My garden used to be, well, if not orderly, at least seemed to have some form of design. There was a trampoline, there was a herb spiral, there were garden beds, and an area of natives which included a super productive macadamia tree. The photo above shows my herb spiral.
It’s easy to blame others, so I will! My ex and I were co-nesting for a year and he is constitutionally incapable of watering the garden. As I watched my precious seedlings wither and die over 40 degree summer days, I decided that I wouldn’t invest in the garden until it was mine and not a shared responsibility, with only one of us living up to that responsibility. Around the same time, my last chicken was carried off by a fox, so the weeds grew unchecked. I also did some pruning, and want, still, to use the branches for craft projects. So the weeds were both unchecked and scaffolded. My garden is now a weed forest – mostly grasses that I can’t even eat.
So the journey is to both re-discover the garden and then turn it into the permie paradise I’ve always dreamed of. Using the permie principle of the problem is the solution – if you have unchecked weeds, get some chickens. And so I have. Here are our three (please let it be so!) girls: large grey Gull, an easter egger; curious Deci/ Desi, a Rhode Island Red; and to complete the trio timid Houdini, the brown Leghorn. They weren’t sexed, so they were cheap, but it’s likely that at least one is a rooster. Council regulations don’t allow us roosters, so they’ll probably have to be rehomed; though roosters are great at protecting small flocks (and at least one nearby neighbour had one for years, that I could hear crowing on early morning walks).
First step, acquiring chicks has happened, but I’ve still not completed the chick run. We’ve done most of the fence, but it took a while to construct the gate, just because of lack of self confidence. The gate is now done, I’ve cleared the debris (weeds and jerusalem artichokes) from around the coop and set up the feeding station. I just need to install the gate, finish off the fence and today, I’m planning to set up the watering station. Then the girls will have a lovely weed-infested space to play around in, once they’re a bit bigger.
I’ve also started reclaiming my vegie beds. These have never been a brilliant design – they are up against the wall of the neighbours shed, and the middle of the beds is inaccessible and attracts weeds. Solution – I’m making them U-shaped. I’ve cut up the front of the first bed, and I’m going to use the excess bricks I have to keep the soil in. But I want to decorate them first, another job for this week.
In the meantime, in line with the moon, I’ve planted out some late summer seedlings of zucchini, pumpkin, eggplant, chili and basil; and last week planted in some beetroot, carrot, radish and parsnip seeds. The beetroot and radish are sprouting, but I’m a bit concerned that I let the carrot and parsnip dry out, so let’s see how that goes.
If I can turn this mess into a permie paradise, anyone can – so keep track of my journey and in the meantime, if you’re here in Naarm, I hope you and your plants enjoy the cool change. Much love, Sonia.
