Inspiration struck and I now have a pumpkin patch in the corner bed near the feijoa. I have made two mounds of compost, with comfrey and lambs ears underneath to provide moisture retaining and fertiliser, scattered a jar of butternut pumpkin seeds, have placed netting and barriers to stop the chicken bulldozer, and have watered and am now waiting for germination.
I'll be adding liquid seaweed/fish fertiliser when things start growing. The kumaras have started settling in and putting out new shoots, and some of my beans have started sprouting.
All the applemint has been added to the compost although I'm a bit concerned in it's dried state that it won't break down any further although I have chopped it up more and dad has added lawn clippings, the two compost bins are now full again. Even the worm bins are full. I'm trying to be zero waste this year and not put anything into landfill but I do place the weeds with seeds in the bin at times.
Dad however, cannot be trusted to compost anything other than lawn clippings and I have found to my dismay perfectly good compost material in the rubbish bin. I am tired of fishing out recycling from it as well. It's hard work to educate oldies. Mum was furious when he weeded out the choko vine, we won't be having chokos this year - as we aren't allowed to plant them at Woodside either. I'm not sure what the deal is with planting plants nobody else eats. Surely if it's edible it can be planted? After all mum and I are the only ones that eat the amaranth and garlic chives. If we didn't eat them they'd just get composted.
Due to summer sloth, I haven't had time to actually go to the beach and collect sand and seaweed. The problem is living too far from the beach means we can't just walk there, its actually a mission to get in the car and drive there, and finding parking close by is also a joke when everyone else has the same idea.
So I have stayed at home and done my beach reading within the safe confines of my bed, with added advantage of shade, and creature comforts close by, including nearby shower, bathtub and ice cream in the freezer should I decide I need cooling off. Who needs the beach really, when I can just go barefoot on the grass and enjoy the distant breeze and oozing mud tides from the Henderson creek?
