Community gardens update: two steps forward...Wednesday, 20 September 2017

You know the saying, two steps forward, one step back. This past week feels just that way. 

We are experiencing an extremely dry spring, with hotter than average temps on the way. Look below at the last time I mowed over a month ago. It was quite the dust bowl then.

Sarah insisted she take a photo of my back after mowing. It's fair to say, a drop or two of rain wouldn't go astray.

However, there is always hope. Some plants are doing very well despite the conditions, as this gifted one is doing. Forgotten its name, so if any of you know, pass it on :)

We had some young, mostly enthusiastic workers last Friday. Here, this trio repainted the bridge and picnic tables.

This is Cherri, and she was my enthusiastic gardening helper. Sometimes, age is no barrier, as this 20 year old proved. We chatted and gardened happily for a few hours together. One of my best gardening days yet :)

 This is Steph, not afraid to take on the tough jobs, like grinding. My hubby is a great teacher :)

When I turned up last Saturday to see how the garden fared after a generous, much needed soaking the day before, I found a blue spray paint lid and dread filled me.

It didn't take me long to find the damage.

The freshly painted table had been attacked...

...as had this tree. The angst, and immaturity of  some :(

The freshly painted bridge has another broken paling too.

Several newly dug in tyres were ripped out, so hubby took no time in getting them back in. I think 5 or more had been removed.

Sad, considering the whole bike track was edged with tyres only the day before.

 For all the time, hard work and money that went into the gardens to make it ready, it's a kick in the guts to turn up to vandalism. But, I've said it before and will say it again, we are WAY more stubborn and won't give up easily.

Thank you for making us more determined.

We can't make it rain any time soon. The plants that are surviving are quite drought tolerant. Though, they aren't desert plants and will need some watering, I'm praying they make it through what is predicted to be a scorching upcoming summer.

The veggie garden seems to be thriving. Glad some mulch went down to conserve some moisture. 

We'll just keep taking two steps forward...

Community Gardens: Productive day! Thursday, 8 June 2017

Let me tell you, today was a productive day! I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Lovely lettuce, growing very well. 

The veggie garden got a good watering, and some fertiliser to help keep things growing.

Before the others arrived, hubby got stuck into digging out some sandy soil to help build up the flood prone area of the garden.

While walking back from taking a photo of hubby, I needed to snap this...it's growing so well and is thriving on almost complete neglect.

My first jonquil has popped through! Only 20 more need to do the same :)

Paul took over collecting barrow loads from hubby, and stuck at it for hours.

Shane did a brilliant job raking the newly dumped soil out.

This is the result of last week's clearing- creating space for a new pathway :)

All three men worked so hard today.

For the third week in a row, kids have decided to add their own makeshift bridge. We aren't playing that game anymore. It stays for now.

This is another project for myself today- get rid of this singapore daisy.

Going....

...nearly all gone.

Another view of the veggie patch. It's looking so good!

Hubby has decided to clear out the creek and use that soil to build up the ground beside it. Hopefully, this will mean that next heavy rains, the water has a deeper creek channel and the ground shouldn't bog so quickly.

A large black rubbish bag crammed with singapore daisy and weeds. Not a bad effort :)

After a lot of smelly creek digging, hubby has decided that we need to hire a digger. It will save months of back breaking labour, and will allow us to make so much more progress.

I'm supporting this decision!

My black bag of weeds ended up in the newly created huge hole. I'm not keen to add singapore daisy to my compost so it can regrow happily.

Shane is still hard at it.

This may not look like much, but after nearly 2 years, the bottom of the picture shows a swollen stem just about to burst into bloom. Gardening requires so much patience, and honestly, the rewards are so worth it.

I also did a spot of pruning today. I'm allowing these branches to stay put for now until the leaves drop, which will help mulch the soil. Then I'll remove the branches.

After the creek clear out, hubby took Paul into the bush to help remove these old hardwood fence posts. This area is going to be cleared so a path can go in. 

So excited to see the track opened!

For probably the first time, I went for an explore. Winter is a winner- no snakes, giant, bitey ants or a trillion mozzies. I'm pretty thrilled to think that this area will be accessible via proper pathway soon.

So good to be away from houses and deep in the trees. Love it.

New pathways are going ahead...watch this space!

Remnants of a glorious tree. Now, home to creepy crawlies. 

This image (thanks pinterest!), is the new inspiration for our bike track. Pallets are apparently great to use on sandy soils, and it will hopefully prevent kids from 'rearranging' the track themselves, often dangerously. I'm so keen to see it go in!

Remember my weedy dilemma? Well, some research has turned up this felt weed mat. I'm so thrilled! It's lightweight, assists water retention and isn't an ugly black. 

Bunnings, you really do deliver!

Let's just hope you have it in stock next payday :)

Phew! That was a lotta information. Hope this satisfies your curiosity for another week.

Until next time :)

Community gardens update: flooded gardens

You can have too much of a good thing. When rain was predicted last Friday, I was relieved. The gardens were looking a bit dry. Quite a bit dry actually. As we were finishing for the day, the rain began. And has kept on going.

I'm blogging this Saturday morning. It's the first sunrise I've seen all week. It's wet, more rain is predicted. Honestly, we've had enough thanks.

Despite the rain, Paul & hubby did a brilliant job yesterday. I was home nursing a sweet Miss 3 who has a recurrent gastro infection. Poor kid. Poor me. So much washing, so little sleep.

Take a look at the weekly pictorial update... 

This was taken Tuesday morning. A few days later, the water was level with the brick path. Haven't been to the garden for a few days, so I'm not sure how the plants are coping with very wet feet.

Hubby's camera on his old phone isn't the best (his good phone is being used in an artwork currently), but this shows clearly how much effort the guys put into edging the bike track.

It's great to see shape coming to the track at long last.

It's anyone's guess if these tyres will stay put, but at least for now, they are marking out a new path.

More tyres ready for burying next week.

A neat row, ready to go...into the ground :)

Not sure what this is about, but they make a great jump/hole filler!

And more tyres. Lucky we have over a hundred.

The creek has flooded again, spilling onto the bike track. Pity, as we only started dredging it out.

Paul did a great job cleaning debris from the bush. There's been a whole lotta neglect going on out there for too many years. But no more!

The bike track is deceptively large. The completed track should keep the local kids happy.

Awesome Paul, sorting the rubbish from out back and disposing of it responsibly.  There's a lot of glass waste, ie beer bottles that are now being recycled correctly, and making the track so much safer with their removal. 

Look carefully, and you'll see ducks on our new lake. The guys started an awesome job of filling the sunken ground, and a digger would have completed an arduous task. Sadly, the rains hit before the job could be finished.

Oh well, if all goes well, we'll revisit this task in a months time.

The lake is not all that far from the chess board. Can't wait to see that ground built up, the creek dredged and a drainage channel put in. That way, the area will be usable even in inclement weather.

At least wildlife are enjoying the circumstances :)

There you have it, another week, albeit a very wet one, done and dusted. Stay tuned for more soon.