four more days to go!
we're off on our holiday this friday so i've been trying to do some work in the garden/house as necessary. once school starts i will barely have time to cast a glance on the chore list!
planted out 10 okra plants yesterday and another 6 today. they're the 'Burgundy' type so i wasn't too fussed about chucking them anywhere i found space, since the flowers are meant to be really pretty. i hope so!
i've had a fun time this season beginning mid/late winter with the planning/fantasizing about what plants to grow from seeds. i ordered some seeds from what seems to be a rather large nursery that trades online and had fun growing what normally isn't available from garden shops. it's been mostly experimental, and i've learnt (surprisingly without much heartache) what grows and what dies almost immediately. and what doesn't even germinate (only borage. why? why? why? oh and stevia)
i think i might take a break from sowing (though i can't seem to stop thinking about how best to construct a raised no dig bed for winter crops, which if i set up now-ish, will mature til March just in time for the seedlings to go in. but i think it's a smarter move to resist taking on new endeavours and try and go back to basics, spruce up the enormous garden that isn't the vegetable beds, and generally improve the soil. there's also the thinking that we're not going to be here much past 4ish years (well depends also on market picking up again so it's hard to say) so by time the soil is lovely and rich i'll be gone and have to start from scratch! but it's all a learning process and i must say i'm happy that eventually i'll be able to teach my own children some real practical skills, rather than stuff like "if y = x2 +2x -24, find x and y" (yawn).
i'm also torn about buying new yarn for another big knitting project or closing shop for school cos once term begins i don't want to be distracted by the urge to complete whatever i'm knitting. and i don't want to have half done projects lying around either. it's been a productive summer knitting wise, seeing as i only picked it up couple of months ago. to date, i have successfully knitted 2 pairs of toddler socks for my nieces, a pair of me-size socks, a beanie for the man, a halter top, a lace headband and i'm now doing a mug cozy just for a quick fun thing. contrary to what lots of other knitters claim on their blogs, i think kitchener stitch is a joy to do (that's what you use to close up the sock toe, for example, and it is an invisible seam cos it continues the knit pattern) and i can tell i'm a dpn (double pointed needles, for knitting in-the-round as opposed to flat pieces which you then stitch together) girl too. nice to be developing my own style and preferences, like a knitting personality.
anyway, gong xi fa cai everyone!! wan shi ru yi, bu bu gao sheng, xue ye jin bu, kuai gao zhang da, zao sheng gui zi etc...
planted out 10 okra plants yesterday and another 6 today. they're the 'Burgundy' type so i wasn't too fussed about chucking them anywhere i found space, since the flowers are meant to be really pretty. i hope so!
i've had a fun time this season beginning mid/late winter with the planning/fantasizing about what plants to grow from seeds. i ordered some seeds from what seems to be a rather large nursery that trades online and had fun growing what normally isn't available from garden shops. it's been mostly experimental, and i've learnt (surprisingly without much heartache) what grows and what dies almost immediately. and what doesn't even germinate (only borage. why? why? why? oh and stevia)
i think i might take a break from sowing (though i can't seem to stop thinking about how best to construct a raised no dig bed for winter crops, which if i set up now-ish, will mature til March just in time for the seedlings to go in. but i think it's a smarter move to resist taking on new endeavours and try and go back to basics, spruce up the enormous garden that isn't the vegetable beds, and generally improve the soil. there's also the thinking that we're not going to be here much past 4ish years (well depends also on market picking up again so it's hard to say) so by time the soil is lovely and rich i'll be gone and have to start from scratch! but it's all a learning process and i must say i'm happy that eventually i'll be able to teach my own children some real practical skills, rather than stuff like "if y = x2 +2x -24, find x and y" (yawn).
i'm also torn about buying new yarn for another big knitting project or closing shop for school cos once term begins i don't want to be distracted by the urge to complete whatever i'm knitting. and i don't want to have half done projects lying around either. it's been a productive summer knitting wise, seeing as i only picked it up couple of months ago. to date, i have successfully knitted 2 pairs of toddler socks for my nieces, a pair of me-size socks, a beanie for the man, a halter top, a lace headband and i'm now doing a mug cozy just for a quick fun thing. contrary to what lots of other knitters claim on their blogs, i think kitchener stitch is a joy to do (that's what you use to close up the sock toe, for example, and it is an invisible seam cos it continues the knit pattern) and i can tell i'm a dpn (double pointed needles, for knitting in-the-round as opposed to flat pieces which you then stitch together) girl too. nice to be developing my own style and preferences, like a knitting personality.
anyway, gong xi fa cai everyone!! wan shi ru yi, bu bu gao sheng, xue ye jin bu, kuai gao zhang da, zao sheng gui zi etc...