Collecting Horse Manure

 Horse Manure.

The use of horse manure can be a controversial subject perhaps surprisingly with it being said that the compost is high in antibiotics and that it is a big source of weeds. Although with this in mind I still actively source it and have a great supply that keeps my garden well supplied with organic matter. However it is important to acknowledge the above issues and take steps to minimise their impact. This can be done by composting the manure (the heat helps to kill the weed seeds), and to not apply the horse manure immediately on the vegetable beds (taking us back to point one, composting).

We compost in a big bay for over a year in order to do the above as well as to "mature" the compost. However there is a cost to maturing the compost as this results in a lose of nitrogen in the process but this lose has to be simply accepted so that a more balanced and healthy fertiliser is eventually added to the soil.

Great to have a trailer and ute to pick up the horse manure although it would be very useful to have a trailer that tips but good exercise:>)

A couple of hours latter the job is completed (although could be tidied up a little better). Still need to do one more trip in a months time to really fill up the bay and have a source of manure for the next year.

Garden Harvest

Garden Harvest. 

With it now being Autumn the garden is starting to move from summer production mode to Winter Production. Hopefully the Greenhouse will allow us to continue to have some summer crops (especially tomatoes, peppers etc) in the colder months.

We have already (since December) been eating our homegrown potatoes and have now started harvesting pumpkins etc so are eating around 50 to 60% home grown produce reducing our shopping bill significantly.

Of course there have been some disappointing yields as well as some very satisfying yields but this is agriculture and I suspect that our ancestors understood the risks far better than we do (with us having the supermarkets just around the corner). One way of mitigating against the risk is to plant a wide range of produce. We do this in a very limited way by planting potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes (not so much this year) and pumpkins. Corn might have produced slightly disappointing results this year (I didn't plant enough) but the potatoes have done very well.

Below are a couple of photos of our home grown produce.

One of our bigger Broccolis. We produce a few Broccolis each year which we add to stir fries, soups etc.

The potatoes have done very well this year with several varieties (Ilam Hardy, Rocket, Nadine and Maris Anchor) all doing well. However the start was rocky with our early potatoes being hit by a late season frost which really knocked them back but fortunately they recovered and gave a reasonable yield. Currently we still have the Nadine potatoes in the ground so should have potatoes for a couple more months.

We produce a range of different pumpkins, (just in case one doesn't do too well) and they have to date yielded very reliably although the Delica appears to be far more vulnerable to powdery mildew than the other varieties. Perhaps unfortunately, the Delica is also our favorite pumpkin as it is very dry and great baked, so we think it is worth the risk:>)

Papaya Seedlings are Germinating!!!

 Papaya Seedlings

This is the second time that I have tried to germinate Papaya seedlings with my first attempt being a complete disaster and making me wonder if the imported Papaya plants are genetically sterile with their seeds not viable.

However on my second attempt I have gotten a really good germination rate (around 60% so far).

But before planting the papaya seeds (sourced from a shop purchased papaya) it is important to remove the seeds (no surprise there:>) and place them in a glass of water for a week or so. This is an important step to remove the gelatinous layer around the seed. The solution will actually start to ferment with the production of bubbles as the seed coat breaks down.

After seven days I removed the papaya seeds and place then in a seed tray with a fine layer of soil placed on top of them and placed the try in the greenhouse. After around seven days the seeds had started to germinate to my massive surprise and excitement!

So today (the 3rd of March 2021) I have started to prick out the largest seedling and not a moment too soon as the roots are pretty deep and they haven't yet started to produce true leaves yet!

Will be very interesting to see how they develop in the greenhouse. 

Papaya are normally either male or female, with one male plant recommended for around ten female plants however there are some that are hermaphrodite and I am hoping that this is my case otherwise will have to have a male plant in the greenhouse taking up space that could be used for a female plant!

Update:21/03/21

Disaster the papaya seedlings are really suffering with a large number succumbing to what I suspect is a fungal disease, not sure if they have been over watered but have placed the bags in different locations to see if they respond differently. I suspect that my placing them in the greenhouse immediately after transplanting them may not have helped the situation as they should have gone into a warm shaded place to allow them to develop in their new environment. Although having said this the seedlings that have been left in the seed tray are also dying! Urgh one consultation is that you always learn more from your failures than your successes:>)