants. But you're right - some pots might be the way to go! Definitely don't rage quit gardening!
We support gardening, homesteading, cannabis growers, permaculture and other garden related content. Delegations to the curation account, @gardenhive, are welcome! Keep an eye out for our weekly writing prompts and our monthly #gardenjournal challenge on the 1st of each month.
Thanks for the informative comment! I really do still need to learn a lot! Will have to do some research on exactly what wicking beds are. My level of gardening skill is currently 'stick it in the ground and see what happens' so your input is very much appreciated!
Best of luck. Since you said that you are open to folks offering advice: The soil looks to be desperately lacking in organic matter and to have no humus...maybe you could compost and start spreading that around. You could put a nice bit of compost down and then maybe a handful or two of sand and some gravel on top of that and then larger stones on top of that...And THEN lots of succulents in there like between the stones basically...And ach...I love the kitties so so so much...so I know how they can be in the garden and with the potted plants as well...Citrus peels can be helpful in deterring them from the soil of potted plants and around your outdoor plants as well, because they do not like the smell. I'm a little bit of a lunatic when it comes to plants/gardening/soil microbiota/permaculture...so if you ever want to pick my brain, please do. Give me a specific problem you want to confront and I can make a post all for you. hahahaha
Oh wow! There is so much that I still need to learn. I basically just stuck the plants in the soil and hoped for the best 🫣 I would very much like to learn all about composting and everything else! Thank you so much for offering help and advice. I am willing to try anything after last season's awful harvest. Sharing skills and discussing is also the best part of gardening, so feel free to tell me what I am doing wrong!
I think so too.. That sharing and discussing is the best. <3
Congratulations, you received an ecency upvote through the curator @ahmedhayat. Keep spreading love through ecency
Thank You!
!LUV
If you're renting and think you might be moving at some point, it's worth growing as much as possible in planters and troughs. That way you can take them with you and keep looking after them. It also gives you a chance to set up planters full of fresh compost while you work on improving the soil quality of the actual ground.
As for the kitties, we inadvertently discovered a solution. Accept that wherever they choose to use as a toilet is where they prefer. Then dig it out to a depth of a three or four of inches and fill it with gravel - the small, rounded pebble type. To a cat, it'll be like a giant outdoor litter tray - just perfect 😁 Then it's just a case of doing what we call "poo patrol" every couple of days; we're lucky enough to have a council dustbin opposite our house where we're allowed to put cat & dog doo-doo, but if not it's just a case of disposable rubber gloves and picking out any pebbles before flushing it down the loo !
Great advice, thank you! I will try the outdoor litter box trick. 😁 I own the house but might still use the planters, don't want to have to leave too many plants behind when I start renting to someone else.